A/N: Sorry for the time gap between chapters. Work has consumed my time and attention lately, although, I do have 3-4 more chapters, waiting in the wings, that need some more tweaking. I hope that you are all doing well. Thank you for all of your kind words and support. It truly touches my heart more than any of you will ever know! Take care and hope you enjoy!
Chapter 46: A Trip to the Apple Orchard
It was a crisp, cool day that first Saturday of October. Elizabeth awoke with the first light of day, and as she rose from bed and her bare feet touched the cool floor, she slipped them into her shoes.
She put her slippers on and went to the hook on the door for her winter bathrobe. She wrapped the warm robe around her body and cinched it at the waist, and then made her way down the stairs to start making breakfast.
Nathan and Allie had invited her and Jack on an outing of sorts for the day. They weren't very clear as to what they were doing, but they encouraged them to dress warmly and bring a basket. She put some water on for tea for herself and set about making some oatmeal for the cool autumn morning for her and Jack. Once the meal was ready, she scooped out Jack's bowl and added a touch of cinnamon and brown sugar, leaving it on the table to cool while she went up stairs to get him ready for the day.
As the Thorntons had just finished up their breakfasts and Elizabeth had wiped off Little Jack's hands and face, there was a soft knock at the door. "Mountie Nathan! Allie!", Jack excitedly exclaimed as he crawled down from the chair and ran to the door. Elizabeth was right behind him and caught up with him to open the door. Nathan and Elizabeth simply smiled at one another as Allie looked down and enthusiastically said, "Hi there, Jack! Are you ready for our little adventure today? " Jack nodded his head vigorously and looked up at his mother, saying, "Mama, it's time to go now." The other three chuckled at him as Elizabeth replied, "Yes, Jack, it is time to go." "Why don't you have Allie help you with your coat while I put mine on?" She handed Allie the small, brown wool coat for her to put on the small boy. Then, she took her own coat off of the hook. Nathan stepped inside and gestured for Elizabeth to hand him the coat. She smiled shyly at him and handed it to him. For a moment, their hands touched, and they stood frozen in their spots. Then, Nathan took hold of the coat completely, held it out and gestured for Elizabeth to put it on. She turned and allowed him to help her put it on. As she untucked her hair and turned to face him, he wore a teasing smile on his face and said, "Well, this seems familiar, but the tables are turned a bit this time."
Elizabeth stood a bit lost for a minute until she realized that he must have been referring to the time that she warmed his Serge and put it on him a couple of years prior. A blush came to her cheeks as she remembered that time. Even that day, she was so drawn to him, but fought it so much. She looked directly into his eyes and said, "Yes it does. Nathan, back then, that day, I was so drawn to you, but still fought it so much. I... She was about to continue, but Nathan put his hand up.
It's all right, Elizabeth. We were in different places back then. The important thing is that we found our way back to one another. "," he spoke softly, so as for only Elizabeth's ears to hear.
Elizabeth looked intently into his eyes once more and said, "That we did, and I'm so very thankful. I can't imagine life without you. "
Nathan smiled shyly for a moment himself and then said, "Let me grab your basket and we can be on our way." He left his place and went over to the table where her basket was sitting. As he returned to the doorway, he saw that Allie was already outside and down the steps with Jack bundled up in his coat and tuque. Nathan gestured for Elizabeth to go ahead of him as he followed and shut the door. They walked down the steps together, hand in hand.
Nathan had gotten the wagon from the livery for their day's adventures. He lifted Jack up into the back and then helped Allie up to join him. Then, he handed the basket to Allie. The two of them moved up towards the front where a picnic basket, rolled up blankets, and another basket sat. Allie unrolled one blanket and patted on it for Jack to sit there. As the small boy sat, Allie took her place next to him and laid another blanket on their laps. Elizabeth watched the scenario before her and smiled. She loved the sweet relationship that Allie and Jack had with one another.
Nathan walked back around to Elizabeth, helped her into the wagon seat, and hoisted himself up next to her. Allie handed them another blanket, which Elizabeth took from her and laid out onto their laps. As Nathan took the reins, he looked over at Elizabeth, and the two smiled sweetly at one another with no words. Then, he clicked his tongue for Sergeant and Newton to move forward.
The four of them rode for a little bit,until they came up to an apple orchard just outside of Hope Valley. Nathan directed the wagon up to the homestead attached to the orchard and parked it in front of the large red barn.
"I will be right back," he said to the others as he climbed out of his seat and walked up to the front porch of the farmhouse and knocked on the front door. A short, plump middle-aged woman with her mousy brown hair pulled into a simple bun answered the door with a radiant smile on her face.
