Ch 9: Aster Fields

The trail wound through the woods and across a small stream that criss-crossed under the path and occasionally trickled over it. Sometimes it even wound around and through the trees. It was a path Elizabeth hadn't taken before and it seemed to have a magic all its own—charming them further the longer they rode up onto the mountain.

They had traveled for nearly twenty minutes with the path only wide enough for a single rider. She certainly wasn't complaining about the view, though. She took in Nathan's lean and muscular back from high in the saddle. The mountains weren't bad either.

Nevertheless, Elizabeth was committing this ride to memory though she hoped it was merely the first of many rides in her future.

The wooded path opened up to a clearing with a cobalt blue lake nestled into the valley with the sheer mountain face colliding into it on three sides. The water was so still that it reflected the clouds like a mirror. The path led downwards on a slope to the lake and thousands of lavender shaded asters carpeted the valley—much like the ones adorning her desk in her classroom at this very moment.

Nathan pulled back on the reins as Newton slowed to a grassy clearing. Nathan dismounted in one fluid movement as Elizabeth followed him with her eyes taking in every detail.

He caught her glance and he smiled shyly as a light blush crept across his face. He pulled out a blanket from his saddle bag and tucked it under his arm. He then untethered two canteens.

Elizabeth dismounted Sargeant and grabbed a small cloth bag of her own from her saddlebag. She sauntered over to his side as he laid the blanket in the grass.

"Does this spot work?" Nathan asked innocently as he took in her eyes full of wonder at the beauty around them.

"Nathan, this place is incredible." She said breathlessly as she slipped her arm around his elbow. She continued to look over the expanse of the lake and sheer faced cliffs.

"I've wanted to show you this spot for so long. Have you ever been here before?" He asked with his eyes focused on her alone—drinking in her wonder.

"Never." She whispered and shook her head. Elizabeth turned to look back at Nathan who was smiling tenderly at her.

"Not many people know about this place. I found it while tracking a year ago. Those asters reminded me of your coat…"

"And our hug." Elizabeth whispered. Nathan nodded. She rested her head against his shoulder thinking back to the day of the prisoner transport. They had come so far since that day. In many ways though, it appeared that they were one step forward and five steps back.

That hug subconsciously revealed her heart and love for Nathan, but also threw the cover off her unhealed grief and fears. It was still forward progress—as grueling as the process was, but facing the truth was already bringing light and hope back into her world.

Today was proof of that. She could hold close to the man she cared about unapologetically. Already that love was carrying her to beautiful places she had never been. It was a whole new world before her.

Nathan made no movement to rush her from her revelry, but as she stirred again he invited her to sit with him on the blanket. He handed her a canteen and she was surprised to find it still warm. Curious, she opened it to discover the smell of cinnamon and cloves—apple cider.

He smiled down at her. "When you're on the trail as much as I am, it's the little things that feel special. Warm cider is like a little piece of home."

She smiled back at him and took a drink. It was good. If this is home, sign me up.

"Nathan, this is wonderful. Thank you."

"It's not champagne…" he said modestly looking down at his own canteen.

"It's better." She assured him.

He smiled at that. "So, we have some time before we need to head back and my hope is there will be no distractions out here so we can just talk."

"You first. I've spent so much time talking at you, and I want to change that. Tell me about you, Nathan. What was it like for you growing up? Tell me about your family."

Nathan let out a huge breath. "Went for the hard stuff first, huh?" He said with a laugh. "I should have expected that." He leaned back with his hands behind him supporting his weight.

She scrunched her nose at him and shrugged. "Start anywhere…what's your mom like?"

Nathan's face warmed at the thought of his mother. "Mom is a resilient woman. She's tough, and yet tender. We were poor, but she always made a point to make things special for us. Dad was unpredictable, but Mom was our rock. She loved us, held us when we cried…she is a great listener even today. Somehow she always knows something is up and she'll get it out of you too. She's a great cook and she always welcomed people to our table. Our home always had people coming and visiting—especially after church on Sundays. It was nice since we were out on the ranch and we were otherwise pretty secluded."

