Chapter 1 – Nashville

Elizabeth Thatcher – She was born into the wealthy side of life. Her family resided in New York City and they lived in a luxurious mansion. Her parents, William and Grace Thatcher, loved the power of money and status. Her father, William, was a stock broker worth millions. Her mother, Grace, stayed home and raised her three daughters, with the help of a nanny. Elizabeth's oldest sister, Violet, was married to a rich stock broker as well – William had set them up upon meeting the gentleman. Julie, Elizabeth's youngest sister, was a wild child, the black sheep of the family. She was always meeting some young guy at bars or at social events, thinking she was in love with them, then turning around and breaking it off with them. She always thought romance was out of story books and novels. Then there was Elizabeth Thatcher – She was a down to earth school teacher. She was very independent and strong-minded, but passionate and dedicated to teaching. Upon graduating from college, Elizabeth had secured a prestigious teaching job in New York City at the local elementary school teaching second grade. She loved her job and put all her time and energy into teaching.

Jack Thornton – He is a laid back country boy. His parents, Thomas and Charlotte Thornton, raised two boys in Nashville. Jack's father, Thomas, was sheriff in Nashville. Unfortunately for Jack's family, Thomas got killed in the line of duty and left Charlotte widowed with two young sons. This has a tremendous impact on Jack's upbringing and he decides at a young age to go into law enforcement like his father. Jack's younger brother, Tom, is a wild child. He is always getting into fights in bars and getting into trouble. As a law enforcement officer, Jack is a man of stout character and integrity, always finding himself protecting and saving people. Upon graduating from college, Jack finds himself as the sheriff in Nashville, swearing to help bring justice to the residents of Nashville and being all that he can be like his father, Thomas.

A few years out of college for both Jack and Elizabeth, Elizabeth had taken a trip with some girlfriends for the weekend down to Nashville. She hadn't been on a weekend trip in a long time and it was long overdue. She was having so much fun – They had gone to the Grand Ole Opry to hear some famous country singers, they had strolled down the strip in "NashVegas" as everyone calls it, dined at great restaurants and enjoyed their "night on the town".

The last night of their trip, Elizabeth and her friends had decided to stop at the Grand Ole Opry and see Ricky Skaggs perform before leaving the next day. After the show was over, they all went to a local bar and enjoyed their last time in NashVegas. They were having such a great time. Her friends had gotten completely drunk, but Elizabeth was their DD since she didn't drink. They were driving back to the hotel from the Grand Ole Opry when one of her friends sat up in the passenger side seat, grabbed the steering wheel and their car began swerving all over the road. Elizabeth tried to gain control of her friend and the steering wheel, finally overpowering her friend and pushing her off the steering wheel. But it was too late. Elizabeth looked in the rear view mirror to see blue lights flashing – She knew it was a cop. She pulled to the side of the road and took some deep breaths, her nerves getting the best of her. She kept a watch on the cop as he got out of his patrol car, shining his flashlight on the road below as he walked closer to her car. He came up on her side of the car and she rolled her window down. She was shaking with how nervous she was. The officer shined the flashlight in her face and then in the back of the car and the passenger side of the car at her friends who were passed out from their drunkenness. He asked Elizabeth for her license and registration and walked back to his patrol car. He ran the plates and her license and proceeded back to the driver of the car. He handed her license and registration back to her and asked her to step out of the car. He proceeded to ask her about why they were swerving all over the road. Elizabeth pleaded with the officer that she was the DD and that her friend had grabbed the steering wheel, causing the car to swerve. The officer decided to pull her friends from the car and ran a sobriety test on all of them. All of them failed except Elizabeth who had no alcohol in her system. The officer called for backup and placed her three friends in the back of his patrol car and the other officer's patrol car to send them back to the precinct. The officer released the rental car back to Elizabeth and informed her that she was free to go. Elizabeth was elated to be released but worried about her friends being arrested.

The next morning, Elizabeth and her friends were due to fly out of Nashville back to New York City. Their flight was at 11:15am. Elizabeth had awoken early to try and see if the police would release her friends so that they could make it back to New York City in time. Elizabeth drove down to the precinct and walked inside. She wasn't sure what she would say, but she would think of something to help her friends. She proceeded to the front desk, noticing the officer was drinking coffee and eating doughnuts. She laughed and thought to herself, "I guess it's true about police officers, doughnuts and coffee." The officer looked up from the newspaper and asked the lady at the desk what she needed. He told her she could see her friends, but not before she spoke to the sheriff about what had happened.

The officer led Elizabeth into the sheriff's office and shut the door. Elizabeth sat in a chair, waiting for the sheriff to come in. To say she was nervous was an understatement. She didn't know what was going to happen. She just wanted to get her friends out and make their flight back home. Elizabeth looked around the room. At first glance, she saw the name plate on the desk in front of her – SHERIFF JACK THORNTON. She looked at his desk near the computer and saw photos of a young man with his arm around an older lady. "I wonder if that's his mother," Elizabeth thought to herself. She continued looking around the room, noticing a bookshelf full of law enforcement procedure books, more photos on the walls, award plaques hanging on the walls and what looked like his college diploma. Elizabeth listened carefully and didn't hear anyone walking in the hallway, so she stood up and looked at the college degree diploma hanging on the wall beside of her chair.

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
HAVE ADMITTED
MR. JACK THOMAS THORNTON
TO THE DEGREE OF
MASTER'S DEGREE
CRIMINIAL JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
AND ALL THE HONORS, PRIVILEGES AND OBLIGATIONS BELONGING THERETO,
AND IN WITNESS THEREOF HAVE AUTHORIZED THE ISSUANCE OF
THIS DIPLOMA DULY SIGNED AND SEALED.
ISSUED IN THE HUNDRED AND TENTH YEAR OF VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
AT NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
ON THE EIGHTH DAY OF MAY, TWO THOUSAND AND TEN.

