Chapter 10 – Turning Tables

Jack winced as he sat at his desk. Last night was not exactly what the doctor ordered, he thought wryly.

In fact, he specifically told me not to do anything physical.

Jack's ribs had barely healed from the bar fight two weeks earlier and he had gone and exerted himself too much last night.

"Hey, Jack. Quite the exciting night last night," a fellow Mountie called out as he walked past Jack's desk.

"Yeah, I guess." Jack smiled and stood up to stretch his aching muscles as several more Mounties walked into the office for their shift changes.

"Heard about you and the mayor's daughter. Wow, Jack. How the heck are any of us supposed to compete with you? The mayor's daughter!" another constable asked in awe.

"It's not a competition", Jack laughed.

Jack walked over to the nearby counter and refilled his cup of coffee as the other men continued to talk.

"Way to go last night, Jack. Why am I not surprised?"

"I heard it was pretty intense. That you could barely get away from her because she was gripping you so hard afterwards"

"You must be sore today. I'm surprised you even made it out of bed."

"You're our hero, Jack."

"Enough guys", Jack said with a chuckle as he sat back down. "Don't you have work to get to."

Elizabeth walked slowly down the street carrying the four envelopes in her hand. She had given up on getting a letter from Jack. It had been almost three months and she hadn't received one word from him. All Elizabeth knew was that Jack was gone and he hadn't told Elizabeth where he had moved. Even Charlotte hadn't told her of the location of Jack's new assignment.

Elizabeth recognized Charles' handwriting on the outside of the thin ivory-colored envelope. She would wait to read it until last. It was probably him just once again apologizing for proposing by correspondence, and asking if he could visit.

The letters from her mother and from Julie were probably more of the usual. Her mother informing her of another teaching position closer to home and Julie gossiping about the latest going-ons in Hamilton.

It was the fourth envelope that interested Elizabeth the most.

"Anything interesting?" Abigail asked when Elizabeth walked in the house, set down her basket, and walked slowly to the couch, staring at the brown envelope.

"It came. My response. I'm afraid to open it."

"Elizabeth, you already know everything else about Jack. All that's left is for you to know where he's stationed."

"But what do I do when I find out?" Elizabeth asked worriedly.

"Then you have a decision to make."

"Do you –", Elizabeth hesitated. It was the same question she had asked almost every day since Jack left.

"Yes, Elizabeth. I think Jack is still thinking about you no matter where he is", Abigail said gently.

"What if he's gone back to his old ways? The drinking and women?"

"Well, then maybe he's not the man we thought he was."

"What do you think?"

"I think I have never seen a man more hurt and worried and in love than Jack was when he sat on this couch wondering if you were going to be okay after your head injury."

"I trust him, Abigail. I know what's in my heart", Elizabeth said as she picked up the metal letter opener from her desk and began to slice open the envelope.

"Constable Thornton, the Mayor is here to see you."

"The mayor? Here?" Jack, with a rag in his hand, stopped polishing his boots and looked up in surprise at the Sergeant who had entered the room.

"Yeah. He found out you were the one with his daughter the other night. He wants to talk to you. Hurry up and get downstairs."

"Sergeant, can you play interference for me? Maybe I can slip out the back stairs."

The other Mountie laughed. "Sorry, Jack. You need to face this one yourself."

The man started to walk away and then paused. "You know Jack, you're a better guy than you give yourself credit. I know what you do with your poker winnings, and I know how you've taken some of the newer and more green Mounties under your wing. You're a good guy. Maybe it's time you start allowing yourself to believe it."

"What makes you think I don't?"

"Since you've gotten here, you take extra shifts, you work harder than anyone, and you never complain even when you've gotten your face punched in more than once. It's obvious that you're punishing yourself for something."

Thirty minutes later, Jack and the Mayor shook hands after a discussion behind closed doors about the Mayor's daughter and Jack's actions.

Jack had done most of the listening while the Mayor had talked about family, love, and duty. He spoke of the burdens and worries that go along with being a husband and father. The unknowns about how life will turn out. The fear of someone you love being hurt. The joy that makes it all worth it.

Jack was slightly taken aback when the older man hugged him and said that he now considered Jack to be like a member of the family.

After the man's frank discussion, Jack wasn't thinking at all about the Mayor's daughter and how much the man loved her. All Jack could think about was Elizabeth.

