Hearts United
It is amazing really, how tragedies can do so much damage and yet when all seems the most dark, the dawn comes and those struck down emerge, stronger than ever. I have seen the people of this town suffer so much since my coming here, and while I thought I could never persevere like they did, I have. I thought I would never be brave enough or strong enough to stand by the side of the man that I love, but with everything that has been thrown at us, especially most recently, I know now that I am stronger and braver than I thought I ever could be. And while I don't exactly encourage tragedy of any kind, I know now that all of our life experiences, good and bad, shape us and make us who we are.
Elizabeth set down her pen, sighing as she gazed out the window at the morning mist rolling across the meadow. She wrapped her shawl around her shoulders and took another sip of tea, savoring the hot elixir as the cup warmed her hands, still chilled from the night before. On the desk next to her journal were two bouquets of flowers, both nearly identical except for size. The smaller bouquet was in a vase that Cody had given her and a vase from Abigail held the larger bouquet. She brought her nose to the latter and inhaled deeply as she closed her eyes. The memory of the wedding the day before was still as fresh in her mind as the blooms before her, and she smiled as she remembered it.
As she stepped out into the early afternoon sunshine, Elizabeth Thatcher looked down at the pair of bouquets in her hands, her cheeks flushing pink as she realized the meaning of what had just happened. She looked up at Jack, handsome as ever in his blue suit as he gave her a playful nudge.
"So, this bouquet that you caught – tell me what that means again?" Jack smiled mischievously as they walked out of the church.
Wrinkling her nose and widening her eyes, she nudged him back, "I think it means that my house is going to smell wonderful for the next week, unless your mother is allergic to flowers."
Jack squeezed her hand, pondering the small wooden box in the bottom drawer of his desk back the jail. After his near death experience, he was more determined than ever to move forward with his plans to start a life with the woman he loved. Prior to the accident, his plan had been to build a house on his land first, to make sure he could provide the home and life that Elizabeth deserved. Then, as he fell from his horse a few weeks ago and rolled down the hillside to the river below, his life had flashed before his eyes as he landed in the cold muddy water and the world around him went black. He had recalled his childhood, his years courting and being left by Rosemary, and then his being assigned to Coal Valley. The moment he had met Elizabeth, the moment he had kissed her for the first time, the moment he had told her that he loved her – all flashed with increasing clarity in his subconscious mind as the water from the raging river washed him downstream. Little did he know that the love of his life would also be his savior. Jack could still remember the words of his beloved Elizabeth, echoing to him as through a cavern while his consciousness slowly returned.
"Do you remember our New Years resolution? To be patient, to be kind, to not rush…. But to take our time"
As his eyes fluttered open, he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and ask her to be his wife at that moment. However, as willing as his heart was, his body and mind were still weak. Only strong enough to utter a few words to Elizabeth,
"I'm not… Not to take too much time…"
The sound of her voice saying his name then, the feel of her skin against his as she embraced him, wiped any plans of a proposal from his mind. He wanted the moment to be perfect. Elizabeth deserved that for all that she had been through. Well, at least as perfect as could be expected in this town where things didn't always go as planned.
Charlotte's voice woke Jack from his reverie, "No, I'm not allergic to flowers," she replied as she drew closer, "although maybe you should give some of them to Jack. It might cover up the smell of that dog of his."
"Mom…" Jack shot his mother a sideways glance.
"There's that sass again," Charlotte shook her head.
"Elizabeth!" Abigail called to her friend, "could you come help me at the café? I have all of the food prepared, but I just need help bringing it to the saloon."
"I can help too if you need it," Jack offered.
"No, it's not necessary. Besides, you have your duties as Best Man."
"I thought that was limited to standing next to Lee and giving him the rings," Jack replied.
"No," Charlotte interrupted, "you need to…um… prepare the carriage for Lee and Rosemary. For their honeymoon."
"But they don't leave until tomorrow," Jack replied.
"All the more reason to get started now. You know how Rosemary is – she may have been satisfied with a smaller wedding, but she likes to make a grand entrance," Charlotte explained.
"And an even grander exit," Abigail added with a smile.
