Rounds were taking longer than usual that morning. Nathan had helped a family find a lost cow from a farm on the border of Hope Valley. There was a widow on the other side of town that needed help chopping wood for her house. Nathan was trying to get home early for Allie's adoption ceremony after school but it didn't look like he was going to make it back to the office before lunch. He rode down a path for a while before he saw a car pulled over on the side of the road.
Nathan looked around from where the car was parked trying to find the owner. It wasn't on the way to the nearest town. He also didn't recognize the car. Nathan looked through the trees and saw two men in suits standing in a clearing. He tied Newton to a tree and adjusted the hat on his head.
"Excuse me gentlemen, can I help you?" Nathan said out loud as to not surprise the men as he walked closer.
"Constable, no we don't need any assistance," the first man said as he turned back to what he was doing. The men had a camera set up on a tripod and then had papers in their hands. The one man had what looked like a map and the other had a clipboard where he was taking notes.
"Would you tell me what you are doing here?"
"I think we will keep that between us for now. Have a good day."
Nathan looked at them, but he knew he didn't have any authority to require them to tell him what they were doing. He wasn't sure who owned that land and he didn't want to start a fight with the men. Nathan walked back to where Newton was tied up and headed back towards town. He decided rounds could wait. He would head home to get changed and stop by Bill's office to talk to him before Allie's adoption.
––––––––––––––
Nathan walked into Bill's office after changing into his suit at home. Bill was making sure everything in his office was ready for the ceremony that afternoon. "Nathan, you know the ceremony isn't for a couple hours right?"
"I do, but I saw something when I wanted on rounds."
Bill motioned for Nathan to sit in the chair across from his desk as Bill went to his own chair. "What happened?"
"There were two men on the road leading back to town on the west. They had a camera and were taking notes after they parked on the side of the road. I asked them what they were doing there but they wouldn't tell me. Do you have any maps of the ownership of the land out there?"
"I do, let me check." Bill went over to his files and got a couple of maps from the drawer. He set them out on the desk as Nathan stood. Nathan looked over the maps as Bill went one by one until Nathan found the one of the area where he had ridden that day.
"This is the one. Who owns this land here?"
Bill looked at the map and the code written on it. "This land was recently purchased in the last year. It used to be owned by the town but a company had sent an offer to purchase it. The town needed money and the land was so far from the main part of town that I didn't see an issue."
"What company was it?"
"CMK Properties," Bill said. "I looked into them before the sale and everything checked out. Why are there people on the land now though? As far as I know, no one has been out there since the sale."
"Do you think they could be building something out there?"
"I can't imagine what. It is miles from town and miles from the next nearest town."
"I'll ride out there again tomorrow and look around. Maybe I can see something in the area that would have led a company to purchase the land. Or perhaps the men will be out there again and I will try to talk to them again," Nathan said.
"I can come out there with you."
Nathan looked at the clock, "I need to go to pick up Allie. We will be back here soon to sign the adoption documents." Bill's phone rang just as Nathan stood to walk out the door. Nathan knew that Allie was excited about today but he knew it wouldn't change how he felt towards her.
–––––––––––
Allie was helping Elizabeth clean the chalkboards and straighten up the desks after school. All of the other children had left earlier. Both of them were waiting for Nathan to arrive to walk over to Bill's office. Elizabeth had told him that they would wait at the school house in case he was late coming back from rounds. She was surprised when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and she saw him walking in already dressed in his suit for the ceremony.
"Hi," Elizabeth said in a breathy voice. She couldn't believe how good he looked in the suit with a couple buttons of his shirt undone. All she wanted to do was run to him and kiss him, but she could see Allie out of the corner of her eye with a smile on her face.
"Hi Elizabeth, Hi Allie. Are you both ready to go?"
"Almost, I just have a couple more things to get together," Elizabeth said looking over at Allie. Elizabeth could tell that something had been on the girl's mind all day. She had tried to ask Allie about it after the other children left, but Allie only said she needed to ask her dad something.
Nathan looked over at Allie after he noticed Elizabeth glance her way. Elizabeth went back to look at the papers on her desk so Nathan walked over to where Allie was standing. Allie had her head down and she was shuffling her feet back and forth. "Allie, is something on your mind?" Allie said something so quiet that neither Nathan or Elizabeth heard her. "Why don't you come and sit here next to me?"
