Chapter 4

Jack woke up feeling warm and well rested. Elizabeth was tucked into his side for the second morning in a row, but this time they had chosen to end up in this position. He knew it was wrong. Her father would probably shoot him on sight if he knew what was going on, but she felt so good in his arms that he couldn't force himself to let go. He felt her waking and leaned down to whisper in her ear "Good morning."

Elizabeth blushed at his closeness and before he even realized what he was doing, he placed a kiss on her cheek. Elizabeth looked up at him with her eyes wide and did nothing for several seconds. Jack was just about to run out of her cabin when she reached her hand up and caressed his cheek and rubbed her nose against his. Jack continued rubbing her nose before leaning down and placing a slow, gentle kiss on her lips. He felt her lean into the kiss and pulled her tighter against his chest. They continued the kiss for several seconds before Jack pulled away and rest his forehead on hers. "I swear this isn't my normal behavior with women…" Jack trailed off.

Elizabeth laughed before responding quietly "that was my first kiss."

Jack was shocked to hear that no man had ever kissed this gorgeous woman before. He had to make his intentions clear so she would know that he didn't just go around kissing women. "Well I sure hope it lived up to your expectations! We're still a few hours behind schedule from that storm, so we will probably have to spend the night in Winnipeg tonight and catch the next train tomorrow. If that happens, can I take you to dinner tonight?"

"Of course. We've eaten every other meal together so far" Elizabeth responded, sounding confused.

"No, I meant as a date" Jack explained.

"Constable Thornton, do you mean to court me?" Elizabeth asked in a teasing voice.

"Well, considering we have been sleeping in the same bed and just kissed, I figure it's the next logical step" Jack explained, unable to control his laughter.

"I do believe you have those events a bit out of order" Elizabeth retorted, laughing as well.

"Well, we can laugh about it later in life" Jack joked. "I'm going to go change for breakfast. I figure we can pack our stuff up after... I'm hungry."

"Ok sounds like a plan"

Following breakfast, Jack went back to his cabin to pack his overnight bag. He couldn't believe that they had spent three days on the train and he had spent a total of one hour in his cabin. What a waste of money! If they had to stay in Winnipeg tonight, would Elizabeth want to get two rooms, or just one? He didn't want to be presumptuous and only get one, but it would be a waste to get two rooms if they were only going to use one, especially since it would only be to sleep in overnight.

Jack finished packing his bag and went back over to Elizabeth's cabin. He would have to ask her about the arrangements before they got off of the train. It would be a very odd conversation to have in front of a desk attendant.

"So, if we have to stay in Winnipeg tonight, would you like me to book us two rooms?" Jack asked quietly.

Elizabeth looked up from her bag, surprised. "Oh! I hadn't thought that far ahead. Um, did you want to stay in two rooms?"

"If I'm going to be honest, no. I thoroughly enjoy having you beside me all night. But I didn't want to make any assumptions…"

"Well," Elizabeth started, looking thoughtful, "what if we shared just until the end of the trip? Technically you are supposed to ensure that I make it to Coal Valley safely. It would be much harder to do that next door…"

"That's a very good point Ms. Thatcher! I will take very good care of you these next couple days!" Jack agreed, looking happy with how their conversation went. "Would you like to play some cards before lunch?"

"That would be lovely." Elizabeth said.

Jack and Elizabeth played cards and ate lunch before heading back to her cabin to get their bags and prepare to depart the train. Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed and looked almost sad. Jack sat beside her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Honestly, I'm almost sad to be leaving the train. We were complete strangers when we got on here. We've formed a relationship that would have probably taken months if we had just been courting. I'm going to miss this little cabin. It's changed my life."

"I agree with you completely. But if we leave, we get to move on and get to Coal Valley and make our relationship even stronger. I'm looking forward to that. Going out to dinner together. Maybe even taking some trips to Union City to see a show every so often."

Elizabeth looked excited at the prospect of going on actual dates. "How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?" She asked.

"No idea, I can promise that is not normally the case when I talk with women!" Jack explained, laughing. "I have to change into my uniform before we get off of the train since I will be doing official Mountie business escorting you through the station. I'll be right back."

"I wouldn't think of going anywhere without you!" Elizabeth joked.

When he returned in his uniform, he set his bag on the floor beside hers and offered his hand to help her up from the bed. The afternoon sun was pouring in through the window and made Elizabeth look like an angel. He cupped her face and kissed her soundly. She sighed when he pulled his lips away and rubbed her nose with his own.

"I know I was angry when we first started this trip, but you have no idea how glad I am to not be on my way to Cape Fullerton all by myself right now" Jack told her.

"I'm so glad that Father chose you for the position. It certainly wouldn't be nearly as fun to be kissing an old greying Mountie…" Elizabeth responded, laughing.

"Oh, HA HA!" Jack replied, reaching down to tickle her sides.

"Stop it! I hate being tickled!" Elizabeth screamed, almost in tears from her laughter.

"Well that's certainly good information to know" Jack said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her towards him again. He kissed her one last time and hugged her tightly before reaching down to throw the straps of both of their bags over one of his shoulders. "Shall we, my dear?"

They left her cabin and made their way to the back of the train just as it was slowing in its approach to the station. Jack rested his hand on the small of her back and felt her lean into his touch. He was smiling like a little kid on Christmas morning when they exited the train. Jack spotted a station employee and led Elizabeth towards him.

"Excuse me, Sir. We are heading for Union City. Have we already missed the afternoon train?"

"I'm afraid so, Constable. But we can transfer your tickets if you would just head over to the ticket office."

They were standing in line at the ticket office chatting quietly when Jack heard a deep male voice call Elizabeth's name from somewhere behind him. Elizabeth looked shocked. Jack turned just as Elizabeth reached out her hand to shake that of a tall young man in a very expensive looking suit. Instead, the man pulled Elizabeth into his arms and gave her a big hug. Jack immediately felt the jealousy taking over his thoughts, but tried to pull himself together. He saw Elizabeth pull herself out of the embrace and take a large step backwards from the man and closer to Jack.

"Charles! What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked, surprise evident in her tone.

As always, please read and review! I seriously keeps me motivated! I've already started the next chapter. Decided to finish this one right here ;)