Dear Readers: As always, I hope you find humor in this chapter and it adds a little bit of pleasure to your day. :)

Chapter 29 – Blue

"What do you think of this color?" Elizabeth asked Jack when he walked in the front door of their new home. She wiped her brow and dipped her wet brush into the paint can on the table.

"It's Tiffany blue", Jack responded with a shrug before chuckling. "And you always led me to believe that you were just a simple country girl. Now the truth comes out. My wife has expensive taste", he said with a smile as he walked around the table and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a long kiss.

"I like the kiss but I have no idea what you're talking about", Elizabeth said when she broke away.

"The color is actually Robin's Egg blue", she knowingly informed him as she bent her head down and looked at the thick blue liquid.

"No, it's definitely Tiffany blue. I've never seen a robin's egg, but I've seen plenty of blue boxes from Tiffany and Company in New York. Dad brings my mom one every time he comes back from a trip there."

"He brings your mom a box?"

Jack chuckled. "He brings her a piece of jewelry or piece of silver or crystal from Tiffany's. Everything is packaged in a blue box. That's Tiffany blue", he said with certainty as he motioned towards her can of paint.

"I've never had a gift from a fancy New York store but I've seen plenty of robin's eggs. And this is Robin's Egg blue", Elizabeth declared emphatically.

Jack laughed. "Alright, my little country wife. But you might want to let Tiffany & Company know that because they have a trademark for it. And apparently your aviary friends are infringing on that trademark."

"You can't trademark a color!" Elizabeth said in disbelief.

"If you have enough money, you can do anything. Even take your wife to lunch. You ready?"

"I am. I'm starving", Elizabeth said as she took off her apron and removed the kerchief from her hair.

As Jack held open the door for her, she noticed a smirk on his face.

"I have paint on my nose, Don't I?"

Jack face broke out into a grin.

"How long were you going to let me go on like that?" she asked as she rubbed her nose clean.

"I don't know. All day?" he chuckled, earning him a swat on the arm from her.


"I told you I'd help paint this weekend", Jack reminded Elizabeth as they sat at the Café table.

"I know but I want to get it done before my mom comes. And you might get busy or delayed on your way back to town. This is our first home together. And Joe Craddock didn't really take care of the place. It needs a lot of work. I want my mom to be impressed. "

"I'll be impressed if your mom doesn't shoot me for eloping with you."

"She won't shoot you. She doesn't want her daughter to be a widow. Especially before my husband has a chance to get me an icebox", Elizabeth said with a straight face as she took a forkful of chicken salad.

Jack raised his eyebrows at her before seeing the gleam in her eye. "Well, I don't want to be a widower so don't go climbing any ladders to paint the upper parts of the walls. I'll do the rest when I come back. And the icebox is coming on the next delivery from Union City. "

"I just want it here before my mom arrives."

"It will be. Because your mom's not coming anytime soon", Jack said as took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Elizabeth. "Which gives me an idea. How about we go see her? I've never been to Aberdeen. I'd like to see where you grew up. We can go next month."


That night, Elizabeth handed Jack a handkerchief, some clean socks, and a fresh tee-shirt to add to his other items as he packed his small leather satchel for his trip out of town the next morning.

"I'll be back in two days", he said reassuringly as he looked up and saw the sad look on her face.

"I know. It's just our first time apart since we got married. I'll miss you."

Jack set his bag down on the floor and gently pulled Elizabeth into his arms. Without a word, his mouth parted hers. As she eagerly returned his kisses, his hands roamed along her back, pulling her blouse out of the skirt. She ran her fingers through his short hair, keeping him close as she felt the heat from his mouth. They had been together every night since that had gotten married. Just thinking about him not being there tomorrow night made her body crave him even more.

As Jack's mouth moved on her body, she tilting her head back, exposed her neck to his kisses. When his lips lightly touched the soft white space between her breasts left uncovered by the V neck of her blouse, she sighed in pleasure.

He smiled at her response, and reclaimed her lips with his.

"Remember when we used to have to stop at this point", she said with a smile as she breathed heavily and broke away slightly from his kiss. Jack took the opportunity to quickly unbutton the remainder of her blouse.

"Thank goodness those days are over. Because I desperately want you right now", Jack murmured as he continued his kisses. His hands moved along her hips pressing her to him and then moving her to the bed.

