AN: Another longer one but this is the second of my stories for the April Heart Story prompt. This one was supposed to be more Jesse than it turned out but I think it still works. I think my "mentioned but not seen on screen character" is explained clearly in the story. Hope you enjoy!

It had been an uneventful morning so far—something that Corporal Nathan Grant liked. If things remained ordinary, it meant less paperwork and also a greater chance that he would get to go home and have supper with his family.

Family.

That one word had a nice ring to it. Yes, he and Allie had always been family, but for so many years it was basically just the two of them. Though he had tried to keep in touch with his mother, his job and her health meant that being together wasn't possible. Though that situation hadn't changed much, whom he and Allie called family had. They had Elizabeth and Jack theses days and Bill had become like a father figure to him. Lee and Rosemary had taken on the roles of Aunt and Uncle to both children. Tom Thornton was working for Coulter Enterprises these days and had been thrilled to accept Allie as a niece as well. Tom had even walked Elizabeth down the aisle at the small wedding they'd had after a short engagement. Though Elizabeth's parents had seen well wishes, they had regrettably not been able to make the trip out west at that time. They were planning on coming to see them this summer though, something that Elizabeth was both happy and nervous about.

Walking into the office, Nathan hung his Stetson on a hook and made his way to his desk. Sitting down, he pulled the stack of mail that had been delivered in his absence, toward him. He started going through the stuff, reading reports and studying the sketches and descriptions of people the Mounties were currently looking for. He had just finished with the mail when the door to his office opened.

Looking up, Nathan saw an older man step into the office. Having not seen the man before, Nathan's curiosity was instantly piqued. "May I help you?"

The newcomer closed the distance between the door and Nathan's desk. The clothes he wore looked fairly new, but otherwise were business casual. He held a worn carpet bag in his left hand. With his right, he reached up and removed the bowler hat from his head, revealing a mostly bald head. Grey hair at the temples was the only thing keeping the man from being completely bald.

"I hope so, sir," the man said easily. "I was hoping to find Jesse Flynn. Hope Valley was my last known location for him."

Nathan immediately felt defensive. Despite his rough start here, Jesse being a part of that, Hope Valley had become his home. Like Lee had told him, Jesse had proven to be a good "kid" though a bit of a hot head despite his past. Like Nathan's own father, Jesse had turned his life around despite some bad choices in the past. "And you would be?"

"I'm sorry. My name is Hiram Milton." The man held his hand out to Nathan. The Mountie introduced himself as he shook the man's hand. When Nathan released his hand, Hiram motioned to the chair across the desk from the Mountie. "May I sit?"

Nathan nodded.

Hiram sank into the chair, a weariness about him that Nathan was only noticing now. "I am not here to cause any trouble. I can assure you, corporal. From your reaction to me looking for the young man, I assume that you are aware of his troubled past."

"I am but since I have been in Hope Valley, other than a minor physical altercation, Jesse hasn't had any trouble with the law. He has a wife and a child on the way, and I won't take kindly to anyone stirring things up without just cause."

A smile had come to Hiram's face as Nathan spoke. "I am glad to hear the young man has found happiness. His actions a couple years back told me that he had turned his life around." Hiram sat back in the chair, folding his hands in his lap. "Let me tell you why I am searching for the young man and then you can decide if you want to disclose his whereabouts or perhaps just deliver a message for me, as you have already confirmed I have the right town."

Nathan nodded, encouraging the man to go on.

"I use to own a general store in a town south east from here. I did enough business to get by, but when a group of men robbed me, it made things difficult. Only one of those responsible were caught."

"I assume that was Jesse?"

Hiram nodded his reply to the Mountie's observation. "I got the portion of the money stolen that Jesse had in his possession back. He was sentenced to some jail time and I'll be honest, I put him out of my mind. I have a son of my own who got in with a bad group of people. I tried bailing him out a few times until I realized that no matter what I did and said, he wasn't going to change unless he wanted to change. Truth is, I had written my son off by that time. He was doing time in jail and I didn't know where nor did I care." The older man's posture stiffened. "It might seem harsh, but that was how I feel."

Nathan found himself thinking of his own father, and the number of times Archie was in and out of prison. "I have some experience with those feelings."

Hiram relaxed at those words as he continued with his story. "Though the lost money made things tight for awhile, I got by all right at least until I caught bronchitis. At first, I simply closed the store. I figured I would be back on my feet before long. However, as the illness drug on, not only was I affected but the town was as well. They needed the goods I sold in my store. The town's mayor arranged for someone to run the store for me so that it could reopen. Some folks had started going to a nearby town for supplies and continued to. Business was down and I had medical bills and an employee to pay. I was struggling, wondering how I would how I would make things work. Then I started receiving ten dollars a month from an anonymous source. All the first payment said was that they were trying to repay me what was rightfully mine. It felt like an answer to my prayers. At the time I didn't think too much about my benefactor. Once I was feeling better and working in my store again, I got started trying to figure it out. When I received the last payment, I added it up and realized that it was equal to the amount stolen from me that day. As only one person was ever held responsible for that crime, I figured he was the one behind it—Jesse Flynn. The young man didn't have to repay the rest of the money. The courts had already sentenced him but he had. It got me believing that perhaps people really could change despite the crimes committed in the past."

Nathan nodded, once again thinking of his father. "It doesn't happen all the time, but if a man really wants to change, he can."