About how she would make a wonderful wife and mother. How he would have liked to have had a family with her one day.

He wondered if maybe he should have given it a chance. Maybe Elizabeth would have been okay being married to a Mountie. Maybe he needed to get over his fears of losing someone. Maybe they could have faced every challenge together. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

It's too late now. She'd never forgive me for trying to seduce her.

"Charles keeps pestering me to reconsider my decision and marry him. My parents want me to move back to Hamilton or at least closer to them. Jack wants me to forget about him. He's too ashamed and scared to come for me. And Hope Valley holds too many memories of Jack. I can't keep going on like this", Elizabeth complained as she and Abigail walked down the street on their way back from the mercantile.

"What do you want, Elizabeth? You're a grown woman."

Elizabeth stopped in the middle of the street and looked determinedly at Abigail.

"I want to take back control of my life."

"You got plans for Saturday night, Jack?" Constable Walters asked as he stopped by Jack's desk.

"Just going out with some of the guys. What's up?" Jack eyed the other man. Although they had been to the academy at the same time, they hadn't socialized together. While Jack had been busy with the ladies, drinking, and card games, Walters, who was slightly overweight and plain looking, had been more of a book reader.

"Can you take my shift for me? I've got a date."

Jack leaned back in his chair and gave Walters an amused look. "With whom?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Why would I laugh?" Jack asked with a smile

"The other guys did."

"Who is she?"

"Mary from the corner baker."

"I know who your mean. She's real nice. Do you like her?"

"Yeah, I do. But the other guys laugh at me because she's not like the girls that the guys around here usually date."

"You mean fast and loose?" Jack asked wryly.

"Yeah. You know. Like the ones you always hung out with at the academy. You had more women than any of the guys."

"Don't remind me. And if the guys laughed at you it's because they're jealous or stupid."

"Why would they be jealous of me? We've been on three dates and I haven't even kissed her yet," Walters said woefully.

Jack chuckled. "I'll take your shift. Treat her right. She seems sweet. And ignore the other guys. If they give you any more hassle send them to me. I'll beat them up for you."

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"You ever been in love?"

"I have." Jack turned back to his paperwork, indicating that the conversation was over.

"Lots of times probably", Walters remarked.

Walters didn't take the hint to leave and instead stood looking at Jack who continued staring at the papers on his desk.

"No. Just once", Jack finally answered.

"What was her name?"

"What's this about, Walters?", Jack said curtly. He put down his pencil again and looked at the other Mountie.

"I'm just wondering how I'll know if Mary's the one. How I'll know if it's love."

"You'll know", Jack said simply.

"How?"

"You'll just know."

"So what was her name? The one girl you loved."

Jack paused. Although her name was always in his mind, he hadn't said it aloud in months.

"Elizabeth. Now get out of here before I decide not to cover your shift and I take Mary on that date myself."

Montreal was far more congested than Hamilton and it made sleepily little Hope Valley seem like a ghost town.

Elizabeth had been to Montreal before but always with her parents and never before had she stayed at the Ritz Carleton, which had only opened for business the previous month. When Elizabeth learned that every room at the hotel had its own private bathroom, she had decided immediately that she would stay there.

It was bad enough to be a single lady traveling alone in a large city. She was not about to share a bathroom with other hotel guests. She may have been brave to travel by herself but she wasn't brave enough to get up in the middle of the night in her nightdress in a strange hotel to use a shared bathroom down the hall. It was the exclusive Ritz Carleton for her.

The first thing Jack noticed was the hat off in the distance. A woman, her attractive figure dressed in pale green and white, was wearing a wide brimmed hat with a tall ostrich feather which rose high above the other people on the crowded street. It reminded him of a large ornate hat which Elizabeth had once worn on one of their many walks together. At the time, he had teased her about it being too fancy for Hope Valley, but he suspected that she knew that he secretly found it very enticing.

The woman, who was moving away from Jack, walked with a familiar gait. A sway of the hips that was not overtly sexual, but was ladylike and demure.

Her walk was evidence of her mother's years of instilling proper posture by making the young lady, while balancing a book on her head, walk across the parlor over and over again until the head was held up perfectly. She was so poised that an invisible straight line could be drawn through the body.

As the woman walked into the newly opened Ritz Carleton hotel, Jack thought he recognized the walk.

But it couldn't be Elizabeth. She was hundreds of miles away in Hope Valley.

Just my mind wishing it was her.