Elizabeth found herself wrapping one of her legs against Jack's as they leaned down until her back was pressed against the mattress. Her hands untucked his shirt, and her fingers roamed up this back.

"I am so glad we're married", she said just before she gasped in delight as he pulled apart her blouse and then hoisted up her skirt.


Two days later, the happy feeling Jack had at being back to Hope Valley disappeared the moment he walked in the door and saw Elizabeth laying on the couch, covered in a blanket, with Abigail taking her temperature.

"She's fine. She just took a tumble and was in the cold for a bit", Abigail said reassuringly when she saw the look of concern on Jack's face.

"What happened?" Jack said as he dropped his satchel and hurried across the room to Elizabeth, who reached out her hand to him and smiled. Jack took hold of her hand and gave her a quick kiss when she tilted her face up to his.

"I'll leave you two alone", Abigail said pleasantly as she moved away. "She's suffering from a bit of exposure so keep the blanket on her."

"Exposure? In this warm weather?" Jack looked surprised.

Abigail didn't bother to explain as she continued listing Elizabeth's injuries.

"She's got some pretty bad bruising and a sprained ankle but thankfully no broken bones."

Jack looked at Elizabeth's hand and then picked up her other one and looked at each finger closely.

"The bad news is that your fingernails are blue", Jack said accusatorily with raised eyebrows.

"Maybe I have pneumonia", Elizabeth offered hopefully as she hurriedly pulled back her hands.

"Pneumonia? With symptoms in the shade of Tiffany blue?!" he said incredulously.

"Robin's Egg blue", Elizabeth blurted out before she could stop herself.

"You decided to paint by yourself", he said with a scowl.

"When Elizabeth didn't deny it but remained quiet and began concentrating on twirling a piece of her hair, Jack knew he was correct.

"I can deduce what happened. You didn't want to wait for me to come home, so you got out the ladder and painted by yourself. You fell because you're clumsy. I wasn't there to catch you and you sprained your ankle and got some bruises. "

"How'd I get exposure?" she jerked her head up and challenged him.

Jack thought for a moment before answering.

"You decided to put some ice on your ankle, but we don't have an icebox yet so you walked over to the ice-house. You didn't know that the ice-house door latch is broken and the door needs to be propped open. When you were getting the ice, the door closed behind you, locking you in. You pushed against the door, bruising your arm. Probably throwing yourself against it. And yelled until someone heard you and let you out.

My goodness! He's really good at his job as a Mountie! He got everything right! Well, except the part about walking to the ice-house. It was actually more of a stumbling limp. And that I was stuck in the ice-house for an hour until someone found me. There's no way I can squirm my way out of this one!

"You can't squirm your way out of this one, Elizabeth."

Dear Lord! Can he read my mind?!

"Elizabeth, say something. I can't read you mind."

Oh, thank goodness, she thought with a breath. He really had me worried there for a minute.

"Jack, I - I. . . you got it right", she finally admitted.

"I thought I told you not to climb a ladder."

"You told me not to climb a ladder to paint the walls. I wasn't painting the walls."

"You were painting the porch ceiling, weren't you?"

Darn, he's good!

When Elizabeth averted Jack's gaze and instead ran her hand smoothing wrinkles out of the bed sheet, Jack knew he was right again.

Jack sighed in exasperation. "Explain to me again why we need a blue porch ceiling?"

"It keeps away the insects and the haints, and it's relaxing, . . . and pretty like the sky", she said dreamily as she thought about the pretty blue.

"I don't even know what a haint is, it's not relaxing for me if it makes me think about my wife falling off a ladder, and we can look at the real sky if we're outside; we don't need to look at the porch ceiling."

"It still keeps the insects away", she said meekly.

When Elizabeth looked up, she noticed that Jack was still glaring at her disapprovingly. "Besides, you're not the boss of me", she added sternly.

"Oh, believe me. I know that. I've known that since the day we met", he said flatly.

"If anything, I'm a slave to you. I definitely lost all autonomy the first time our lips met", he said, his mouth slowly forming a smile as he looked at her.

Elizabeth felt her body go limp in a way that only Jack could make her feel. "You say the sweetest things. You are the most romantic man in the world", she added as she hurled her body into his arms.


A week later, Elizabeth carried some fresh muffins over to the jail and was disappointed to find that Jack wasn't there. Abigail had spent the afternoon helping her with the baking, and Elizabeth was especially proud of this batch.

