Chapter 31

Bill and Nathan had been riding in silence for about an hour looking for any sign that may have given them a clue that they were on the right track. The words were unspoken between them, but they both knew from experience that they were working against time and that the longer they had to search, the less likely that they would catch up to them in the same day unless a miracle occurred and Nathan had been praying for that very thing since mounting Newton. His worried and weary eyes scanned the area carefully for anything that might indicate that they were hot on the trail. Nathan was trying his best to concentrate on the task at hand and to reign in his emotions. He knew he needed to detach himself from the situation and think like a Mountie.

Bill finally spoke, "Nathan, we will find her."

Nathan hung his head and then looked up keeping his eyes straight ahead of him, "I just don't know what I'll do if something happens to her. She has been my world for so long and I love her like she was my own daughter."

"For all intent and purposes, she is you daughter. You are the only dad that girl has ever known," answered Bill thoughtfully. "She loves you too, you know. Anyone can tell by looking at the two of you that she absolutely adores the ground that her uncle walks on."

"I can't lose her Bill, I just can't. I promised Colleen that I would take care of her and always be there for her."

"….and you will be and you are."

Nathan's eyes darted back and forth as they progressed further and his pace slowed down a bit. Bill eyed him curiously, "you know something don't you and that's why we came this direction."

Nathan slowly nodded his head, "Yep, I saw tracks heading out of town in this direction. Two sets a larger set and a smaller set."

Bill nodded slowly in understanding, "So they're on foot."

"It appears that way."

"Well, if that's the case then there is a good chance we will catch up to them sooner than later," Bill responded with more confidence. "Nathan you're one of the best trackers in the Northwest Mounted Police, if anyone can get this guy, it's going to be you.

"It's just…..it's just…."

"I know," Bill responded, "it's different."

They rode in silence for a little longer until something caught Nathan's eye on the side of the rode. He slowed his horse down and jumped off it with Bill following close behind. "What is it, Nathan?" Bill asked.

"It's a piece of ribbon," he rubbed the material thoughtfully between his thumb and his forefinger while his eyes darted past the trees and all around the road, "It's from the ribbon Allie wears in her hair."

Bill watched him as the lines on his forehead wrinkled as his eyes squinted to focus on something in the trees, "what is it?"

Nathan walked a little further into the forest of trees and caught sight of a broken branch, looking down he spotted two sets of footprints, "they came this way."

Bill walked up behind him, both horses in tow, "How do you know?"

"The branch is broken and there are footprints on the ground consistent with an adult and a child."

"Where would they be going in this direction?" asked Bill.

"Trying to hide by staying off the main road and avoid being seen." Nathan kept moving forward, following the footprints. They walked a bit further and Nathan noticed another piece of Allie's hair ribbon. "That a girl, Allie," he whispered.

"Another ribbon piece?" inquired Bill curiously.

"Yeah, I think Allie is leaving them on purpose so we can track her."

"Smart girl, Nathan. You've raised her well." Bill continued scanning the area as they walked further from the road.

"Footprints seemed to have ended here," Nathan slapped the side of his leg in frustration and continued to sweep the ground with his eyes furrowed in irritation.

Bill walked off following a trail of leaves and then called for Nathan, "Hey, I think they went this way."

Nathan turned to his right and followed Bill's path. Looking down he slapped him on the back, "Nice find Bill." The two sets of footprints lead down the path between the trees, "and look, there's another piece of Allie's hair ribbon."

It was getting longer into the afternoon and Nathan was beginning to lose hope that they would find her. Bill must have been thinking the same because as they walked he spoke up, "I'm not sure we are going to catch up to them today. We might have to call it soon and make camp. It's going to be dark in a couple of hours."

Nathan shook his head, swallowing hard, "No…..I'm going to keep going. I can't stop. I have to find her."

Bill looked over at Nathan and could read the stubborn determination in his icy cold stare and knew there was no reasoning with him, "Well then we it's a good thing I brought my lanterns with me."

"She's close by, I can feel it," Nathan replied wearily.

Bill nodded silently and continued walking forward with his head bent to the ground following the footprints like a path that had been clearly laid out in front of them. They traveled forward finding broken branches and more small pieces of Allie's hair ribbon. About an hour later Nathan stopped dead in his tracks. "Why are we stopping?" asked Bill confused.

Nathan made a shushing motion with his finger to his mouth and then whispered backwards to Bill while pointing straight ahead, "Look, see the smoke rising from the trees?"

Bill squinted his eyes and then shook his head knowingly as he watched the small puffs of circles rise above the tops of the tall green trees and then dissipate into the air, "Yeah, I see it. Do you think it's them?"

"I don't know who else it could be," he responded back. He moved forward a little further and then the small hunting cabin came into view, "look, there's a hunting cabin out here. He must have known it was here. It's pretty well hidden so he must have thought we wouldn't be able to track him out here."

