Nathan checked the casserole he had put in the oven for Ally and Opal's dinner. The two girls were currently sitting at the table playing Cat's Cradle. Ally had already set the table for her and Opal. Not for the first time since agreeing to this plan, Nathan was wondering if he should actually go or not. There was something about tonight that Bill was not being up front about. His gut told him that. He also felt uneasy about leaving the girl's home alone, though Ellen was sure they would be fine. However, even she was planning on stopping in about an hour after Nathan left just to check in under the pretense of bringing the girl's brownies.
As the casserole looked down, Nathan took it out and placed it on the table between the girls' two plates.
"That smells good Mountie Nathan," Opal said.
"It is one of his better dishes," Ally replied cheekily, even as she smiled up at her father.
"Perhaps I will just stick to this one dish then," Nathan teased back.
"You do not need to do that," Ally told him quickly.
Nathan smiled at her before going over some rules for the two girls before he left. The girls both listened intently to him, promising to abide by them while he was gone. Still feeling a little uneasy, but knowing that Ally was responsible enough to stay home alone for a bit, Nathan left for the café.
Unlike going to the Queen of Hearts with Lee, there were people out and about as Nathan walked into town. He exchanged greetings with those he passed, feeling less worried about Bill having set him up as he went.
Reaching the café, Nathan noticed that though there was dim light through the windows, the café was darker than usual. There also did not seem to be anyone inside the café. On the door, a sign simply read 'Closing Early Tonight'. As Bill had specifically invited him, Nathan reached out and tried the door knob. The knob turned easily in his hand. Pushing the door open, he stepped inside.
Though the main lights of the café were off, lanterns on the tables cast a soft glow in the main dining room of the café. Looking around, Nathan's gaze fell on a table in the center of the room. Like the others, there was a lantern sitting in the center. Unlike the others, this table had a dark blue table cloth with white tassels draped over it. Two places were set with silverware, a water glass and a wine glass. A ring of decorated pine cones circled the lantern.
Nathan knew instantly that Bill had not set the table that way for the two of them to share dinner. Looking up from the table as the door shut behind him, Nathan noticed Elizabeth standing in front of the table at one end.
"I thought something was suspicious about Bill's invitation," Nathan commented, suddenly feeling leery of the whole situation. He was not sure what was going on and he did not like being in a situation he was not sure of.
"Do not blame Bill," Elizabeth told him. "He was simply helping me out, and he is cooking dinner for us," she added nodding toward the curtain separating the dining room and the kitchen area. "Well, he and Abigail are. Assuming of course that you will have dinner with me?"
Nathan could hear the question in Elizabeth's last statement. He could sense her unease. The rush of her words told him that she wanted to speak before he walked away from her. Something about not being the only one unsure of the situation helped to lower his defenses. Still he remained where he was, a few steps from the door. Fleeing was still a possibility, and knowing that the exit was nearby was reassuring.
"Why not ask me directly to join you for dinner?" Nathan asked.
"Because you said on Christmas Eve that you wanted to protect Ally from getting hurt again. By having Bill ask you to the café, if tonight does not go as I hope it will, then at least Ally is protected from any disappointment."
"How do you hope tonight will go, Elizabeth?" Nathan asked, still not moving from his spot. Her consideration of Ally had him a little more at ease.
Elizabeth did however move. Picking up a small box, a simple red ribbon tied around it, she started to close the distance between them.
"Nathan, you said that you could not give us another chance unless you knew that Ally would not have her hopes crushed again. I admire that," Elizabeth told him, her voice soft and unsure. Nathan could tell that Elizabeth felt unsure about the situation. The words were coming from her heart and were not the practiced, thought out words of her mind that she had spoke in his office. "I will admit that on Christmas Eve you were right. I could not offer you that commitment freely. Things have changed though."
Elizabeth was now standing within arms reach of him. The box rested in her hands, which rested in front of her. As she looked up at him, he could see the vulnerability in her eyes.
"How?" Nathan asked, the one word question barely above a whisper. He felt the love he had for this woman keenly. He knew that she could easily break his heart once again. Knew that walking out of here and leaving her behind would do just that. It was that knowledge that kept him from obeying the flight command of his mind.
"I was sitting alone on Christmas Day while Jack napped and I could picture my future. It was a future that included you and Ally. I still fear losing you like I lost Jack, Nathan."
Nathan opened his mouth to repeat his offer to quit the Mounties but a shake of Elizabeth's head made him pause.