Deciding to leave him the warm muffins and a note, she approached his desk and saw the catalog sitting on top.

The mail order catalog.

Elizabeth recognized the distinctive blue color even before she read the company name. Tiffany & Company.

I might as well see what it's all about, Elizabeth thought as she sat down in Jack's chair and began thumbing through the pages.

When Elizabeth noticed that several pages had the top corner folded over, she found that she was disappointed in Jack's choices.

Why did he dog-ear that page?

That's not even my style.

I would never wear that.

This one looks like something his mom would wear.

For Pete's sake, this isn't even my birthstone.

I thought he knew me better than that.

He needs my help, Elizabeth thought determinedly as she began unfolding the dog-eared corners.

Now this is beautiful!, she thought approvingly as she folded over the corner of page with a picture of a locket and a description of the intricate silver design and chain.

Making her selection, Elizabeth left the catalog exactly where she found it and walked back home with a smile on her face.


Three weeks later, Elizabeth and Jack got off the train in Aberdeen, and soon were walking into the Thatcher family home to the delightful squeals of Julie, the hugs of Mrs. Thatcher, and the cooler but still pleasant welcome embrace from Violet.

Elizabeth and Jack had eaten dinner on the train and after putting their bags in a bedroom and quickly washing up, Elizabeth was pulled by her sisters into their bedroom to discuss "private girl" things.

Much to his dismay, Jack found himself alone with Mrs. Thatcher in the parlor.

"So, you are married to my daughter. You ran off with her and deprived me of the opportunity to be there and witness my sweet daughter's wedding."

It was a statement; not a question. That, and the fact that he was slightly intimidated by Mrs. Thatcher, kept Jack from replying at first, and before he knew it, Mrs. Thatcher was speaking again

"It's late. We all should be getting to bed. We'll talk more tomorrow. We haven't had a man living in this house in years so the girls are used to walking around without always being properly attired. I'll expect you to make yourself known if you go wandering around the house in the early morning. Also, Violet sleepwalks sometimes. If you see her in her nightdress, I expect you to avert your eyes."

"Yes ma'am. No wandering. Avert my eyes."

"If you get up early, you can milk the cow."

"Uh, yes ma'am. Except I've never actually milked a cow."

"But it's no problem, Mrs. Thatcher. No problem at all. I'll be happy to do it. I love milk. I really do. How many gallons should I milk?" he added quickly when he saw her look of disapproval.

"It's not a mercantile, Jack. It's a cow. One cow. You'll get what she gives you."


"Is that all you brought to wear?" Mrs. Thatcher asked in surprise when Jack walked into the kitchen early the next morning wearing a suit.

"I have another two shirts", he answered hesitantly as he looked down at his clothing wondering what was wrong with it.

"I'll find you something else to wear. You can't walk around dressed in a suit the whole time you're here", she said in disgust. "Do you want people to think my daughter married a funeral parlor director? Besides I need you up on the roof."


"Elizabeth, your mom wants me to fix the roof", Jack remarked when Elizabeth came in the kitchen and Mrs. Thatcher left to go check on the other girls. "I've never fixed a roof before. I've never even been on a roof before!"

"I'm sure you can figure it out", Elizabeth said without worry as she put butter on her bread. "You're a man."

"We're not born with hammers in our hands", he countered.

"But you're a Mountie", she said simply as if that position, along with being a man, qualified him to do any manner of odd jobs.

"I handle law enforcement and minor medical care and sometimes ride a horse. When was the last time you saw me riding my horse on a roof performing Mountie duties?" he asked mockingly.

"You must have built forts or a treehouse when you were a kid", Elizabeth argued.

"We did. And then the handyman always came and fixed them before mother let us play in them."

"But you helped build my school", she reminded him.

"The walls, yes. The floor, yes. The steps, yes. But not the roof."

"A roof's just like a floor. Only up higher. And outside, not inside. And with shingles" Elizabeth explained dismissively.

Jack looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

Elizabeth looked at him with her adoring eyes. "I have faith in you", she said confidently.


When the clerk at the home supply store informed Jack that a load of shingles was expected to arrive in 20 minutes on the next train, it was decided that Jack would explore the town while Elizabeth visited her friend, Sally, who had recently had a baby.

After introductions, Jack left Elizabeth at Sally's house and walked through the town imagining his wife growing up here. It was bigger than Hope Valley with many more businesses and houses, but still far smaller than a city like Hamilton.