Nathan Grant! It's great to see you again! " Otto mentioned that you'd be by sometime today. " And you brought your family, I see," the woman said. Nathan was about to speak when she chimed in immediately once again. "Well, don't just stand there, introduce me." she said as she walked out the door, past Nathan towards the wagon, and gestured for him to follow.
Just then, a small green truck with a wooden truck bed drove up with crates filled with apples. Two men got out of the vehicle and walked over to their wagon. The older of the two men walked straight over to Nathan and patted him on the shoulder and shook his hand.
Nathan, it's so good to see you again! I'd like to introduce you to our son, Gary. The chubby, bald man clad in worn overalls and a plaid shirt gestured to the tall, young man that stood next to him in a similar outfit.
Nathan reached out his hand and shook Gary's large, rough hand in return and greeted him warmly. Then, he gestured over towards the wagon.
"Otto, Janette, Gary, this is Elizabeth Thornton and her son Jack. They are my guests today. And this is my daughter, Allie. Elizabeth, Jack, Allie, this is the Stevenson family, the owners of this wonderful orchard. I met Otto and Janette a couple of years ago on the road while I was on my way out of town on an assignment. Occasionally, I stop by here and I'm able to visit with them and am blessed with some of the best apples in Canada. I thought a trip to their orchard would be a nice little outing for us today. ", Nathan said as he introduced everyone to one another.
After introductions, Otto clapped Nathan once again on the shoulder and said, "So, if you go out to the orchard to the east, it is the best one for you to visit. The trees are full and apples are ripe for the picking. Take what you want and take as long as you need, my friend. " Nathan smiled, thanked Otto, and shook his hand once more. Then, he climbed back into the wagon and drove down the pathway towards the apple orchards on the east.
Nathan, I love this idea. In all my years, I've never been to an apple orchard. And to share this with Jack and you and Allie, how special is that? Thank you! " Elizabeth said as she glanced over at Nathan, smiled as she placed her arm through his and snuggled up to his side. Nathan looked over at her, smiled back, and said, "There's no place I'd rather be or anything else that I'd rather do than be here with three of my most favorite people."
Then Allie turned around and chimed in from the back end of the wagon. "Um, excuse me, but please remember that there are children back here. This is getting way too sappy for my liking. "Could you two please tone it down while we're with you?" the teen asked, with a twinkle in her eye.
Just then, Jack turned to Allie, crossed his arms, and gave the grumpiest look. "No, Allie, you be nice to Mama and Mountie Nathan. They love each other, and I love them too. They are fine!", the young boy said indignantly.
Allie chuckled, leaned over and hugged Jack and said, "Oh Jack, I was only playing with your mama and Mountie Nathan. I love them too. And you. Don't be mad at me, ok? "
Jack thought for a moment, looked at the couple in the front seat and then back at Allie and nodded. "Ok, Allie," he said as he smiled and then snuggled back into her.
Nathan and Elizabeth silently chuckled at the scenario that they had just overheard . Soon after, he parked the wagon and looked over at Elizabeth and said, "I'll be back in a moment and help you out, ok?" Elizabeth nodded, and Nathan climbed out of his seat. He went to the back of the wagon, and Allie carried the two baskets over and handed them to Nathan, who then went back and got the picnic basket for him as well. Then, Jack and Allie worked together to fold and roll up the blanket. Once they were finished, Allie carried those over to Nathan and handed them over to him too.
Nathan reached his hand over to Allie and helped her out of the back, and then she gestured for Jack to come into her arms, which he eagerly obliged. As she placed him on the ground and grabbed a basket in one hand and Jack's little hand in the other, Nathan walked over to Elizabeth's side of the wagon and offered his hand, which she took and gracefully climbed down. They walked to the back of the wagon, and Nathan handed Elizabeth her basket as he placed the blankets under his arm and carried the picnic basket on the same side. Elizabeth grabbed his free hand with her own and squeezed it gently as she glanced his way. He smiled down at her and then led the four of them down further into the orchard.
Allie and Jack ran up ahead a ways, making a game of their walk through the orchard. Elizabeth and Nathan decided to leave the blankets and picnic basket at one point in the orchard, knowing that they would be using them until a little later, after their apple picking. Once they did this, Nathan took the basket from Elizabeth and she moved her arms into his free arm.
After awhile, Nathan stopped and looked around and said, "I think this would be an amazing place to get our apples." The trees are brimming full of apples and close enough for all of us to reach. Allie, you and Jack can fill our basket, and Mrs. Thornton and I will fill her basket. " Allie nodded and replied, "Sounds like a plan, Dad. I'm going to go a little further down with Jack, if that's OK. ", Allie asked as she looked over at Elizabeth. Elizabeth nodded back in turn and replied, "I trust you, Allie." Enjoy! "
The two children giggled and ran off to the far end of the orchard together, with the basket in tow. Nathan and Elizabeth simply smiled and continued walking over to the tree in front of them. Nathan placed the basket on the ground and gestured for Elizabeth to choose the first apple. She examined the trees closely, looking for just the right one without any nicks or bruises. Then she reached up and felt it to see if it was firm to the touch. Finally, she reached over, lifted the apple, and twisted it off to release it from the tree.
