AN: Now that I've survived my two looong days of work, and got a morning to sleep in, here is the next chapter! So glad that everyone enjoyed the proposal. Appreciated all the reviews for the last chapter. They meant a lot! Hope you all continue enjoying the story.
Later that night, Elizabeth held onto Nathan's arm as he walked her home. The snow had continued to fall and there was about two inches of fresh snow covering everything. It was a beautiful sight.
"I think I'm with Ally. I'm glad tomorrow is not a school day," Elizabeth commented.
"Planning on joining the children in making a snowman tomorrow?" Nathan asked, thinking of Ally's plans for the following day.
"No," Elizabeth replied, her head leaning against Nathan's arm as they walked. "However, I will be quite content to stay inside by the stove and read or work on my novel tomorrow rather than trudging to the schoolhouse in the fresh snow. Especially if it keeps falling."
"I wish I could join you," Nathan commented.
"Are you going out tomorrow?"
Nathan nodded. "There are a few people outside of town that I want to check on, especially with this new snowfall."
Elizabeth didn't protest. She knew that it was part of Nathan's job and probably one of the safest parts of it at that. That still didn't mean she wouldn't worry about him. Even in routine tasks of the job, things could go wrong. Jack's death had made that clear to her.
"I'll be careful, Elizabeth," Nathan said softly, as if he could read her thoughts.
"I know you will," Elizabeth replied. "I just wish you didn't have to go out in the first place but I get it. It's part of the job."
The two walked in silence for a little bit before Nathan spoke again.
"Elizabeth, are you sure you want to go through this again?" Nathan asked quietly, the doubts he had shared with Gabriel a short time ago resurfacing. "I'd unders-"
"I know you would," Elizabeth said, cutting him off even as she wished she hadn't said the words. She knew that Nathan harbored doubts about having a family with his job. The fact that she had already lost one husband to the force only added to that. "Which is one of the many reasons I love you. I know what I'm getting into. I know that there are going to be days that I see little of you. That there will be times when you'll need to go away for a few days at a time. Now, I won't try to pretend that I won't worry about you or miss you, because I will, but I'll be okay during those times. These last couple of years have taught me something. I'm strong enough to face life on my own, but its more satisfying when you face it with someone else."
"I know what you mean," Nathan replied, having come to that conclusion himself. "I was happy living my life and raising Ally, and then I met you. Living in Hope Valley opened my eyes to how much Ally was missing. Knowing you has made her a better person. It has made us both better people."
Elizabeth held tighter to the arm she was holding, not because of the slippery footing because of the snow, but because she wanted to be as close as possible to Nathan.
"I'm glad you came to Hope Valley. I'm thankful that you were patient with me as I tried to figure out my heart. I'm even more thankful that you chose to stay in Hope Valley and I'm looking forward to becoming your wife, whatever that may bring."
"What did I do to be so lucky?" Nathan asked softly.
"I could ask the same question," Elizabeth assured him.
The pair continued their walk in silence. Reaching Elizabeth's home, Nathan gave his fiancé a long, goodnight kiss.
"I can walk Rosemary back home before I head back," Nathan offered as Elizabeth carefully made her way up the few steps.
Elizabeth laughed, thinking of Lee's insistence on escorting her home. "Sometimes you men take this whole being a gentleman thing to extremes sometimes. I don't think its necessary. Besides, as soon as she sees the ring on my finger she isn't going to want to go anywhere until she gets all the details. You don't have the option of sleeping late in the morning. I do."
"As long as Little Jack lets you," Nathan pointed out.
Elizabeth laughed. "True. Still, I don't want to keep you up because of girl talk. Besides, Ally is waiting for you. Goodnight, Nathan."
"Goodnight, Elizabeth," Nathan said, leaning close for one last kiss before turning and following their footsteps back toward his house.
Elizabeth watched him for a moment, before reaching for the doorknob. Stepping inside her home, she was greeted by quiet. The warmth from the stove felt good after the chilly air outside, though neither her son nor Rosemary were in sight. Removing her hat, gloves and coat, Elizabeth listened closely and could hear the faint melody of Rosemary's voice floating down from upstairs.
