Monday morning at 7am, Nathan walked into the stables area of the Hope Valley Equestrian Center and walked over to the stall that housed his beloved horse Newton. Nathan had always loved horses growing up so when he bought his house, he bought Newton shortly after as a housewarming gift to himself. Horseback riding helped relax and center him. The Equestrian Center was less than 10 minutes from home so Nathan tried to ride as much as possible. Sometimes that was easier said than done. Since it was Labor Day weekend and Allie was starting school the next day, Nathan decided to let her sleep in while he took Newton out for a ride. Allie didn't have her own horse yet but she was a proficient rider like her uncle. If she wanted to ride, Nathan would just rent her a horse for the day.

Nathan quickly brushed and saddled up Newton and then led him from the stables area over to one of the riding trails. There weren't a lot of riders out this early so for that Nathan was grateful. Riding in solitude always gave him time to think. Nathan mounted his horse and quickly brought him to a canter. Newton loved it and Nathan knew the exercise was good for the horse. Nathan eventually slowed down to a walking speed and just rode on the trail. He thought about Allie and tried to remember if they had bought everything on her extensive school supply list. The past couple weeks had been busy with shopping for the 5th grade, standard medical appointments for school, Nathan's caseload at work, and Allie's new theater class.

His thoughts quickly shifted to Elizabeth and the dinner at her home last Thursday. Nathan still couldn't get over how comfortable it all felt despite the butterflies in his stomach the entire time he was there. He had experienced a similar feeling at the Coulter barbeque the prior weekend. Nathan then thought back to his conversation with Gabe a couple days ago. He knew that Gabe was right but he was still questioning whether he'd made a premature mistake in asking Elizabeth to dinner. He didn't want to ruin things before they even started and he was willing to wait until she was ready if needed.

Nathan rode the trails for another 30 min and then brought Newton back to his stall to remove his saddle and then brush him again. By 8:30am, Nathan was home with 2 pancake breakfasts from the Hope Valley Diner. Allie woke up just as he got home and was excited for the breakfast treat on this official last day of Summer vacation. Nathan was always happy to see his little girl happy so he hoped some of it would rub off on him as well.

At the gym early the next morning, Elizabeth ran for 30min on the treadmill followed by some weights work on her own. She had resolved to talk to Nathan later in the day when he dropped off Allie for theater class. Elizabeth had decided she wanted to invite Nathan and Allie over for a home cooked meal. She made a really good shepherds pie and she would serve it with roasted vegetables and then freshly baked cupcakes for dessert. Perhaps followed by a movie of Allie's choice. After that, Elizabeth would make a decision about the date as she was hopeful the evening would give her some type of sign about how to proceed with Nathan. It was the perfect plan or so it seemed.

She grabbed her water bottle and her new oversized wristlet which now served as both wallet and phone case for the gym and headed to the playroom to pick up Little Jack. Elizabeth then carried her son towards the front door and saw a familiar looking man with his back to her standing by the floor to ceiling Cafe window. Patrons of the Cafe were either coming or going from the gym so Elizabeth immediately knew something was up. The man was also dressed in running sneakers, black track pants, and a thin grey half zip sweatshirt.

"Nat'an! Nat'an!" screamed Little Jack.

Nathan turned around at the exact same time that recognition came to Elizabeth's face and fluttering came to her heart.

Nathan smiled his crooked smile and motioned to Elizabeth to join him at the window. She obliged and also made a mental note to ask him at a later time if he was a runner.

"Good morning Elizabeth. Hey little buddy!" he said as he shook Jack's hand.

Elizabeth smiled and spoke in a low voice. "Good morning Nathan. What's going on?"

Nathan nodded appreciatively. "Gabe and I are doing some surveillance to try to catch the robber in the act. This is usually the time he or she strikes and based on some new intel we got, we think there might be a strike today. We are taking turns watching from the cruiser and in here. We decided to dress like this so that we'd blend in. We are both gym members anyhow so Jesse didn't mind. He's actually willing to do anything to help us catch the thief as concerned members have temporarily stopped coming to the gym."

"Well, you definitely blend in well! I almost didn't realize it was you until this little man pointed it out."

During this exchange, Nathan continued to look out the window and survey the parking lot. He only had about 20 more minutes before he had to head home briefly and get Allie on the school bus. His parents had slept over the night before so they were getting Allie ready while he worked. He was beyond grateful that Chief Avery was so flexible.

"Nathan, I was hoping we could talk later at the Performing Arts…"

Before Elizabeth could finish her thought, Nathan tapped her forearm, bolted from his spot, and ran out the front door of the gym. Elizabeth and Jack stood at the window and watched as Nathan ran towards a car in the center of the parking lot. Gabe was simultaneously running towards him from the opposite direction. Nathan got to the car first and Elizabeth finally noticed a young man, probably not older than 21, standing next to the car with a tool of some sort.

Both detectives flashed their badges simultaneously, as if this were rehearsed. The suspect kept his tool in hand and tried to run but Nathan was able to grab his hands from behind. The momentum threw them both off balance and both fell to the ground. Elizabeth watched in horror as Nathan struggled with the suspect briefly on the ground. The young man was on top of Nathan and managed to turn his body so that he faced Nathan. Gabe now had his gun drawn towards the suspect's back. Nathan managed to drop kick the young man propelling him onto his back. Gabe kept the gun drawn as Nathan quickly placed cuffs on him and stood him up and walked him to the unmarked cruiser. Elizabeth saw Nathan's lips moving presumably reading him his rights.

