Chapter One Hundred Thirty: Honeymoon Day Five - A Lazy Day, Grant Style
Elizabeth had slept through the night even more soundly than usual, curled up in her husband's arms.
Normally, she was a roamer, all over the bed, throwing pillows and bedclothes everywhere.
Nathan found the whole scenario to be adorable, although he had very quickly learned defensive maneuvers to protect against flying pillows!
But once she found her perfect spot each night, she seldom moved, totally content in her husband's embrace.
"Good morning, Love!"
He was surprised to see her awake, and greeted her in a husky, sleepy voice, barely managing to get out the words prior to a long yawn and stretch.
It was the stretch that reminded him of his bandages.
"Aww, my Baby's still sleepy!" fretted Elizabeth.
"I think all that rainy wind from the storm yesterday, did me in!"
"Which is why I'm decreeing that today is a lazy day! Oh, no your bandages need to be changed!"
She literally bounded out of bed to go get clean ones.
"Wait, wait, wait! You can't just leave your husband like that!" he teased.
She giggled, kicking off her halfway slipped-on slippers, took a running charge, and flew back into the bed, landing squarely on top of him, completely forgetting all his cuts and scratches.
Although exceptionally stoic, even he couldn't prevent the sharp intake of his breath, which regrettably caused Elizabeth to remember his injuries, although much too late!
"Nice tackle!" he said drolly.
Her hands flew to cover her face.
"Oh, no, Darling! I forgot! So, so sorry! How could I forget when I was going after fresh bandages? What a dunce! Did I hurt you too badly?"
"No, Love! But, at least you're an adorable dunce. And besides, you're my dunce! Really, what more could a man ask for?"
"I'm beginning to think I got the Prince and you got the scullery maid!"
"Never, I got the Princess of all Princesses, Love!" he emphatically declared, while running his slender fingers through her silky hair
She was gingerly trying to maneuver herself, without hurting him any more than she already had.
"No, no! Don't move. I've caught my breath, and you're perfect right where you are! Besides you smell heavenly! I'm going to get Viola to send us a case of that perfume every single time she goes to Paris, so I can douse you in it!"
She giggled, running circles along his bare chest.
"That, my Darling, will cost you a small fortune!"
"And it will be worth every single franc..."
She laughed, then began to lavish him with attention.
"Oh," he moaned. "We need to do this every morning."
"What 'this?'" she asked tongue in cheek, with a glint in her eyes.
"Regularly scheduled playtime with my beautiful Princess, of course!"
"I don't know - that might cost you!" she teased.
"And here I had to go and marry a stubborn Princess!"
"True, but you do love her!"
"I do, do I?"
She sighed.
"So very much! She's just so adorable and all!"
"Oh, I'll 'grant' her that! See what I did there?"
"Ha-ha! Allie's right! We've got a little refining work to do on those 'Dad' jokes of yours!"
"Come here, Mrs. Grant..."
And that's when he completely forgot all about his cuts and scratches, just like his forgetful new wife.
Somehow, all those little nuisances no longer mattered…
Elizabeth, still in her robe, came back from their master bath with the First Aid kit and a supply of fresh gauze, along with clean cloths for wiping.
"Eww!" she gasped.
"Hey, that's not what a guy wants to hear when he's supposed to be healing so he can enjoy his honeymoon! Look at that again, please…"
"Oh, yes, definitely better in all of two seconds," she said sarcastically. "This is going to sting a bit. This large gash is still pretty open."
He closed his eyes but didn't flinch.
"There, one more, and I'll be done with your arm."
"Not too bad! Thanks, Babe!"
"A little more stinging…"
"And a whole lot of burning!"
"So sorry, Love!"
He sat there patiently, as she wrapped.
"And we're done here! Now around to your other arm!"
When she climbed back into bed on the other side, he grabbed her, bringing her face within inches of his.
She giggled.
"And what could my husband possibly be wanting?"
"This…" and he kissed her as though he had been away for days, not having kissed her at all just ten minutes ago!
"You be good. I have an arm and a leg to dress!"
"You make me sound like a trussed turkey!"
"Now, that's funny! she laughed. "Behave!"
Within minutes, she was finished with his other arm.
Then she started on the large gash on his leg.
"You know we were lucky with this one. Just on the border of needing stitches, I think! When we get home, I still want you to have Carson take a look at it!"
"Nah, it'll be fine."
