Letting the students out on the last day of their summer class was bittersweet for Kathryn. Teaching all week had given her something to focus on, since Nathan had been called away for several days to help investigate a crime spree in Brookfield with Constable Gabe Kinslow. That community was too small for a full-time Inspector, so Nathan was usually the one asked to go help out on difficult cases. Kathryn knew all about the Mountie lifestyle and didn’t begrudge him for having to leave town, but she missed him terribly and hoped he made it home in time for the big community dance that he was set to chaperone with her. Cleaning up the rest of the cookie mess her students had made in their final science cooking experiment, she wondered what the rest of summer would bring for her with the two months off from teaching. The new school was getting closer to being finished, and she would have to set up her classroom once it was ready.
Kathryn knew the next big development would be the birth of her new little niece or nephew, so her plan was to help get the house cleaned and organized so Anne and Thomas would have one less thing to worry about. She was also working on sewing blankets, diapers, and clothes for the new infant. As she worked on the baby projects, it made her long for the day she would marry and have her own children. Teaching brought her an immense amount of happiness, but Kathryn knew that lasting joy would come in a real family with a husband and hopefully adding a few little ones into the mix. Especially if they had Nathan’s blue eyes mixed with her blonde curls or some other combination that would be uniquely theirs.
A knock on the door startled Kathryn out of her thoughts, and she secretly hoped it was Nathan just getting back. She was disappointed when Faith was the one standing at the door for Anne’s weekly checkup. She had been having appointments at the Infirmary, but with how close it was to delivery they both felt it was safer to have them at home. This past week Anne had mostly stayed in bed, even eating most of her meals upstairs. Kathryn knew Thomas was getting increasingly worried with her lack of energy, headaches, and swelling which had been made worse by the current summer heat wave.
“Faith, come in,” Kathryn welcomed.
“Thank you Kathryn. How is Anne today?” Faith asked as she followed her toward the stairs.
“She still seems quite tired and swollen, but hasn’t complained about her headache as much today.” They both climbed the stairs and Kathryn knocked softly on the bedroom door. “Anne, are you awake? Faith’s here,” she asked quietly through the crack in the door.
“I’m up,” came the reply. Anne was sitting up reading a book when the two women walked into the room. “Have either of you seen Thomas? He promised he would be here for this.”
“I’ll go see if I can find him,” Kathryn suggested. “Why don’t you get started, and I’m sure he’ll be here in no time.” She went outside to start walking toward town, but saw Allie on her porch looking disappointed, so she headed over to find out what was wrong. “Is everything alright?” she asked.
“My Dad was supposed to be home already, but he ended up having to stay an extra day. I don’t want him to miss the dance tonight or we might not have enough adult chaperones.” Allie sighed and looked off into the distance.
“If he doesn’t make it in time, what adults have you asked for help and who else would you need if he isn’t here?” she wondered. “I’m planning to be there so that’s at least one, and what if you asked Mrs. Thornton, since everyone is comfortable with her and she knows you all?”
Allie’s face seemed to brighten up a little and she nodded, “Yes, I think if both you and Mrs. Thornton helped, with the other parents coming we should be just fine. But I still want my Dad home. I love Opal, but sometimes it would be nice to just sleep in my own bed even when he’s gone for work.”
“I know you miss him when he’s gone, and I’m sure he misses you too. Have you heard from him or know if he’s going to be back today?” Kathryn felt a little guilty she was asking as much for herself as Allie.
“He called Mrs. Yost yesterday and said he was headed home today,” she replied. “But we all know how plans change with the Mounties.”
“I was just on my way to find Thomas, so maybe you can come with me and we can see if he has any new information about your Dad. Then, you can head over to the school to ask Mrs. Thornton about coming to the dance.” Kathryn put her arm around Allie’s shoulder and they started walking toward town.
Before they had gotten too far, Thomas came riding up on Midnight. “Katie, am I late for Anne’s appointment?”
“I was just coming to find you, but Dr. Carter had just gotten there so you should be fine,” Kathryn assured him.
