Constable Nathan Grant closed the door to the Mountie office, his tin cup of coffee in hand. These were his favorite moments of the morning—when Hope Valley was waking up. The air had a crispness still, as it always did in middle of March. The fog was gently lifting to reveal a pale blue sky. Springtime bulbs were beginning to display their colors along the town's main street; the last of the snow was confined to shadowy corners and alleyways.

Nathan took a sip of coffee, savoring the strong dark roast. He nodded to Ned and Florence as they walked towards the Mercantile. One of the best things to have happened in Hope Valley's recent times was the marriage of Ned Yost and Florence Blakeley. Nathan had not been in Hope Valley when both had experienced grief but he was happy to have experienced their newfound happiness.

Nathan turned towards the sound of Lee's automobile rumbling down the road. Lee gave a hearty wave which Nathan returned. Lee Coulter was incredibly busy these days with lumber orders but that never stopped him from smiling….or having a conversation….or finding something to laugh and tease someone about.

Fiona Miller and Mike Hickam were coming up the path, Nathan noticed. Fiona had won the town's mayoral election, to the surprise of no one, but that did not stop her from being involved in her own barbershop business. Mike Hickam had been left in charge of Gowen Petroleum while Henry Gowen was back East.

Nathan took another sip of coffee. There had been much speculation about why Henry had left Hope Valley so suddenly. Some thought it was due to Henry going to visit his son, Christopher, in Bellingham. But Nathan had a feeling it was a different person that had taken Henry away for this considerable length of time. It was that of a woman—Abigail Stanton to be precise.

Another vehicle moving along the road shook Nathan from his reverie. Ah yes, the occurrence that happened daily. Lucas Bouchard driving out to the rowhouses. Or rather Elizabeth Thornton's rowhouse to be precise. Nathan could only assume it was to have breakfast with Elizabeth and Elizabeth's son, Jack, every morning.

It had been six months since Elizabeth had come into the Mountie office with her "I love you, but I'm not IN love with you" speech. The day where she had listed all of the ways he was an incredible man and yet had shattered his heart. While it was true that time was starting to heal the wounds, Nathan would share, only to his best friend, Bill Avery, that the wounds were still fresh scars. The pain still smarted when Nathan dwelled on the past for too long.

Nathan had shared his heart with Bill over Christmas, a Christmas he had expected to be celebrating far differently. Nathan had pictured a scene in which Elizabeth and himself would take Jack and Allie, Nathan's niece/adoptive daughter, out to cut a Christmas tree. There would have been hours spent laughing and decorating. It would have been a family, a more definitive family.

It hadn't just been Christmas Nathan had pictured. He had pictured it all. He had told Elizabeth the truth when he had said he hadn't tried to hide his feelings for her. He had loved Hope Valley's teacher, had loved her with so many fibers of his being. He had not expected to fall in love with Elizabeth after coming to Jack Thornton's old post, to look after his widow and his son after the accident, but it had happened. And it had led to Nathan's life being changed in a myriad of ways.

Mounties didn't settle down, so many people had told him. Raising Ally had forced that to change and truly, adopting his sister's daughter had brought Nathan so much joy and happiness. But after coming to Hope Valley, Elizabeth Thornton had made Nathan want to settle down even more. Buying Bill's land and building an incredible house on it. Taking Elizabeth as his wife. Raising Jack as his son all the while reminding him of his daddy, Constable Jack Thornton. These had been the images that Nathan had anticipated and dreamed about. Yet it was not to be.

Elizabeth courting Lucas Bouchard had definitely changed the town's dynamics. For weeks there had been the looks and the whispers. Everyone had expected the Teacher and the Mountie to find their way to each other. So instead, when it was the Teacher and the Saloon Owner, everyone talked. In those beginning months, when Elizabeth and Lucas walked arm in arm between the school and the saloon, inevitably eyes would wander over Nathan's way. There were the sympathetic sighs, yes, but also the conversations about how was he handling it? How could he see the woman who had clearly pursued him for so long with someone else? Nathan had been on the receiving end of a casserole or two, left on his doorstep, as if a family member had died.

Gradually the whispers and looks stopped, much to Nathan's joy. While the looks had been meant for him, Ally had witnessed them herself. His daughter had gone through her own stages of grieving. Her relationship with her teacher had been greatly affected and rightfully so. For a girl who had lacked a mother for most of her growing up years, Ally had seen that unfolding in Elizabeth. She had seen Nathan become so happy; she herself had become so happy. Nathan knew that Ally had gone to Elizabeth multiple times about the handling of the relationship and frankly, he could not blame her. She had to move on in her own way and time.

Just a few days earlier, Bill had asked Nathan if he had moved on. It had taken Nathan a while to answer and when he had, he was honest. He hadn't expected the relationship of Lucas and Elizabeth to be what Elizabeth had been searching for. He had thought the relationship would not stick and that instead, Elizabeth would discover how wrong she had been about both men in her life. But she hadn't. Six months later she was still with Lucas. She seemed happy though in fairness, Nathan could not be sure. He had put up boundaries with Elizabeth; he had had to, for his sake and for Ally's. Yes, he was always friendly to her when she passed along the street. They were cordial when talking about Ally's grades and projects at school. But that was as far as it went. It had to stop there; otherwise, it was not a fair situation to anyone, Lucas included.

Nathan had grieved the loss of the close friendship in Elizabeth. She had been there for him through many difficult situations, ranging from his dad's reappearance in his life to Ally's biological dad coming to town. She had gotten him to open up and for that, he would always be grateful. But her rejection of his love still stung. Time was still needed.

"Dad," a soft voice broke through Nathan's thoughts. "Are you alright if I join you?"

Nathan smiled up at Ally. He thought he had left home quietly, leaving his daughter to sleep in on the Saturday morning. Clearly that had not been the case.

"Of course Sweetheart," Nathan smiled, motioning to the chair beside him. "You know you never need to ask."

Ally's hands clutched the cup she had brought with her, Nathan knowing it to be hot tea with lemon, her favorite. "You seemed deep in thought when I walked up."

Nathan looked around Hope Valley once more. "I like to spend my mornings deep in thought. It's the only time I get to myself. Otherwise I'm being interrupted by you all the time."

"You were thinking about Mrs. Thornton, weren't you?" Ally knew her beloved Uncle Nathan all too well. "I saw Mr. Bouchard's car as I walked here. You always think about Mrs. Thornton when you see Mr. Bouchard."

"I was," Nathan said simply. "And I will for some time."

"It's hard for me to not hate her, Dad," Ally wiped a tear from her eye. "She hurt you so much. I thought we were going to be a family. And now, she's always with Mr. Bouchard and talking about her book tour…"

"I am going to stop you right there," Nathan turned to look at Ally. Putting down his coffee cup, he took Ally's hands in his. "Yes, Mrs. Thornton hurt you. She hurt me. I will never invalidate your feelings or mine. Like I told Judge Avery, I still have some healing to do. But I raised you better than to hate Mrs. Thornton. She made the choice she thought was best for her and for Jack. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. It was not me or you, Ally. And we both need to be okay with that."

"I know," Ally wiped another tear from her eye. "But you never got a fair chance, Dad. That is what hurts me the most."

"As Pastor Canfield says," Nathan remembered back to one of Joseph Canfield's previous sermons, "God works in mysterious ways. A lot of good has come out of us coming here to Hope Valley, even if we don't have a family with Mrs. Thornton and Jack."

Ally took a sip of her tea, taking in what Nathan had said. "I know. I just wonder what the year holds for us, Dad. For all of Hope Valley really."

Nathan reached over and kissed Ally's forehead. "You and me both, kiddo. You and me both."