"What is it about you big strong, tough men? Can't you ever just see a doctor? Is that such a foreign concept? I promise he doesn't bite."
"I don't know. Looks pretty scary to me. Especially when he gets that long needle out!"
"Wait till I tell him you said that! Hope Valley's Mountie afraid of needles! Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
"Getting up!"
"Oh, no you don't. Not on my watch! Lazy day, remember! My day to pamper you!"
"A lazy day, huh? But I have to go feed the horses," he cajoled, lightly kissing her neck. "That is unless my beautiful wife wants to do it in my place and lift all that heavy hay?"
She scrunched up her face, weighing her options.
"I don't know…those bales do look pretty heavy! Oh, alright, just one trip! Then back to bed, you go! Do you hear me? I'm dead serious about this! After that, we officially start our lazy day!"
"Yes, Ma'am! Whatever that is. As long as it's with you, I'm in!"
They dressed quickly, him in his cowboy gear, her in a flouncy, pink flowery dress that made her look like spring.
"Like that neckline, Love!"
"Oh, is it too low?"
He came up behind her and whispered into her ear, smiling from ear to ear, grazing her clavicle with his finger.
"It's exactly perfect, my Darling!"
She smiled and bit her lip, deeply pondering.
Since Jack and before Nathan, she hadn't really been used to being appreciated for any of the little things.
But Nathan had a way of making her feel loved, and even cherished, over the simplest thing!
He always had made her feel so special.
He noticed everything.
All the little things about her, that most men would find insignificant.
Yet because they mattered to her, they mattered to him.
How she dressed, how she wore her hair, knowing what book she was reading, her scent, even her desires, and her feelings of the moment.
He was more attentive than any man she had known, as well, and she dearly loved being the center of his attentions.
He flirted a lot, too, in a masculine, fun sort of way, that made her feel like the most important woman on earth.
He just kept drawing her closer and closer, till she was totally lost in him, and the miracle was, he could even do it with a single glance.
There were so many, many things she loved about him, and being together nonstop on their honeymoon had only been more wonderful than she could have ever imagined!
Since their marriage, they were finding new things out about each other every single day.
Surprisingly, all the surprises had been wonderful.
Even the ones that shouldn't have been, were quickly resolved!
In one instance, Elizabeth was always stealing the covers, so Nathan had figured out he needed to keep an extra quilt lying across the bottom of their bed, ready for emergencies!
Problem solved: Mountie Style!
In another instance, Nathan was always rising a good two hours before her, except today of course, so she would simply roll over, turn her back to him, and go right back to sleep, allowing him to use the time to have his devotions, by the light from a single lantern, while she still slept cuddled up against him.
Problem solved: Teacher Style!
She laughed when she thought about her silly fears and insecurities, and his crazy jokes.
They were quite the pair!
Yet, they matched better than most couples they'd ever seen.
It was almost as though they could already read each other's minds, as well as their moods.
Since their honeymoon began, Nathan didn't seem as quiet as he sometimes had been before.
But then again, with her, there had always been an ease in communication between them, and conversation never failed to animatedly and fluidly flow!
But the biggest surprise of all, for Elizabeth, was simply how totally romantic her new husband was.
Her beloved Mountie with the tender heart.
And very romantic heart, that she was seeing more and more of!
He lightly kissed the back of her neck.
"Walk you to the kitchen door?"
She reached to kiss him.
"Perfect, I'll start breakfast! Any special requests?"
"Really? If I get to choose, French Toast for sure!"
"French Toast, it is! Eggs, too? And a side of bacon?"
"Sounds wonderful!"
"Promise me, you'll feed the horses and come straight back. So, we can go back to bed," she added with a grin.
"I promise, Love! I'll be quick!"
As Nathan walked to the Barn, he surveyed the damage of last night's storm.
Thankfully, all the roofs were still intact, but there were quite a few limbs down here and there, some bigger than others. The biggest problem was a lot of brush scattered about. He needed to soon sort through it all, and make one stack for kindling, a second to be cut for firewood, and a third to be burned.
Overall, it didn't look like there was any major damage, for which he was very grateful!
They had survived their first storm, pretty much unscathed!
And had come out of it even stronger as a couple!
The storm seemed to have gifted him with just enough work to fill his day, cleaning it all up!
Definitely, quite a bit of chopping was going to be required, which was no pleasant thing to do, in the heat of June.