Elizabeth smiled. She had no doubt that Jack would drift off to sleep with Rosemary's lullaby. It usually only took one song for her son to drift off. Not wanting Rosemary's reaction to awaken him, Elizabeth decided to wait downstairs for her. Crossing the room, she stood by the stove, holding her hands out in front of her to take the chill out of them.
The light from one of the lamps caught the diamond on her left hand, making it sparkle. It was a familiar sight and yet different. She had admired Jack's ring quite a few times after he proposed. Looking at it had been a reminder to her of his promise to come back while he was in the Northern Territory. Reaching up with her right hand, she pulled the ring out from underneath her dress where it had rested on the chain that Nathan had given her.
Elizabeth looked down at the ring. She remembered the love that it had been given to her with. She remembered the man who had given it to her. She would cherish the memories she had made with Jack. He would always be special to her. Jack would always have a place in her heart.
However, all he was now was a memory and Jack had wanted her to be happy. He had told her so, and Jack, like Nathan, never said something that he didn't mean.
Though Jack's ring looked the way it always had, it didn't seem to want to sparkle. No matter how she moved it, the diamond wouldn't catch the light. The same couldn't be said for the ring on her left hand. Nathan's ring seemed to sparkle like the sun on newly fallen snow.
"I hear you, Jack," Elizabeth said softly, feeling like once again Jack was sending her a message. This time he was telling her that it was time to move on and find happiness with Nathan.
Letting the ring on the chain fall against her, Elizabeth reached up and undid the clasp. Removing the necklace, she hooked the clasp so that the ring wouldn't fall off, and slipped it into her pocket. She intended to place the chain and ring in the velvet bag Nathan had given her the chain in. Though she couldn't say for sure that it would always stay there, she knew for the time being she planned on leaving Jack's ring safely in her dresser drawer.
"I thought I heard someone come in."
Rosemary's words brought Elizabeth out of her thoughts. Turning, Elizabeth saw her friend step off the last stop.
"I hope Little Jack wasn't too much trouble," Elizabeth commented as Rosemary approached her.
Rosemary waved a hand dismissively. "I love every moment I get to spend with him. He took a short nap when I got here, we then played for a while. He started nodding off again so I changed him and put him in his crib. He was asleep halfway through my song, and if he wasn't such a sweet thing, I think I would be offended."
Elizabeth laughed at her friend's little speech. Only Rosemary would even consider being offended by an almost two-year-old kid falling asleep during a performance.
"Well, I don't think anyone will fall asleep during your performance at the Christmas Eve concert," Elizabeth told. "Hopefully, no one will fall asleep during any of the performances," she added.
"I hear Nathan is performing," Rosemary ventured.
"He is," Elizabeth confirmed. "He will accompany Ally on the guitar while she sings The First Noel. She is so excited."
"And Nathan?"
Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. "Nathan is a little less excited," she admitted, thinking of Nathan's comment about wondering how he let himself be talked into the performance in the first place. "However, he'll go through with it for Ally. There isn't much he wouldn't do for her."
"Ally isn't the only one that there isn't much he wouldn't do for," Rosemary commented knowingly.
The comment made Elizabeth look down at the diamond on her left hand. Rosemary was right. She knew that Nathan would do just about anything for her. Her safety and happiness meant everything to him even if he didn't always know the best way to show it. Like his outburst at the hunting cabin the day of the windstorm. Though she had been shocked and hurt by his words then, Elizabeth understood now what had prompted his reaction - Nathan's love for her. She could imagine Jack reacting much the same way in that situation.
"You're right," Elizabeth conceded even as Rosemary reached out for her left hand.
"That's not the ring Jack gave you," Rosemary stated taking in the new ring on Elizabeth's left ring finger.
"It's not," Elizabeth confirmed, a huge smile coming instantly to her face. She couldn't help but be happy.
"Nathan proposed?" Rosemary asked, her voice happy but with a touch of disbelief in it.
"He did," Elizabeth admitted.
"Oh, Elizabeth," Rosemary exclaimed, dropping her friend's hand and throwing her arms around her. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thank-you!" Elizabeth said. "There was a time I didn't think I'd ever feel this much happiness again, but I'm happy myself," she admitted, hugging her friend back.
Rosemary finally took a step back. "Lee's going to be happy too. Not just for you but because he won the bet."
"What bet?"
"Lee said that Nathan would propose to you before Christmas and I figured the man wouldn't get up his nerve until sometime after the new year. Looks like I'll be cooking Lee a meal of his choice, dessert and all."