"She sounds like a wonderful woman—a great mother." Elizabeth said. She looked out over the perfectly still lake as the asters lightly danced in the breeze before them.

"I met your dad and I know there is a lot of tough history there, but were there any good times with him that you remember?" Elizabeth carefully asked. She leaned back herself and placed a hand over his in a show of silent support.

Nathan let out a long sigh and took a moment to collect his thoughts. He needed a moment to breech this topic and still his heartbeat from Elizabeth's touch. He interlocked their fingers as she looked out over the valley.

"Dad was…spontaneous. He seemed to live moment to moment. He would take Colleen and me fishing on a whim. Sometimes we would come home from school to find our poles out and the wagon hitched up. We never knew where we would go…we would just go." He paused for a moment processing his father's actions as emotion long-suppressed bubbled to the surface. Sensing the shift, Elizabeth sat up straighter and held out her arm to him in an offered hug.

Nathan was at ease with Elizabeth. He sat up further and leaned into her supportive embrace. He continued, "I guess you could say he was a dreamer. He would talk about things he would do or things we would even do together, but then he would never get around to doing them. That was hard as a kid. I learned that I couldn't trust him. It was all just…empty promises." A tear soundlessly slid down his cheek.

Elizabeth listened as she stared out at the placid lake. "Oh Nathan. I'm so sorry. That had to be so hard as a kid…I'm sure it's hard even now." She squeezed his side and looked up at him. "I'm so sorry that I shamed you for how your relationship was with your father. I didn't know your history, and worse…I never asked before I doled out my judgement. Please forgive me. I was so wrong." She reached up and wiped the tears from his cheek tenderly.

Nathan smiled down at her through his tears. He put his arm around her head gently leaning her closer to his chest. He tenderly kissed the top of her hair. "Thank you," he whispered as his voice broke— finally feeling seen and validated.

Though she didn't prod further, Nathan continued stronger now, "Colleen was my best friend and not just my sister. At two years apart, Dad called us his Irish twins. Just like Allie, Colleen was so excited over just about everything. No one could hold her back and she just dragged me along everywhere. It was good though. She made me brave. I was always pretty cautious as a kid. Analytical…and Colleen just shot first and aimed second."

Elizabeth laughed at that, "She sounds like my sister Julie." Elizabeth looked up at Nathan.

Nathan nudged her, "yeah? She seemed nice when I met her at Jack's christening. I hope I can get to know her better someday."

"I hope you will too." She said, with a lot more meaning passing between them than either said.

"So what's Julie really like?" Nathan took a sip of his cider and readjusted so he could better put an arm around Elizabeth's back as she snuggled back happily into his side.

"She's…vivacious…and bubbly. She was always getting herself…and me into trouble as kids. We always said she leaps before she looks. She still hasn't really changed. I mean, she has matured some obviously, but she's still a red-head so she'll probably always have some fire in her." Elizabeth said with a laugh. "We were really close as kids, much closer than I was with my older sister Viola. Julie just…gets me. She is the one I miss most out here."

"I have a feeling she and Colleen would have gotten along great and probably would have gotten into all sorts of trouble. They'd would likely even need to be rescued fairly often together…" he laughed to himself.

Elizabeth laughed too, "actually Jack had to rescue Julie and me once when Julie was caring for Nate Tolliver in a cabin."

"Nate Tolliver from the Tolliver Gang?! Are you serious?! Why am I not surprised…" he said shaking his head.

Elizabeth nudged him playfully. "Julie has a big heart." She attempted to maintain a serious teacher face, but her twinkling eyes gave her away.

"She's like Colleen alright. Colleen always fell for the wrong guys. I never understood it…"

"It's hard when your dad isn't around. My father was there in the house with us, but his mind was always off on some business-deal. Sometimes he was home….really home, but I don't think he knew what to do with a house full of girls."

"It's definitely different being the father of a little girl. I wish all the time that Colleen was here to help Allie where I can't." Nathan looked down lost in thought.