'Not going to be much of a lazy day, after all,' he thought wryly. "But it could have been a lot worse…"
When Nathan got to the Barn, he could instantly tell that Newton and Sargent were excited!
It was like they were trying to tell him something.
He looked around to see if some animal was there that shouldn't have been.
But he saw nothing.
He listened to see if he could hear anything.
But he heard nothing.
"Calm down, boys. Are you two still skittish from the storm?"
No, he was somehow sure that wasn't it.
Newton was still trying to tell him something.
Nathan went inside their two stalls, checking to make sure there wasn't a snake.
He even looked overhead to make sure none were in the rafters, which had been known to happen!
But, again, nothing.
Then he went through the entire barn without finding a thing.
Suddenly, he thought he heard the faintest noise, and he realized Newton had heard it, too!
Newton was on alert!
While Sargent seemed to relax, knowing that Newton had everything under control!
"Here, Boy! What am I missing here?" and he opened the gate to Newton's stall, leading his steed out into the barn with him.
Newton went straight to the noise because there it was again.
This time they both clearly heard it.
But still, Nathan didn't see anything.
Newton gently stuck his nose into a pile of hay, scattering hay everywhere, and there they were.
"Thank you, Newt! Good Boy! I knew I could count on you!"
"Oh, you poor thing!"
He looked around for some sort of basket or anything he could use for transport.
Finally, he remembered there was a fairly large harvest basket hanging in his tack room.
He grabbed it quickly, along with one of the extra horse blankets, and very carefully went about his task…
Back at the Lodge, the couple wasn't quite sure where they needed to start.
"What are we going to do, Nathan? She's a big, beautiful black cat, but so weak and worn."
"I just couldn't leave them in the barn. The mother's so malnourished, they won't make it. We've got to get her fed and get her strength back up, and we've got to feed these little ones in the interim with a dropper to supplement whatever she can give them."
It was clear that the babies had just been born, but impossible to tell how many there were as the mother was being very protective.
Thankfully, the ones they could see were all alive!
Although, just barely…
"Lisbeth, they can't possibly be more than an hour old, if that long."
"I wouldn't doubt it. I think even younger. I remember from home, cats and kittens don't do really well with milk, but I think we have to try it. I'll water it down a bit. We do have a few cans of salmon, tuna, and maybe even sardines. I'll make some rice, too. And maybe poach some chicken. Do you think the mother can have fruit?"
"A little juice probably wouldn't hurt her, as well as non-pitted fruit, but we have to be careful of too much sugar. She looks a bit dehydrated to me. I think we start with water."
Nathan got a low edged bowl for the mother and filled it with cold water from their well.
As soon as he placed the bowl beside her, she raised her head the slightest bit and weakly started lapping the liquid up, although very tentatively at first.
"That's a good Girl!"
"Her name is Esmerelda," said Elizabeth softly, but definitively.
"How do you know that?" asked her puzzled husband.
"She needs a name, Nathan. And she looks like an Esmerelda."
"Esmerelda?"
"Okay, I'll confess. It's for selfish reasons. Esmerelda was my first cat when I was a little girl, and if that cat could survive all the antics I put her through as a child, this Esmerelda will survive what we have to put her through as adults!"
Nathan stretched to kiss his wife.
"Esmerelda, it is! Okay, she's liking the water. Do you want to add a bit of the milk?"
"I think so. She's going to need all the nourishment she can get to nurse. And we have to do it quickly, or the babies will die. Oh, Nathan, what are we going to do? I can't bear to lose them!"
"Everything we can possibly do, Darling, and in between doing all that, we're going to pray every second we get."
They forgot all about their already cooked breakfast, and instead, just sat on the floor next to the basket of kittens.
Nathan had placed them as close to the fireplace, as possible, trying to keep them as warm as he could.
Elizabeth went back and forth to the kitchen bringing little dishes of things for the mother to try.
"Lisbeth, she's having another!"
"No, Nathan, don't touch it!"
"I have to, Darling! The amniotic sac is not broken. The poor Mama is just too exhausted to do it! She can't even bite off the cord!"
He looked around.
"Lisbeth, get my fishing pole, there, and cut several pieces of the fishing line off, about six inches long each."
While she was doing that, Nathan took his bare hands and tore open the amniotic sac, cleaning the tiny thing the best he could with a towel, even rubbing its fur the wrong way in an effort to help it breathe.