By this time, Jesse and Clara had joined Elizabeth and Jack at the window as did Faith. She had met Elizabeth for the early morning treadmill run and had been in the locker room showering while Elizabeth walked out.

"Well that was quite a show!" said Jesse.

Faith put her arm around Elizabeth's shoulder. Elizabeth couldn't stop watching. The suspect was now securely in custody in the back of the unmarked cruiser. Gabe got in the driver's seat after saying something to Nathan. He turned on the dashboard siren and drove away quickly. Elizabeth watched as Nathan jogged back towards the gym.

"Are you ok?" whispered Faith. Elizabeth nodded, unable to take her eyes off Nathan.

Nathan finally came back inside and headed over to the small group at the Cafe window.

Jesse and Clara started clapping. Without a 2nd thought, Elizabeth handed her son to Faith and quickly walked towards Nathan and enveloped him in a hug. Nathan was startled at first but quickly settled into the hug wrapping his hands around her back and placing his chin on top of her hair. There was just enough height difference between them where they could do this comfortably. Faith just stood still and watched as Jesse and Clara went back to work. The only sound was that of Little Jack babbling.

After a few minutes, Faith looked at her phone and saw the time. She walked over to Elizabeth and Nathan.

"Hey you 2 sorry to interrupt. But I have to get home to meet the school bus since it's the first day. Carson and I always like to meet it together on the first day."

Nathan and Elizabeth slowly broke apart and Faith handed Little Jack back to Elizabeth with a promise to text her later. The little boy only had eyes for Nathan though and soon was reaching out for him. Nathan happily took Little Jack from Elizabeth.

"I actually have to get home as well to get Allie on the bus so I just have a few minutes. But I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. Gabe had a couple officers waiting for him at the station to help him process the suspect. I'll see you this afternoon?"

"Yes of course. But I wanted to tell you that I'd love to have dinner with you. I'm sorry I didn't answer you on Thursday. It's been a very long time since I've done anything like this."

Nathan smiled at Elizabeth and then at Little Jack. "Believe me I understand. Thank you for saying yes. I'm very much looking forward to it. I'm sorry but I do need to get home to Allie and then over to the station. We can make plans this afternoon?"

"Definitely. I'll see you later. Be safe Nathan."

Nathan handed Little Jack back to Elizabeth. He smiled at both of them again and briskly walked out of the gym to his SUV. Elizabeth followed slowly behind with Little Jack and headed to her own vehicle. Once she got settled, she spoke out loud to herself.

"Well so much for taking things slow and having another dinner with the children first. I guess it's true that God laughs at those who plan. Right Jack?"

"Mama, where Nat'an?" asked Jack.

Elizabeth started the car and put it into Drive. "Baby, Nathan had to go home to Allie and then back to work. We will see him soon I promise. Now it's time for Mama to get ready for work too and for you to see Laura." Little Jack smiled and played with his toy car as Elizabeth silently hoped this was indeed the universe showing her the way.

The day went by slowly as Elizabeth couldn't get Nathan out of her mind. She was hopeful that all went well with the robber. 4pm couldn't come fast enough for Elizabeth. Unfortunately, with the hustle and bustle of the first day of school coupled with Nathan's busy day at the station, he dropped Allie off for theater class with about 2 minutes to spare. Nathan dropped Allie off outside and let her walk into the Performing Arts Center by herself. As much as he was eager to see Elizabeth, he also didn't want to distract her when class was about to start.

Elizabeth was starting the process of planning the end of semester variety show performance so she had started asking the students to think about what they'd like to perform. The choices were: a song from a musical of their choice, a dance number, or a scene from a play that has been on Broadway. She always liked the choice to be up to each individual student based on their strengths. Students were also allowed to perform together in groups of up to 3. Each student received a handout with a list of musicals and plays that had been performed on Broadway within the past 10 years. Elizabeth then asked each student to review the materials at home again and be prepared to make a decision in the Thursday class. The class went by quickly as all the kids were very excited.

At 5:30pm on the dot, Nathan walked in along with a handful of other parents. The remaining kids would get picked up outside. He walked right over to Elizabeth without even looking for Allie. Elizabeth smiled as he approached her with a smile of his own.

"Hi! You certainly switch gears nicely." Elizabeth said as she eyed his dark jeans and long sleeve blue plaid shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to the three-quarter point of his arm. It was so hot outside that she could understand why he wasn't wearing a jacket.

Nathan looked down for a second and then back at Elizabeth. "I could say the same thing to you." he said as he eyed her royal blue floral dress with tan wedge heels. "You look beautiful, Elizabeth but then you always do."

Elizabeth blushed and smiled.

"So, about dinner, would this Saturday work for you?" asked Nathan. Allie walked over and stood next to Nathan. Sensing her presence, he put his arm around her and gave her a quick kiss on the head while his eyes remained focused on Elizabeth.

Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth replied: "Yes Nathan, Saturday would be lovely for dinner."

"Great! I'll text you the details as we get closer."

"Sounds good. I'm looking forward to it."

"I am as well."

Elizabeth quickly packed her tote bag and then grabbed her purse.

Nathan motioned to the door with his arm and Elizabeth smiled at him again and then proceeded to walk outside with him and Allie.