Sorry for the delay. I've been rather busy. I hope to get back in the swing of things very soon. I was glad that everyone seemed to enjoy my New Year's Eve story. That was really fun to write. A few people asked me if "A New Year's Celebration" was part of "Jack Story". The answer is no. I just wanted to set the record straight that they are two separate stories, not tied together at all. But it's so nice to know everyone is interested and reading them. So without further ado, Here's chapter 53. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 53

Mary Margaret Thornton

Elizabeth noticed her heart beating a little faster as she smiled a nervous smile. "It-it's very nice to meet you Mrs. Thornton." She stuttered shyly. She extended her hand.

Mrs. Thornton, smiled brightly as she took Elizabeth's outstretched hand in her own and covered it with her other hand. "It's so nice to meet you too dear. And please call me Maggie. Everyone else does."

"Well not everyone." Jack remarked.

Maggie let out a slight cough. "Jack does Elizabeth know about you know who?"

"Who?" Elizabeth asked, with a wide eyed stare.

Jack, noticing Elizabeth's expression, gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Yes mama, Elizabeth knows about Rosemary. She was actually here not too long ago." He turned to Elizabeth to explain that Rosemary had been the only one to call his mother 'Mary.'

"I believe she did it for attention." Maggie added. "Wait!" Did you say Rosemary was here?"

"Yes." Jack replied.

"What was she doing here?"

"She arrived in Coal Valley claiming she made a mistake breaking off our engagement." Jack stated. He pulled Elizabeth closer to him and looked in her eyes. He didn't care that his mother was watching. "But I let her know that I had no interest in taking her back." He told Maggie, though he was still staring in Elizabeth's eyes. "I told Elizabeth she was the only one."

"She left shortly after we got engaged." Elizabeth chimed in. She continued to stare at Jack.

Maggie sighed with relief. "I hate to admit that when I received that telegram stating you were engaged, part of me was afraid that Rosemary had weaseled her way back into your life."

"Not in a million years." Jack stated, setting his mother at ease. "Elizabeth stole my heart, the second I met her, too bad I didn't realize it until much later." He leaned over and kissed Elizabeth's cheek, causing her to blush.

Maggie smiled. "And she is lovely."

Elizabeth beamed and put her hand on Maggie's shoulder. "Thank you."

"Oh my goodness!" Maggie exclaimed. As she reached for Elizabeth's hand, noticing the diamond. "It's my ring!"

Elizabeth's smile faded. "Oh do you…."

"It looks lovely on your finger." Maggie continued, as she felt tears stinging her eyes.

"Are you alright, Mama?" Jack asked stunned.

"Yes dear." Maggie answered. "Just seeing this ring makes me remember the way your father asked me to marry him with that very ring all those years ago."

"How did Pa, propose?" Jack inquired. "I don't believe you ever told me that story."

"Was it romantic?" Elizabeth asked excitedly, suddenly feeling the tension lifting.

"Oh yes." Maggie answered. "We had been courting for quite a while and Thomas had to go away for three months for special Mountie training. He kissed my hand and told me he loved me for the first time, the night before he left." She felt her knees weaken.

Jack reached up and grabbed her arm. He pulled out his desk chair and motioned for her sit down. Jack and Elizabeth sat on the bed in the jail cell.

Once every one was settled, Maggie continued her story. "I prayed daily for his safe return. I tried to keep myself busy, so I wouldn't miss him so much. I knitted him a scarf since the nights were starting to get colder. I was planning to have it finished and give it to him when he returned. On the day before he was scheduled to return, I received a wire saying he was terribly sorry but training was being extended for two more weeks. I was disheartened. I missed him so much and I couldn't wait to see him. I didn't know how I was going to handle waiting to see him for another two weeks."

Elizabeth gasped and reached up and grabbed Jack's hand. "What did you do?"

"I did the only thing I knew to do." Maggie replied. "I continued to stay busy, to keep my mind off of him. It turns out I didn't need to."

Jack and Elizabeth exchanged glances. "What happened mama?" Jack questioned.