"You are doing a great job with her." Elizabeth reached up to his jaw and tenderly turned his face towards hers. She held her hand across his lightly stubbled cheek as warmth radiated up her arm.

He felt it too as he leaned into her touch, closing his eyes, soaking up the gesture, and her affirmation. He placed his hand over hers on his cheek, wrapped their fingers together, and kissed her hand.

"Thank you." He whispered. They sat in the silence of the moment until his stomach grumbled. They both laughed.

Elizabeth reached into her bag and pulled out a cookie. Nathan's eyes flared as the smell of cinnamon assaulted his senses.

"Are those snickerdoodles?" He asked eagerly as he took a bite and groaned. "Oh my mom used to make these. Is that maple syrup too?"

"Maple sugar." She crinkled her nose and squinted her eyes in a tease. "It's nice to see someone appreciate my baking. Poor Jack had to muscle through several burnt dinners." She laughed to herself before she sat up suddenly rigid. "Sorry. I didn't mean to compare you to Jack again." She started twisting her wedding rings nervously.

"Oh Lizbeth, no….it's ok. Jack will always be important to you. You'll always love and miss him. I understand that." Nathan put his hand over hers covering her nervous fidget.

"Lizbeth, if it weren't for Jack, I don't know that I would have ever ended up here…with you. And I'm so glad I came. You forgiving me for Fort Clay was such a gift. I carried that burden for so long. I just wished I had told you sooner, but I didn't want to hurt you…and yet I still did."

"I have already forgiven you Nathan and I meant it then and I mean it now. It wasn't your fault. It never was. And now that I know that you came to protect me and Little Jack….thank you. Thank you Nathan for uprooting your life and Allie's to make sure that my family was safe. I'm honored. Really. And I couldn't have picked a better man than you."

Her words hung heavily between them as both their eyes filled with tears. Nathan reached out and put a hand on her cheek rubbing his thumb tenderly across her cheekbone—sparks racing up his arm.

"Thank you," he spoke softly at last. "I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Having you and Jack in my life is such an unexpected blessing."

At that, Elizabeth leaned further into his touch. "And to think I used to think you were quiet." She joked breaking the tension. After all she had taken from Nathan Grant, she was not about to push him now for more affection than he was ready for. Instead, she chose to embrace these little moments of growing and healing.

"I hate to say it, but we should probably pack up." Nathan lamented. "And… I'm afraid I'm going to need more cookies or I might not make it back down the mountain." He sucked in his cheeks playfully as if he were wasting away.

Elizabeth laughed and handed over the bag—keeping just one for herself. Nathan briefly considered objecting, but then the smell of cinnamon and maple sugar wafted his way. With the bag in her outstretched hand, he playfully grabbed the bag instead—much to Elizabeth's amusement.

Nathan stood and held out a hand to help her up. She gladly took it and he seized the opportunity to pull her into an embrace. After a few moments, he kissed the top of her forehead and offered to help her up onto Sargeant.

"I'm not that helpless Constable." She teased as she mounted effortlessly.

"Just being a gentleman." Nathan retorted with a wink.

"You're a charmer and I'm onto you Nathan Grant." She playfully pointed down at him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way Lizbeth Thornton." He smiled up at her and packed up the blanket, canteens, and cookies. He untethered the horses and mounted Newton before clicking him forward to a walk.

Sargeant followed behind and Elizabeth leaned back and took in the last of their valley before it disappeared again through the trees. She hoped to return, but she was grateful this time to be riding away with Nathan instead of from him.

A/N:

The trail with water criss-crossing across and under the path is a real trail in Story, Wyoming. It has always felt magical to me and like something that belonged in a story.

The lavender blue aster field with the glacial lake is also a real place in Alberta according to my wildflowers research via Google images. I'll post the photo to the Sunday Night Serge group on Facebook. Hope my description did it justice!

"The mountains weren't bad either." Shout out to my McGarries!

Non-interesting tidbit: I make my snickerdoodles with maple sugar so I decided to compliment myself because being an author is sometimes fun like that. :)