Nathan chuckled and said, "For someone who hasn't done this before, it sure seems like you have it done pat."
Elizabeth looked over at him, playfully annoyed, and responded, "I am a teacher, you know. We've talked about this kind of thing in class. So, I do have some idea of what I am doing.
Nathan just chuckled some more, reached past her and pulled another apple off the tree, rubbed it on his brown coat, and then took a big bite out of it. "Nathan Grant!", Elizabeth exclaimed with a smirk on her face and swatted his arm playfully.
"What?!" I figured I'd save you the trouble and take care of it for you." He responded, as he gave her his best crooked smile and took another large bite of the apple, finishing it off.
Elizabeth, trying her best to look shocked and annoyed, just shook her head, but then let out a small chuckle herself. She rolled her eyes and swatted at him again and said, "Nathan Grant, you are incorrigible!"
Nathan smiled at her in return and said, "Yeah, I am, but you still love me."
Elizabeth smirked at him, nodded, and leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I do and I always will." "Come on, let's go find some more apples to pick for the basket." she said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to another tree.
They continued like this for awhile. Elizabeth examined the tree and each apple closely before she reached out to even feel for its firmness. The Thornton basket was slow but sure becoming filled.At one point, there was an apple sitting on a branch slightly above her point of reach. That made her stand on her tiptoes on her second attempt. Nathan, seeing her struggle, came over and got the apple down. While still standing in that position, Elizabeth turned and looked up at him.
"We seem to keep winding up here." she said, as she stared intently into his eyes. Nathan nervously chuckled and put the apple into the basket that lay next to their feet on the ground. He looked back at Elizabeth then and responded, "Yeah, we kind of do." "Lizbeth, I..."
Elizabeth put a hand on his arm, keeping her gaze, and said, "Nathan, I know and I understand."
Nathan looked around the orchard for a moment and spotted the children in the distance. He swallowed hard as he met Elizabeth's eyes once again. "There's more to my hesitation. As I've thought about it and talked with Pastor Joseph and even Bill about it, I realized something else that is holding me back. I'm not sure how you will feel about it either, but I was encouraged to be open and honest with you.", Nathan said as he searched her eyes.
Elizabeth patiently listened to Nathan as they stood there by the apple tree facing one another. Nathan reached over and grabbed Elizabeth's hands. Elizabeth Thornton, you are the love of my life. And one day, in the near future, I would love to place a ring on your finger. Until then, I promise you that you have all of my heart. But, I'd like to do something a little different.", he said as he paused for a moment as he thought of what he might say next.
Elizabeth gently squeezed his hands and nodded, as if gently urging him to continue. He looked down at their hands entwined, smiled, and then looked back at her to continue.
"There is nothing more that I would love to do than kiss you at this very moment, Elizabeth Thornton. It is my heart's desire to show you how much I love you and have loved you from almost the start. I've realized, during my past hesitation, though, that I think I'd prefer to wait. But, it's not because of what I have seen or how much it disturbed me"," Nathan told Elizabeth as her smile turned into a look of confusion.
He squeezed her hands, nodded, and continued, "Bear with me, Lizbeth. I feel so much for you that I don't want to get carried away once we kiss. We have two impressionable children, and we are the Mountie and teacher of our amazing town. For those reasons alone, there is a certain level of appropriateness that we should maintain.
Still puzzled, Elizabeth simply nodded and held his hands tightly. So, my request is that you be patient with me a little longer, my love. Our kiss will come, and there will be many more to follow, but I propose that we wait until the day we say I DO. And on that note, I promise you today that all of that will come sooner than we can imagine if you're willing to stay on this journey with me," Nathan said as he looked at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth gently squeezed Nathan's hands and then released them. She grabbed the basket on the ground and walked over to the next tree, starting the whole examination process once more. Nathan stood still in the place where she left him and watched her for a moment, baffled at her reaction. "What am I supposed to do now? She just literally walked away from an intense and serious conversation. Nathan thought to himself, "Are we seriously doing this all over again?" He flashed back to the moment he told her that he loved her, and she ran off, not once but twice.
Elizabeth's head was spinning with everything that she and Nathan had just talked about. After Elizabeth picked an apple from the tree, she stood and absently looked at it. She couldn't get the conversation out of her head. "He wanted to wait? Hasn't it been long enough? I mean, we've been seeing one another for about three months. "," Elizabeth thought to herself.