Allie sighed and then spoke quietly but just loud enough for Nathan to hear her. "What happens after the adoption today?"
"We will live exactly as we do now. There will be some paperwork but I will always be there for you like always."
"What I mean is what will I call you?"
Nathan felt the emotion well up in his eyes and he tried not to let Allie see. Elizabeth had looked up from her desk and smiled. "What do you want to call me?"
Allie looked up in his eyes, "Can I call you Dad now?"
"Allie, taking you in after your mother died has been the single greatest thing I have ever done with my life. Nothing would make be prouder than to hearing you call me Dad," Nathan said.
Allie launched herself into Nathan's arms, giving him a hug. Both of them started to cry and Elizabeth watched the sweet moment. Elizabeth put her hands, clasped together, over her heart. When Nathan and Allie pulled back from their hug, Allie said, "I love you dad."
"I love you Allie, you are the best daughter I could ask for. Why don't we get going so we can make this official?" Allie nodded as the two of them walked over to Elizabeth. She was wiping tears from her face with her hand. Nathan walked over and took one of her hands with his and wiped her tears himself. "Are you ok?"
"Yes, more than ok." She looked at the two of them and smiled. The three of them walked out and towards town.
–––––––––––
Nathan and Allie stood in front of Bill in the office. Elizabeth stood over to the side, watching two of the most important people in her life taking a huge step. Elizabeth remembered the day in the Mountie office when Nathan had asked her to come. He had told her that he hoped for a future with her. She hoped for that same future and that one day Bill would preform a couple more adoption ceremonies in this office.
"When I became a judge, there were parts of the job I thought that I wouldn't like. This is not one of those things. When Nathan asked me to put together the paperwork for this adoption, I knew that it was one of the easiest parts of my job. No one would question that the two of you were father and daughter. Would either of you like to say something?"
Nathan began, "Allie, you are my greatest joy. You and I have been each other's family and that will not change today. I take the honor of being your dad very seriously. No matter how our family may change or grow in the future, you and I will always be a priority."
"Dad…" Allie started, "I am thrilled to be able to call you that. When I lost my parents, I could have become an orphan. But I was lucky enough to get a dad to look out for me and protect me for my whole life."
Everyone in the room had tears in their eyes at this point. Bill said, "Nathan Grant, do you wish to adopt Allie Mayes Parkes as your daughter?"
"I do."
Bill continued, "Allie, do you want to become the daughter of Nathan Grant and legally change your name to Allie Mayes Grant?"
"Really? I get to change my name too?" Allie asked if she looked to Nathan.
"Only if you want to," Nathan said.
"Yes! Yes to the adoption and yes to the name. Then I am your daughter for real!" Allie said as she hugged Nathan around the waist.
"If you both sign here then, it'll be official," Bill said reaching for the papers on his desk. Nathan and Allie both signed their names on the document. Bill and Elizabeth signed it as witnesses.
"I need to stop at the Mountie office to get something. Elizabeth, would you mind going with Allie to the cafe and I'll meet you both there?"
"Of course, do you think you'll be long?" Elizabeth said wondering what he could be going there for.
"Not at all, I will see you both in a few minutes. Bill would you like to join us?" Nathan asked.
"Maybe another time. I am going to prepare the paperwork and then I have plans with Clara and Jesse. You have a great time though," Bill said.
Elizabeth and Allie left the office to go to the cafe. Nathan stayed behind to thank Bill for everything with the adoption and then headed to the Mountie office. He had gotten a charm for Allie's charm bracelet the last time he was out of town and he had left it in his desk.
Nathan left the office to walk to the cafe. He looked towards the mercantile and he saw Edward Morton standing with a man he didn't recognize. The man was dressed in an expensive looking suit and he had a suitcase on the ground next to him. The men were talking quietly but Nathan could tell by the looks on their faces that it was not a pleasant conversation. He walked over to them.
"Gentlemen, is there a problem here?"
Edward spoke, "Constable, no there is no problem. My colleague and I were just talking about some business."
"And you are?" Nathan asked looking at the man.
"Charles Kensington," he said holding out a hand.