"I know you meant your words by the pond that day. I know you would give up the Mounties for me. However, I could not let Jack do that for the same reason I can't let you, Nathan. If you chose to leave for your own reasons, then I would accept and support that decision. Perhaps even rejoice in it. I cannot be the reason that you give up your career though. Not if I love you, and I do love you, Nathan Grant. It is why I worry every time I see you leave town. It is why I ran to you in the middle of the street last fall. It is why I fear losing you because I know the pain that loss would cause. I do not want to continue to live in fear. I want to open my heart to love, just like Jack wanted for me. I want to open my heart to accepting the love that you have so patiently been showing is waiting for me when I was ready."
Elizabeth held up the box to him.
"What is this?" Nathan asked, staring at it but not reaching up to take it.
"Open it," was Elizabeth softly spoken bequest.
Taking the box from her, Nathan untied the bow and lifted the top from the box. Inside, lay a brand new, gold pocket watch. Picking it up, Nathan noticed a piece of paper with neat handwriting nestled in the bottom of the box. The words on the paper were in Elizabeth's neat, concise handwriting. Lifting the box a little he read the words - the time is right, please let me be your wife.
The pocket watch still securely in his other hand, Nathan looked up from the paper to meet Elizabeth's gaze. He could see the love and hope in them. Nathan could feel the emotion welling up inside him. He was afraid to even try to speak, knowing that chances were nothing coherent would come out right then.
Elizabeth took a few more steps toward him. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing in close. Nathan dropped his hands to the side to make room for her, the pocket watch in one hand and the box still in the other. Tilting her head up to look up at him, she spoke again, this time close enough that Nathan felt her breath against his bare neck and chin.
"I do not need a typical courtship. I do not even need a ring. Jack and I did all that, and in the end it left us with little time as husband and wife. I just want you, Nathan," Elizabeth told him. Keeping one hand around his waist, she reached up with the other to place it against his cheek. "Please ask me?"
Nathan heard the sincerity and the plea in the soft voice. He had thought he had lost his chance at this moment, and now, Elizabeth was here, standing close to him and asking him to ask the question he had been ready to ask her back in the spring.
Nathan slipped the pocket watch in his pocket even as the box fell to the ground. He wrapped his arms around her. Instead of resisting it, he felt Elizabeth respond by moving closer to him. He felt his heart beating in his chest and wondered if Elizabeth was aware of it.
"Elizabeth, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Nathan asked, still fearful that she would say no.
"Yes," she whispered, even as the hand on his cheek slipped behind his head. She gently pulled his head down toward hers as she lifted herself up and pressed her lips against his. A week ago, she had not been able to return his kiss. Tonight, she was the one initiating it.
"Bill Avery," Abigail hissed quietly, swatting his arm with the dish towel she held. "You are supposed to be helping me cook not spying on them," she scolded as Bill stood peering around the curtain at Nathan and Elizabeth.
"I am trying to determine if I need to avoid the town Mountie for a few days or not," Bill replied quietly.
Abigail shook her head in amusement. "So what is the verdict?" curious as to what was happening despite her scolding of Bill.
Bill took a step back. "Take a look for yourself," he whispered.
Despite her misgivings, Abigail stepped in front of him. Bill's hand came to rest on the small of her back and she found that she did not mind at all. She felt her heart beat a little faster even as she peered through the crack in the curtain. Out in the dining room, Nathan and Elizabeth were kissing. Though on the surface it seemed like a tame kiss, the closeness of the two involved conveyed the passion between the two participants very clearly. Giving that Bill did not think he could get a piece of pater between Nathan and Elizabeth, it was a display that probably did not warrant an audience.
"I think you are safe," Abigail replied, reaching up to pull back the hand holding the curtain back a bit. "So, let's leave them in privacy and finish their dinner. Would you have wanted an audience when we kissed on Christmas?" she asked even as she moved to the stove.
"We had one," Bill informed her. "Clara and Jesse were not fast enough to hide when I looked in this direction."
"That does not give us the right to spy on Nathan and Elizabeth when we are suppose to be cooking dinner for them."
"I think it might be a bit before they are ready to eat," Bill commented.
Abigail's response was to hand him a couple of pot holders. "Check on the garlic bread," she told him as she went to check on her chicken Alfredo dish.
There was something reserved about Nathan's kiss, just like the man himself. Despite that though, Elizabeth felt the passion in the quiet, tender kiss. There was no hunger. There was no rush. However, with his hands on the small of her back, pressing her against him, Elizabeth was aware of Nathan's reaction to their kiss and the beating of his heart that echoed her own rapidly beating heart.
