Julie smiled at Elizabeth in the mirror, putting the finishing touches on her sister's hair. "You look like a princess, Beth," she said. "Nathan is going to be swept off his feet."
The green dress fit Elizabeth perfectly. Viola had lent Elizabeth emeralds to wear in her ears and around her neck, and Julie had styled her hair in an elegant updo. Elizabeth looked at her reflection in the mirror and shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. "I look fancier than I did for my own wedding!" she exclaimed.
Julie chuckled. "Your wedding was totally you and Nathan. Laid back and beautiful. This is something that is more high society, which…" She winked. "While fun, is most definitely not you." She pushed a final pin in place, then stepped back and nodded. "For tonight, you are once more Elizabeth Thatcher of New York society."
Elizabeth raised her brow, rising from the chair. "I don't think I'll ever be that girl again." She smiled. "No, I'm Elizabeth Grant - wife, mother, and nurse - no matter how I look." She grinned. "I can't wait to see Nathan in his tuxedo. That's a rare sight!"
The sisters dissolved into giggles. Grace poked her head into the room, Arianna on her hip. "It's about that time, girls. Are you ready?"
"Ready!" they chorused.
Grace shot a grin at Elizabeth as they walked down the hall. "I just saw your husband in his dress suit, and I must say I'm impressed. He is a very handsome man."
"He certainly is…" The words died in Elizabeth's throat as she reached the living room. Nathan was standing there with Viola, chatting while he held Cecilia. He was dressed in an elegant black suit with a green tie the exact shade as Elizabeth's dress. His wavy hair was perfectly combed and styled, making him look like a movie star.
Elizabeth couldn't take her eyes off him. The fact that he was holding their daughter just made him all the more attractive. Julie nudged her in the side, propelling her forward.
Nathan turned his gaze to her, and his blue eyes widened as he took her in. He looked just as thunderstruck as she felt. As they came together, their hands met and clasped. Cecilia giggled and reached for her mother. Elizabeth took her without taking her eyes from Nathan.
"Wow," Nathan said, reaching up to touch her cheek. "You look incredible."
She smiled. "So do you."
Grace reached out, taking Cecilia from Elizabeth. "Alright, it's time for you young people to head to the gala. Have a wonderful time!" She shooed them toward the door. Elizabeth gave both her daughters a kiss, then walked to the car on her husband's arm. Viola and Julie trailed after them, their excited chatter making Elizabeth smile.
The gala was held in an elegant hotel ballroom. Elizabeth's eyes widened as she entered with Nathan and her sisters. "Wow," she said, taking in the chandeliers and stunning decorations. "This is incredible! I didn't realize anything so fancy existed on Kauai."
Nathan chuckled. "This is about as fancy as I've seen it get on the island. I figure one evening a year isn't too hard to handle." He adjusted his tie. "Though I really don't like these things…"
Elizabeth smiled, smoothing it down. "You look very handsome." Her smile grew to a grin. "A few more hours and you'll be able to be tie-free for another year."
"Thank God!" Nathan exclaimed, matching her grin with one of his own. Something caught his eye, and a mischievous look crossed his face. "Will you excuse me for a moment?" he asked.
Elizabeth nodded, watching as Nathan walked to Viola and offered his arm. They set out across the room.
"What are they doing?" Julie asked, her eyes on her eldest sister. Julie's shimmering blue gown and her delicate features were drawing glances from men in the room, but she seemed oblivious to their interest. Elizabeth bit back a smile. She wondered if there was someone in the room who might catch Julie's eye tonight. She brought her attention back to Nathan and Viola, grinning once again as she saw him introducing her sister to Officer Hickam.
"My husband is playing matchmaker," Elizabeth said with a laugh. Viola's face was a pretty shade of pink and Hickam looked like a love struck puppy as he asked her to dance. Nathan headed back to Elizabeth and Julie, looking highly satisfied.
"I think that went well," he said, his smile stretching from ear to ear. "I've never seen Mike look so infatuated in the ten years I've known him." He winked at Elizabeth. "Maybe we'll get one of your sisters to move to our fair island."
"A-hem," Julie said, tapping her toe and crossing her arms. "I don't suppose you have any other eligible young coworkers to introduce me to?"
Elizabeth laughed, sliding an arm around her sister. "Looking to settle down, Julie?"
"Well," Julie hedged. "Not quite yet, but it would be nice to have someone to make me consider it."
At that moment, a handsome young man walked up and asked Julie to dance. She lit up and accepted. Elizabeth watched her walk away, shaking her head with a little smile. "Julie falls in love so often, it'll be a wonder when she finally meets a man who makes her think of settling down."
"She'll get there," Nathan said before shooting her a charming smile. "In the meantime…" He held out his hand. "Would you care to dance, my dear wife?"
She smiled, placing her hand in his. "Absolutely."
They made their way onto the dance floor as Frank Sinatra's To Love and Be Loved began to play. Nathan looked down at her as they started dancing. "Frank Sinatra. Reminds me of the time we watched High Society and you commented on how bright his eyes were."