"Well, my son had reached out to me several times, and I am ashamed to say, I simply burned the letters. However, I recalled the town where they were posted. I decided to reach out and see if I could locate him. I succeeded. Found out that he had been out of jail for three years, and was now married. Expecting their first child soon. Well, I had been thinking about selling my store. The one thing that kept me from doing so was not knowing what I would do if I did. Well, learning about my son and his family solved that question. I sold the store to the man still working with me and I'm going back East, to spend my final years with them. Sometimes, I can't believe I am going to be a grandfather. I might have missed out on this opportunity if Jesse hadn't taken upon himself to repay me. I'd like to thank him before going."

Nathan nodded, knowing that even a simple thank you could mean a lot to the young man who had tried so hard to turn his life around here in Hope Valley. "Jesse works for the mill owner. You could inquire there for him. If he isn't in the office, the owner, Lee Coulter, should be."

"I wouldn't be causing trouble for the young man with his boss by showing up, would I?" Hiram asked.

Nathan shook his head. "Most people in town know about Jesse's trouble with the law in the past. It didn't take me long to hear about it once I took this posting. The only secret you would be revealing is the fact that he repaid you on his own accord. Besides, even if Lee didn't know Jesse's past, he's got a reputation for giving people second and even third chances."

Hiram smiled. "That's a good man. Better than I was at one time." The gentleman reached down for his bag and then stood. "I thank you for your time Constable."

Nathan had stood as well. "No problem at all." He extended a hand across the desk. Hiram took it as Nathan continued speaking. "This is probably one of the more pleasant aspects of my job. Safe travels when you continue on your way and I hope your reunion with your son is all you hope it will be. Forgiveness isn't always easy to give."

Hiram gave the Mountie a quizzical look. "I get the feeling you speak from personal experience."

"You would be right." Nathan chose to leave it at that. Though he had started forging relationships with folks here in Hope Valley, opening up was still difficult for him.

"Then I hope your experience is as positive as I expect mine to be."

With a final nod, Hiram turned and headed back out of the office. Nathan remained standing as he watched him go. Only when the door had closed behind the old man did the Mountie sit back down. Instead of returning to what he had been working on, he reached for the phone. When Florence's voice asked him how she could direct his call, Nathan asked her to connect him to the shipping company his dad's friend ran from a town further North. Though he had remained in contact with his father, he had let Allie take on the bulk of the communication with Archie Grant. Perhaps that needed to change, along with something else.

Family belonged together, and though Nathan had spent most of his adult life fighting it, Archie was his father.

Florence's voice informing him that she had Archie on the other end of the call brought Nathan out of his voice.

"Son, is everything okay?"

The surprise and concern in his father's voice were testament Nathan just how little communication he'd had with the man since Archie had left Hope Valley.

"Sorry to alarm you. Everything is fine." Nathan heard a sigh of relief over the line at his words. "I had a visitor today that made me think of you. An older man who had finally forgiven his son for the past the latter was trying to put behind him. He's going back East to live with the son and his family."

"Good to hear. A man needs his family as he gets older."

Nathan heard a longing in his father's voice. It was that emotion which told him that what he was about to suggest was the right thing to do. "Allie's had it right all along. We need family at any age. Now, if you are happy where you are, I don't want to change that but if you wanted to be closer to your grandchildren, I would be open to that. I am sure I can help you find a job here in Hope Valley, especially if your current boss provides a letter of recommendation."

"Are you sure, son? I know after all I put you through, I don't really deserve your forgiveness."

Nathan didn't hesitate to answer. "I'm sure. Perhaps I shouldn't have asked you to stay when you were here."

"I don't think that would have worked, as much as I would have liked to stay." Archie paused. "However, I would love to come now. I'll need some time to work things out. Brent gave me this job when I needed it and I do not want to leave him in a lurch. I'll talk to him and see when he thinks he can find a replacement and then I'll make plans from there."

"I'll be waiting for that call." Nathan thought about Allie and how excited she would be to hear her grandfather was coming to live in Hope Valley—and in turn devastated if things didn't work out. "I'm going to wait until I have specifics before bringing it up to anyone other than Elizabeth."

"That's fine. We'll talk again soon. I should get back to work now. My break time is almost up."

"Thank you for using it to take my call, Dad."

"Anytime, son. Anytime."

The next morning, Jesse found himself standing on the platform at the train station. Though Hiram's arrival had made him nervous at first, it had turned out to be a good experience. He and Clara had played host to the man instead of having him get a room at the saloon. This morning, Lee had let him use the car to bring the older gentleman to the translation so he wouldn't have to walk. Though he could have dropped the man off at the station and left, something that Hiram had suggested, Jesse felt compelled to see the man safely off on his journey out East to his family. Even after the former store owner had boarded the train, Jesse stood on the platform, one arm around Clara's waist.

With one last whistle, the train started pulling out of the station.

"It was nice of Hiram to stop by and acknowledged you paying him back the money stolen, even though it wasn't entirely your responsibility."

His wife's words brought Jesse out of his thoughts and he looked down at her. "It was. I told myself I wasn't doing it for recognition, but simply because it was the right thing to do. However, knowing that the effort was not only appreciated but made a difference makes everything I had sacrificed to make it happen seem worthwhile." Jesse paused. He knew that one of those sacrifices had been a delay in Clara and himself starting their life together. He was happy that the words didn't seem to be making her angry. "It isn't just the money. My actions caused Hiram to give his son another chance. It makes me feel like my life means something."

Clara smiled. "I've always known that your life means something. You are a valued member of this community. The man I love, and about to become a father. I'm glad that you are finally recognizing that though."

"If I haven't said it before, thank you, Clara, for believing in me when I had trouble believing in myself."

"You're welcome." Clara leaned in and gave her husband a quick kiss. "Now, I think the two of use should be getting on our way. We both have jobs to get too."

Jesse nodded and reaching for Clara's hand, he clasped it as they left the station. He had a feeling that the smile on his face wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.