An Apple for a Teacher

Chapter 2: The Invitation

"Mama, I think we should eat now. My tummy is talking to me." Jack's little singsong voice broke the pervasive silence of the moment and Elizabeth's snowlady-like stillness as she caught sight of Nathan and Allie stepping out into the middle of the orchard.

"Shhhh," Elizabeth instructed, turning toward Jack, her pointer finger held up to her lips to signify her request that he refrain from speaking.

"Dad, I think I heard something." Allie shifted her head around in multiple directions in an attempt to find the source of the sound, and she looked like a chipmunk trying to keep a watchful eye out for predators while scavenging for food. "Did you hear it too?" She inquired.

"Yes, I did. It sounded like a child's voice," Nathan responded. "I hope no little ones are lost out here," he declared, the ridge between his eyes creased like a wrinkled button-down shirt in concern.

"Mama! Mama, it's…" Jack squealed with vigor, his voice soaring like an eagle. He was on the verge of stating Nathan and Allie's names, but Elizabeth quickly set her basket of apples down, picked him up, and drew him close to her chest in one fluid motion, preventing him from finishing his pronouncement. "Shhhh," she whispered, "Let's play hide and seek with them," even while knowing it was too late.

Aided by Jack's exclamation, it took all of about one-and-a-half seconds for Nathan's perceptive Mountie eyes to catch sight of Elizabeth and Jack through the branches of the apple tree they were standing behind, and, having been spotted, Elizabeth only hoped her cheeks looked at least a little less crimson than the apples surrounding them.

As swiftly as a firefly flickers, Nathan's face broke out into an amiable-looking, boyish jack o'lantern grin. He took large, yet casual strides over to the mother and son pair, finding his way from around the umbrella-like branches of the stately tree they were hiding behind to a spot just beside them, so that Elizabeth's and Jack's faces were in clear view, and not marred by the branches. Allie followed shortly behind Nathan, skipping in contentment and delight upon coming across her teacher and adorable little boy while on her apple picking excursion with her father. The intuitive young lady wore a pretty mauve-and-white long-sleeve dress, along with white stockings and a stylish matching mauve coat to ward off the early autumn chill. In contrast, Nathan wore a dashing mahogany-colored coat that offset his sea-blue eyes a bit too nicely for Elizabeth's already unstable heart, which was tapping irregularly against her chest like an English clog dancer's accelerated and wayward footwork, as well as complementary khaki-colored trousers.

"Well, who do we have here? Just the best finds we could come across in this apple orchard," Nathan winked, looking even more like a jack o'lantern in turn, and Elizabeth found herself giggling at Nathan's words and then erupting in laughter in spite of herself at his facial expression and the comical nature of the situation.

"We were playing hide and seek with you," Jack divulged, and Elizabeth then inwardly groaned at her son's frankness. She abruptly averted her gaze from Nathan's eyes and suddenly became very interested in the avalanche of apples that threatened to spill forth from her basket sitting on the ground beneath her, an image that fittingly seemed to parallel her rising feelings, which she was working hard to contain. She figured her face could have been easily mistaken for just another red apple at this point.

"Is that so?" Nathan was not upset, but instead rather amused. Allie just laughed.

For a few moments, Nathan's regular breathing pattern skittered to a haphazard halt. Words evaded him as he took in the scene before him of Elizabeth sheepishly standing with her filled-to-the-brim basket of ruby red apples underneath her, gaze lowered self-consciously, cheeks dusted with a blanket of autumn rose, her son clinging to her in total trust as she held him closely while her cinnamon curls were swept up by the wind like spiraling leaves.

Nathan had a soft spot reserved solely for Hope Valley's lovely schoolteacher with the generous heart and compassionate and altruistic nature. He knew, shortly after meeting her, that she was the one woman who would forever be in his heart. It had been on his mind and in his heart to ask her to go out on a date with him for a while now, but knowing she was a widow, and sensing her apprehensiveness, he did not want to push her. But maybe we could at least have a picnic together today, Nathan thought to himself.

Recognizing Elizabeth's embarrassment at she and Jack having been caught hiding from him and Allie, Nathan changed the subject. He had an extraordinary ability to read Elizabeth's emotions and sense her feelings, though she also confounded him at times.

"Jack, that is a fine coat you have on there, young man. We're finally getting some cooler weather," Nathan stated, taking a breath with some trepidation and inhaling the invigorating autumn air. The weather is always a safe subject, Nathan thought to himself. Not always sure how to navigate things with Elizabeth, he often felt as if he was a sea captain without a compass. She had experienced profound sorrow and trauma due to the sudden loss of her husband Jack, who had also been a Mountie, and Nathan sensed she had understandable underlying fears from this loss which were contributing to the hesitation she often exhibited toward him. Yet, for all her apprehensiveness, she had occasional breakthrough moments with Nathan where she would open the gate of her heart a few inches toward him, and where they would have moments of connection so acute that the background of whatever setting they were in at the time would fade away and they would feel as if they were the only two living beings in existence. With all this in mind, Nathan doubted that Elizabeth's hiding from him today was done out of any malice.

