Chapter 58
A Night Under the Stars
"So what did you plan for dinner?" Elizabeth was hungry, but she didn't want to seem like she wasn't having a good time.
"If you're up for it, I was thinking that we could head down to the stream and see if we can catch our dinner. What do you think?" Jack looked so cute when he was excited about something.
"I would love to, but I have to tell you that I've never fished before." Elizabeth knew that she should have told him before they got ready to go fishing, but of course she didn't and here they were ready to go.
"Don't worry, I'll show you. It's easy and fun!" Jack picked up the 2 fishing poles and a net. He said that he would get some worms when they got to the stream. They got everything all together and got ready to head down to the stream. Elizabeth called for Scout, who was playing with Rip. Jack whistled for the pups and Scout came running, but Rip decided to go take a nap in Elizabeth's tent instead:) They both started to laugh, because if they knew Rip, he wouldn't be moving for the rest of the evening.
After they found a nice spot, they put all the stuff down while Jack knelt down to dig some worms. She never told Jack this, but she didn't get along with rodents, bugs or anything slimy. So she glady let his dig for the bait for the fish. After his joyous success, he came over and put a worm on each of their hooks. He handed one to her.
"Um, now what do I do?" Elizabeth just kind of stood there holding her pole, while Jack got his pole ready. He came over and stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"Is this really necessary?" He put his hands on hers and guided them, while showing her how to cast her line.
"Yes." he whispered softly in her ear. He showed her how to reel her line in and how to cast it back out again. After he was done showing her, he kept his arms around her and nuzzled his nose in her hair. She turned and looked deeply into his brown eyes.
"I love you Jack, you mean more to me than anything. I hope you know that." He looked just as deep into her eyes.
"I love you too Elizabeth, so so much." Jack leaned over and was ready to cover her lips with his own when she cried out.
"Oh my goodness! I think I have a fish, what do I do?" She was trying so hard to not drop the pole, but she knew better and held tight. Jack held on too and showed her how to reel in her fish. Together they pulled a 16 inch trout out of the stream.
"This will be great for dinner. Seeing Elizabeth's face, he couldn't help but laugh. Don't worry, I'll take care of it:)" They fished a little while longer, and each of them caught 2 fish. So back in camp, Jack revived fire, cleaned the fish and started to cook the fish. Pretty soon, the smell was making her mouth water. She didn't realize how hungry she was, and it was pretty tasty. She had never had anything to eat that had been cooked over a fire before.
Later on, they both found themselves sitting on a log together near the fire. Elizabeth couldn't see a thing except for the flames of the fire. The crackling of the fire was the only sound that could be heard and the stars in the sky were absoutely breathtaking. They both sat staring at the stars and Jack had his arm around her.
"Elizabeth, are you happy here?" Jack turned towards her.
"I am Jack, I feel at home here in Hope Valley." She could faintly see him smiling at her in the darkness.
"So you think that you could see yourself staying here and spending the rest of your lie here?" Jack picked up a stick and started playing with the ashes of the fire.
"You know, I think that I could. Maybe someday, get a larger house with a white fence. I would have a big bathtub, fireplace and a big feather bed." Jack dropped the stick and looked at her.
"That sounds like a dream, I've been having for myself. I would love all of those things especially the fireplace. What could possibly be better than being on the couch in front of the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate, and curling up with the one that you love." Jack looked over at Elizabeth when she didn't answer. She must have worn herself out today, because she had rested her head on his shoulder and fallen fast asleep.
"Elizabeth, he called softly to her, Wake up sweetheart, it's time that we get some sleep."
"Oh I'm sorry, I guess that I drifted off." Jack started to laugh.
"I guess you did, let's get you to bed." He guided her over to her tent, opened the flaps for her.
"Goodnight Jack." she kissed him on the cheek and started to go inside, when he suddenly grabbed her hand, pulling her back to him.
"Do you really think that you can get away that easily?" She started off giggling, but then stared into his eyes, while he gazed at the flecks of gold in her eyes. He pressed his lips against her soft lips. Not wanting to let her go, he broke the kiss and let her go. With thoughts of the wonderful breakfast that he was planning for Elizabeth, he went into his tent. He fell asleep with thoughts of how he was going to ask Elizabeth Thatcher to spend the rest of her life with him.
Elizabeth woke up to the smell of coffee. She streched, gave a yawn and rolled out of the sleeping back. Opening the flaps of the tent, she was greeted by the sight of her handsome man fixing breakfast by the fire.
"Good morning handsome." Jack immediately looked up and wondered to himself how he got so lucky to have such a beautiful girlfriend.
"Hey there sweetheart, how'd you sleep?" Jack came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Pretty well actually, she came over and sat on the log beside the fire, that he had already got started. What are you doing there?"
"I've got a breakfast for you that you are going to love. I got eggs, bacon and biscuits with honey. Are you ready for a plate?" He grabbed a plate and started to put food on it.
"Yes please! It looks and smells delicious, I'm starving. She watched as he fixed her a plate of food and handed it to her. So, what are we going to do today?"
"Well, as Jack sat down with a plate of food that he fixed for himself, I fiquired we could go on a walk and take lunch for a picnic. Then if you're up for it, we can go swimming later this afternoon. The best part is that we can take the pups with us both places.
"That sounds so exciting, I can't wait! " They both finished their breakfast, Elizabeth washed the dishes while Jack went to fill the canteens at the stream. She then went into her tent to grab a light jacket and a water bowl for Scout.
They were finally off on their hike. Elizabeth was amazed at the scenery of the mountains and the river. They walked until the sun was high in the sky, so Jack knew that it was about time to stop for lunch. They found a nice spot, sat down and opened the picnic basket.
" Why does this food taste so much better?" She held up her ham and cheese sandwich, looking at it like she was expecting to see the reason that it was so tasty.
"That would be the air of the outside my sweet. When was the last time that you ate something outside in the spring time?" He himself had trouble containing the happiness that he felt during this picnic as well. The food did taste different, however maybe it was because of the company.
Finishing up their food, they packed up everything and started to head back to the campsite. They had gone about a half of a mile when Elizabeth noticed that only Rip was ahead of them. Where was Scout? All of a sudden she heard him barking and it sounded indeed like something was wrong.
"Jack, Scout is not here, we need to find him! I can hear him barking so I know that he isn't far away. Please help me." He took her hand and then hurried toward the sound of his bark. Just then Jack stopped and froze in his tracks. There on the ground playing with Scout was a little bear cub. They looked like they were having a good time but Jack knew the dangerous situation this could become.
"Elizabeth do your best to stand very still. Chances are very good that where the bear's baby is, the mother is near. We need to get Scout away from the cub as soon as possible." she wanted to call him but he told her to stay as quiet as possible.
As Jack moved closer to the playing little pair, Elizabeth just stood out of the way. All of a sudden, she heard a noise right behind her and she saw a shadow rise above her. She was so scared that she could barely out utter a sound. Seeing his lady master in trouble, Scout stopped his playing, and jumped in between her and the mama bear. Jack hearing the commotion turned around fast, and tried to make noise so that the bear would take her baby into the woods. No such luck, the bear kept roaring at Scout as he kept jumping and barking at the bear. Elizabeth knew that she should try to be as still as possible but her puppy was out there trying to save her life. She started to yell at the bear with tears streaming down her face. This momma bear wasn't going to take any more of this, she was scared for her and her baby... All of a sudden the momma strenched up, and roared the loudest roar that Elizabeth had ever heard. Jack yelled and covered the gap between Elizabeth and the bear, and she screamed,closed her eyes, and heard Scout give one last bark and then all was silent...