"The following evening, while working on some finishing touches on the scarf, I heard a tapping on my door. I didn't know who it could possibly be that time of night. I was frightened, but chose to ignore it." Maggie closed her eyes tightly, and took a deep breath before continuing. "Suddenly I heard the tapping again. Then I heard my name. I whirled around. I heard my name I again. I jumped up and ran to the door, realizing who it was. It was Thomas. I opened the door. I let out a gasp when I saw him kneeling down on one knee with a bouquet of roses in one hand and a small black box in the other. I smiled with tears in my eyes. I fell into his arms and said, yes. I didn't even give him time to ask. But he did he ask me, while I was in his arms. Of course I said yes again."

"How romantic!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"So he got to return from his training early?" Jack asked.

"Actually, his training was never extended." Maggie answered. "It was all part of his plan to surprise me with his marriage proposal."

Elizabeth smiled. "That's a beautiful story!" She exclaimed.

"Thank you my dear." Maggie replied. "Now I told you how my engagement story. I think it's only fair that you tell me yours."

Jack and Elizabeth looked at each other and blushed.

"What?" Maggie inquired.

"Well technically I proposed to Elizabeth three times." Jack admitted.

Maggie looked at Jack and Elizabeth surprised. "Three times? What were you doing, dear? Playing hard to get?" She asked Elizabeth.

"No." Elizabeth giggled. "I said yes all three times."

Maggie glanced at Jack. "Then why did you feel the need to propose to her three times?" She queried.

Jack smiled, deepening his dimples. "It wasn't my intention to propose three times." He answered. "Right after Elizabeth and I started courting, Rosemary did all she could to make things difficult for us." He looked at Elizabeth and knew she was remembering what Rosemary had done to try to break the two of them up. He squeezed her hand.

"What did she do?" Maggie asked.

"She kissed him." Elizabeth answered quickly.

"What?" Maggie asked.

"She wanted to make it look like I kissed her when I didn't and Elizabeth walked in before I had a chance to pull away." Jack confessed.

"I'm sorry to say, that doesn't surprise me at all." Maggie admitted.

"Well that kiss really upset Elizabeth." Jack continued.

"So I decided to go back east and visit my family for a while." Elizabeth chimed in.

"The following day, a fellow constable Patrick O'Reilly, arrived and told me Elizabeth had been involved in a stagecoach accident in Cape Fullerton." Jack continued. "I rushed out immediately. Of course Rosemary followed." Jack squeezed Elizabeth's hand. "It was a long tiresome trip on horseback, but I didn't care. I had to get to Cape Fullerton. I had to get to Elizabeth to tell her how I felt about her. I found her in the hospital. She was banged up pretty bad, but she still looked so beautiful to me. Then Rosemary showed up. But I told her to leave. It took a lot of convincing, but she finally left the hospital."

"Jack told me he loved me that night in the hospital." Elizabeth added.

"How sweet." Maggie said, admiringly.

"After she was released from the hospital, we stayed in Cape Fullerton a few days, because Elizabeth was still sore and didn't feel like traveling that far." Jack continued.

"He took me on a romantic dinner the following evening." Elizabeth added. "He let the cat out of the bag that he had an engagement ring but he didn't have it with him."

"I didn't care." Jack claimed. "I couldn't wait. I dropped to one knee and proposed to her during a romantic walk on the beach in Cape Fullerton."

"But he told me it would be unofficial until he could give me the ring. Elizabeth added. "But I said yes anyway."

"When we returned to Coal Valley, I took her and the ring to the site of the new church and schoolhouse and dropped to one knee and officially proposed to her" Jack went on.

"Where I said yes, yet again." Elizabeth said, with a grin.

"Well there's two." Maggie replied. "So what about number three?"

"When I accompanied Elizabeth to Toronto, I had a hard time winning Elizabeth's father over." Jack proclaimed.

"But he did win him over." Elizabeth defended. "I knew my father would come around eventually."

"When I asked Mr. Thatcher for Elizabeth's hand, he said I could marry her on one condition." Jack said.

"My father wanted him to propose to me in front my friends and family, as way to welcome him into the family." Elizabeth added.

"So that was exactly what I did." Jack proceeded to explain. "I told Elizabeth it was a small price to pay, to get in William Thatcher's good graces."

