CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

"I think Sargent is going to get through this ordeal, fine, thanks to Nathan," pronounced Chuck.

"Just keep a close eye on him tonight—no food or water, except to wash him down. In fact, a nice bath might do him a world of good. And keep him standing! Nathan, hold off on the third dose of muscle relaxant unless he starts to spasm. If he does spasm, definitely give him a third dose. If not, start him on liquids tomorrow, but no solids till the next day. You can let him lay down in the morning, again only if there are no spasms. He's going to be worn out by then! Call me Monday evening, and we'll decide what to do from there. That is, of course, if you don't need me before."

They thanked Chuck profusely, but he refused to take the credit.

"You know, Nathan, had you not stepped in when you did, Sargent would not have made it. You just made my job super easy!"

"Thanks for Dinner, too. I can't remember Mother enjoying herself like that since Dad was with us. That in itself was worth the ride here! We'll talk tomorrow. And I'm only a stone's throw away if you need me."

Nathan shook his hand and slapped him on the back in gratitude, "Don't be a stranger, Chuck!"

Elizabeth hugged him, "Thank you, Chuck, for coming all this way to help Sargent! He means the world to me!"

They waved as Chuck left to go get Tess, and then stood quietly by Sargent's side.

"How do I thank you, Nathan? You saved Sargent for Little Jack and for me."

"Darling, that's my new job, my most important job, to protect you, Allie, Little Jack, and both Newton and Sargent! Just so happy, Sargent's going to be alright."

And they just stood together in Sargent's stall, with their arms around each other, and their two horses wedged together with them.

Every time, Nathan had tried to take Newton back to his stall, he refused to leave Sargent's side.

So, at least for tonight, it was the four of them in this single stall.

Nathan reached to spread out the blankets for them and tossed the pillows on top.

"Here, Darling! Such as it is."

"It looks perfect to me, my Love!"

"Come sit with me. Sargent and Newton are sleeping. I can watch Sargent from here."

For a split second, he thought he caught a strange look flash across her face. But just as quickly, it was gone.

He pulled her down to him, wrapping his arms around her, as they both faced Sargent.

He nestled his chin onto her head, from behind. But she started crying softly. Then it progressed to sobs. He stroked her hair and held her tightly around her waist without saying a single word, all the while still checking on Sargent.

She sobbed for what seemed an eternity to him. Each sob was a pain through his heart. He started rocking her, gently back and forth till she finally stopped sobbing. But there was still a gasping cry that escaped her mouth every few seconds.

They sat that way, silently for what seemed like hours. Yet, she still couldn't stop crying. He turned her toward him and pulled her to his lap, as he sometimes did for Allie when she needed comforting.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck, but she couldn't stop crying. His face was lined with worry and concern for her, but he didn't know what else to do.

"Lisbeth, my Darling, we have a beautiful horse to care for. What can I do to help you? Anything, I'll do it. I promise, whatever you need, I'll see that it's here for you. What do you need, my Love?"

"I'm such...such a...a fool," she stammered.

"Lisbeth, you most certainly are not a fool. You're the smartest woman I know. How can you think that, Love?"

"I messed up everything!"

"Darling, you and I are a couple. We are officially courting, and we're going to be a family sooner than you can believe. I would say that's a lot of rightness, even magic, most certainly not 'messed up!'"

"But I hurt you, time and again, and I almost got Sargent killed!"

"Lisbeth, look at me. Is this about Lucas?"

She bent her head down so he couldn't see her eyes, but she shook her head yes.

He gently lifted her chin with his fingers and looked directly into her eyes, "Darling, you and I have survived Lucas. He no longer has power over either of us. We are together, and we are always going to be together. You're not the one who almost got Sargent killed. Lucas did that, not you. And to be fair, I can't imagine he meant Sargent any harm. To think he was here, in this stall, makes me seethe inside, and when I think about what almost happened, I'll admit I'm filled with rage. But Elizabeth, I know he didn't mean to hurt Sargent. Besides rage isn't worth the trouble. You're what's important now. Sargent is what's important now. And both of you are right here where you belong, with me. We are a couple, Elizabeth. We're going to be a family. What is it about Lucas that has you so troubled?"

"I kept telling him friends only, and he kept turning everything into some huge romantic thing. And Nathan, I lost my voice. I let him take control, and I hurt you so very badly in the process. I was just so confused."

