Chapter 1 – Remembering the Past

A man and a woman walking through the airport both unaware of each other's presence. At last, they ran into each other and both couldn't be more thrilled.

"Elizabeth?" Jack spoke as he was in line to purchase a plane ticket. The lady ahead of him in line looked familiar but he wasn't sure if it was her or not.

Elizabeth quickly turned around at the mention of her name. She knew the sound of that voice, but could it be him? It was. It was Jack Thornton. She smiled as she walked back towards him in line, letting a few people in front of her.

"Hey Jack! It's good to see you!" Elizabeth spoke as she stopped a few feet away from him.

"How have you been?" Jack spoke, smiling as he asked how she was doing. Elizabeth saw his dimples and smiled back at him, unable to hid that she still cared for him, no matter how long it had been since they'd seen each other last.

"Doing good. I was just purchasing a plane ticket to go see my sister Viola, her husband and their new baby. She's living in London now. What about you? Still working for the police department?" Elizabeth asked as she was wondering how he was doing now after all those years of being apart.

"Doing well. And yeah, I still work for the police department. I recently got promoted to Chief of Police here about six months ago. It keeps me busy, but I don't spend as much time on the streets as I did before as an officer. I'm glad to hear Viola is doing well too. And London? Wow!"

Elizabeth laughed at Jack's comment about London. He knew her family came from wealth, but with Elizabeth, you wouldn't even know it. She was a simple girl who enjoyed the simple things in life. That's what he liked about her the most.

Both went silent for a few seconds before Jack spoke again.

"Hey Elizabeth, isn't that the song we used to sing in the car when we drove around town in high school?" Jack smiled, thinking back to those times, as the song played around them.

Elizabeth smiled back, hearing the song overhead of them in the airport. It was the song they used to sing to in high school. She missed those times with him.

"Hey, can we step over here and talk?" Jack pointed to a small café that served coffee and the two walked over. Jack went to the counter to order as Elizabeth took her seat at a table close by. Soon, Jack came over with their coffee and she was surprised. Jack sat the coffee down in front of her. "Vanilla iced coffee, hot, with a shot of espresso and two scoops of sugar – Is that still what you order?" Elizabeth looked up and a smile came across her face. "That's exactly right! You still remember what I order after all these years?" Elizabeth looked down, unsure of what happened between them all those years ago. Jack could sense the sadness and quickly changed the subject.

"So, someone told me that after college you went to Vegas and married a rodeo cowboy? What's up with that? That's not like you." Jack hoped it wasn't true, as it didn't sound like her at all.

Elizabeth laughed and looked over at the tables across from them, taking a few seconds to respond.

"Honestly, some of it is true." Elizabeth looked down at her coffee, lost for a few seconds in her thoughts.

Jack felt like a knife had been stabbed in his chest. He figured it was just a rumor, that she wasn't married and that it probably wasn't true. Now that he knew it was true, he felt like all the air had been taken out of his lungs.

"Oh." Jack said as he looked down at his coffee as well, unable to figure out what to say next.

"Jack, it's not like that. I was in Vegas with a few friends from college and we decided to check out one of the casinos. A few hours later, I was a little bit drunk and this guy came up and started talking to me, telling me he was a rodeo cowboy. Before I knew it, my friends talked us into getting married and we ended up at a small chapel on the Vegas strip. We were right in the middle of saying "I do" when I finally came to my senses and told him I was sorry, but that I couldn't marry a guy I didn't know. He was a little bit drunk too, so he wasn't too upset when I walked away. Right then and there, I decided I wouldn't drink again. I mean, could you imagine if I would have gotten married to him? A guy I didn't know? No thanks, ha!"

Jack felt like he had been holding his breath the entire time she told him the story. Once she was done talking, he must have took a deep breath because he could feel his lungs feel with air.

"What about you Jack? Did you ever settle down with someone?" Elizabeth was silently hoping he hadn't.

"There was one girl who I was involved with, but nothing ever happened. She wanted something more serious and I wasn't looking for that just yet, especially with my job and all that. We've been broke up for about a year and a half now. I've just been enjoying the single life with my dog, Rip. He's a basset hound and keeps me company."

Elizabeth's heart soared. He wasn't seeing anyone and he wasn't married either. The smile returned to her face as her and Jack continued discussing their lives over coffee.

Before they knew it, it was time to part ways and travel to their separate destinations. They both walked over and got in line to purchase their airline tickets. Elizabeth was flying to London to see Viola and her family and Jack was flying to Dallas to check on some business for work. Both had purchased their tickets and knew the time to depart from each other was now.

"Well, it's been nice catching up with you Jack. I enjoyed the coffee and I hope I'll see you around again soon." Elizabeth said as she reached out and embraced Jack in a hug. The scent of his cologne bringing back memories. Memories that she didn't want to forget or let go and was punishing herself inside for letting him go all those years ago.

"I enjoyed it too Elizabeth. Tell Viola and her family hi from me. Have a good flight." Jack said as he stepped back and ended the hug, though he secretly didn't want to let her go.

Both departed from each other and went their separate ways to the airport check-in for their flights.

Jack got to his check-in for his flight and sat down, as he had about a 10 minute wait until he could board. All he could think about was Elizabeth. Her beauty, her smile, her scent of lavender, how he didn't want to let her go. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't stop thinking about her. He hadn't seen her in all those years and seeing her brought back memories that he had forgotten. Memories that he enjoyed.

Then he decided. He needed to find her and let her know how he felt. They had let each other go before in years past and he wasn't going to make the same decision again.

Jack took off running back from where he came, scanning the lines at each check-in for anything that said London on the sign. Running as fast as he could without running into anyone, he finally arrived at the gate marked London. He ran up to the check-in counter and asked if it had boarded yet. His heart sunk as the lady typed on a few keys and informed Jack that the plane had already boarded and was just getting ready for takeoff. Jack had to think quickly. How could he stop the plane and tell Elizabeth how he felt if it has already boarded for takeoff?

Then he realized. He grabbed his badge out of his carryon and flashed it in front of the lady. Being Chief of Police in the big city had its advantages and this was one of them. The lady quickly grabbed the radio and informed the captain to hold off on takeoff, as there was a police officer here at the check-in counter that needed to board.

Jack ran down the hallway to the entrance to the plane where the passengers boarded, waiting for the door to open. The door slowly opened and he made his way on the plane, scanning over the passengers looking for her.

A flight attendant came over to him, asking why he had stopped the plane from taking off, as the captain was wanting to take off as soon as possible to avoid any disruptions and to avoid any angry passengers. Jack informed the flight attendant that he was looking for a certain passenger, but that he didn't see her on the plane.

"Let me pull up the boarding database and see where she is sitting. Do you have her name?"

"Yes, it's Elizabeth Thatcher." Jack waited for what seemed like eternity before the flight attendant smiled and informed him that she was sitting in first class. The flight attendant showed him to first class and in front of him a few seats, there she sat.

He took a deep breath and thanked the flight attendant for helping him. He took a few strides ahead of him and came to the back of the chair that she was sitting in. She was reading a magazine and unaware of him standing behind him. But that would change soon.

"Elizabeth…"

TO BE CONTINUED #HEARTIES! WHAT DID YOU THINK SO FAR? MAKE SURE TO LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU ENJOYED MY NEW STORY!