“Great, I got caught up dealing with some things at the office,” he explained, then turned and looked at Allie. “Hey, your Dad called and said he would be home for sure tonight and hopes he gets there in time for the dance.”
“Thanks for letting me know Constable Bradshaw,” she said. “I better go see if I can talk to Mrs. Thornton. See you tonight Miss Bradshaw.” Allie hurried off toward the school, and Thomas hurried back to his house.
Kathryn was left in the middle of the street, hoping Inspector Grant was riding back home on Newton this very minute. Wanting time to think and be alone, she decided to go to the Grant family’s special spot that Nathan had shown her when they first started getting to know each other better in Hope Valley. Making sure no one saw her when she slipped through the trees and brush, Kathryn had to once again catch her breath at the beauty of the special place where she had started falling for Nathan Grant.
Kathryn found a big flat rock near the edge of the river where she sat down and listened to the flow of the waterfall and river. Closing her eyes, Kathryn replayed the morning she spent with Nathan a few weeks ago, when they shared so much of their pasts with one another. She had never found another man who made her feel so at ease. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to open her heart to him and tell him her deepest thoughts and feelings. Having Nathan gone this week had made her insecurities come to the surface and she wondered if this was all happening too fast, but when they were together it felt like it had been that way forever.
Taking a deep breath, Kathryn turned her mind to other pressing matters. She knew Anne could have her baby very soon, and if there is one thing she loved being, it was an Auntie. Her older brothers had many children, but she hadn’t lived close to them for quite some time. Thomas was closest in age to Kathryn, and she had lived near him and Anne for quite a while, so she knew this baby would be very precious to her. Then there was Allie. As much as she tried to keep her distance, Kathryn couldn’t help but feel connected to the young teenager without a mother, who reminded her so much of herself. Kathryn wanted to give Allie the world and the real family she deserved. A smile spread across her face at the prospect of marrying the one and only tall, dark, and handsome Nathan Grant.
After a while of quiet contemplation, Kathryn finally felt ready to face the world again. She took another look around and headed through the shrubbery and across the fields back to town. At the Mountie office, she noticed Midnight tethered outside and decided to check on Thomas and to get an update on Anne. Inside the office, Thomas looked troubled sitting at the desk and immediately looked up when he saw Kathryn enter. “What is it Thomas? Is everything ok with Anne and the baby?” she asked.
“Faith is putting her on stricter bed rest,” he explained. “She thinks the baby could be here as soon as this week, but it is still a few weeks sooner than she would like. The headaches and swelling haven’t gotten much worse, but the labor pains have and she is progressing faster than expected. The baby does seem bigger and we might have calculated the due date slightly wrong, but I’m just worried about Anne especially after what happened to Mom.”
Kathryn winced at his statement, the pain and guilt of causing her mother’s poor health still weighing on her when reminded of it. “Anne is young and strong, unlike Mom was when she had me. Stress and worry isn’t going to help anyone, and I promise to help out as much as possible now that school is over for a while. That’s part of why I wanted to come to Hope Valley, because I knew you would both need someone here for you when the baby came.” Kathryn moved over to Thomas and put her hand on his shoulder. He stood up and gave her a tight brotherly embrace.
“I’m so glad you came here,” Thomas admitted. “I don’t know what I would do without you, sis.”
“I’ll head home and be with Anne until you are off work so I can go help with the youth dance Allie and her friends have organized. Hopefully the Inspector will make it home in time to chaperone,” she mentioned with a smirk.
“He’ll be cutting it close, but I know he will do his best,” Thomas promised. “Nathan Grant is a man of his word, and a great mentor and friend to me. I wouldn’t mind him joining our family for real one of these days.” He nudged Kathryn and she immediately blushed at the implication.
“I better get going,” she said, trying to escape the conversation. “See you around five.” Kathryn left the office and headed down the street. She peaked into the livery just to make sure Newton wasn’t in his stall, then slightly frowned and walked back home.
Kathryn found Anne in her room crying when she arrived back home. “Oh my dear, I’m so sorry this last little part of this pregnancy is being so rough on you.” She went and sat down on the bed, patting Anne’s hand and trying to calm her.
