When Calls the Heart Season 12 Episode 10: Through the Valley

At the schoolhouse Cooper and Toby present their comic book project to Mrs. Thornton and the other students, and Elizabeth asks them to think about how their projects might make a difference in their community. She dismisses the class for lunch and speaks with Emily, who says that she cannot find anything to do her project on. Elizabeth mentions the hazelnut farm and asks whether she and Emily can go there together and think of something.

Nathan comes to have lunch with Elizabeth at the schoolhouse and reveals that he has been promoted to Chief Constable; Elizabeth congratulates him, but he says that it is just a change in title and not much else. Elizabeth tells him that she is worried about Little Jack because he fell asleep in class, and Nathan wonders whether he is coming down with something.

Edie visits Lucas as he is reviewing his jury summons, because he is being sued by the ranchers for the park. Edie tells him that she no longer represents AJ McGinty and that she has three days to pay her debt in their long-standing loan or the Martel ranch is his. Rosemary catches up to Bill in town and peppers him with questions about the Garrisons and their gold.

Georgie comes out of the Mountie office and meets Rosemary, who praises Inspector McGill's question trickery with Sonny that she heard about through Bill; McGill is not pleased to hear that a journalist knows classified case information. Rosemary admonishes Bill for cutting her out just as the case is getting good and reminds him that they are a team, and Bill promises her that she will know what he knows when he knows it before leaving to join McGill.

Lucas shows Lee and Nathan the summons and tells them that he wants to go up to McGinty's and speak to him. Nathan asks to go with Lucas to help keep things civil, and Lucas agrees. Emily shows Mrs. Thornton around the hazelnut farms as they look for ideas for Emily's final project, and Henry shares Emily's idea of repurposing Lee's old sawdust onto the roots of the trees to protect against frost. Elizabeth says that the idea is making a difference in their community and could be good for Emily's school project.

As Mei and Mike bake in the café's kitchen they discuss the Hickam family's butter tarts recipe and Mei's grandmother's moon cake recipe, and recall that these were made every fall for the harvest festival. They decide to make both for their own fall welcome dinner, and Minnie and Molly say that they can bake something too; Mike says that he was hoping for something smaller and just between Mei and himself, but they decide to throw a harvest festival for the town and have their own gathering the night before.

Nathan and Lucas ride their horses to meet Mr. McGinty on his land about the lawsuit. McGinty asks Constable Grant to place a restraining order on Lucas and Edie once he re-claims the Martel land. Lucas gets riled up but Nathan restrains him, and McGinty mentions Allie's trespassing on his land and says that it comes with a hefty fine of $25; Nathan does not believe him and Lucas has to restrain him. AJ leaves and tells them to get off his land. Nathan questions Allie at their house about her trespassing, and she says that it was all on her and that she will pay the fine to make it right.

Mike and Mei look for special ingredients for their moon cakes at the mercantile, and Florence overhears and mentions that Molly spread the word that they are hosting a harvest festival and that everyone should bake their favourite fall treat; they finally decide to do a full-on hazelnut harvest togetherness festival for all.

At Elizabeth's, she tells Little Jack that Nathan thought they could go riding that weekend. Jack says that Cooper and Toby invited him to play baseball with them, and that he would like to do that but does not want to hurt Mountie Nathan's feelings. At the mercantile Emily picks up a book on the uses of sawdust that she ordered for her school project, and Florence mentions that she can turn her mind for business into a career instead of going to college and that college applications went out yesterday.

Inspector McGill and Bill visit Woody Garrison in prison. McGill mentions that Sonny is willing to make a deal and speak about Woody's involvement in the 1907 robbery. Woody says that he was only the lookout, and Bill tells him that he has admitted to being an accessory to a crime. They ask where the gold is, but Woody says that he does not know and that only Jake knew. Allie comes to Elizabeth's and explains how her wolf project is causing issues with the park and her dad.

Elizabeth tells Allie that it is important to take responsibility for the trespassing, but that she did not cause any damage, and says that she and Allie should go and speak with Nathan and that they will find a way to pay the fine.

At the café Rosemary speaks with Mike about being a soloist in the choir, and he theatrically sings “Hallelujah!” until she tells him to stop. Rosemary asks Mike whether he overheard anything from Woody about where the gold might be, but Mike does not know. Minnie sits with Rosemary as Mike grabs tea for them, and Rosemary shares how she does not like being boxed out of the Garrison gold case by Bill and Inspector McGill; Minnie encourages Rosemary to continue investigating it herself, independent of them.

At Nathan's office Elizabeth apologises because she believes her assignment led to Allie's trespassing. Allie says that she knew she should not have trespassed and Nathan agrees with Allie, and Oliver chimes in that it was him too. Oliver tells them that McGinty is using the trespassing to cover up a bigger crime, and that naturally-felled trees are not what caused the alternate pasture to be blocked and unusable — he says he can prove that ash trees were chopped down from Mr. Coulter's property and brought to this pasture to block the other route.

Oliver also states that the Mountie handbook says trespassing is allowed if it is in pursuit of a crime.

Bill enters the paper office looking for Lee as Rosemary works. She says that he will be back soon and that he is free to wait, and continues to type loudly. Bill mentions Georgie, and Rosemary recites a list of facts about McGill, saying that she is capable of doing her own research. Bill apologises for pushing Rosemary out, but says that they needed to interrogate Woody. Lee enters and Rosemary says that she has a lot to do before she departs.

Bill asks Lee whether he has ever done business with McGinty, and Lee says that he does not trust him; Bill tells him that they believe McGinty is stealing Lee's trees.