Jack looked at the three women and knew there was more to their request than they were letting on. He shrugged his shoulders. "All right then. Elizabeth, I'll see you at dinner," he reached out and took her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it before flashing a smile at her.
Elizabeth blushed as she watched Jack walk away towards town.
"So…" Abigail and Charlotte both said as they looked at the two bouquets in Elizabeth's hands. She smiled back, and Charlotte added, "Maybe now that son of mine will finally pop the question!"
"Charlotte!" Elizabeth exclaimed, her face flushing a bright crimson.
"She's right," Abigail added, "After what happened he would be crazy not to propose to you. Didn't you tell us that he said himself he didn't want to take too much more time?"
"Well yes, but…" Elizabeth trailed off as she adjusted the two bouquets in her arms.
"I could see the way he was looking at you during the wedding," Abigail said as the three ladies started walking towards the café, "another one can't be far away!"
Jack shook his head as he headed into town. He knew that his mother was trying to get rid of him so she and Abigail could talk to Elizabeth. Subtlety had never been his mother's strong suit. No matter though, he actually appreciated what she had done. It gave him a chance to go to the jail and get something for later. His heart started racing as he pondered his plans for later that evening. A moonlit night, the sound of crickets chirping around the lake, and the woman he loved – the woman he wanted to become his wife. All he needed was to get the ring and to keep calm enough through the wedding dinner and dance. It wouldn't be easy, but he was Jack Thornton. He liked a challenge.
After reciting his question once more in front of the mirror, Jack pulled out his pocket watch to see that it was nearly time for the reception to begin. Giving Rip a pat on the head, he straightened his tie and left the jail, heading towards the café to get Elizabeth.
Opening the door, he was greeted by Abigail and Charlotte.
"Elizabeth went back to the row house," Abigail said, "she spilled some punch on her dress while we were carrying it to the saloon."
"All right," Jack nodded, "Thank you. I'll see you there."
It was a short walk to the row houses, and once he reached them, he stepped up to the door of the first one and knocked. There was no answer, but he could see a lantern lit inside, so he opened the door and entered.
"Elizabeth?" he called, glancing around the inside of the row house. He saw the two bouquets in vases on her desk, but she was nowhere to be found.
"I'm upstairs," Elizabeth replied, "I spilled some punch on my dress, so I decided to come back here and change, and to put my bouquets in some water. I'll be downstairs in just a minute."
Jack looked again at the two bouquets of flowers on her desk. Her journal was open between them and he resisted the urge to take a quick glance at the words she had written.
Just then, Elizabeth began to descend the stairs. She was an absolute vision; clothed in the same dress she had worn a year and a half earlier for their first formal dinner together. For a moment, he couldn't speak. After all of this time, she still took his breath away. All that was needed was a smile to convey the words in their hearts. He offered his arm to her and the two left and headed towards the saloon.
"Pulchra es," Jack whispered as the door shut behind them.
Elizabeth blushed at his Latin proclamation of her beauty, wrapping her shawl over her shoulders. "Thank you," she replied, pausing to give him a quick kiss on his cheek.
They walked on in companionable silence, enjoying each other's company as the sun began to set, orange light filtering through the changing leaves on the trees around them. After several minutes, just as the darkness started to close in around the happy couple, they broke through the copse of trees and the lights of the town beckoned them.
"Wow – the kids really outdid themselves," Jack smiled as they approached the saloon. There were paper flowers and ribbon tacked to the doors, and as they entered, they were greeted with even more flowers and ribbon hanging from the ceiling, all in shades of green, pink and purple to coordinate with the wedding colors.
"Yes, they did," Elizabeth replied as she squeezed Jacks arm.
The rest of the wedding guests began to fill the saloon and once inside they all turned towards the door to welcome the newly married couple as they made their grand entrance. After a simple dinner, the band then began to play and Rosemary and Lee shared their first dance as man and wife to "Let me Call you Sweetheart". Elizabeth swayed slowly to the music as she watched them glide across the floor. Despite her first opinion of Rosemary when she first came to town, Elizabeth was very happy now to call the woman her friend, especially now that she wasn't chasing after Jack anymore. Truly though, she was glad that Rosemary had found love and wished her and Lee a lifetime of happiness together.