Through her tears, Anne finally voiced, “I’m just so tired, and worried about my baby coming too soon.”
“I know, but we need to think positive thoughts and you should try and stay calm,” Kathryn encouraged her. How about I sneak you one of the cookies the students baked for the dance tonight. I know you can’t resist a good snickerdoodle.”
Anne let a little giggle slip through her sniffles. “Oh alright, you know me too well. If you add a glass of milk I should be right as rain in no time.”
Kathryn chuckled as she went downstairs and got the cookie and milk for Anne. The two women talked and laughed for a while until the mama-to-be got tired and decided to have a little mid-afternoon nap before her husband got home from work. Kathryn decided to use the time to finish some hand sewing details on the little clothes and blankets she was making for the baby who could be making an entrance sooner rather than later. She started dinner so it would be ready when Thomas got home, and she was just setting the food out when he came in the door.
“Something smells good,” he remarked, going over to kiss his sister on the cheek. “I’m going to head up and check on Anne. I’ll be back down after I change to grab a tray for us to eat upstairs. Sorry if that means you have to eat alone, but I know you are in a hurry to get ready for the big dance.”
“I actually ate right before you got here and yes, I need to get ready so I can be there by six to help make sure everything is ready by seven.” While Thomas was checking on Anne and getting changed, she dished up their food and put their plates on a tray for them to be able to eat in their room. He came down and thanked her before carrying the tray upstairs. When the kitchen was back in order, Kathryn went upstairs to get ready for the dance.
Because this was the first official dance she would go to with Nathan, if he made it back in time, she decided to wear one of her more elegant gowns she had worn in Union City to places like the theatre. She also did her hair in a stylish updo and wore ornate ruby jewelry her Aunt Edith had given her for her 16th birthday in Paris. Once she was ready, she looked at her reflection and smiled at the end result. She hoped the time was well spent and Nathan would make it home in time to see her, but truthfully she was more concerned about him making it back for Allie who really needed her Dad at this occasion that was so important to her.
In the hallway, she knocked lightly on Thomas and Anne’s bedroom door and they both hollered “Come in,” in unison and started laughing as Kathryn opened the door. “Look how perfectly elegant and beautiful you look!” Anne exclaimed. “Nathan Grant is going to be blown away, not that he isn’t already completely smitten by you.”
“You are too sweet,” Kathryn replied. Don’t wait up for me, just make sure you both get some much needed rest tonight. I will see you both in the morning.”
Kathryn walked to the Saloon and found many of her students and their parents working to get things set up. Lucas, Fiona, and Hickam had also agreed to help get the place ready, and many of the adults were going to stay. It had been a while since a dance had taken place in Hope Valley, and everyone was ready to have a good time. Allie spotted her new teacher and hurried over to greet her. Kathryn smiled at how grown up and pretty Allie looked in the fancy cream colored dress she wore, and with her hair professionally pinned up.
“Miss Bradshaw, wow!” Allie proclaimed. “My Dad better make it back in time to see you in that dress, because you look really beautiful.”
“What a kind thing to say, Allie,” Kathryn returned. “I was just about to compliment you on your dress, and your hair is so becoming tonight.”
“Thank you,” Allie said, smiling shyly. “We bought this dress in Union City back when we were there in the spring. I wore it to the theatre to see The Tempest. Fiona was nice enough to do my hair for free, since she knew my Dad was gone and wouldn’t know the first thing about how to do hair like this anyway.”
“Oh wow, Nathan took you to see The Tempest? I also saw that show while it was playing that week you were in town. Did you like it?” Kathryn asked curiously.
“We love Shakespeare and that is one of our favorite plays, so we were so happy we could attend the play.” Allie turned her attention to the platter of cookies Kathryn was holding. “You can bring those cookies over to the refreshment table. We have so many good treats and real fresh-squeezed lemonade to drink. It’s going to be so much fun.” Allie rushed off to her friends who were finishing up some table decorations, and Kathryn set down the cookies and worked to make an attractive arrangement of the refreshments.