"You and he share that feature. Allie doesn't call you Old Blue Eyes for nothing," Elizabeth teased. She let her eyes gaze deeply into his. "Though I must say, Sinatra's baby blues have got nothing on yours."
Nathan blinked, then grinned. "Is that so?"
Elizabeth nodded. "Most certainly."
Nathan pulled her closer, his hand rubbing gently up and down her back. "I'll keep that in mind."
Elizabeth leaned her head against his chest, enveloped in Nathan's strength. She closed her eyes as they moved to the music. In that moment, nothing mattered but the beating of their hearts as one.
She loved this man more with each passing day.
A week later, Nathan let out a frustrated breath as yet another search came up empty. He stared at his computer screen. No results found.
"How?" he muttered to himself. "How can someone be missing and no one reported it?"
"You talking to yourself again?" Lee asked, eyeing Nathan over his own computer screen.
Nathan sighed. "There are no unresolved missing persons reports in the last year. I suppose we could expand our search, but it would be looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Expand it to five years," Lee suggested. "That skeleton had no skin on it at all. We could be looking at a murder that happened a while ago."
"True," Nathan said. "I take it forensics hasn't gotten back to us yet?"
Before Lee could answer, Bill came into the room, holding a file in his hands. "Grant, Coulter! Forensics just sent this over." He dropped the file on Nathan's desk and stood with his arms crossed. "Open it."
Nathan obeyed. He quickly opened the file and perused the information inside. His brow knit together in a frown. Looking up, he stared at Bill. "Is this accurate?"
Bill huffed out what might have been a laugh. "That's what I thought when I read it."
Lee strained his neck to catch a glimpse of the information. "What does it say?"
Nathan handed him the file along with an explanation. "That body has been in the ground for twenty years."
"Twenty?!" Lee exclaimed, looking down at the paper. "This could be one of our cold cases."
"Exactly," Bill said grimly. "About twenty years ago, when I was a detective, a string of people went missing over the span of four years. We were never able to find them, and after a while the cases were all relegated to unsolved." He shook his head, an upset look on his face. "It's always bothered me that we couldn't find them. My superior at the time thought they had left the island without a word. 'No body, no crime' was his mantra." Bill sighed. "Eight women went missing in those four years, boys. There were similarities about each and every one of them. I thought we could be looking at a serial killer with a 'type' for their victims. But that was only a hunch. I could never prove it, especially since we never found the bodies." He pointed to the computer screen. "Look up our missing persons records from sixteen to twenty years ago. You'll see who they are. If we can give forensics something to look for, they might be able to find a match." He paused, his eyes sad. "The first woman to go missing was Eliana Daniels. Twenty years ago this month."
Nathan studied his boss. Were those tears in his eyes? "You alright, Chief?"
"Fine," Bill said gruffly. "I just want justice done." He turned and stalked back to his office.
"That was strange," Lee commented as Bill's office door slammed.
Nathan squinted, a memory nagging his brain. "Wasn't Bill engaged once?" he asked. "I seem to remember office gossip when I first started here that the reason he's so gruff is because he lost the love of his life. She just disappeared one day without a word."
Lee froze. "I do remember that," he said slowly. "You think Bill's fiancée might be one of the missing women?" His voice lowered. "Maybe even Eliana Daniels?"
"I think it's possible," Nathan said, his voice equally low. He glanced at the door. "These cold cases sound personal for him. We need to figure out who that skeleton is and start getting some answers. Even if it's to rule out the notion of a serial killer. It could simply be that a hiker got injured and didn't make it."
Lee raised a brow. "That body was buried under a banyan tree, Nathan." He shook his head. "You know as well as I do that doesn't just happen."
Nathan sighed. "I know," he said quietly. A shiver passed through him. "I just really don't like the idea of a serial killer, Lee." He let out his breath. "Not that we have to worry about that. This was just one body."
Lee was quiet for a few moments. "This one was uncovered after twenty years," he said, his tone serious. "What if it is one of the eight missing women?" He glanced down at the file. "This says the body was female."
Another shudder passed through Nathan. "Let's focus on this case for now. If another body turns up - and I pray it doesn't - we'll worry about a possible serial killer then."
Lee nodded. "Alright." He pressed his lips together as he looked at the file again. "Looks like the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head."
"Let's keep a running file on all this information," Nathan said. "Just in case we need it again." It was better to be prepared than not, though Nathan fervently hoped this case was a one-time murder.
He didn't want to consider the possibility of anything else.
Elizabeth looked at her husband as they walked along the beach. He was lost in thought, his hand absently tracing circles on her arm as he held her close to his side.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Elizabeth said softly. They were on a date, but Nathan had seemed distracted all throughout dinner and now he was distracted again. The water lapped their bare feet, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Huh?" Nathan blinked, shaking himself. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. There's a difficult case at work, that's all."
Elizabeth studied him. "Are you able to talk about it?"
Nathan measured his words carefully. Elizabeth knew there was only so much he could reveal before solving a crime. "We found a body under a banyan tree in one of the state parks," he said slowly. "It had been there for two decades. Lee and I are trying to figure out who it is."
"Oh," Elizabeth said softly, her heart going out to the unknown person and their family. "How tragic."