Jack was crossing the street, when a boy of about eight years old approached him.

"Are you Miss Thatcher's new husband?"

"I am."

"You can use my family's outhouse if you want. It's the house at the end of the dirt lane to the right. About half a mile up ahead."

Jack stared curiously at the boy who quickly turned and ran off.

That was odd.

Five minutes later, as Jack was sitting on the bench in front of the train depot reading the paper, two boys playing in the street stopped tossing their ball and ran up to him.

"You're the man that married Elizabeth Thatcher, aren't you?"

"I am."

"We're Bill and Lou Houser. That's our family restaurant", the taller of the boys said as he pointed behind him. "There's a bathroom in the back. With real plumbing if you want to use it."

"I'm fine. Thank you. But I'll keep that in mind", Jack said with a furrowed brow.

"If you don't need to use it now, we can give you a drink at the restaurant. For free", the smaller of the boys offered eagerly. "Then you can use the bathroom."

"No thanks, boys", he said as he noticed disappointed looks on the boy's faces before they walked away.

Why do the children keep offering to let me use their toilets? Maybe this is some strange overly hospitable custom for this town, Jack thought in bewilderment.

Jack folded up his paper, looked at his watch, and decided to stretch his legs for five minutes until the train was unloaded.

As he walked down Main Street, Jack got the sensation that he was being followed so he looked in the reflection of the plate glass windows he passed.

Sure enough, he had collected a following of eight or nine children.

The boys and girls were whispering behind him as they stayed five feet back.

When Jack stopped, they stopped.

When Jack walked, they walked.

Finally, when a little girl of about six years old ran up and offered him a drink of water, Jack had enough.

"All right kids. What's going on?" he asked sternly as he turned around and faced the children who all stopped quickly, with some bumping into the backs of others.

"Fess up", Jack ordered.

The crowd of children stood silently looking at him, until a curly haired boy was pushed forward by one of the other children.

"Go ahead", a girl encouraged the boy.

"Tell him what we heard" another child said quietly.

"Ask him if it's true", the other children whispered loudly to the boy.

"Ask me what?" Jack inquired as he now smiled. Whatever these children were thinking, it clearly had them totally occupied. They probably want to know what it's like to be a Mountie.

"We was just wondering –"

"Go ahead. What were you wondering?" Jack said good naturedly when the boy paused.

I'll make Mountie life sound exciting and dangerous, he thought, feeling proud of his profession.

"Our Pa's were all talking about you marrying one of the Thatcher ladies. They said you're rich. Really rich. We overheard my Pa say that you got so much money that when you piss, you probably piss out real gold. . . . . We want to see. . . . Pleaseee."


Six hours later, an exhausted Jack, wearing a pair of borrowed overalls, sat at the kitchen table and accepted a glass of lemonade from Mrs. Thatcher.

All and all, he considered it to have been a successful day. Jack had averted his eyes when Julie had walked past him in her nightdress that morning. Although since she wasn't the one who had a tendency to sleepwalk, he suspected that she had done it on purpose. He had milked the cow. He had met the neighbors and some of Elizabeth's friends in town. He had fixed the roof without managing to fall and break his neck. And he had even hammered a few loose floor boards, unstuck a window, and oiled door hinges. He had disappointed several children but there was nothing he could do about that.

Mrs. Thatcher must approve of me now, he thought happily as Elizabeth's mother put a plate of cookies on the table.

Mrs. Thatcher pulled out a chair and sat down at the table across from Jack. "We need to talk, son."

Jack looked up at his mother-in-law and suddenly wished that Elizabeth hadn't decided to go outside and pick some vegetables from the garden.

"Elizabeth worked very hard to get to where she is. A teacher. Standing on her own two feet. I hope that now that you're married, you are protecting her and her career in all possible ways."

Jack looked at Mrs. Thatcher with some confusion. Of course, I'll always protect her. Why would her mother even question that? Does she think I'm some spoiled city boy that can't keep Elizabeth safe. I'm a Mountie for Pete's sakes. Oh man, she's thinking about the fall off the ladder, he realized before speaking.

"Mrs. Thatcher, I walk Elizabeth to school most mornings. But it's a very safe town. We have a gun in the house. Not that we need it. I will always protect her. If I'm out of town overnight, we have a dog. . . or she can stay with her friend Abigail. Elizabeth's a little clumsy but . . . well, . . . I try to catch her when I can", he said earnestly.