Elizabeth nervously entered the Saloon, unsure if she was ready to face another Hope Valley Dance. She had made her share of mistakes at these social events of the past, and knowing she would probably have to watch Nathan and Kathryn together made her feel sad and lonely. But she couldn’t disappoint Allie again, so she asked Lee and Rosemary to watch little Jack for the evening, dressed in one of her Hamilton gowns, and bravely showed up to chaperone for her students.
Mike Hickam had to remind himself to breathe again, after watching Elizabeth come into the Saloon. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but she always had too many other men interested in her for him to really consider asking her out. He knew he was a simple man, and she turned heads whenever she entered...unlike him who was rarely noticed by anyone. He looked across the room at Fiona and Lucas, laughing and flirting as they finished rearranging the room to be more conducive to dancing. He hoped their budding romance wouldn’t be too painful for Elizabeth, but worried more about how she might feel about the recent rejection from Nathan. It was a silent truth that everyone in Hope Valley now knew about - thanks to Rosemary - and he worried about her feelings.
Kathryn marveled at how stunning Elizabeth was in her black and white gown, her dark hair flowing down her back in soft curls. She could see why Nathan had been attracted to her, and felt bad for all of the pain she had been through in the past few years. Kathryn smiled and waved when Elizabeth looked over at the refreshment table. Both women felt they had reached a certain respect and understanding with each other, but it didn’t mean they would necessarily become best friends.
Everything was ready to go promptly at 7:00, and more guests began to arrive. Allie was excited to see Robert show up, looking dapper in his suit. But she was still disappointed that her Dad hadn’t made it home in time for the dance to start. She knew he would do his best to be home tonight, but the life of a Mountie was often unpredictable and unfair. She focused on being with her friends, and stayed determined to make it a fun celebration of summer break. When the first slow song began, Allie nervously waited to be asked. Robert didn’t make her wait long before he confidently approached her to ask if she would do him the honor.
Kathryn wasn’t sure what was keeping Nathan so long, but tried to just stay focused on the task at hand and enjoy getting to know her students and the other Hope Valley residents better. She was sure to keep an eye on Allie and Robert as they danced, and had to smile at the way they radiated young love when they were together. Kathryn was sure Nathan did not enjoy seeing that side of Allie and Robert as a parent learning to navigate the teen years. To keep her mind off Nathan, she got a cup of lemonade and a cookie and sat down at an empty table.
Elizabeth sat alone, smiling as she watched her students have fun together, but having moments of heartache as she watched in-love couples dance together. Her mind suddenly went back to the dances she shared with her dear husband Jack Thornton, and she felt a single tear escape and slip down her cheek. Oh Jack, she thought, I have really messed things up for me and your son. Please help me figure out where to go from here. She wiped the tear away and looked up, surprised to see Mike Hickam standing in front of her with his hand held out as an invitation to dance.
“May I have this dance, Elizabeth?” he quietly asked. “It’s not right for a beautiful lady like yourself, who is all dressed up, to sit alone when music is being played and a dance floor awaits.”
Startled by the slight flutter in her stomach, Elizabeth couldn’t think of a reasonable excuse, nor did she have a desire to turn this good man down. “Mike, I didn’t know you would be at this youth dance. Were you also asked to chaperone?”
“No, I was in a business meeting with Lucas and Fiona and he needed help getting the Saloon ready. It’s been so long since I’ve attended something social like this so I stayed.” Stopping to think before continuing, Hickam decided to proceed. “I must admit I partially stayed to make sure you were alright. Um, did you want to dance while we finished this conversation?”
Elizabeth felt her face get warmer, but she held out her hand to Mike and he led her to the dance floor. To her great surprise, she felt safe and secure in his muscular arms and he moved in rhythm to the music. To get her mind off her current thoughts she tried restarting their conversation. “Why did you think I wouldn’t be alright? I hope the entire town isn’t feeling sorry for me.”
“Of course not,” Hickam assured her. “I just have to work with Lucas and Fiona making eyes at each other all day, and I wasn’t sure how much you knew about that new development or how you might feel about the two of them together. Well, and then there’s Nathan. I just worry about you...somebody should.” He looked down, embarrassed he had let some of his feelings out in the open.
