Chapter 3

Their walk to town took three times as long as normal because they kept stopping and kissing along the way. The air was still frigid in the early spring evening and every time the end of his cold nose touched hers, she would get a chill through her body. He took that as their signal to move on until one of them couldn't wait anymore and the whole process began again.

He walked her over to the jail and sat her in the desk chair while he put a couple of big pails of water on the stove to heat. He pulled out his wash tub and gathered some towels and clean undergarments from his bureau. Elizabeth couldn't help but stare at his drawers on top of the pile of clothes, thinking about a time in the very near future when she would be seeing him in them and she felt her face flush. He noticed and followed her gaze and his eyes widened in surprise. He cleared his throat and asked, "You ready to head over to Abigail's?"

"I suppose," she sighed, wanting to do nothing but stay within arm's reach of him.

"I'll be quick, I promise, and then I will go over there."

She nodded and held her hand out to him as he reached for her to help her stand. Of course, she couldn't resist taking another opportunity to wrap her arms tight around his middle and squeezing. When he looked down and chuckled at her exuberance, she met his lips once more and by the time their clinch was over, his bath water was almost boiling.

He walked her to Abigail's, kissed her again for good measure, turned around and went back to the jail. As he pulled the shade and locked the door, he began to undress, feeling like his clothes were stuck to his skin, almost as if his body had begun to absorb them. He had never felt freer than the moment he was naked as the day he was born and sunk himself into the tub.

The tub was not deep. In fact, he was sure that it looked comical to be a grown man trying to fit inside of one as men don't generally fold up as well as women. That got him thinking about Elizabeth and wondering about all of the possible ways she may be able to… "STOP IT!" he told himself, taking in a deep, cleansing breath.

Normally, he would stay on his knees, and just pour the water over his head and down, wiping up the floor around him later. But, this time, he felt he needed to sit. The warm water felt amazing on his saddle-weary backside and legs and he relished the temperature. The few times the men had enough down time to actually bathe had not been pleasant in the late fall and winter. The subzero temperatures made even the hottest water cool in a matter of minutes and the amount of time it took to gather and melt the snow needed for a bath had hardly been worth it. Instead, they had just sort of spot cleaned in the worst parts when they could and thanked God that it was so cold, their noses hardly worked, anyway. Jack wondered if women really knew just how unhygienic men in large groups could be. It most certainly wasn't civilized, but in the heat of battle, no one really cared how filthy the guy next to him was, as long as he kept his weapon loaded and pointed in the right direction.

As he soaped his hair and scrubbed, he chuckled to himself that from what he had observed, the Mounties hadn't been kidding for most of their men: If they were supposed to have a wife, the only way they would have gotten one was to be issued one. He had noticed pretty quickly that the married and courting men tried a lot harder to stay clean and presentable than those who were obviously bachelors and hadn't ever gotten used to having to impress anyone. Single Mounties, stationed alone in the middle of nowhere didn't care how they looked or smelled. In fact, they didn't care about much of anything except eating, sleeping, and playing cards. Those were the men who looked at him sideways, having heard the rumors, but not really believing, about how the decorated, stoic Officer Thornton was a goner and had a beautiful heiress at home, pining away for him.

Uncomfortable with his arms on his knees, his back pushing into the side of the tub, he still didn't get out of the water until he began to get cold. It dawned on him that he had better get a move on before Elizabeth came back and broke his door down. He had anticipated that she would be excited to see him; her letters had been full of her longings for him to come back to her. What he hadn't expected was how physical she would be. He had thought he would have to be the one to hold himself in check and not make her feel pressured, like he was wanting more from her than she was willing to give, because Lord knew he desired her. But, it was he who had been shocked by the ferocity of her need for him, especially given her society upbringing. But, from the time she had opened her door to when she left him at the café, she hadn't gone more than about five minutes total without having some sort of physical contact with him and if they had stayed any longer at her house, his resolve would have been completely gone.

He dried himself off and had just put on his drawers and undershirt when he heard the doorknob rattle. He smiled, thinking he was right; she was more than ready for him to be finished. His eyes opened in surprise, though, when he heard a key slide into the lock and saw the knob turn.

