Edward sat in his office waiting for the call to connect. He had placed a call to Charles Kensington's personal line in Hamilton. He had been talking with the owner of the stables about a possible purchase in addition to talking to Lucas about the saloon. He had also contacted a surveyor in Capital City would would be in the area in a few days to scout out the land outside of the town limits.

"Hello?"

"Charles. It is Edward." There was a pause as both of the men waited for Fiona to drop from the call. Both of them knew their conversation could not be overheard.

"Are we on schedule?"

"Yes sir. I have met with a few of the business owners in town about ownership. I am waiting for signed deals as we move forward with the plan."

"And the surveyors?" Charles asked.

"They will be here by the end of the week. Can I ask what will happen if they don't find anything?" Edward asked.

"I have been assured that there is oil in the area. Once we have proof, we can move forward in purchasing the rest of the businesses. By that time, I am hoping to find information on the current mayor to discredit him and then you can choose a successor that will work with us. Keep me informed on the results on the survey?"

"Of course sir."

Charles hung up the phone without another word. Edward knew that he had to give positive results on their plan. If not, he didn't want to know what Charles Kensington would do to him.

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Fiona tried to stay on the line as long as she could. She hoped that she would catch one of the men saying something that would help. But after they sat in silence, she had no choice than to disconnect herself from the call. She wrote down the number she had connected Edward to and she put it in her pocket. Fiona told Florence she was taking a break and Fiona walked out of the door.

She wanted to walk to Bill's office quickly while Edward was still on the call. She didn't want him to see her walk over to the office immediately after she placed the call for him. Fiona knew it was important that Edward didn't suspect them. Fiona knocked on the door and as soon as she heard Bill's voice, she walked in and shut the door behind her.

"Fiona, any news?"

"Just a new phone number. Edward made a call to Hamilton today. It was to Charles Kensington's private line. They waited until I was off the call to talk about anything though so I don't have any more information."

"Do you think they suspect something?"

"I don't think so. And I came over here right after I connected the call so Edward Morton didn't see me walking over."

Bill wasn't sure what was going on but he knew there was something. He hadn't been able to find anything out with his contacts as a judge. He had a few contacts at Mountie headquarters from his time as an inspector. There were a couple people he could trust to be discreet and Bill knew it would be time to give them a call.

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Elizabeth walked towards town after school. She had hoped to see Nathan at the end of the day. Allie said she was going home with Anna after school because her uncle had paperwork to finish before dinner. Elizabeth decided that she could finish with her papers after Jack went to bed that night. She packed up her basket and once all the children had left she closed up the school house. Elizabeth's ankle was still sore but she wore higher boots today to hold her ankle. She didn't want to walk too far but the need to see the man she loved overruled any pain.

The man she loved.

Elizabeth smiled when she remembered Nathan telling her that he loved her. It was romantic because it was the two of them together. She would remember that day for as long as she lived but she had every moment, every word written in her journal so she could remind herself. She walked to the Mountie office and saw the door open. She walked up the stairs and stood in the doorway.

She watched him for a couple minutes as he worked. His hair was covering one eye as he bent over the files on his desk. He had removed his serge and it was hanging on the chair behind him. Elizabeth took a quiet deep breath as she looked at him in a new way. She saw the henley tight across his chest with buttons undone. The sleeves showed off his muscular arms. Elizabeth didn't think as she took one step forward. The floor creaked below her foot and Nathan looked up with a smile.

"Hey beautiful," Nathan said as he stood up.

Elizabeth smiled and she had a thought that she would've never had before falling in love with Nathan. She closed the door to the Mountie office and locked it behind her. When she turned back to Nathan, he had a confused look on his face and he walked around his desk towards her.

"Is everything ok?" he asked as he stood in front of her with his hands on her arms.

"Yes everything is wonderful Nathan," Elizabeth said as she grasped Nathan's suspenders and pulled him against her. She reached one hand behind is head with the other hand still on his suspender and pulled him in for a kiss. The kiss felt like an explosion of love that neither of them had ever felt. Nathan melted into the kiss as he put his arms around her. The two of them stayed in that moment until they both had to pull back to breathe. Nathan leaned his forehead against hers.

"Boy do I love you."

Elizabeth laughed, "I love you too."

"Not that I'm complaining but was there a reason you came to visit today?"

"No reason, I just missed you. Allie said you were working on paperwork."

"I am. Headquarters needs this report first thing in the morning. I wish I could spend all day right here but I need to get back to it."

Elizabeth kissed his cheek. "I'll let you get to work." Elizabeth started to walk to the door but Nathan stopped her.

"Oh Elizabeth, I wanted to ask you. Bill has the paperwork ready for Allie's adoption. I was hoping to meet in his office on Friday after school to sign everything and then take Allie to dinner at the cafe. Will you and Jack join us?"

"Are you sure? It's ok if you'd like it just to be you and Allie."

Nathan took both of Elizabeth's hands, "I want you there. I hope there will be a time in the future where we will be a family and this adoption will affect you too. I know I didn't ask you about it when I decided to adopt Allie because we hadn't talked about our feelings. But now I want you to be part of every decision."

"Then I would be honored to be there. And for the record, I hope for that future too."

"I probably should have asked this last night but I was so happy that you said that you loved me that I couldn't think of anything else. Elizabeth Thornton, will you do me the honor of allowing me to court you?"

"Of course." Elizabeth kissed him before they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Nathan groaned and then reached over to open the door.

"Why is the door locked?" Bill asked.

"I'll see you both later," Elizabeth said as she kissed Nathan on the cheek.

Nathan watched her leave and Bill chuckled as he walked by Nathan to sit in the chair in front of his desk. Nathan had asked Bill to come by to help with the paperwork but if he had known that Elizabeth would have stopped by, Nathan would have offered to come to his office. Nathan waited until Elizabeth walked to the end of the lane and turned and waved. Then he went back into his office to finish up his work.

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The saloon was busy that night. More and more people in the town had started to come to the saloon for dinner or to talk with friends. It seemed as if Lucas' reputation in the town had started to heal and people were trusting him. Lucas had hired people from the town to work in the saloon and Gustav was in charge of the kitchen. He had slipped away for a few moments to his office to catch up on bills to make sure everything was paid for the month.

Edward walked in the saloon and he was surprised by the amount of people in the room. Pleasantly surprised. It seemed as if his plan could work as long as Lucas decided to take the deal he had proposed. Edward went to the bar and inquired after Lucas. The man behind the bar said that Lucas was in his office and pointed to a room off to the side. Edward thanked him and went to knock on the door.

Lucas looked up from his desk and said 'come in'. He hoped that there wasn't a crisis in the saloon that required his attention. Edward Morton walked in and shut the door behind him. Without a word, Edward walked over at sat in the chair in front of Lucas' desk.

"What can I do for you Mr. Morton?"

"I was wondering if you had a chance to think over my proposal."

"I am intrigued. I sent the paperwork to my lawyer in Capital City. I am waiting for his call on the papers before I sign anything."

"Excellent. I look forward to receiving the contract."

Lucas watched as Edward walked out of the room as quietly and as quickly as he entered. Edward seemed a little too eager for him to sign. Lucas didn't need a lawyer to tell him something was fishy about this deal. He did have an idea of someone who should look at these papers though.