An hour later, Elizabeth sat on the leather seat of the streetcar as it traveled swiftly down the crowded boulevard. She wondered in amazement how the automobiles and horse drawn carriages managed to narrowly avoid being hit as they darted across the metal tracks in the center of the road.

As Elizabeth stared out the window, she barely heard the snippets of conversation around her as the passengers on the crowded streetcar spoke to their companions.

. . . Meat prices on the rise again, so we're having fish again tonight. . . .

. . . This weather is so nice, I think we should go for a picnic tomorrow . . .

. . fell down an old well in the park. It took hours until she was found and rescued. It made the front page of the city newspaper earlier this week. Thank goodness she made it out alive. The whole rescue was quite dangerous. . .

. . . the contracts need to be signed by tomorrow and sent to New York. If they're late, I'm going to have to fire some workers. . .

. . . I told my husband not to expect clean laundry if he wasn't going to buy me the new dress I wanted and he said . . . .

Elizabeth ignored the other passengers and their daily problems. All she could think about was Jack. She had only known him a few months and yet she felt like he knew her better than anyone.

The letter with the box of cookies from Charlotte Thornton arrived on a Wednesday morning. Jack thought it was a little unusual to get another letter from his mother so soon after the one he had received over the weekend, but he assumed she was just overly concerned with him after his visit to Aberdeen.

He dumped the uneaten box of cookies into the trashcan and sat down on the edge of his desk to read his mother's latest words.

For four pages, she wrote about taking chances in life and missed opportunities. She never once mentioned Elizabeth's name, but when Jack put down the pages, all he could think about was Elizabeth.

Elizabeth carefully stepped down from the trolley and glanced at the street signs and then at the address on the piece of paper in her hand.

She took a deep breath.

Here goes. My whole future depends on the next few minutes.

It's time to take control of my life.

To go for what I want. Not what everyone wants for me.

"Jack, there's someone to see you. At the front desk" the Sergeant said as he stuck his head in the doorway and then walked away.

"Okay. I'll be right there."

Jack reached for his uniform jacket and casually put it on, taking his time with the many buttons, before walking into the front office.

"Elizabeth!" Jack was dumbstruck. For the second time that week he was saying her name aloud.

"Hello, Jack", she said with a pleasant smile.

"What are you doing here? Are you alright?" he asked as he walked around the counter to her.

Without thinking, he put his hand on her arm. When she looked down at his hand, he felt awkward and started to remove it, wondering if she was offended by his touch. But she merely looked at him and smiled.

"It looks like I'm doing better than you", she replied as she looked at his face.

Jack reached up his hand and touched the bruised cut on his face. "Oh, this is nothing", he said dismissively.

"What happened?"

"Just work. It's not a big deal."

"Why were you walking stiffly?"

"Couple broken ribs that were almost healed until I re-injured them."

"Oh, Jack", she lamented tenderly.

"It's not bad. I helped break up a bar fight awhile back when I was working an extra shift. It's fine. They just got a little re-injured the other night when I was on duty", he said dismissively.

"But what are you doing here?" he asked worriedly.

"Can we go somewhere private to talk?"

"I'm sorry, it's nothing fancy", Jack said as he looked around.

"Do you want to go to a restaurant? A café? The park?" he added quickly. Idiot. She doesn't want to talk in an interrogation room! Why did you bring her back here?!

"No, this is fine. Really."

They looked at each other, waiting for the other one to speak first. I've got a banged-up body and I brought her to a stupid interrogation room. She must think I'm such a loser.

"Do you want to sit down?" Jack asked with concern as he pulled out a chair which had been pushed under the simple wooden table.

"Can I get you a cup of coffee? - No, you prefer tea. A cup of tea?" he asked nervously.

Elizabeth gave her head a slight shake indicating no to all of his questions.

"You didn't say goodbye", she said simply as she stood across the room.

"I'm sorry. It was quick. My leaving. I got the notice and I had to go. You were doing better. I left you a note. You got it, right?" he asked hesitantly.

"I did."

There was a pause as they looked at each other.

She's even prettier than I remember.

"You didn't write. You said in your note that you would write. But you haven't", Elizabeth said when she noticed Jack simply staring at her.

"I'm sorry. I've been busy. You know, work here. Montreal's a busy place."