Elizabeth laughed. She couldn't help it. Though there was a part of her that wanted to be made at her friends making bets hinging on her love life, she just couldn't manage it. It wasn't like she hadn't wondered herself how long Nathan would take to ask the question. Besides, it was a friendly bet between a happily married couple. It wasn't like Lucas had gotten up a pool at the saloon to guess when Nathan would propose.
At least, she hoped he hadn't. She couldn't be one hundred percent sure of what Lucas might do if the idea hit him. Sending her chapters to his mother without asking had proven that to her. Though she had learned he wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt someone, Lucas sometimes didn't stop to think about how something might be taken by others if he thought it helped. If Lucas had started a pool in fun, then Elizabeth knew that she didn't want to hear about it. She also hoped that Nathan didn't hear about because she knew his feelings on gambling.
"I've got to say, I'm glad Lee won," Elizabeth told her friend. "Things seemed to move slowly with Jack, and I was okay with that, but now that I'm ready to move on, I find I don't want to take my time this time around. Life is uncertain, and I want to start making memories with Nathan and Ally as soon as I can. Not that I haven't been making memories with them, but you know what I mean."
"I do," Rosemary assured her, nodding knowingly. Her close call with Lee had given her a better understanding of the women in Hope Valley who had lost husbands and sons and still found a way to go on.
"I had put water in the tea kettle in case you wanted some tea to warm up after your walk home," Rosemary said. "How about I make us both a cup and you can tell me about the proposal. I want all the details."
"Okay," Elizabeth replied, anxious to tell the story to someone. The cup of tea sounded good as well.
While Elizabeth was relating the proposal to Rosemary, Nathan had gone home. Ally had gotten ready for bed while he was walking Elizabeth home and wanted part of their story read to her. However, Nathan hadn't read too far into the chapter when Ally started asking questions that had nothing to do with the story.
"When will the wedding take place?" Ally asked during a pause to turn a page.
"I'm not sure," Nathan replied. "Mrs. Thornton and I will have to talk about that. However, I'm thinking that she's going to want a little while to make plans," he told her. Nathan was also reminded about the request from Elizabeth's father. Meeting Elizabeth's parents before the wedding was not an unreasonable request and was one that Nathan was going to try and pull off. From all indications, he wasn't the type of man Mr. Thatcher wanted his daughter to marry which meant anything he could do to gain favor in the man's eyes, would be a good thing.
"Can I be in the wedding?" Ally asked next. "I think that would be so fun! I don't want to be the flower girl though. I'm too old to be the flower girl."
Nathan smiled, glad that Ally was excited about the whole idea of him getting married.
"I'll talk to Elizabeth. I'm sure something can be arranged," Nathan assured her.
"Little Jack would make a great ring bearer," Ally commented.
"He would," Nathan agreed, glancing down at the page of the book he still held. He however didn't get a chance to start reading again before his daughter chimed in.
"Are you going to get married in your dress uniform?" Ally asked. "I kind of hope you don't. The bridesmaid dresses always seem to clash with the red uniforms when Mounties get married in their uniforms," she commented, having attended several weddings of officers that Nathan was serving with over the years.
"I hadn't really thought about it," Nathan admitted.
"If you were the only one in the red serge, it wouldn't look too bad, no matter what color the bridesmaid dresses were," Ally continued. "The bride is always in white, which doesn't clash with anything. However, with Mr. Gabe as your best man, if you wear your uniform, he'll probably be in his as well and then the color combinations would matter."
Ally paused briefly before asking. "Mr. Gabe will be your best man won't he?"
"Yes. I plan on asking Gabe to be my best man."
"Who else would be in the wedding party?"
"I can't answer that until I talk to Mrs. Thornton," Nathan informed her. "I don't even know how big a wedding she might want. This will be her second marriage. She might want to do something small."
"Small might be better for you anyway," Ally commented. "Too many people watching might make you get tongue-tied."
"Funny," Nathan told her. "Now, as I can promise you that the wedding will take place sometime after Christmas, how about we put off talking about it for now and I finish this chapter so we can both get some sleep."
"Okay," Ally agreed.
Nathan lifted the book and continued reading the chapter, glad to put the wedding talk off for now.