"Let me rephrase my concerns. As I said, Jack, Elizabeth has worked very hard to be an independent woman capable of supporting herself and doing something she loves. I hope that nothing you do will get in the way of that before she has a chance to enjoy success as a teacher."

"Mrs. Thatcher, I don't have any plans to have Elizabeth stop teaching. I can assure you of that."

"Can you? You can assure me of that? You have no plans to keep her from teaching?"

"No ma'am. I like her teaching. As I said, I walk her to school most mornings. I do my paperwork in the evenings while she grades her students' work. If I get transferred, I'll ask for an assignment to a place where she can teach."

"You're not doing anything that may interfere with her teaching?", Mrs. Thatcher said with raised eyebrows and a condescending voice.

"No, ma'am ." Jack began to squirm a little and ran his hand inside his collar, which suddenly felt like it was strangling him. What is she getting at?

"Nothing that may interfere with her teaching?" Mrs. Thatcher asked again.

"No, ma'am" Jack repeated as he looked towards the door hoping Elizabeth would come in any second.

"Are you daft, son?" Mrs. Thatcher asked as she set down her glass.

"Excuse me, ma'am?", Jack said as he dropped a cookie before it made it to his mouth.

"Are you purposely pretending to be thick headed or do you really not grasp what I'm asking you?"

"I'm not pretending!" Jack said in bewilderment.

Mrs. Thatcher sighed deeply. "You are a young man. Elizabeth is a young woman. You are in love. You are married. Do I need to continue?"

When Jack just sat there in confusion, Mrs. Thatcher continued.

"Let me use some basic country language. I don't want you breeding like rabbits so that Elizabeth has to stop teaching to stay home and take care of all your little offspring bunnies.


Two weeks later, Jack and Elizabeth sat in the rockers on their front porch, enjoying the evening breeze. Elizabeth chuckled as she read the letter from her mother.

"What' so funny?"

"Ma says that it rained the day after we left and the roof didn't leak one drop. She says we'll keep you in the family."

"Well that's good to hear. I was worried for a moment", he said with a straight face.

"Hush. You know I'm never letting you go", Elizabeth replied with a smile. "Especially since you finished painting the porch ceiling. Isn't it nice?" Elizabeth asked as she looked up at the pretty blue color.

Jack glanced up. "It is. I think we may need to paint the porch ceiling to the Mountie office."

"To your office? Why? We never sit over there. You don't even have a chair on the porch."

"I did some research and found out that "haint " thing you were talking about are ghosts. You're right, the blue color's supposed to keep them away. I think one's been haunting the Mountie office."

"Why would you think that?" exclaimed Elizabeth in surprise.

"My mom's birthday is coming up and I decided to order her something from Tiffany & Company. I sent away for one of their catalogs and when it came, I dog-eared a couple of the pages of things she might like. Strangest thing happened. When I went back, all those pages I had dog-eared had been changed," Jack said in deadpan voice. "Any thoughts?"

"Anything's possible. I really have no idea.", Elizabeth said as she bit her lip and pretended to be interested in Rip, who was scratching himself. How was I supposed to know he was picking a gift for his mother!

"What did you end up getting her?" Elizabeth asked.

"A pair of gold earrings with her birthstone. She already has a bracelet that will match. "

"Oh, those were actually nice—", Elizabeth's voice trailed off. Darn it! Now he'll figure out that I saw the catalog.

"Who knew ghosts were so interested in fancy jewelry?" Jack said with a gleam in his eye as he stood up. "I'll get us some more lemonade."


Five minutes later, Jack walked back onto the porch with a pitcher of lemonade. As he refilled Elizabeth's glass, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box which he handed to Elizabeth.

"Jack", Elizabeth exclaimed quietly as she took the distinctively blue box from him and lifted the lid.

"A little bird, perhaps one of your friendly robins, told me you might like this", he said with a smile as she lifted the silver chain from the box and stared adoringly at the locket.

Up next: Chapter 30

Dear Readers: For this chapter, I used dialogue from several of the TV show episodes ( in my own reversed and unique way of course. )

I get my ideas from lots of places, to include the reviews left by you. Sometimes a single word that a reviewer writes takes my mind on a wild journey. Thanks!