"Are you doing okay? Place to live? Eating okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I live here at the barracks. Upstairs. There's a bunk room for us. Lots of men here so it's a big difference from living at the jailhouse back home. I mean back in Hope Valley", he corrected himself.

"It was your home."

"Yeah, but not anymore. But it's still your home, right? Did you move?" Jack looked at her in surprise.

Why would she move in the middle of the school year? Did she marry Charles? God, please no. Please not that.

"No, I didn't move. I'm just here in Montreal for a week."

Jack felt an overwhelming sense of relief that she hadn't married anyone else, but it was almost immediately replaced by confusion as to why the woman he hadn't been able to stop thinking about was standing in the interrogation room of the Montreal Royal Mountie Police Headquarters.

"Vacation? Visiting family? Friends?" he asked.

She's still got those adorable curls. The hat! So it was her I saw earlier in the hat.

"I'm not here on vacation. I actually have business here in Montreal. An interest that I haven't been able to handle from Hope Valley. And my family won't be able to be of any help. I was hoping that you could possibly help me."

"Of course, Elizabeth. We're friends. But you came all this way? Isn't there anyone else who could help you?"

"I'm afraid you're the only person I could think of. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not! I always want you to be able to count on me as a friend. Whatever you need. But how did you even know I was here?"

"I asked around." Elizabeth took off her hat and placed it on the table. She ran her fingers over her hair as she thought about what to say.

She asked about me. To find out where I was stationed. The thought made his heart race a little faster.

Jack stared at her. She was really here. Just a few feet away. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms. Touch her. Run his fingers through her hair. Touch her lips.

But he didn't. Instead he stood nervously across the room, watching her as she started to pace back and forth across the small room.

"You should have written to let me know you were coming. Or sent a telegram. I would have met you at the train station", he offered helpfully.

"It's kind of a sensitive matter."

"Elizabeth, you can trust me."

"Do I have your word? As a gentleman. That you will cooperate with me. Because I could really use your cooperation. I'm not totally sure how to handle the matter", she asked as she stopped walking to look at him.

"I promise. I will do whatever I can to help you. But you're really beginning to worry me. Tell me. What are you doing here?", he implored.

She held his gaze for a moment and took a deep breath before speaking.

"I came here to seduce you", she said matter-of-factly.

When Elizabeth saw the surprised and confused look on Jack's face, she walked towards him with a small smile on her lips.

Elizabeth reached up and gently ran her hand long his cheek and jaw. She touched her finger to the place where his dimple would be on his right cheek if only he would smile for her.

They were so close that he could feel her warmth. Smell the faint perfume she was wearing.

"And you just gave me your word that you would cooperate," she whispered as she moved her mouth up towards his.

She very gently touched her lips to his, not wanting to frighten him away with her kiss.

He didn't pull back. Not at first.

Instead, keeping his lips on hers, he took his hand, and with a barely-there touch he placed in on her cheek. She was warm and real and soft.

Better than all his dreams of the last three months.

He allowed his lips to taste hers and moved his hands to her waist to hold her gently. Enjoying having her in his touch, before he willed himself to pull back.

Jack took a deep breath and readied himself to argue with her. To talk her out of what she wanted. Of what he wanted. Of what they both wanted.

"We can't. You don't know why I was assigned to Coal Valley. I – "

"Shhh. I know."

Jack gave her an another startled look. "You –"

"I know. Your mother told me."

"My mother?!" Jack exclaimed in surprise.

"We women have to stick together" Elizabeth said with an unapologetic smile.

"Then why are you here? Why would you want me?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath and stood in front of Jack. When she moved her hand to his face again, he didn't pull away.

"Because you make me feel something."

"Something?"

"You make me feel special inside in a way no one else ever has. You make me feel respected and adored and desirable and smart and brave and . . . special. All at the same time. You make me feel wonderful and that I can do anything."

"You are all those things! But -"

"You once called me headstrong. Strong willed. Stubborn", Elizabeth reminded him as she interrupted him before he could say anymore.

"You are."

"Well I'm glad we agree on that. Because I came here for you and I'm not leaving until I have you back or at least until you're honest with me."

"Elizabeth, you can't. I'm sorry", Jack said with a shake of his head as he walked away. "I'm not the man for you."

"Don't you care about me?"

"God, yes. I care so much about you! I should tell you that I don't so you'll turn around and walk away for good, but I can't lie to you. But Elizabeth, just because I care about you doesn't mean that I'm the right man for you."