Elizabeth still had one hand behind his head, his hair between her fingers. Her other hand was pressed against his shoulder blades. Her knees felt like putty. Elizabeth wondered if she would sink to the ground if it wasn't for Nathan pressing her body against his.
Though she started feeling lightheaded, Elizabeth did not try to break the kiss. She simply stole a quick breath during a brief pause. The feel of Nathan's lips on hers sent a tingling through her body. It was a sensation that she had not felt since the day she and Jack had said good-bye at Fort Clay. The thought of her late husband did not change the way she felt in this moment. Jack was her past and Nathan was her present. Instead, what it did reinforce was that she had never felt this way while kissing Lucas. Though pleasant enough, kissing Lucas had been a wild, desperate, hunger of two people hungry for affection and trying to convince themselves and those around them that they were in love.
It was finally Nathan who broke the kiss. His breaths were short and rapid just like the beating of his heart. As her hand was still behind his head, Nathan did not try to lift his head, instead moving it to the side so that their cheeks touched as he continued to hold her close to him. Feeling something wet against her own cheek, Elizabeth slid her hand from the back of Nathan's head to his shoulder as she pulled back enough to be able to see Nathan's face. His eyes were bright with unshed tears, and the moisture of the few that had fallen glistened on his cheeks.
"Please tell me those are happy tears," Elizabeth said, moving her hand from his shoulder to wipe the moisture from his cheeks.
"They are," Nathan told her, his voice husky with emotion. "So much for the tough, strong, brave Mountie image, huh?"
Elizabeth smiled. "You are strong, and brave and the fact that you are willing to show your emotions only reinforces that," she told him. "I am ready to marry you whenever you are ready. Just tell me when."
"You may not want to leave that up to me, Elizabeth," Nathan told her, looking down at her.
"Why not?" Elizabeth asked.
"Because I think a wedding would be a wonderful way to start off the new year."
"A New Year's Day wedding?" Elizabeth asked, wondering if she could really deal with a year long engagement. She paused. Was that really what he wanted or was Nathan thinking much sooner? "As in tomorrow?" she asked.
Nathan smiled down at her. "Yes," he told her. "So, perhaps you should pick a date that you feel comfortable with."
Elizabeth moved so that both hands were resting on Nathan's shoulders as she looked up at him. His hands were still on the small of her back, pressing their bodies close together.
Standing there, Elizabeth realized that the thought of getting married the following day did not worry her like she thought it would. She felt like she had wasted enough time already. Time that could have been spent getting to know the man who was currently holding her close. The thought of being able to say goodnight to him the following night and being able to stay at his side was very appealing. She felt another surge of passion move through her body at the very thought. She knew that kind of union would provide them the opportunity to know each other better in that one night then they would even if they spent a year trying to get to know one another.
"I think a New Year's Day wedding sounds wonderful," Elizabeth told him, realizing that the news would come as quite a surprise to her parents but perhaps it would be best. She knew on some level, if they had time to think about it, her mother at least would try to talk her out of it. This way, it was simply a matter of them accepting the choice she had made. "It would not be too much of a rush for Ally, would it?"
"Ally still longs for a mother, even if she is trying to deny it. She would not have been so upset if she did not already see you that way on some level. Ally also wants me to be happy, and marrying you, Elizabeth, will make me very happy. Ally will be surprised, but I think not having the anticipation and the fear of things falling through might be better for her in the long run."
Elizabeth moved her hands from his shoulders to his cheeks. Though no more tears had fallen, there was still a dampness to his cheek. It was a reminder to her of the love this man felt for her despite what she had put him through.
"Then let's get married tomorrow," Elizabeth told him. "I was thinking we could ask Bill to do it, unless you wanted him to be your best man?"
"The only best man I need standing at my side is Little Jack if you are okay with that?"
Elizabeth's breath caught. She had not expected that but somehow it seemed appropriate. She nodded. "And if Ally is okay with it, she can be my maid of honor. It seems fitting that the four of us should be standing together when we say our vows."
"Are you sure you are okay with rushed and simple, Elizabeth?" Nathan asked. "I do not want you to look back and feel cheated."
"I am sure," Elizabeth said. "It may be simple, but it will be special. Somehow it seems fitting that everything leading up to the marriage is rushed so hopefully our marriage will be a long and happy one."
Nathan response was to lean in a press his lips against hers again. Once again, Elizabeth responded with the love in her heart that had finally pushed the fear of her mind aside.