"Lisbeth, let's talk this out! Once and for all, let's talk this out. I won't have my future wife walking around with all this pain inside. Darling, Lucas is part of our past. In the present, he's only a friend. And that's what he will be in the future."

He continued, "I'll admit when you went to Union City, I was crushed. When I got back to town, everyone came up to me and commented on the weather, right after you left. It was pretty obvious something was very wrong related to me. Or at least the townspeople thought so. Then finally, I realized you were gone with him. You probably don't know this, but I had been fishing at the pond with Allie and we were headed home when you returned with Lucas from your trip. We saw your suitcase on the porch, and the two of you standing there. I literally felt ill inside, like a part of me had died. I thought I had lost you forever. I thought you had chosen him. Then, I finally realized you hadn't made a decision, that there was still a possibility of us. But Elizabeth, I want you to understand something. Even then looking back over the trip, I did not doubt you for one single second. I trusted you completely. It was Lucas I didn't trust. And there you have it, right or wrong, I trusted you with him, but I didn't trust him with you. I had to rein in my imagination from going wild. He was too polished, saying all the right things, and I knew he wasn't listening to you."

"How did you know that, Nathan?"

"From things he said to me, from all the interruptions he made when you were with me. From things I surmised, he twisted about me to you. For example, did he tell you I didn't like crowds but loved Christmas activities?"

"No, he told me you didn't like crowds and implied you didn't want to participate in the Christmas Activities."

"That was convenient for him, wasn't it? When I specifically told him, I didn't normally like crowds, but loved Christmas and all that it brought."

"I didn't ask you and Allie to go to anything with me because he made me think you didn't want to be included in the Holiday Festivities."

"Just a little sleight of hand, wasn't it? You don't have to answer this. Would you say his trip with you to Union City, in his mind, was a trip between friends or lovers, if you had to pick one?"

"I thought friends, but I know he thought lovers."

"Okay."

"But, you don't seem surprised?"

"I'm not."

"So you knew all along."

"Yes, Elizabeth, I'm a man. I knew exactly what he was trying to do. That man personifies romance. I knew deep down, no matter what excuse he gave you, he was attempting to romance you. And you know, how can I blame him? Maybe I was just jealous of him because I didn't do the same thing myself. But, Elizabeth, I just couldn't, not till I knew you were completely ready."

"Full disclosure," he continued, "I did something to Lucas I'm not at all proud of. When we were at the Saloon, and I wanted to spend time with you alone, I lied. I didn't mean to, but that's what it ended up being. I told Lucas Bill needed him. Just to get rid of him, so I could spend time with you." Nathan laughed a bit. "I think at that point, it was either tell a white lie to get rid of him, or deck him!"

She couldn't help but smile.

"So, see Darling, maybe I'm the fool where Lucas was concerned. But not you, Darling Elizabeth. We wouldn't be here now if that were the case. It just took you a bit of time to work through it all. Any other burning Lucas questions?"

"Nathan, I'm scared. What was he doing here, in this stall with Sargent?"

"I haven't a clue, but that, I intend to find out. I was proud of you, by the way, with Lucas. You took your voice back. Remind me to never get on your bad side, though!" he laughed.

"But Elizabeth," he took her hands and turned to look directly into her eyes, "promise me you'll never allow me to do anything to quieten your voice. I want to always hear what you have to say, what you feel, loudly and clearly. You promise me?"

"I promise you, Nathan."

And she playfully pushed him down on the blanket and held him there.

"No more dating, non-dating Lucas discussion. But Nathan, I won't have him back in this stall ever again, and I need to know exactly what happened here and why. Maybe I was naive to think we could all be friends."

"No, not at all. I don't think it's ever naive or wrong to try to be friends, but you're right. This has to be cleared up, and I'm sure Lucas will explain it to us. But, Mrs. Thornton, I do hope there are no more trips in your future with Mr. Bouchard! That's all I ask. I like to think of myself as a fairly strong person, but I'm not at all sure I could survive going through another trip like that!"

"That, I promise you, my Darling! The only trips I'll be taking are with you! And maybe a couple of chaperones until we're married! I'm so sorry the trip hurt you, Nathan. I'm sorry I hurt you."

And she grabbed both his hands and gazed deeply into his eyes, where she found her peace again.