As the song ended, Jack stepped out in front of Elizabeth and offered a hand to her, "May I have this dance?"
"Yes, that would be delightful," Elizabeth smiled as she took his hand and the two moved out onto the dance floor with the other couples.
After an hour of dancing, Elizabeth sat down at a table to drink some lemonade and rest her feet. Looking at the grandfather clock in the corner, she saw that it was almost nine o'clock. Stifling a yawn, she stood and picked up her shawl, smiling at her friends while she looked through the crowd to find Jack. After being asked to dance by three of her students, which she gracefully declined, she spotted Jack talking to Lee and Rosemary. As she walked closer to them, Lee tipped his head in Elizabeth's direction and gave Jack a pat on the back before turning back to his wife.
"Lee, Rosemary," Elizabeth began, "thank you so much for making me a part of your wedding. I wish I could stay longer, but it has been a long day and I'm getting tired."
"Oh, that's perfectly fine, Elizabeth," Rosemary replied, "I understand, you need your sleep so you can be wide awake tomorrow to enrich all of those eager young minds!"
"Well, it has been more challenging to teach since the flood," Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, clearing her throat. Rosemary blushed slightly as she remembered her promise of a circus to the children. Hopefully Lee would not be angry about her request.
"Goodbye Rosemary. Goodbye Lee," she gave each of them a hug and then turned towards Jack.
"Jack, can you walk me home?"
"I was just about to ask you to take a walk with me," Jack replied. "Do you mind if we take the scenic route?"
"Well, not too scenic. I am tired and my feet hurt a little from all of that dancing," Elizabeth wrapped the shawl around her shoulders as Jack opened the door to the saloon and led them out into the cool evening air. Hints of the crisp air of fall and winter were starting to make their way into the evenings as the days grew shorter. Before long, it would be Thanksgiving, then Christmas and New Year's again!
Jack led them both to the lake, where a fine mist was settling on the still waters. A few crickets chirped in the distance and the moon slowly appeared from behind a cloud, casting a silver glow on the scene before them. They walked around the pond and came to a stop on the pier next to the church. Elizabeth shivered and Jack instinctively removed his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, rubbing her arms to warm them.
"Elizabeth," Jack began, "I never did get a chance to properly thank you for, well…"
"For saving your life?" Elizabeth smiled.
"Yeah," he grinned, "I guess it goes to show that you're a lot braver than you thought you were. I heard that you were the one who led the search party. If it hadn't been for you…"
"Don't, Jack," Elizabeth reached and put her hand on his shoulder, "I did what I had to do."
"Well, thank you," Jack replied, then took a deep breath as he gazed into her eyes, "I don't know what I'd do without you, Elizabeth. I know things haven't been easy for us, but the fact that we've made it through them, it means that we really were meant to be together."
He swallowed and looked down, reaching into his pocket. Elizabeth followed his gaze and caught some movement behind him.
"Eeek!" Elizabeth exclaimed as a large mouse began to scurry towards them.
"Wha?" Jack released the ring back into his pocket and spun around. He didn't see anything. What could she be screaming about? He looked down then and saw a mouse crawl between his legs and towards Elizabeth.
"EEEEEK!" Elizabeth screamed as she jumped into Jack's arms.
Crrrrreaaakkk….. One of the boards that they were standing on let out a groan and before they could react, it snapped in two, causing both of them to plunge into the icy waters with a loud splash.
"Jack!" Elizabeth splashed about, billows of silk rising around her, "Goodness this water is cold!"
"Here, take my hand," Jack reached over as he stood slowly in the shallows of the pond. Thank goodness it was a short pier they had been on.
Elizabeth struggled to get her footing, her dancing shoes slipping on the bottom of the pond. She felt something brush against her leg and her eyes widened in horror.
"Jack..."she drew out his name cautiously, "please tell me that was your foot that just touched my leg."
"Um, no," Jack replied "that was probably a fish, or a frog. Cody caught a frog right before the wedding started, but he threw it in the pond before anyone could notice."
Elizabeth's eyes widened again as she made another attempt to stand, "there it is again!" she exclaimed, "Jack, help me out of here!"
His footing now stable, he reached over one more time to take Elizabeth's hand.