"And what exactly makes you the wrong man for me?"

"For one thing, I'm a Mountie"

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at him. "I gathered that from the uniform and the fact that I'm in Mountie Headquarters. Don't forget I'm smart."

Jack huffed and gave her a look of mild exasperation. "Mounties have dangerous jobs."

"I think I also figured that out from looking at your bruised and cut face and the fact that you have a few broken ribs. But guess what, Jack?"

"What?", he said as he crinkled his brow.

"I'm still standing here. . . . For you."

Elizabeth walked over to Jack, cornering him against the wall. He felt like a trapped animal except he didn't want to escape.

Jack looked down for a moment before looking her in the eye and finally telling her the truth.

"I'm damaged. You don't want that."

"You're not damaged. You've had some tough breaks and you've done some things that you're not proud of. But you're not damaged. Don't ever say that."

"What else did my mom tell you?"

"Quite a bit. And I'm still here. I've seen you, Jack. I've walked with you and talked with you. I've seen your heart. I know you're a good man inside. I know you're the man I want to be with."

Jack stared at her. Incredulous that she was standing there. Wanting him.

He wanted to hold her so badly but he held back. Needing to tell her more. Knowing she should probably walk away. That he should let her walk away.

"Why did you leave?" she asked patiently.

He paused and looked out the window for a moment. Steadying his breathing before telling her the truth.

"I'm afraid of losing you. . . . I'm afraid of hurting you", he said gently. "I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to be hurt."

"I'm still standing here", she declared. "All I care about is how you feel about me. Not what you're worried about. Because that may never happen. How do you feel about me? Tell me. Please."

Jack shook his head, realizing it was hopeless to not tell her.

"I want to be with you. Kiss you. Talk to you. Touch you. Protect you. Experience life with you. Love you", he said, almost regretfully. "Isn't it obvious?"

Elizabeth smiled. "You make this seduction thing very easy."

"You're still standing there? Even after everything you know about me. You're not afraid of us? About how passionate we'll care for each other? About my job as a Mountie? About what I've done?" he said almost in disbelief.

"I'm still standing here", she agreed softly.

"Elizabeth, if I'm with you, I'll never be able to let you go. I know that already. Even though we only met this year, I already know. I have thought about you every single day since I left. I can't stop thinking about you."

"I'm still standing here", she said with a gentle smile. "Waiting for you. I have been waiting for you for the longest time."

Elizabeth held Jack's gaze. Refusing to back down. Slowly a small smile formed on his lips. He knew she would win. He might as well surrender now.

She had come to claim the heart that she had already owned for months.

"You seduced me a long time ago, Elizabeth Thatcher," he admitted as he looked at her with so much warmth and caring that she thought she would melt from the heat. "I love you."

"I love you too", she said quietly. "I would never have come all this way for anyone in the world but you. I know that. Now you promised to help me any way you could. So kiss me again", she whispered.

Jack didn't need to be told twice.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer. Like the time before, their bodies fit together as if they had been carved perfectly for each other. Her delicate form folded in against his strong shoulders as she moved her hands along his back, causing a stirring deep inside both of them.

Every other woman he had ever kissed was forgotten by him.

Every fear he had ever had was pushed aside.

Elizabeth inhaled his clean scent and felt the sexy and faint roughness of his face. She grabbed the fabric of his jacket. Clenching it tight in her hands as her mouth moved with his. Keeping him close to her.

"Where's Jack? His shift's over. He can clock out."

"He's still in the interrogation room."

"Still? He's been in there for almost an hour. What's going on in there?"

The Mountie behind the front counter shrugged to his supervisor. "No idea. I tried listening at the door, but I couldn't hear any conversation."

Jack was glad that he hadn't taken Elizabeth to a restaurant, café, or the park. The private interrogation room with its simple table and two chairs was more than they needed.

In fact, they only needed one chair since Elizabeth was sitting comfortably on Jack's lap.

During the past sixty minutes, Jack had tried numerous times to talk to Elizabeth and tell her every bad thing he had ever done so she knew what she was getting herself into, but every time he stopped kissing her, she had the opportunity to see his lips, which just caused her to lean in and kiss him again.

At minute twenty-three, he had actually held her hands tightly in his own, keeping them imprisoned so she would stop distracting him by caressing his neck and shoulders, and he had threatened not to kiss her anymore until she let him apologize again for the way he had treated her and explain why he had been so stupid.