As soon as Elizabeth had finished cutting the first piece, Nathan tied off the cord and snipped it with the sterile scissors, she had just swabbed with alcohol.
He knew from his birth training to tie the cord on the side closest to the baby.
But this one still didn't seem to be breathing, so he did the only thing left he knew to do and started rubbing its little tummy with the tip of his index finger, hoping to jumpstart the breathing.
He also said a prayer.
"Lisbeth, it's working!"
"Thank God! What are you doing now, Love?"
"Rocking him back and forth in case he has any fluid trapped in his nose or throat."
Nathan had the little thing cradled in his huge cupped palms, with the tiny kitten tummy side up. He was gently swinging the kitten back and forth, pendulum style, hoping the motion would force any and all trapped fluids out of the tiny baby's body.
As he did that, Elizabeth was incredulous.
"I can see the fluid on the baby's face! It worked, Nathan!" she smiled. "It actually worked!"
She watched as Nathan took the cloth she handed him and gently wiped away the fluid off the kitten's face, feeling like this one now had a much better chance to survive!
"It's not as long as your little finger, Nathan!" marveled Elizabeth.
He laid it as close to the mother as he could, hoping her body heat would keep it alive.
But no sooner had he turned around, Esmerelda was having more contractions.
"How many are already here, Baby?" she asked.
"I can't tell. I think she's covering some of them. But, get ready, because here comes the next one!"
Elizabeth watched as her husband calmly broke the sac and cut the cord for Esmerelda, then cleaned this tiny, tiny soft gray kitten up the best he could, all over again.
"Aww, this is the first gray one that we can see!" her eyes glistened with excitement, but she was watching intently what Nathan was doing, trying to learn everything she could, in case she would ever need to do this alone someday.
She noticed how large her husband's hands were next to the little one, and how extremely gentle he was being.
Her heart filled with love for him.
This brave, tough Mountie, tenderly birthing a litter of kittens, something she herself had never done!
"This is so amazing! Oh, I need to get a hot water bottle! Do you think we might have two?"
"Not sure, Love. Just check the bathrooms. But, right now, another one's coming! I'll take care of this while you check for the hot water bottles. And Lisbeth bring some small towels too!"
Nathan was trying his best not to disturb the tiny ones, nestled under their mother, that had already been born in the barn.
But more kept coming, and he was running out of room!
He was getting the hang of it now, though, able to tell when Esmerelda was about to deliver another one!
He marveled at this miracle of birth.
It truly was amazing.
This was the essence of life.
The beginning of the cycle of life, post conception.
Each and every one of these tiny beings was a creature of God, and that was to be respected no matter the size, or the species.
Nathan vowed to do his best for this mother, and her babies.
Yes, even a mother cat having little kittens, was still a living miracle!
A beautiful one, he and Elizabeth would never forget being a part of…
Just an added blessing and memory of their honeymoon!
Of course, the poor minuscule things looked nothing like actual kittens.
Their little eyes were closed and their ears folded back, and what little fur they had looked wet.
They were truly the tiniest little things both of them had ever seen.
He thought of how amazed Allie and Jack would be if they were here with them, and he couldn't help but smile!
"You're totally dependent on your Mama, aren't you little one?"
He knew they couldn't see or hear at birth, or for that matter, even stand up!
Yes, they were, indeed, totally dependent on their mother.
And she was doing poorly...
He and Elizabeth simply had to get Esmerelda stronger and well-nourished, so she in turn could keep her babies alive.
That was their only chance.
Nathan nestled the tiny thing now in his hand in between two others, but he was growing concerned, as he was simply running out of space around Esmerelda, as all the little ones were crammed in there, tightly!
"Esmerelda, we have to get you feeling better. You've got a lot of work to do, Girl!"
In between contractions he was hand-feeding Esmerelda some tuna, and he could tell by the desperate way she gobbled everything down, she was, indeed, starving.
The poor mother was eating during both her contractions and her deliveries.
Meanwhile, Nathan laid enough tuna in front of her to keep her content and busied himself with the next delivery.
Thankfully, this one went like clockwork. Either the mother was growing more comfortable, feeling nourished, or Nathan was growing more comfortable as her assistant in charge, but either way, now things were going much more smoothly!
Finally, without having any idea how many there were, the last one was here.
Nathan sat down in his big leather chair, laying his head back for a minute to catch his breath.