"Here, just reach this way, just a little further..." he stretched out his arm and almost had it when great bubble of silk popped up and caught him off guard, making him fall back into the cold water again.
Both Jack and Elizabeth paused them, looking at themselves, then each other, before they simultaneously burst out laughing.
Jack made his way over to her and helped her out of the pond. So much for a proposal tonight, he thought to himself. They both needed to dry off, so they headed towards the church, where there were blankets and a stove to help warm them.
Within minutes, Jack had a fire going in the stove and warm blankets wrapped around him and Elizabeth. They looked at each other, hair dripping onto the church pew, and started laughing again.
"We make quite the pair, don't we," Elizabeth chuckled.
"Yes we do," Jack replied, "And now you can add swimming to your list of frontier activities."
Elizabeth playfully nudged Jack as she wrinkled her nose. "I'd hardly call that swimming. The water was only two feet deep."
She then leaned onto his shoulder as he rubbed her arm to warm it.
"You know, I realized something earlier this evening as we were dancing in the saloon,"
"Yes?" Jack sighed as he held Elizabeth close.
"Today marks exactly two years since you came here."
"Really?" Jack pondered, "Why yes, I suppose you're right. Two years. It certainly feels like longer."
"It feels like a lifetime ago that I was on my way here from Hamilton, full of hope and big ideas to shape the minds of the children of Coal Valley."
"I'd say you succeeded," Jack turned his head towards her, "and you've changed more than just the children."
"You mean, the name of the town?"
"That too," Jack smiled.
He knew now that this was the moment he was waiting for. There was no moonlight or crickets, but somehow, it just felt right to him. Sitting up taller, he picked up Elizabeth's hands in his own and looked into her eyes. He felt a lump form in his throat and swallowed. Looking into those blue pools, he could see his own future laid out before him. A future waking up next to the woman he loved every morning for the next sixty, maybe seventy years, watching their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren grow, all while his love for her grew stronger every day.
"Elizabeth," Jack said, "Do you remember that day when we shared some secrets with each other about the day we met?"
She nodded, urging him to continue.
"I have another secret to share with you. Actually, the same one. The day I met you, I thought you were more than just attractive. I knew then and there that we were meant to be together."
Elizabeth smiled and nodded, squeezing his hands in agreement, "Me too."
"I know I told you early in our courtship that Mounties don't marry. That if they wanted us to have a wife, they would have issued us one."
Elizabeth turned her gaze downwards, but Jack lifted her chin with one of his fingers and smiled as he gazed into her eyes once more. His heart was racing and he knew that he had to get these words out soon before the moment was lost.
"But I don't care about that. All I care about is that I want to spend the rest of my life with you at my side, facing the hardships of this frontier life together. Raising a family together," Jack quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ruby ring.
Elizabeth's eyes grew wide as Jack got down on one knee next to her, the blanket falling off of his shoulders. His hands shook as he took her left hand in his right.
"Elizabeth Thatcher, will you marry me?"
Tears started to pool in the corners of Elizabeth's eyes as she looked into the eyes of her beloved, kneeling before her in the soft glow of the fire, holding a small ruby ring that sparkled in the glow of the flickering flames.
"Yes," she replied softly, "yes, I will marry you."
Jack slipped the ring on her finger, and lifting his hands to her face, pulled her towards him in a passionate kiss. They paused as Jack wiped the tears from Elizabeth's face, and then kissed again. After a few minutes they pulled apart, smiled and sat back on the church pew. Elizabeth held out her left hand and admired the ring on it as he leaned into Jack. It wasn't nearly as elaborate as the one Charles had offered her a year before, but that didn't matter. This ring, as red as the jacket he had been wearing when they had first met, meant more to her than any ring in the world. It meant that she would soon be marrying the love of her life, her soul mate, Jack Thornton.
Disclaimer: Elizabeth Thatcher, Jack Thornton, and the rest of the characters in this story are not property of me. The Hallmark Channel/Crown Media, Believe Pictures, and Motion Picture Corporation of America own these characters. Many thanks to Janette Oke, Michael Landon, Jr., Brian Bird and all of the creative writers and cast of When Calls the Heart for giving me such wonderfully developed characters to work with for my story. I hope you enjoy it.