Nathan nodded, hugging her closer to his side. "I apologize for being distracted, sweetheart." He gave her a heart-melting smile. "I know our dates have been few and far between lately. You deserve all my attention." He pulled her to a stop and locked her in his arms. "How can I make it up to you?" The distraction was gone. In its place was a mischievous light.
Elizabeth let her hands slide up his arms. "I can think of a few ways," she teased, wrapping her arms around his neck and tugging him closer. Nathan met her halfway. They shared a kiss full of passion and promise. Elizabeth was breathing hard by the time her husband pulled back slightly. Their foreheads rested against each other before Nathan gently moved to press her cheek to his chest. They stood in each other's arms, watching the sun sink slowly toward the horizon.
"This is perfect," Elizabeth murmured.
Nathan hummed his agreement, his cheek resting against her hair. "Do you want to head back to the car or keep walking?" he asked.
Elizabeth stood fully and linked her arm with his once more. "Let's keep walking," she said. "My back has been aching a bit today and I think the exercise will help." Her body was more than aching; over the past two days, she had been experiencing what could only be described as contractions. Light ones, but contractions nonetheless.
Nathan was watching her with some concern. He'd been worried when he found out about the contractions. Elizabeth was hoping they were simply false ones that would go away soon. She was only six months along, and everything had looked good at her last checkup. She'd scheduled an appointment with Carson for tomorrow morning, just in case.
"I'm fine, Nathan," she said, rubbing his arm with her hand to reassure him. "This happens sometimes during a pregnancy. I'm sure everything is going to be alright."
Nathan didn't look convinced, but he nodded. Elizabeth believed her own words throughout the rest of their date and well into the night. But when she woke up at four in the morning, pain radiating through her belly, she knew something was wrong.
Her husband woke as she let out a muffled scream of pain. Instantly on high alert, he grabbed his phone and called someone. "Lee," he barked into the phone. "I need to take Elizabeth to the hospital. Can you watch our girls?"
Their friend must have agreed, because Nathan dropped the phone and quickly dressed himself and Elizabeth. She moaned in pain as her stomach contracted tightly, panic setting in.
It was too early.
"Nathan," she whimpered, looking up at him with wide eyes.
"It'll be okay, sweetheart," he said. But the fear in his eyes didn't match the calm cadence of his voice.
Lee was over within minutes. Nathan thanked him with a quick hug, then helped Elizabeth to the car. The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever. When they finally reached the emergency room, the attendant took one look at Elizabeth's convulsing figure and admitted them to the emergency maternity ward.
The next hours were a blur. The pain was excruciating. Elizabeth wove in and out of consciousness. She was vaguely aware of Carson's arrival, but in her agony she couldn't reply to his questions. Nathan answered what he could as he held her hand tightly.
Carson's face was grim. "This baby is coming," he said to Nathan in a low voice. Somehow Elizabeth heard him through the pain. She shook her head. Anthony couldn't come yet. It was too soon. He wouldn't make it.
As her son dropped into the birth canal, Elizabeth regained her focus with a sharpness and intensity that startled her. The pain was still wracking her body, but she had her mental focus again.
"Push, Elizabeth," Carson said firmly. "As hard as you can."
Elizabeth bore down, a scream ripping from her throat as she felt the baby's head start to crown.
"That's it," Carson said. "One more push and he'll be out."
With the final push, Anthony slipped from Elizabeth's body into Carson's hands. No cries sounded. Elizabeth felt her body tremble with relief as the pain vanished, but a new pain ripped through her heart.
She was a NICU nurse. She knew the odds of a baby born so prematurely surviving. They weren't good.
Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "Nathan," she said, looking up at her terrified husband. "Is he…?"
Carson came back to the hospital bed as a nurse whisked Anthony from the room. Elizabeth knew every second counted when it came to a preemie's survival, but she didn't even know if her son had survived the birth.
"Carson?" she asked, her grip on Nathan's hand tightening.
He stood beside Nathan, placing one hand on his shoulder and the other on Elizabeth's. "He's alive," he said. "I sent him to the NICU. Molly and Florence are working the shift tonight. They'll take good care of your son."
"Is he going to live?" The words came out on a whispered whimper, but Elizabeth had to know.
Carson's eyes gentled. "You know we'll do everything we can to ensure that he does," he said softly. "Now I need you to rest, Elizabeth. Your body just went through quite the ordeal. That was the hardest birth I've seen in a long time. You need to regain some strength."
"But...my baby…" Tears poured down Elizabeth's cheeks. "I didn't even get to see him!"
Carson knelt beside the bed, taking her free hand in his. "You've seen this happen many times, Elizabeth," he said gently. "You know the protocol. We have to make sure your son is stable before you can see him."
Elizabeth's arms ached to hold her baby, but she knew Carson was right. She gave a jerky nod. "Make sure he survives," she whispered hoarsely.
Carson nodded. "We'll do our best." He gave Nathan a reassuring pat on the back, then left the room. A nurse came in to care for Elizabeth and to make sure she was patched up and clean. Elizabeth barely registered the process. She continued to cling to Nathan's hand, tears blinding her.
Anthony had to be okay. She couldn't bear to lose their son.