"Baby, Esmerelda doesn't want me to touch them. She knows your scent. I think you're going to have to move them to make sure each one can feed."
"Sure thing," he got up quickly, kneeling down by the basket once more.
He started talking to Esmerelda in a low, calm, very still voice!
"Esmerelda, you've done a great job, you've been a good little mother, and you have lots of little beautiful kittens, but we've got to make sure they can each feed, so they can live. And we desperately want them to live!" he started petting her and fed her a bit more tuna.
He was doing his best to will her to get better for her babies.
"It's like she understands, you, Nathan," said Elizabeth in a low surprised voice.
Esmerelda did seem a lot calmer but she was still eating ravenously like she just couldn't get enough in her tummy.
"It's almost like she knows we're going to take good care of her," observed Nathan. "Like she's relaxing right in front of us!"
"It's exactly like that!"
"Lisbeth, listen to their tiny little mews!"
"Aww! They're so adorable! But they're trying to tell us they're hungry, Love."
"I know. We may have to start supplementing soon!"
While Esmerelda was concentrating on eating her food, Nathan started counting and repositioning her babies, making sure each one was breathing okay, as well as making sure each one could eat.
"What's our grand total?"
"We and Esmerelda are the proud parents of nine beautiful kittens, Darling! Nine lives, nine kittens," he smiled.
"Let's see: 2 solid black ones, 2 dark gray ones, and the rest are black with white markings! Oh, they are precious."
She grinned, re-positioning the two hot water bottles around them, for added warmth.
"Birth really is a miracle, isn't it?" she mused.
He nodded.
"The most beautiful miracle of all, Love!"
They both beamed, as though they had had them themselves, and in a way, they sort of had!
"I have a good feeling, Lisbeth! I think Newton caught them just in time!"
"Newton?"
"Yes, I couldn't see anything and only thought I heard a slight noise, once. Couldn't even tell what it was! But both Newton and Sargent were a bit off. Newton was really restless. As soon as he heard the noise again, he perked right up. I let him out of his stall, and he walked right to a pile of hay, moved it around with his nose, and there they were, hidden from view!"
"So, you little guys and gals owe your lives to Newton!" proclaimed Nathan.
Elizabeth smiled.
"That's my humble husband! Always giving someone else the credit. I think both you and Newton saved their lives, and I'm sticking to that!"
He grinned.
"We make a pretty good team, too, Lisbeth!"
She scooted up on the arm of his chair and wrapped her arms around him.
"I love you, Nathan Grant, and I'm so very proud of you! I can't believe you figured this all out! I'm not sure I could have!"
"There was no choice, Love! I'm proud of us, too, and Esmerelda, of course," he winked.
"Oh, my goodness, Nathan, it's two o'clock in the afternoon, and you haven't even eaten! Can you watch, while I go fix our second breakfast? It's a distant memory after all our excitement, but I may have promised my husband French Toast!" she laughed as she cuddled up on his lap.
"Definitely FrenchToast, but I seem to vaguely remember something about eggs and a side of bacon, too!"
"See, there you go with that stellar memory, again!" she teased. "I don't have a chance!"
He brought his lips to hers, and kissed her passionately, this woman he loved more than life itself, who was game to take on anything!
"I'll tend Esmerelda and the little ones, while you get breakfast, Darling!"
She kissed him one last time, this time on his forehead, and smiled as she got up to go to the kitchen.
"Frankly, I'm surprised you haven't named all nine of the babies by now!" called Nathan.
"Oh, put your thinking cap on because that's coming as soon as we eat our two o'clock breakfast!"
He laughed, knowing she was absolutely serious!
All he could do was shake his head, and feed Esmerelda some canned Salmon, which she scarfed down, even faster than the tuna!
"Wow, nine names, Esmerelda…"
"Elizabeth, I think that's the best French Toast I've ever had!"
"The secret's in the vanilla and lots of it, also just a touch of brown sugar, Love! Okay, we can't put this off any longer! It's important these little ones have names."
"One cat and nine kittens! That's an awful lot, Elizabeth!" unsure what they were ever going to do with ten cats!
"They're a family just like us! We can't possibly split them. Now for the names! Let me see. We need nine names total. What's there nine of?"
"I was hoping you'd forget that! How in the world are we going to name nine kittens, much less keep them all straight?"
"Oh, as they grow, Love, they'll develop their own sweet little personalities, and no two will be the same! I promise! You'll see!"
