Saturday morning, Henderson, Kate's House
Jude wandered around the various rooms in the place. It looked really good. It just needed new floors, which would be coming in the next week and new paint in all of the rooms.
"Jude?" Gracie called. "I got the paint."
"I'll help you bring it in," he called back.
As he met her at the door, he leaned in and kissed her twice. "Hi."
"Hey."
"Thanks for spending the morning with me, Gracie."
"Nowhere else I'd rather be."
As they painted each room, they listened to music and laughed and talked, fully enjoying each other's company.
"Oh, hey, I finally found an accountant who is willing to work for next to nothing," Jude told her.
"That's great!"
"Yeah. Now I just need to get my website up and running."
"Oh! My mom's neighbor designs websites. I bet he would love doing that for you. Do you want me to ask?"
"In England?"
"Yeah, but you know what? This new-fangled thing called the internet means it doesn't really matter where he is," she teased.
"Yeah yeah. Sure. You can ask him."
After a few more hours and a few more coats of paint, they took a break and ordered some Chinese food.
"My brother wants to have us over to his and his girlfriend's house. You okay with that?" Gracie asked as they ate their egg rolls.
"When?"
"Tomorrow night."
"Sure. That might be fun."
"Should be. My brother is a huge board game fan so I'm sure there will be some Monopoly and Boggle or Scrabble going on."
"I'm awesome at Monopoly!"
"Great. This will be fun."
Henderson PD
Tara knocked on Chief Coy's office door. "May I come in, sir?"
"Flynn, yes, come in and take a seat. What can I help you with?"
She closed the door behind her and sat down. "I have some news that you need to be aware of."
"Okay."
"I'm pregnant."
Chief's eyes opened wide and he sat back in his chair. "Wow."
"Yeah. That was my first reaction too."
"So what are your plans?"
"As far as…"
"Do you plan to continue working?"
"After the baby is born? I don't know yet."
"I mean now."
"Oh. Yes of course. I'm not due for quite a while."
"Well, I guess you are on patrol or desk duty until after the baby is born."
"I'm sorry if that puts you in a bind, sir. It wasn't something we planned."
"These things never are, it seems."
"I am good with being on patrol until I'm unable to wear my uniforms or vests. I will continue to work hard."
"Good to hear."
She got up. "Well, thank you for listening."
"Flynn."
She turned back around from the door. "Yes, sir."
"Congratulations."
"Thank you, sir."
She and Jake went to lunch after her meeting with Chief Coy. She didn't feel all that hungry though. She was more nauseated than anything.
"Babe? I read that if you keep eating small meals and stay hydrated, it should minimize morning sickness," he told her, taking a large bite of his sandwich.
She smiled. "You read that?"
"I did. I thought it would be good to be informed."
"Yeah."
"What?"
"You are adorable, love."
"Wanting to learn about what's happening with you and the baby makes me adorable?"
"Pretty darn adorable, yes."
"Cool."
It made her love him even more. She didn't know that was possible but it was true.
"What did Chief say?" he wondered as she took a few small bites.
"That I'm on patrol or desk duty until after the baby."
"Patrol? Is that really safe? You could get shot."
"Our jobs are dangerous, Jake. Anything could happen at any time. Keeping me only on patrol or desk duty is much less dangerous than going on emergency calls or crime scenes or robberies."
"Yeah." He couldn't deny that.
"I'm very grateful I have my job."
He squeezed her hand. "Yeah. I am too."
"I'm also a bit scared. I don't know how to do this, Jake. How to be a mom. I mean, my job is important to me and I don't know if I will want to keep working after I have the baby. I don't know how to make these decisions."
"We will make the decisions together. We made the baby together, we are going to raise the baby together. You aren't alone, Tara."
"Of course. I know that I'm not alone. I'm really grateful that I have you. That we have you."
"Did you ever want kids, babe?" he asked.
"No, honestly. Not until the doctor said, you have choices. There isn't one. My choice is to be the best mom I can be to this child."
He stood and leaned over the table to kiss her. "You are going to be great. I know you will."
"Thanks for the encouragement, sweetheart."
"Hm."
"What?"
"Not sure if sweetheart fits me."
They stood and walked out, still having that conversation. "Sexy," she told him, bumping him with her hip.
"Only in private."
"Noted. Love."
"That's a good one. Just keep calling me that."
Beesands, Elizabeth's cottage
She was talking to Rosie over the speakerphone while she got ready for their date.
"I don't know about this dress, Rosie. It might be way too dressy."
"Where is he taking you again?"
She unzipped the dress and changed it to a sweater and a pair of black dress pants. She felt more comfortable.
"Beth?"
"Oh, sorry. He's taking me to a pub downtown. I think it's called Donnie's or something like that."
"A pub? On a first date?"
"Not many places to choose from here in town. You remember, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"I'll wear this."
"Which sweater and pants are you wearing?"
"White sweater with the silvery threads and black pants."
"I guess that will do."