He had gotten partly through his explanation when his voice began to falter as he looked at her quivering lips, her flushed cheeks, the rise and fall of her chest from her rapid breathing. Before he could say anymore, he had passionately seized her mouth with his.

"Ouch", he winced as Elizabeth shifted on his lap and leaned against him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Jack. Your ribs. I forgot. I'm sorry", she cried out apolgetically.

Jack caught his breath as Elizabeth lowered her head and gently began to unbutton his jacket and then pulled the sides apart.

Does she have any idea how sensual that is?!

He looked at her hair as she took her fingers and lightly ran them along his shirt, feeling the bandages underneath. She slipped her hands underneath his suspenders, gliding them along his strong torso, and innocently driving him to have some very improper thoughts of what he would like to be doing with her. Things that will wait until we're married, he thought with a smile.

"Does it hurt terribly?" she asked worriedly as she stared at his ribcage.

Jack shook his head. He smiled as he thought about how worried she was. How gentle she had become. How incredibly sexy she was.

"I missed you so much", he moaned as he ignored the ache in his torso and pulled her closer, moving his lips along her neck.

"I missed you too", she said in a breathy voice before he hungrily took her mouth with his.

"What are we going to do now?" Elizabeth finally asked as they heard another knock on the door. She looked out the window and saw that the evening sun was beginning to set.

Jack glanced at his watch. "I've got a card game in an hour that I need to get to. I can drop you off at your hotel on my way."

Elizabeth stopped raking his hair and looked curiously at him. "A card game?"

"Poker", Jack said before leaning towards her and giving her a kiss.

Elizabeth accepted the kiss and then backed her face away. "I just came all the way from Hope Valley to seduce you, and you're going to play poker tonight?"

Jack laughed. "It cost me a week's worth of my salary to get assigned to Hope Valley. Three weeks' salary to get the assignment guy to transfer me to Montreal when I was running away from you, and I don't even want to know how much it's going to cost me to get the Force to ignore several regulations and get me transferred back to Hope Valley as soon as possible. I'm going to need some poker winnings and soon. Because I am not about to be apart from you any longer. I love you. "

"This assignment guy is making a small fortune off of us", Elizabeth said with a giggle.

"Worth every penny", Jack whispered as he leaned in for another kiss.

He couldn't get enough of her.

He parted her mouth with his. Feeling the warmth with his tongue. He didn't bother starting slowly. He already knew the passion that ignited between them and he wanted it now.

She returned his kiss with the same intensity, causing a soft groan to escape from deep in his throat.

"Actually, I may have another way to get transferred back to Hope Valley", Jack said suddenly as he pulled back, leaving Elizabeth to frown that his mouth was no longer on hers.

"What's that?"

"A couple days ago, the Mayor's three-year old daughter fell down into the city's old crumbling well system. I had to climb down 20 feet, crawl on my hands and knees through an old tunnel with falling rocks to find her and then carry her back up. That's how I cut my face and re-injured my ribs. Do you have any idea how tightly three-year olds can cling to you when they're terrified of the dark?! Her legs were digging in to my ribs the whole time I carried her out."

"That's very admirable of you, Jack", Elizabeth said with a humorous smile, "But how is that going to help get you back to Hope Valley?"

"The Mayor was extremely grateful, obviously, and he said if I ever needed a favor, he'd help in any way he could."

"Well then, I think that instead of going to a poker game, we are going to see the Mayor", Elizabeth said as she put her arms around Jack's neck. "Because I love you and I'm not going back to Hope Valley without you. And I am certainly not leaving it up to the chance of a poker game."

Jack chuckled. "I am very good at poker."

"So I have heard." She smiled at him. "I haven't told any of the widows except Abigail."

"You know about that too?! About the leases?!"

"Just another reason why I love you. But Constable Thornton, I plan on my hand being the only hand you hold tonight."

Jack smiled at Elizabeth, showing his dimples. "I've never been seduced before. I think I like it."

Elizabeth gave him a seductive smile. "Good because I'm not done yet", she purred as she leaned in for another kiss.

The End (Sort of)

Dear Readers, I hope you enjoyed it. Don't stop now. There's another interesting twist to WCTH beginning in the next chapter.

Also, if you like my writing, I also write the much more light-hearted "Reversal of Fortune" story under the name woolenslipper, and the series of Vignettes 1-13 under the name jellybean49.