"I'm still not quite as convinced as you, but the closest I can get for names is our eight planets. Let's see. There's Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and of course our own planet Earth."
"I suppose we could pretend there's a ninth one and make up a name, but where would we start?" asked Elizabeth.
"Well, all the names came from Greek and Roman mythology, so we would need to think about something from there, right? I mean we can't have one little kitten having an oddball name!" he said facetiously, but Elizabeth let that totally fly over her head!
"Now you're getting it! But we don't have a book to look it up in! I guess I'll have to check when we get home."
"Maybe we don't need a book," he grinned.
She looked at him puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we just need to think about the Roman gods first, because that's how the last planet was named. Let's see there's Juno, the protector of women; there's Bacchus, god of the grapes or wine as the case may be; and my personal favorite Pluto, god of the underworld! Yep, Pluto should definitely be the ninth planet!"
"Oh, I love Pluto. The name's cute, plus you tame the underworld, Darling! So, it's perfect for us!"
"Pluto it is! And love your logic," he laughed. "Who knows, someday they may discover a real ninth planet. And whatever they name it, the Grants will call it Pluto!"
Elizabeth laughed, too.
"Sure, like that's going to happen!"
"You never know! Stranger things have happened! Poor Esmerelda, bearing a whole universe of planets! But at least it's unique! Come to think of it, it's actually brilliant! At least this way, Allie and Jack will sure know their planets!"
"Best in class those Grant children! Hey, Baby, how do you know so much about Greek and Roman mythology?"
"I've read it all, Babe! As a young boy, I was totally fascinated with all of it!"
"Hmm…" she was definitely learning some new surprise about her husband every single day!
"I like your idea. Now we just have to figure out which one gets what name."
"That, my Darling, is your department!" and he kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Just think, Esmerelda now has her own solar system! Which is a pretty amazing feat! Are you feeling comfortable enough to sit with her and the babies?"
"That depends," answered Elizabeth with eyes narrowed. "It depends on how far you're going."
"I hate to do this, but I desperately need to clear some of the brush around the Lodge and Cabin before George gets back. I really don't want to leave all this mess for him."
"There goes our lazy day!"
"What IS a lazy day, anyway?" asked a curious Nathan, really not at all sure just what that involved.
"Oh, my Darling! It's a day of you and me in bed, with no worries or cares. A must for every honeymoon! And look at what we Grants have gone and done! We've had nine kittens, instead!"
"With you, your lazy day sounds heavenly! But I guess you're right, our lazy day, today is having kittens, Grant Style!"
She laughed, knowing there would probably always be a bustle of activity around them, wherever they were!
They seemed to attract it!
"I'm giving you two hours to clear the brush, and then you come back to me and our babies!"
"I love the sound of that, especially 'our babies' part!" and he winked, while grinning that lop-sided grin that made her stomach turn somersaults.
"I do too," she smiled back at him, realizing she probably wasn't thinking clearly at all, but wanting them so badly!
"I think we have baby fever. But how could we not, Nathan?"
And both knew neither was talking about the kittens…
Nathan had worked a full hour and a half in the hot sun, clearing quite a bit of brush away, all now neatly separated into his three stacks of kindling, potential firewood, and trash to burn.
Elizabeth brought him a cold glass of water every chance she got, which was much appreciated, keeping him hydrated, and helping him to cool down, at least for a few minutes.
He had forgotten all about his injured arms, and like a good Mountie, just plowed right on through the job at hand!
Since the sun didn't seem quite as scorching now, he eyed the stack of wood that needed to be cut for firewood.
He had about a half-hour to go, which meant he could get a lot of wood chopped in that amount of time!
He looked up at the sun and decided it would be a lot cooler and easier to chop if he went shirtless, and since no one was around, he unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on the well.
Then he unbuttoned his Henley and pulled it over his head, which reminded him of his arms being bandaged.
The sun felt good against his skin.
Now, should he, or shouldn't he chop?
Well, a bandage or two had never stopped him before! And it was just a small stack of wood…
Besides, those scratches weren't that bad. It was the gash on his leg giving him the most trouble.
So, he made an executive decision, and threw his Henley on top of his shirt, took his ax, then positioned his legs apart into the perfect stance.
Next, he raised the ax straight up over his head.
He kept his arms extended and bent his legs slightly.
Then in one fell swoop, he made the perfect cut!
He instantly found his rhythm!