"I had no idea what was going on." Elizabeth said. "I just thought Jack was taking me out to dinner. I was so surprised when I saw my entire family at the restaurant. I was even more surprised when he dropped to one knee and proposed to me again. Of course I said yes for a third time."

Maggie smiled. "Now that is a very nice story!" She picked Elizabeth's left hand and began to admire the ring. "This ring will have a lot of nice stories to go along with it. I'm so glad that Jack found the right girl to give it to.

"Thank you, Mrs. Thornton… I mean, Maggie." Elizabeth proclaimed. "I am honored to wear your ring. And I want you to know. I love your son… very much. He's a wonderful man."

"Oh Elizabeth dear." Maggie said, with a smile. "I know. I can tell you love him. After Rosemary broke his heart, I knew he would find you. I didn't know when or where… or even who, but I knew." She squeezed her hand. "I'm so glad he found you."

Elizabeth looked at Jack and smiled. "She likes me Jack."

Jack brought the hand he holding to his lips and kissed it softly. "I knew she would love you. There never was a doubt in my mind." He turned to look at his mother. "So ma, how long do you plan on staying?"

"Well I want to get to know my future daughter in law." Maggie answered. "And I would be happy to help with wedding plans or anything you need. I don't see the point of going home only to return a few months later to attend my son's wedding."

"What about the house, Ma?" Jack inquired."

"Don't worry, Jack." Maggie explained. "It's getting taken care of. Do you remember our neighbor John Bradshaw? His wife Carolyn, died after you left. His daughter Claire has been staying with him, and helping him out. You remember Claire. She used to have a huge crush on you."

Jack blushed and turned to look at Elizabeth.

"Oh so you have a shady past after all." Elizabeth teased. "I thought you said you weren't keeping anymore secrets from me."

"Well Claire did give me my first kiss." Jack said with a smile.

"What!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Jack why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Because we were seven." Jack answered. "We used to play together at recess during school." Jack threw up his hands in surrender. "I was just an innocent kiss."

Elizabeth giggled and rolled her eyes. "Well in that case I'm going to forgive you."

"Oh thank you!" Jack exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her. He tried to kiss her.

She pulled away before he could. "But don't let it happen again."

He cast his eyes downward. "I'll try my best." He told her. He leaned in and placed a quick peck on her lips. Jack then turned to his mother. "So what to John and Claire Bradshaw have to do with the house?"

"When I mentioned to Claire that you had announced your engagement, she was thrilled, despite her teenage crush on you. She offered to look after things while I was away. She said I could stay in Coal Valley for as long as I like."

"Well that's nice!" Jack exclaimed. "But does she know that the wedding isn't until December?"

"Yes." Maggie said. "Not only did she say she'd be happy to help out for as long as it took, she also insisted that I get to know the woman that was lucky enough to steal Jack Thornton's heart of gold."

"A heart of gold is right." Elizabeth agreed.

I understand that Elizabeth here is a schoolteacher like I was. I would love to meet those youngsters and help you in the classroom, while I'm here, if you don't mind. I had no idea how much I would miss teaching since my retirement just before Jack left for the academy."

"Oh Maggie." Elizabeth said, surprised. "I would love that and so would the children. School will resume in the next couple of weeks."

"That is wonderful!" Maggie exclaimed. "I think you and I will be great friends."

"Me too." Elizabeth said with a smile.

"Oh goodness!" Maggie proclaimed. "You two just got into Coal Valley, didn't you? You're probably tired."

"We are a little." Jack stated.

"Yes," Elizabeth agreed. "But it has been such a joy chatting and getting to know you."

"Likewise," Maggie replied.

"Ma, how long have you been here?" Jack questioned. "Where have you been staying?"

"I've only arrived 3 days ago." Maggie answered. "You're friend Abigail Stanton, told me you slept here at the jail. She tried to get me settled in one of the rooms above the saloon, but I told her I wanted to surprise you and wouldn't mind staying here."

"So you've been staying here?" Jack asked, as he wrinkled his brow "With Bill Avery?"

"Who?" Maggie asked.

"Inspector Avery," Jack explained. "He was the one that was standing in for me as Constable while I was away. Hasn't he been staying here?"