Elizabeth was shockingly flattered to be thought of in that manner, but wasn’t sure she could trust her feelings about anyone after how horribly she had messed things up with everyone. “Mike, you deserve the very best because you are so kind and caring. I’m just so confused right now, and think I’ll forever just be damaged goods.”
“I noticed you when you first came to town,” Mike revealed. “I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and the most caring teacher. But Jack Thornton was a friend to me, and when I saw the two of you together I knew it was meant to be. How can I compete with men in uniform like Jack and Nathan, or a successful businessman like Lucas? I’m just a simple man, who barely gets noticed by anyone.”
Elizabeth realized the slow song had ended, but their conversation had caused them to keep dancing anyway. They both realized this at the same moment and chuckled as they walked off the dance floor. “Would you like some lemonade and cookies? We could sit and talk a little more while we enjoyed them. And Mike, you are wrong,” she corrected. “People do notice you and the way you care about everyone in this town. I’ve considered you a very dear friend, and you’ve never been invisible to me.” Mike smiled and they both chose something to eat and sat down together at a table.
Near the end of the dance, the Saloon door opened and Nathan walked in wearing a brown suit and tie. Allie saw him first and jumped into his arms, forgetting for a second that she was a young lady wearing her elegant dress. “Dad, I didn’t think you were going to make it.”
“Better late than never?” he asked, hopefully. “I’m so sorry I am late. That investigation was a lot bigger than expected and I got caught up on my way home at the train station. We can talk about it later.” Nathan’s eyes scanned the room until they met the green eyes of a captivating blonde woman in burgundy. His heart raced at the sight of her, but he tried to tone down his reaction because they were in public.
Kathryn’s eyes followed Allie jumping into Nathan’s arms but stayed back, resisting the urge to follow Allie’s lead to run into his arms. Once their eyes met, she couldn’t stop the butterflies in her stomach, seeing him all dressed up. As he walked over to her, a new slow song began to play and he offered her his hand. He swept her away into the rhythm of the music and though they weren’t verbally speaking, a lot of communication was happening between them. Kathryn rested her head on his shoulder as they danced.
“I guess if people didn’t know about us before, they will now,” Nathan whispered softly. “I missed you so much.”
“What kept you tonight?” she questioned. “Thomas said you should have been back sooner.”
“I had some last-minute business at the train station before going home to get cleaned up and changed,” he answered, more terse than he planned. “I ran into Carson there. He is on break, and coming to see Faith for a couple weeks.”
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled!” she asserted. “I’ve been so worried about you, and concerned about Allie. She misses you so much when you’re gone, and told me she misses sleeping in her own bed when you’re gone. Allie reminds me so much of myself at her age, and I want her to have all her heart desires.”
Nathan’s mood became even more agitated as the song ended. “Can we speak outside?” he snipped.
Kathryn was confused by his reaction, but followed him outside. “Did I say or do something wrong, Nathan? Something doesn’t seem quite right. Talk to me.” She reached out for his hand, but felt no response from him.
“Why are you talking to Allie about her arrangements when I’m gone?” he sharply inquired. “I already had one school teacher force her way into her life, only to rip herself out of it and leaving Allie devastated. I don’t want that to happen again.”
“I’ve been trying to keep my distance and have a professional relationship with Allie,” she argued. “But she was hurting and I was trying to cheer her up and help her with this dance. She wanted you here, but you weren’t. I know the Mounties take you away sometimes, and you are a wonderful father to her...but that doesn’t make her less disappointed at times.” Kathryn felt irritated that Nathan was being so accusatory, when she specifically tried to honor his wishes.
“Kate, I just need to go have at least one dance with Allie before this ends. We’ll have to talk about this more later.” Nathan abruptly turned around and went back inside, leaving a fuming Kathryn, still a bit unsure of what triggered their first real fight as a couple. After waiting for a few minutes to compose herself, she went inside where Nathan and Allie were dancing together. Knowing they now had enough chaperones without her there, she gathered up the empty tray that previously held her cookies and walked home feeling angry and confused.
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