"Hello!" he called out, grabbing desperately for his pants and trying to pull them on.

"Hey, Jack!" Bill called out as he came through the door. His eyes widened a bit, but, he quickly shut the door and locked it behind him.

"Hi, Bill!"

"Sorry! I didn't mean to intrude; I thought you were still at Elizabeth's. In fact, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see you back here again! I figured you were hunkered down at her place for good!"

"Bill!" Jack exclaimed.

Jack walked over to the mirror and grabbed his straight razor and foamed himself up with his shaving brush. He noticed Bill studying him through the mirror.

"Just saying it like it is, Jack. She's a beautiful woman, you have been apart for a long time and she is your fiancée. No judgment here!" Bill replied, holding his hands up in a conciliatory fashion.

Jack tried to think of something honorable to say, but he just opened his mouth and shut it again. He instead began concentrating on shaving without cutting himself to shreds. He was still too worked up to do two things at once.

Bill sat down at the desk and watched the younger man. "Feel good to get cleaned up proper?"

"You have no idea!"

"Oh, Jack! Remember who you are talking to here! I know exactly how good it feels to come home and get cleaned up. In fact, we used to laugh about getting home to a good bath, a good meal, a good whiskey, and then a good bed with a good woman!"

Jack's mouth fell open. "Really?" he exclaimed.

"Really. And you know who started it?" he asked.

"No."

"Your pa!"

"What?" Jack was astounded. His pa had never been anything but proper and respectable at home.

"Oh, yeah, son. A day's ride out from your ma and he would get real antsy. The rest of us used to tease him like crazy. Well, until the rest of found more than a good bath and a good whiskey," Bill chuckled.

Jack was quiet for a few minutes and Bill noticed a shadow fall across his features.

"You miss him, don't you, Jack?"

"Oh, yeah! All of the time."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry he didn't see the kind of man you grew up to be. He would have been busting out of the buttons on his uniform, kid."

Jack wiped off the residual foam off of his face with his towel and turned around. "Ah… So much better!" he exclaimed. "A little fuzz feels good in the cold, but I was terrified I was going to mark Elizabeth all up."

"No hiding what you two were doing if that had happened!" Bill agreed.

"Nothing happened, Bill. Not really. We were just kissing."

Bill said nothing, which gave Jack a little more courage. "But, it took everything in me to keep it that way!"

"She's excited to have you home?"

"Excited is a bit of an understatement! Bill…?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to ask. How will I make it until the wedding? I have never wanted anything as much as I want her!"

"Do you want to hear the answer I am supposed to tell you, or what I really think?"

"Both, I guess."

"So, the answer I am supposed to tell you is don't be alone with her. Plan the wedding quickly. It is still cold outside; take advantage of it when you need to."

"And the one you think?"

"I think that you are both adults. You have been in love for a very long time and have been extremely patient. You are engaged to be married and I believe that if it were up to the two of you, with no expectations from any outside influences, you would be standing in front of Frank with me and Abigail as your witnesses before the night was over."

"And?"

"And it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission!" he laughed. "But, you two have to do what is best for you: It is ultimately your relationship, your marriage. If all the ceremony would be is a formality and you know without a shadow of a doubt you want to spend the rest of your life with her and she feels the same, then only the two of you can dictate the correct timing of anything."

"You really think so?"

"I do," Bill told him solemnly. "And what's more is that I know your pa, had he been here with you, having seen the love you and Elizabeth share, would have said the same. Jack, it is truly between the two of you and God. No one else has a right to tell you anything."

Jack nodded and took a deep breath. "Thanks, Bill. I appreciate your candor."

"Kid, I have known you a long time. You are a good man and one hell of a Mountie. You make us all proud. I know I am not your pa, but I feel like I can give you a bit of fatherly advice. Go and take that amazing woman to the church as soon as possible and start your lives together, regardless of what you decide about what happens between the two of you in your physical relationship. At this point, no one doubts that you belong together. The rest is just a formality."

Jack finished buttoning his flannel shirt and grabbed his jacket. "Feels good to get out of uniform!" he said with a smile, while grabbing his coat and shoving his arms through. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to get back to my beautiful fiancée."