Somehow, inside, Elizabeth heard the sound of the wood splitting perfectly in too, and she ran to see exactly what it was her husband was doing.
Unaware she was watching, he duplicated every step of the process exactly the same, once more.
Again, a perfect splice!
Clean, and perfectly textbook.
Yep, he couldn't help but grin his signature grin!
He still had the touch!
The only difference this time was his new wife was standing, watching him in the kitchen doorway, most intently!
Something he still didn't know.
Before he could even pick up the ax for a third time, Elizabeth Grant was literally marching through the kitchen door and out to the well.
Determined and on a mission…
Her husband looked up with a tentative smile, not quite understanding what was coming next.
"Nathan Grant, as enticing as you look standing out here almost naked in the hot sun, you need to stop distracting me right now… because…"
Boy, was she rattled!
He had to bite his lip to keep from grinning, which he somehow didn't think would be received very well!
"You…are injured, and you…are absolutely not going to swing that…THING (she sort of spat out the word as though it were in italics)…one more time!"
As if that weren't enough, she raised her hand and pointed her index finger for emphasis.
Oh, yes, she was really rattled…beyond rattled, and really mad, too!
Now, Nathan Grant, although new at this husband thing, could at least tell that much.
Nonplussed, he watched his very rattled, very mad, but beautiful and determined wife with her pink flowery dress blowing in the wind around her, sashay on a dime, and stride right back into her kitchen, in what he would call was more of a definitive march meant to make a most impactful statement.
And it had worked, just maybe not in the way she intended.
In fact, he had seen Mounties march in well-trained regiments with less intensity than hers.
And he couldn't help but be a bit proud!
Now, most new husbands would have been scared. Very scared. But not our Mountie!
He loved her spunk and thought the whole thing was adorable…
Well, wise or not, Nathan Grant couldn't help but grin that lopsided, crooked grin of his.
And that's when, still looking through the window, Elizabeth Grant lost it…
"How dare him think this is funny!"
Yep, this was going to take flowers and lots of them.
Also, finesse, and lots of it!
Nathan immediately went to their back rock wall, and picked as many wildflowers as he could hold!
Armed with flowers, he then decided to man up and head back into the kitchen, totally forgetting to put his shirt and Henley back on.
He needed to check on Esmerelda and those babies, although that probably should have been the last thought on his mind, at this particular moment.
He surreptitiously crept through the kitchen door, no ax in sight, instead his arms overflowing with her favorite wildflowers.
She was still standing in the kitchen, but turned away, refusing to look at him, instead, wanting to theoretically strangle him for having used his injured arms to chop wood!
But as she stood there, she realized the only reason she was so mad, was because she loved him so terribly much!
However, she showed no difference to him, in her obstinate stance.
In fact, she showed a bit of exasperation, and maybe a slight bit of feigned indifference!
"I was totally wrong, and I'm completely sorry."
Although he couldn't tell it, she was listening, and she had to admit, it was an exemplary start, humbling himself before her, admitting his wrongdoing right out of the gate.
That was when he pulled out the armful of wildflowers for her to see.
They were beautiful, and they were her favorites.
And yes, she had to give him points for it being very inventive on the fly.
But it wasn't the flowers…
Her handsome husband might not have realized it, then again, he might have expressly realized it, but whichever way, it drove her absolutely crazy!
He was standing shirtless in their kitchen, and oh my, she was already breaking.
Then in one complete slash, he shattered her anger, as surely if he had sliced through it with his ax, simply by flashing that all-powerful crooked grin of his!
She didn't stand a chance against his onslaught of charm, and she knew it.
She was crumbling fast.
Without her realizing, her husband swooped his wife up in his injured arms, and carried her to their bed, leaving Esmerelda and her babies on their own for a bit.
And suddenly all was right again on this their lazy day, 'Grant' style…
Later that night, as they sat on their sofa in front of a roaring fire, tending Esmerelda and her kittens, all had been righted, except for one final wifely instruction, which was not to be forgotten...
"Promise me you'll never put yourself at risk of injury like that again. I mean it, Nathan Grant, whether on or off the job, some risks are not prudent to take! And those are the ones I expect my husband to be wise enough not to take!"
He cupped her chin in his strong hand, tenderly raising her eyes to his.
"Lisbeth, I give you my word, I won't do that again. It was foolish of me, and I should have known better. Lesson learned, my Darling."
She laid back against him, gazing at the fire.