"It's going to have to. Honestly, he won't care. The man has seen me ill from the flu two days after I moved here. I look much better than that."
The doorbell rang.
"He's here. Bye, Rosie."
"Call me tomorrow. I need details!"
"Will do."
She hurried downstairs, grabbing her purse as she opened the door. "Hey, Nathan. I just need to grab my coat."
He stepped in, looking unbelievable in his dress pants, white button down with no tie and a jacket.
"Wow," she blurted, blushing. "You look very nice."
He stepped forward and kissed her cheek. "You look stunning."
"Thank you."
He led her to his tiny little car and opened the passenger side door, which to her was backwards of course. "How do you fit in here?"
"I don't know. Carefully?"
She chuckled. He somehow got his really long legs beneath that wheel and successfully drove them on the wrong side of the road to the pub.
"Will you teach me?" she asked.
"Teach what?"
"How to drive this car. Here?"
"Sure."
"Thank you. I might want to get a car sometime and I figured I might need to learn how to drive one first."
"Good plan," he said with a smile.
He got out and came to her side, opening her door. "Madam," he said, offering his hand.
"Thank you, sir."
He smoothly pulled her fingers into the crook of his elbow as they walked the short distance and then opened the door for her. She could definitely get used to the star treatment.
As they sat in a booth, she looked around, taking in the atmosphere. "It's not what I imagined," she admitted. "When you say pub, I picture loud and dim lights. Not this."
"They have live music a few times a month. It gets pretty loud then."
"Live music? I'd love to see that."
"I'm sure we can make that happen."
She loved that their conversation flowed and didn't feel forced at all. It was comfortable and that made the night go very smoothly.
"Good evening, Nathan," the waitress said, looking down at him with a very flirty smile.
"Sylvia. This is my date, Elizabeth. Elizabeth, Sylvia, our waitress."
He reached for her hand and she easily slipped her hand into it, proud to be the one he could announce as his date.
"Ma'am," she said. "What can I get for you both?"
"I'll take the fried mushrooms on toast for the appetizer," Elizabeth told her.
"Pate and toast, please," Nathan ordered.
"And to drink?"
"Tea with milk and honey," Elizabeth requested.
"Same for me."
They also shared an order of Bangers and Mash, or as Elizabeth would say, sausage and mashed potatoes and for dessert, they had Sticky Toffee pudding.
"Oh my, I am so full," she said with a laugh. "It was so good, Nathan. Thank you for bringing me here."
"My pleasure. I was thinking we could go for a walk, if you'd like. It's not raining and the sun is setting just about now."
"That would be nice, yes."
So he took her hand and led her away from home, down toward the bay. "Oh, it's lovely," she whispered, not wanting to mess with the serene atmosphere.
He thought she was really lovely herself. She made him happy.
Whether it was just coffee together in the morning, or her making breakfast or them out together alone. He found himself smiling more often than not.
They sat down on a bench facing the water and he took her hand. "I'm glad you are here, Elizabeth."
"Here on this bench or here in Beesands?" she teased.
"Both. I didn't realize how much I missed having someone in my life again until I met you. You make me happy."
"That's a sweet thing to say, Nathan."
"It's the truth."
"You make me happy too," she told him, leaning her head against his shoulder.
She wanted him to kiss her and that surprised her so much. The only man she had ever kissed was Jack and she had never had the urge or opportunity since. Now, Nathan and his crooked smile was all that was on her mind.
He looked down at her and smiled. Then his eyes drifted downward to her lips. She moved closer, hoping he'd take the hint.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." No hesitation. Just a smile.
He pressed his lips to hers briefly and slowly pulled back, making sure that was really what she wanted. She rested her hand on his chest and met him more than halfway this time.
Two months ago, she wouldn't have imagined meeting another man that she could so easily fall for but it certainly happened.
After a few more slow, leisurely kisses, he led her back to the car and took her home to the cottage.
He walked her up to the door, even though she insisted he didn't have to. "It's part of the date."
She laughed and gave him a hug. "We could have some tea, if you maybe didn't want to go home right away. It's not too late."
"Well, we have church services tomorrow. Will you go with me and King? We can sit together and then maybe have lunch?"
"Sure."
"Okay. Night then." He kissed her one more time and walked away, an extra spring in his steps.
When Nathan walked inside the Inn, Mrs. Conley was on the couch watching a movie with King. "Hey, bud. Time for bed."
"Hi, Dad. Did you have a good date with Mrs. Thornton?"
"I did, yes."
"Are you going to marry her?"
"We have had one date, King. You need much more than that to get married."
Mrs. Conley stood up and put her coat on. "Not entirely true. Mr. Conley and I got married after one week."
"See! Dad, she's awesome! She is going to teach me how to cook more stuff. Please marry her."
"To bed, Kingston Archibald."
"Uh oh. He used my middle name."
"Now," he said, giving him a playful swat on the rear. "Love you."
"Love you too, Dad."