Furthermore, despite the fact that Nathan was a Mountie—and an exemplary one at that, as he was renowned among fellow Mounties for being "the coolest of cucumbers" (their words, not his) in the most critical and life-threatening of situations—whenever he saw Elizabeth, he himself felt as if he were a ship thrown off by her from his life course of predictable unpredictability that was so typical of a Mountie to one of truly unpredictable unpredictability. On one hand, Nathan felt like this due to Elizabeth's split nature of being shy and frozen sometimes, yet very approachable and warm at other times. Yet, he also felt thrown off by her because she made him rethink his goals in life. While he prided himself on serving Hope Valley as the town's Mountie and found substantial fulfillment in his work, he was starting to think that continuing to chase bad guys day in and day out and working his way up through the ranks meant little without a deep love and lifetime companion whom he could share his life with...without her, who caused him to momentarily forget how to carry out fundamental human skills—like breathing and speaking—on the regular.

Elizabeth discerned that Nathan was trying to make her feel more comfortable by shifting the topic of conversation to the weather, and she felt her hands, which she had been holding as taut as a silken spiderweb, relax as he did so and release the bulk of their tension. She was grateful for his tendency to empathetically pivot the conversation to set her more at ease. At the same time, she didn't want Nathan to think she was hiding from him because she did not like him, when she felt, in fact, the complete opposite about him. You can't hide from Nathan and your feelings forever, the voice of reason in her head said. Especially when he's a Mountie. He's too observant. He's always going to find you in the end, like he did today.

"Yeah, soon it'll be time to jump into piles of leaves!" Exclaimed Allie with an excitement level equivalent to that of about five children, which helped bring Elizabeth out of her whirling tumbleweed-like thoughts and back to the present.

"Jack jump into piles of leaves with Allie!" Jack responded enthusiastically, finding his way out of Elizabeth's soft, yet secure grasp and onto the orchard floor, and then executing a practice jump into an invisible pile of leaves that he had invented on the spot, in his imagination.

"Yes, we can jump into piles of leaves together soon, Jack!" Allie replied.

Elizabeth, finally finding her voice, which had undergone a noticeable hibernation, chimed in and remarked, "I really love the season of fall. All of the hues of the leaves are so magnificent. I love when the leaves cover the ground like a multicolor blanket of reds, yellows, and oranges. It's so beautiful." As she shared her appreciation of the season, her eyes shone with uncontainable anticipation, like a brilliant September sunset announcing the arrival of nighttime with its bountiful brushstrokes of color. Nathan took note of how joyous and full of life she looked in her excitement, with the afternoon sun striking her hair and illuminating it in a way that made its usual cinnamon strands look like caramel.

"It is beautiful," Nathan responded with a relieved sigh, grateful to hear Elizabeth open up and relax, his voice barely much more than a whisper while responding to her as he perceived her own beauty. Though he was agreeing with her about the striking essence of autumn, his words had a secret double meaning. Elizabeth registered his softer tone and, not expecting it, her eyes quickly caught his in a flash of surprise.

Allie seemed to sense the connection between her father and teacher in that moment. Ever perceptive, she was very aware of their mutual attraction which they had never outrightly expressed to each other, and she knew she needed to get them to spend some time together that afternoon in order to expedite the process of them finally admitting their feelings for each other. She wondered why they were making things so complicated. Adults, she silently harumphed to herself, internally rolling her eyes.

Allie then elbowed her father, and his head shot toward her in surprise. "Allie?" He questioned. Allie gave him a look that she hoped he could decode without the added assistance of words. Taking a few seconds, he finally comprehended her message. It was his turn now to grow shy, suddenly fearing that Elizabeth might decline his invitation, though he wanted nothing more than for him and Allie to spend the remainder of the afternoon with her and Jack.

"Uhhhh…," he stammered. "Elizabeth, would you and Jack…would you both…would you…"

"Would you like to have a picnic with us?" Allie finished for her tongue-tied father, first looking at Elizabeth and Jack and then briefly turning her head towards Nathan to give him a now visible sideways eye roll that seemed to say Get Your Act Together. Making eye contact with Elizabeth and Jack again, Allie asserted, "We could share our food with you both. We packed enough!"

"We would love to have a picnic with you," Elizabeth smiled graciously, her heart rustling and fluttering like autumn leaves on a blustery day at the prospect. "We also packed a picnic lunch, so there's no need to worry about feeding us, though we appreciate your offer. But we would love to eat with you!"

"Hurrah!" Allie exclaimed exuberantly, her consistent energy like a gleeful gale that swept toward everyone in its path, giving them renewed life, energy, and exhilaration. "How about we go over there under that particularly giant apple tree that looks like it could be the grandfather of all of these trees?" Allie asked, her mind forever churning out creative metaphors.

"That sounds perfect, Allie," Elizabeth responded. "Let me just go get our saddlebag with our food, which is on Sargent just around the bend over there." She gestured to a nearby inlet further down the row of apple trees on the righthand side.

"Here, let me come with you and help you carry your food." Nathan offered. "But first, let me go get Newton. Then we can take him to where Sargent is so they can rest together in each other's company, and so I can get the food Allie and I brought from our saddlebag as well. Newton is past those apple trees on the left," Nathan motioned with his hands in his horse's general direction. "I'll be right back," he promised, looking like a steed himself as he galloped away nimbly.