"Hmm… According to this, he graduated college in 2010 – the same year as I did. Can the sheriff of Nashville really be the same age as me?" Elizabeth thought to herself as she continued to look over the diploma on the wall.

Sheriff Thornton walked down the hall to his office, stopping once to retrieve two bottles of water out of the office fridge. One for him and one for the lady waiting in his office. He opened the door and noticed a young dark haired lady standing up looking at his college diploma hanging on the wall. He cleared his throat to gain her attention. The lady jumped; her eyes wide as she took in the sight before her. Jack on the other hand, was at a loss for words. The first moment he saw her, he knew it was love at first sight. She stood just below his height, had dark brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. His heart was beating rapidly as he continued to stand in the door way. A few seconds went by before he realized he hadn't introduced himself or said anything to the lady.

Jack placed the two bottles of water in one hand and held his other hand out to shake her hand. The lady reached out and shook his hand. The feeling of their hands touching had both of them wondering if this was "meant to be". Jack pulled back and cleared his throat. "Good morning. My name is Sheriff Jack Thornton of the Nashville Police Department. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but I was in a meeting and just got free." Jack walked to the seat in front of his desk and stretched his arm out to signal to Elizabeth to sit down. Elizabeth sat down and watched as Sheriff Thornton sat in his larger chair in front of her at his desk. He extended the second bottle of water out to her, which she graciously accepted.

"Now, it seems I need to speak to you regarding the incident last night with your three friends. I was looking over the file and it seems that your three friends were very intoxicated. You on the other hand were completely clean of alcohol. Would you care to explain how your friends got so drunk?" Jack placed the file down and folded his hands in front of him on his desk.

Elizabeth proceeded to tell Sheriff Thornton that they had been at the Grand Ole Opry to see Ricky Skaggs and then went to a local bar in the area for a few drinks. Since Elizabeth doesn't drink, she was the designated driver of the group. She informed Sheriff Thornton that upon driving back to their hotel, her friend had grabbed the steering wheel, causing them to swerve in the road. Then that's when the officer had pulled her over and arrested her three friends.

Jack hated to be harsh with her, but what he said next needed to be said. "Do you enjoy being around drunk people as your friends? I mean, you know what could have happened if you hadn't gained control of the vehicle, right?" Jack's face was serious and Elizabeth knew she had been in the wrong.

"Yes, I understand what would have happened. And I promise you that had I known that my friends would have been completely trashed by last night's end, I wouldn't have gone with them. I do try and stay away from this whole "drinking" thing, but my friends don't, as you can tell." Elizabeth continued to rub her hands together, signaling how nervous she was. She knew it wasn't in her best interest to hang out with this type of "crowd" and she knew upon getting home, she would talk to her friends and let them know she wouldn't be hanging out with them anymore if they continued to get drunk.

Jack and Elizabeth finished their conversation and Jack informed Elizabeth that her friends would have to stay behind for a few days to go to court to pay the fines associated with their arrests. "I want you to take my business card in case you need me for anything or have any questions about your friends. I am available Monday through Saturday from 9:00am to 4:00pm at my office phone or you may call my cell phone any other time. I hope you have enjoyed Nashville and haven't let this small detour get in the way of seeing what a great city this is. I hope we can expect you back some other time, of course, not in the local police office." Jack smiled at Elizabeth and extended his business card to her. He walked back to his office and shut the door behind him.

Elizabeth took his business card and smiled back. "Oh, those dimples. Keep it together Elizabeth!" Elizabeth looked at the clock – 9:04 AM. She knew she had time to make her flight at 11:15 AM back home to New York City. She left the police office and headed back to her hotel to pack for her trip home. So many emotions were coming out on the drive back to her hotel that she didn't know where they were coming from.

Three hours later, Elizabeth was finally home at her apartment in New York City. She threw her bag by the door and sat down on the couch to take in everything that happened over the weekend. She heard her phone beep and looked at it. She had missed a call from her parents. "Ugh. My parents. I don't want to talk to them now. They probably know what happened already," Elizabeth thought as she chose the number on her phone and listened to the ring tone.

"Elizabeth! We were so worried about you! What happened in Nashville?" Elizabeth's mother said as soon as she answered the phone. Elizabeth took a deep breath and told her mother what had happened. She knew that her mother knew she was never one to look for trouble. "Well, thank goodness nothing drastic happened! I do hope that your friends will get home soon. And I agree with the Sheriff, I would steer clear of them when they get back – Just let them know how you feel and that you don't feel comfortable being around them. I'm sure they will understand dear." Elizabeth continued to talk to her mother for about fifteen minutes after that, telling her of which famous singers they had saw while in Nashville and her wonderful time at the Grand Ole Opry. She ended the call telling her mother that she would call her later in the week and that she would stop by their house that weekend to spend time with them.

Elizabeth spent the next few months looking over her life and making different changes with her friends, her status in the community and the way she upheld her life. She knew being a teacher, she was always in the watchful eye of the school system and she didn't want anything bad to be associated with her, even if she wasn't one to party or drink. She knew just being around those people meant bad things, so she had informed her friends that she no longer wished to hang out with them. She had also decided to move to Nashville, as the city had a large impact on her while she was visiting. She loved how carefree it was and how exciting the city was to her. She hated to give up her perfect teaching job and her wonderful students, but she knew making this change and being away from her old life in New York City would be a wonderful change for the good.