"All forgiven Darling!" and he kissed her softly. "We'll work through all this with Lucas. I know he didn't intentionally try to harm Sargent. He wouldn't have known about the beets. I'm sure he's feeling horribly about all this! We'll get it all worked out with him! Everything's going to be okay."

She nodded.

He pulled her to his chest and began to laugh softly.

"What's so funny?" she asked, trying to sound indignant.

"I will never, ever question your matchmaking skills again! Lee and I were astounded. Elizabeth, Bill and Tess got on swimmingly, and did you hear what Chuck said about her not having that much fun since his Father was living? Bill and Tess even agreed to meet each other in Brookfield! You and Rosemary couldn't have choreographed a better evening!"

She gave him an innocent look.

"Oh..." he said, beginning to understand. "You two did choreograph the evening. But Bill was so charming. How did you manage that? He can be a bear, you know. In fact, quite a grizzly one!"

"It's all in choosing the right female, then everything happens naturally, as it should." she grinned happily. "Like you choosing me!"

"Should I be scared?"

"No, Silly! You're already caught!"

"Was I a grizzly bear?"

"No, more like a big old Teddy Bear, tattered a bit around the edges." she smiled lovingly.

"Hmmm. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Oh, that's a very good thing. When I was growing up, I loved my big old Teddy Bear better than anything in the whole wide world. And he loved me back, too!"

He put his face so close to hers, she could almost feel his long dark lashes on her cheeks, and the warmth of his breath.

"But I love you so much more than your old Teddy Bear..."

"I don't know. He still loves me quite a lot," she whispered.

"But I love you more than quite a lot."

"Oh no, does this mean when we get married, I have to take Theodore off my bed and put him away in my chest?"

"Theodore? I don't think there's going to be enough room for the three of us. I guess you'll just have to choose..."

"But, I've had him my whole life."

"You're going to have me your whole life, too. And I make a mean fried fish. Also, I can serenade you with my guitar. And I can protect you. Can Theodore do those things?"

"No, but he does cuddle me."

"I can do that."

"And he holds me when I get scared at night."

"Oh, I can do that."

"And when I get a boo-boo, he kisses it and makes it all better."

"I definitely can do that...anything else?"

"I think that's about it…"

"Then it's settled."

"I guess it's set..."

He brought his lips to hers and kissed her softly, tenderly, and passionately, all at once, as though she was everything to him because she was.

"You, my Darling Elizabeth, are such a distractor. I have to check on Sargent..."

"Not before this," she whispered. And she kissed Nathan, quite differently than she had before, needing him even more than ever before.

After some time, he raised his eyebrows and gave her his crooked smile, and finally began tearing himself away to do a physical check on Sargent, who was still sleeping soundly alongside Newton.

"You are full of surprises, Elizabeth Thornton!" But he couldn't stop smiling.

"Lisbeth, Sargent looks good, why don't you try to get some sleep and I'll go get the water to give them both a hand bath. We can't have water all over our blankets."

"Miss out on all the fun? Not a chance. Here, I'll watch while you get the water!" And like a flash, she was up and by his side.

"If you insist. Sounds fun!" he laughed.

"I hate to wake them up." Whispered Nathan as he re-entered the stall.

"Oh, I've already done that…"

"Okay, two buckets of water and two brushes! You take Newton. I'd better take Sargent, as he might still be tender in places. And we don't want any kicks."

She moved to Newton's side and started whispering secrets to him, glancing up at Nathan every once in a while, making sure he saw them.

"Hey, that's not fair! You better not tell Newton any bad stories about me! A man and his horse, that's a pretty sacred bond, you know!"

She just giggled, and Newton seemed to be on the verge of one too!"

"Okay, Sargent, two teams can play this game. Did you know..." and he whispered something in Sargent's ear. "Yes, that's true! Mountie's Honor!"

"Well, how am I supposed to hear what you said?" she asked indignantly.

"You're not! Everything between Sargent and me is strictly confidential! Medical confidentiality, you know!"

"Phooey...race you to see who gets done first!"

"Are you sure you're not a Mountie? You sure are as competitive as one! Were you that way as a child?"

"Pretty much!"

"Bet you were cute, though!"

"Pretty much!"

He laughed.

Life was going to be a whole lot of fun with this woman by his side. Never boring, that's for sure!