Chapter 33

The Other Thornton

"I'm sorry Charles,I have plans for tonight. I'm going out to dinner with a 'll be here to pick me up at 6:30. So,I won't be here." She kind of felt bad but she was trying to make him jealous in order to finally get the fact across to him. He needed to get it through his head that she didn't feel the same way for him that he felt for her.

"Oh ok I see,well that's too bad." Out of the corner of her eye,she could see that her father was giving her a look of disappointment. She knew that her father thought her and Charles should be together,just like everyone else. Although her mom seemed to understand what Elizabeth was going through.

"Well let's all sit down and catch up," her mom offered,then asked Martha for some tea and something sweet. Taking a seat,she noticed that her father still didn't look very happy with her. She couldn't help how she felt or didn't talked for a couple of hours,and Charles asked if she would like to go for a walk,perhaps in the garden. She thought that if she said yes,maybe he would leave her alone,so she accepted.

Walking and talking while in the garden,Charles asked all about where she was livivng now and how she liked her job. She was actually ablle to talk to him without getting to bored. About 5:00,she told him the very thing that he didn't want to hear.

"Charles,this has been nice, but I need to go get ready for tonight. Can we please go back to the house? Elizabeth could see that he was disappointed because their time was coming to an moved to go upstairs to her room and Charles spoke.

"It was really good to see you Elizabeth,have a safe trip home." She could hear and see the sadness in his voice and on his face. She didn't think that it would be fair to string along his heart and pretend to enjoy their times together. She didn't want it to look like she had feelings for him when she really didn't. She thanked Charles and told him goodbye.

She showered and decided to wear her nice jeans with her red sweater. She made sure her hair was dry and she put it in a french braid. After doing her makeup,she grabbed her phone to send Jack a text, Going to have dinner with your brother to catch up on things! Jack replied right away, Awesome sounds like fun:) Ask him when he's coming to visit Hope Valley. Elizabeth said that she would,and she would talk to him later.

"Elizabeth your friend is here."her mother called up the stairs. She grabbed her purse,her phone and headed down the didn't know where Tom was planning on taking her,but she was really glad to see that Tom was wearing jeans too.

"Hi there! You must be name is Tom,I'm Jack's little brother."he shook her hand and asked if she was all ready to go. She could just imagine her parent's faces without looking at them. Tom held the door for her and they walked out to his again opened the door for her and she hopped into the car. She got in and got comfortable as Tom slid into the drivers seat.

"Is there any special place that you would like to go for dinner? She shook her head and told Tom that it was totally up to him. There is this really nice diner that I'm sort of a regular at." They both laughed and decided that there would be the perfect place to eat. Tom drove about 15 minutes,parked, and came around to open Elizabeth's door for went inside and were shown to a table.

"What looks good to you? Order anything that you would like,it's my treat. Elizabeth thanked him. Make sure that you save room for dessert though,it's amazing."

"Hmm,I think that I'm going to go with a hot turkey sandwich,the mac and cheese with the cauliflower." She decided,although everything looked so good.

"Sounds great,I think that I'll have the beef stew with some cornbread. Elizabeth agreed that his decision sounded delicious put in their order and started to chat. So, you live in the same town as Jack huh? How is my big brother these days?

"Jack is doing well and so is Hope Valley. I was very happy to see that we had a sheriff in the town. Also,to answer your other question, yep,I'm the school teacher in our town. I've been there for almost a month now. Ten minutes later,their food grabbed their forks and started to enjoy their dinner. It was amazing, no wonder Tom was a regular here. She could definately see why he loved it so much. They sat and chatted for about an hour and just relaxed while enjoying the delicious food.

"So,Jack wants to know when you're going to visit. Tom laughed out loud as he handed her a dessert menu. Alrighty what should I get for dessert?"Elizabeth gasped at how many choices were on the had everything from ice cream and milkshakes to pie and cakes.

"Well, said Tom,I love the cherry pie with ice cream but you can't go wrong with any of it." The waitress came to take the dessert order and Tom flashed a smile at her,and introduced her as Linda. He explained that she worked here full time so she and Tom knew each other well.

"I think that I'll have the cheesecake with caramel." Elizabeth gave her order and Tom told Linda that she would have his regular. She took their order with promises to be back in a few minutes.

"Now to answer your question, I will go visit Jack when he comes to visit me ha ha." It was now Elizabeth's turn to laugh. Linda brought their desserts to them,and it was as good as dinner. They talked for a little longer and she brought the check over. Tom paid the bill and they walked out to the car.

"Are you ready to go home or did you want to go and do something else? Tom offered as he said that he didn't have to work the next day.

"This has been so nice and a ton of fun,but I'm going home tomorrow. So,I should really start to pack and get everything ready to go."she said,sad that the evening was coming to an end. Tom agreed,opening the door for her. As they droe into the driveway,Tom told her that it was so great to meet her. He shook her hand,gave a her a kiss on the cheek and said that she could text him anytime. He asked her to keep in contact with him and to keep an eye on his big brother for told him that she would really like to keep being his friend and that she would add him as a contact in her phone. As she got out of the car,she asked if she could get a picture of the two of them so that she could send it to Jack. He told her absolutely! They got together and Elizabeth snapped a perfect selfie of the two of them. They said goodbye with a hug, and with promises of keeping in contact. She waved at Tom as he drove off. When she went inside,she couldn't find anyone. She saw Martin,one of the housekeepers,washing the windows in the kitchen.

"Martin,have you seen my parents?" He nodded

"Yes ma'am,I believe your mother is out in the library and your Father is in his study." Elizabeth thanked him and moved in the direction of his study to talk to him. She knocked on his door softly,since it was kind of late,she didn't want to disturb him if he was in the middle of something.

"Come in." she heard his voice say rather harshly. She had a feeling that he knew who was at the door.

"Hi Dad,I just wanted to let you know that I'm home and to say goodnight."At first he didn't speak,then he mumbled somethig that sounded like a goodnight in response. She shut the door and just shook her head in disbelief. She wasn't sure why her Father was so upset with her. Was he so fond of the idea of her getting together with Charles,that he was willing to act like this, and sacrifice his daughter's happiness? She was sorry that he felt this way,but she was an adult. She could make up her own mind on who she was going to be with. As she got ready for bed,she realized that she couldn't wait to get home. She missed Jack,Lee,Abigail and all of her friends including all her children. She would always remember tonight and the day that she got to meet Jack's little read her Bible and said her prayers,making sure to thank God for all of her friends that He had given her since she moved to Oklahoma. She couldn't wait to go home:)