"Oh yes." Maggie replied. "He was staying here. But he offered to forgo his bed and stay at the saloon and I've been sleeping here. I would stay and keep Abigail Company, at the café, while the inspector was on duty. I hope you didn't get too upset when she wouldn't tell you who was waiting for you at the jail. I asked to not to say anything."

Jack and Elizabeth looked at each other and giggled.

"What?" Maggie asked.

"Well." Elizabeth answered. "It's funny you should mention that. You mentioned that you thought Rosemary had weaseled her way back into Jack's life, when you received the telegram announcing Jack's engagement… well when Abigail announced there was a woman from Jack's past waiting for him, my mind directly went to Rosemary."

"You were frantic." Jack chuckled. "You didn't even want me coming to see who my visitor was."

Elizabeth's smile faded, as she looked at the floor. "I feel so foolish now."

"No don't worry." Maggie said. "It's my fault. If I had known Rosemary had already made an appearance in Coal Valley, I wouldn't have asked Abigail to keep my identity a secret."

"It's alright, Ma." Jack said as he kissed her cheek. "It was just one big misunderstanding. I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too." Elizabeth chimed in. "You can tell me all of Jack's secrets."

"Hey," Jack chided. "No fair."

"Don't worry, Jack." Maggie stated. "I won't tell Elizabeth anything you don't want me to." She winked at Elizabeth over Jack's head, causing Elizabeth to snicker.

Jack turned to face Elizabeth, who quickly turned away from him, trying to hide a smile.

"And I won't show her any embarrassing pictures of you either." Maggie continued.

Elizabeth giggled, this time far less discreetly.

Jack shook his head and smiled. "No fair I'm out numbered here."

"Don't worry, Jack." Elizabeth said, as she turned back to face him. "I love you despite all your deep dark secrets."

Jack grabbed Elizabeth and pulled her closer to him. "That's good. Not that I have any deep dark secrets." He said mysteriously. He tried to kiss her.

Elizabeth pulled away. "Jack! Your mother is watching!" She exclaimed.

"It's alright dear." Maggie commented. "I have no problems with Jack displaying his affection for you in my presence. I'm glad he found someone to love after Rosemary."

Elizabeth smiled. She then leaned closer and let Jack kiss her. She blushed slightly afterwards.

"Are you still planning on staying here at the jail?" Jack asked his mother. "It's usually pretty quiet but sometimes we have to bring a criminal or two in here. I don't want you sleeping here if that were to happen."

"I never even thought of that." Maggie admitted. "Maybe I should stay at the saloon."

"Well I will help you get settled." Jack said.

"Wonderful," Maggie smiled. Jack and Elizabeth helped Maggie with her luggage and the three of them exited the jail and made their way to the saloon.

After speaking with Tom Trevoy, about a room for Maggie's extended stay, and helping her get settled, Jack offered Elizabeth his arm and he escorted her back to the café. "Thank you for being so kind to my mother." He said. He showed her his appreciation with a kiss."

"It was my pleasure, Jack." Elizabeth said with a smile. "It was wonderful meeting her. I am even more excited about school starting now than I was before. I was surprised she asked if she could help me in the classroom. The children will love Mountie Jack's mother."

"Well I love you… so much." He said before he kissed her once more.

"I love you too." She said.

"It's been a long day. I know you're tired." He said. He wrapped her in his arms.

"Yes." She said as she stifled a yawn.

"Well I will let you go get some sleep." He said, as he reluctantly released her. "Goodnight." He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Goodnight." She said with a smile.

He watched her turn around and walk through the door of the café. He waited until she disappeared from sight before he made his way back to the jail to turn in himself. When he entered the jail, he patted Rip on the head. He changed quickly and climbed into bed. He lay in the bed briefly wondering how he was ever going to get to sleep. He'd grown accustomed to Elizabeth being close to him over the course of the last few weeks. Now, she was all the way at the café. He missed her already. Snap out of it Thornton. He thought to himself. In just a few short months, she will be your wife and you can cling tight to her and never let her go. He closed his eyes and smiled. The mere thought of Elizabeth becoming his wife so soon filled his heart with joy. Thinking of Elizabeth was the last thing he remembered, before he finally drifted in a deep sleep.

…to be continued…