She sighed, placed the apple into the basket and went about examining more apples on the tree in a distracted manner. After a bit, she grabbed another apple , looking more through it than at it. "I mean, we are two grown adults; it's not like we'd get that carried away. She considered becoming irritated at the thought once more. Then, she put the apple into the basket.
She stood straight and looked at the apples on the tree again when a thought came to mind. But, I kind of went overboard with Lucas when it came to kissing. And to be honest with myself, I didn't have half the passion for him as I do for Nathan. Maybe Nathan has a point. "Ugh, but I don't want to wait." she thought as she roughly pulled the third apple off the tree and quickly placed it into the basket.
As she went back to examining the apples, she reflected some more on what he said. "And, he is right, the children are impressionable. Allie is a young lady, and Nathan and I will set the precedent for her dating life later on and what she will use as a measure of the quality of a relationship and what she will look for in a relationship. And, I want Jack to know how a woman should be treated and what a loving relationship should look like.", she thought as she sighed heavily and picked the fourth apple from the tree and placed it into the basket.
Looking back at the apples, she thought some more about what Nathan said. "He is right too. As the Mountie and the teacher within the community, we do have an image of sorts that we have to uphold. We, Lucas and I, displayed way too much in public. We can love one another and be appropriate at the same time. She shook her head as she picked the fifth apple and frustratingly moved it to the basket.
Elizabeth looked up at the apples in the tree, but then, her gaze moved on into the sky and held there. Oh Lord, how do I do this? This is so foreign to me. I get what Nathan's reasons are, and to be honest, I do agree with him. But, ugh, the flesh is weak and, oh, how I want to kiss him. Help me. Help me be patient in this process and find joy in the simple things we share for now. Amen. Elizabeth prayed, grabbed another apple and set it down in the basket.
Nathan continued to stay frozen in his spot, watching Elizabeth pick apples, as he didn't know what to do or how to react to this behavior. He had laid his soul out for her here in the orchard. But then, all of a sudden, she turned around and walked back over to where he stood. She placed the basket on the ground and crossed her arms across her chest.
"Nathan Grant, do you know what you did to me?! I don't think ever in my life that I have ever been more challenged than I have been with you. Despite the tragic circumstances, I faced my fears as I found my way to you. Elizabeth said, staring intently at him. "I've never been so at peace and full of joy as I have when I am with you, regardless of the fact that you're a Mountie."
She placed her hand over her heart and continued. I have so much love here that I want to express. I am so used to doing that through kissing. It was my common expression with both Jack and Lucas, but with you, I'm challenged. Yet, I'm reminded that you have felt this way too and have waited as well as continued to wait, that you chose to wait for our children and for us. "Because you love and respect us so much," she explained as tears welled up in her eyes.
Nathan went to take a stroll towards her, and she put her hand up to stop his forward progression. He did and looked at her confused. I need to say this please. So, although I'm disappointed, because there's nothing more that I want to do than kiss you, I understand and I accept your request. And I ask the good Lord for patience and guidance on how to express my love to you in the meantime.", she concluded.
Nathan stood for a moment, searching her eyes, and asked if he could proceed, to which she nodded. Nathan moved in, closing the gap between them, and wrapped his arms around Elizabeth, stroking her hair. Elizabeth immediately nuzzled in and the two stood there in the warmth of their love.
Just then, they heard giggles from the side of them and then an additional set of arms circled around their legs and another set around their waists. The four of them stood in this bundle, basking in the warmth and love that filled it.
Allie broke off first and picked up her basket and held it up proudly. "We filled our basket. "How did you two do?" she asked. Elizabeth and Nathan broke apart from their hug as Nathan swooped Jack into his arms. Elizabeth looked down at their own basket, noticing that they could stand to use a few more to fill it. "Allie, we weren't quite done. Do you think you could help me finish the rest? I think your Dad and Jack can hang for a little bit here. "," Elizabeth responded, as she looked over at Nathan. Nathan glanced over to her and nodded his head, then looked back over at Jack to finish their own discussion.
Allie, thrilled by the invitation, nodded enthusiastically and said, "I saw the best place! Come on, Mrs. Thornton, I'll show you. This tree has the best apples, just like you taught us! " She grabbed Elizabeth's basket in one hand and Elizabeth's hand in the other. As they walked away down the orchard path, Nathan and Jack watched, and Nathan chuckled.
Nathan reached up and pulled down two tiny apples from the tree in front of him. He rubbed it on his coat first and then offered one to Jack, who eagerly grabbed the sweet, red fruit. Nathan took a seat with Jack under the shade of the tree, and the two sat there eating their crisp apples as the girls finished filling the basket.