"I want your children. Our children," she mused aloud.
"I want that, too, Darling, more than anything!"
"And I want their father, and Allie's and Jack's father, in one piece. A healthy piece."
"That's fair enough. I'll see to it!"
"What if we're already?" she asked.
"What?" his beautiful eyes suddenly got quite large.
"You know!" she cajoled.
"Oh! Is that even possible?" he replied, shocked.
"Unlikely, true, but yes, my Darling, it's quite possible. It sure didn't take me long to get pregnant with Jack. You know, that pregnancy was my lifeline in my grief, but looking back, it was wrong to put all that pressure on my baby."
"I now realize the immense stress I was under during the entire pregnancy. So much so, I didn't even get to feel so many of the things most mothers do. And Nathan, don't pity me, but I had no one to share those nine months with."
She reached to kiss him.
"Well, I should amend that. Truthfully, I did have my friends, and they were wonderful. I just didn't have Jack, and he was all I wanted."
He held her face tenderly between his fingertips, gently caressing her cheeks.
"The next time around, it's you and me kiddo!" and his eyes were dancing.
She could tell they were also glistening at the thought.
"Do you really mean that?"
"I really mean that. With all my heart, I mean that! From the moment we know, till the moment our baby is born, and everything in between, office visits included. I want to experience every single blessed moment with you, my Darling."
"You might not say that, when I'm throwing up every morning with morning sickness," she grinned.
"Then I'll make your chamomile tea with lots of honey and a splash of milk, and give you crackers with peanut butter."
"Isn't that for low blood sugar?" she asked skeptically.
"Bound to help with nausea, too!" he answered confidently.
"And you know this how?"
He grinned.
"Just a hunch! But, then I'm pretty good with hunches!"
He got up to feed Esmerelda again, kissing Elizabeth on her forehead before he left her.
"Lisbeth, never thought I'd have a cat named Esmerelda!"
She grinned.
He grinned too but continued.
"To be perfectly honest, never even thought I'd have a cat!"
"And now you have ten of them, Darling! How does it feel?"
"Cat -astrophic!" he chuckled.
In spite of herself, she couldn't help but chuckle too.
"Yes, it is a bit of that for sure! But they'll be good to have around the Lodge. Look on the bright side, we'll never see a mouse this way!"
"Well, you've got a great point there. My mother has this unbelievable phobia with mice! So, that's probably a very good thing!"
"Nathan, when your arms are healed, will you chop wood for me?" she asked it shyly. "With your shirt off?"
He smiled, without her seeing, of course.
"Any time you clear me for action!"
"Perfect answer, Love!"
She turned her head up toward this man she adored and grinned.
He looked down at her and couldn't help but chuckle, again.
Deeply.
"Today, Darling, we've birthed a litter of kittens, and had our first little snafu as a couple, surviving them both together beautifully! I'd say that bodes pretty well for us as an old married couple!"
She snuggled into him, fully contented, and so very much in love.
Yes, no doubt in both their minds, their marriage was going to be quite extraordinary!
And yes, they'd only had Kittens today.
Nine to be exact.
Plus Esmerelda made ten!
But dare they hope there might be more babies in their near future?
Yes, they both were indeed hoping that very much!
But this time, they were hoping for the real thing.
No, they were no longer talking about kittens at all.
They were talking about adorable, beautiful babies that were a part of him and a part of her.
And they were talking about lots of babies!
Perhaps not nine, but lots just the same.
And that made both of them smile from ear to ear!
"Nathan, I think Esmerelda's finally getting this mothering thing! After all her food, she's letting them nurse!"
"I think they'll be fine for a while," but he wasn't looking at the kittens.
He was gazing at his beautiful wife with pure love in his sparkling eyes, and then he flashed that lopsided grin of his!
"Lisbeth, my Love, let's go to bed…"
A Most Important Note, as One Last Aside for the Sake of The Grants and Pluto, the Adorable and Spunky Little Runt of Esmerelda's Litter:
Eleven Years and Nine Months after Nathan and Elizabeth Grant's Wedding Date, the Ninth Planet of our Solar System was Discovered at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and Just as Nathan Grant had Predicted, It was Named Pluto...
Now, There May also be a Second Most Important Note to Add Here, Too, Having to Do with That Nine Months Later:
But for That, I'm Afraid We'll Just Have to Wait and See...
For Now: Sending You Love from The Grants!