Emily comes to speak with Mrs. Thornton and relays that she missed the deadline to apply for teacher's college. Elizabeth thinks that they can contact the school to see whether they can make an exception, and sensing hesitation asks Emily what it is that excites her about teaching. Emily says that she does not even know whether she likes children and that she thinks she just wanted to be like Mrs. Thornton. Elizabeth hugs her and tells her how her own family had a different plan for her, but that she followed her heart and ended up here.

She notes that Emily has a mind for business and suggests that Emily assist some of the businesses in town to see how they work and to come up with her own ideas. Emily says that sounds interesting but that she feels embarrassed that she is changing her mind, and Elizabeth assures her that following her own heart is not embarrassing but exciting.

AJ McGinty meets Bill at his office, where Henry is present and says that he is “just observing.” Bill presents a piece of ash tree wood and asks McGinty whether it means anything to him, since there are stacks of it blocking the old pasture. McGinty says that he does not know why anyone would do that, and Henry chimes in that they can drag this out if he wants, but that the jig is up. McGinty says that he will take the kids down with him if they try to touch him. Lee enters, and Bill tells him that he has the right to press charges against AJ McGinty since he stole from Coulter Lumber.

Lee says that he will not, as long as McGinty, Bill and Henry can come up with a deal: they want the trespassing charges, McGinty's loans and the foreclosure of the Martel ranch all to go away, with the promise that McGinty can walk away. Bill presents the offer to McGinty to sign.

At the saloon Joseph introduces the first-ever Hazelnut Harvest Festival and everyone applauds while seated at their tables. Mei thanks Mike for getting talked into a large gathering bigger than just the two of them, and Mike says that he was looking for a more private moment to surprise her with something: a brochure for Niagara Falls. He asks whether she wants to give their honeymoon a second chance. Allie tells Nathan that it is hard to celebrate when there is so much to worry about, and Nathan apologises for his role in the McGinty situation and they hug.

Bill joins them at their table and tells Allie that all charges have been dropped and that she is in the clear, due to Oliver's evidence, and Elizabeth notes that justice always wins out.

Georgie says hello to Rosemary and her family at the festival dinner. She thanks Rosemary for her help with the Garrison gold case, says that she has heard about her contributions through Bill, compliments her work in creating the DeMarco character, and says that they would not have got to where they did in the case without her. Rosemary asks whether she can quote her on that. Outside of the saloon Nathan gives Little Jack his old baseball glove from when he was a kid and tells Jack that he thought they could play catch.

Little Jack runs off with the glove to show the other boys, and Elizabeth tells Nathan that Little Jack is clearly very comfortable with him.

Outside of the saloon Inspector McGill tells Bill that she has to give Hargraves a rundown of the case and thinks that he should come with her, but Bill says that he cannot go. Georgie says that Bill always respected women and that it is part of the reason she always felt the way she did and does, and Bill kisses her. Georgie says goodnight and leaves in a taxi. Rosemary approaches Bill and tells him that he is in love with Georgie, and he tells her that maybe she is right.

Rosemary says that they are going to need to solve the case so that Bill can impress Georgie, and then she will come back to Hope Valley and he can see her again.

The next day, as they walk in town, Rosemary fills Elizabeth in on Bill and Georgie. Some of the boys run up and tell Elizabeth, Rosemary and Nathan that Little Jack has disappeared: they were playing baseball and Little Jack went into the woods to look for the ball, and they have not been able to find him. Rosemary gets Lee and all the adults begin looking for Jack in town, at the stables and in the fields. Finally Nathan emerges from the woods holding a limp, unconscious Jack, and he and Elizabeth rush Jack to the infirmary.

At the doctor's office Jack is conscious again and feeling better. Faith says that it could be dehydration, and Elizabeth notes that he has been drinking a lot of water lately. Faith says that she should know the other test results later that evening and will let Elizabeth know. Once they leave, Faith tells Mei that her best guesses are dehydration or diabetes, but that they need to get the samples to Buxton, and Mei says that she can go.

Elizabeth asks Little Jack back at the house whether there was anything else he was feeling when he went to look for the ball in the woods, and he tells her that sometimes he gets a little dizzy and that it is scary; she hugs him. On a phone call, Faith learns the results of Little Jack's tests and says, “Oh, no.” Faith goes to Elizabeth's house that evening and tells Elizabeth and Nathan the news that Little Jack has diabetes. Elizabeth notes that there is no cure for diabetes, which Dr. Carter corroborates.

The episode ends on the diagnosis. Little Jack has already been found unconscious in the woods and brought to the infirmary, and Faith has already told Mei that her best guesses are dehydration or diabetes while the samples go to Buxton. Faith takes the results by telephone, says “Oh, no,” and comes to Elizabeth's house that evening to tell Elizabeth and Nathan that Little Jack has diabetes. Elizabeth states that there is no cure for diabetes, and the episode has Dr. Carter corroborate it. That is where the hour ends — there is no treatment shown, and no plan is made.

The land dispute is resolved on the record. McGinty is confronted with the ash wood from Coulter Lumber, threatens to take the children down with him, and then signs a settlement in which the trespassing charges, his loans to the ranchers and the foreclosure of the Martel ranch all go away. Bill tells Allie directly that all charges have been dropped because of Oliver's evidence. The episode does not show the loans being formally discharged or the ranch's title being cleared, so the settlement is signed rather than executed.

What remains unresolved or unconfirmed: the Garrison gold is still missing. Woody tells Bill and Inspector McGill that he was only the lookout and that only Jake knew where it went, and the episode adds nothing further — the question is carried into Episode 12. Inspector McGill leaves Hope Valley in a taxi and the status of her relationship with Bill is not settled, though Rosemary states that they need to close the case so that Bill can impress her. Emily's plan to work with local businesses is agreed in principle and not started. Nathan's promotion is mentioned once and not shown affecting anything. Elizabeth's curriculum has not yet reached the education conference.