"Well he should have known that if anyone could, it would have been you," Bill smirked.

"Yeah well, I just hope he hasn't done anything to Allie." Nathan pulled out his binoculars and peered through them at the cabin. He watched as a male figure walked out the door and gathered more wood to take back into the small log cabin. "Uh."

"What?" Bill asked curiously.

"He does have a horse and that's definitely him. He must have left it here in hopes that he wouldn't be tracked as easily. He just went back inside. Come on, lets go," Nathan urged anxiously.

Bill grabbed his shoulder before he could even stand to move, "Now hold up a minute, you can't go charging in there with Allie being there. Remember he's got a weapon with him. We have to draw him back out of the cabin again."

Nathan clenched his jaw in annoyance and then sighed, "You're right, any thoughts?"

"The horse," was all Bill got out before Nathan continued his thought.

"Yeah, I see what you're getting at," Nathan nodded knowingly. "You create a disturbance to get the horse riled up a bit and then he'll probably come out of the cabin and when he does I'll nab him."

"Exactly what I was thinking," smiled Bill smartly, "Come on, let's go get your Allie girl." They both stood and moved to hide behind the bushes by the horse. "All right, watch this," Bill whispered as he started throwing small rocks at the ground next to the horse without hitting it. It had the desired affect that they were both hoping it would. The horse did not like the disturbance while it was eating and began to step back and forth in a more furious pattern and then started neighing and snorting loudly. Nathan moved around to the other side of the cabin as Bill continued his assault on the horse. Within a matter of seconds of it all starting the door to the cabin and Allie's biological dad stuck his head out the front door, glancing around the cabin before walking towards the horse.

As soon as Daniel was out the door, Nathan came charging towards him from behind. Daniel must have heard him because he turned towards Nathan, pulling out his handgun and getting a shot out, grazing Nathan's shoulder right before he knocked Daniel to the ground and began to wrestle him.

Bill came running out of the bushes and pointed his gun down at the tumbling duo as Nathan had him pinned and was throwing punches at the man still fighting to get away until he suddenly stopped squirming and Bill yelled at him, "Nathan, that's enough." He reached down with his free hand and grabbed Nathan off of the man. He could see the anger in his face as he ground his teeth together and mashed his lips closed with a cold, stony gaze that stayed on the man on the ground. "Nathan," Bill tried again, "Nathan, it's over…..it's over," he repeated more quietly and with assurance trying to calm Nathan down.

Nathan backed away and ran into the cabin, spotting Allie sitting in the corner wide eyed. It took her only seconds before she recognized that her uncle was standing in front of her and she jumped up, flying into his arms. Nathan dropped to one knee and wrapped his arms around her as she started to cry in relief.

Nathan choked back his tears and he held onto her tightly, relief flooding over him like water over a cliff in a river bend, that she was ok. "Allie, are you ok?" He released her and held her at arms-length as he examined her.

"I'm fine, Uncle Nathan," she answered between sobs, "he didn't hurt me, but I was so scared that I wouldn't see you again."

He pulled her back into a tight embrace as a silent tear streaked down his cheek, "I love you Allie. I know I don't say it often enough to you, but I do, I love you like you were my own daughter."

"Uncle Nathan," she spoke back with a muffled sound as she buried her face into his shoulder, "I love you too, and I am your daughter. You are the only dad I have ever known and I know you love me even if it isn't said very often."

Allie took a step back as her sobs began to subside, resting her hands on his shoulders. Nathan reached up and gently wiped the tears from her face, "Well I'm going to change that now. I want you to know it and hear it from me."

Bill watched from the door, swallowing back a lump and not wanting to interrupt their moment, but also knowing that they needed to get a move on. He had already taken care of Beckham and had him tied to the horse, he knew there wasn't going to be any convincing Nathan to stay put for the night and he couldn't blame him. They had about an hour of daylight to get back to the main road and another 2 hour ride back to Hope Valley from there. He finally cleared his throat to indicate that he was standing there, "I have Beckham tied to the horse. We probably need to start heading out of here."

Nathan stood, keeping his hand on Allie's shoulder, a gesture that he mostly only reserved for her as a sign of affection for his niece. "What do you say," he asked, "are you ready to go home?"

She smiled up at him in relief, "Yes, you don't have to ask me twice."

Nathan looked over at Bill who was staring at him intently. "How's your shoulder?" Bill asked.

"It stings a bit and it's numb, but it could have been worse. I'm sure it's going to be sore for a while, but my poor shirt has a hole in it now."

"You got shot," Allie questioned wide-eyed.

Nathan looked down at her, "I'm fine, Allie. It just grazed me, like a scratch."

Allie cocked her head and gave him an odd look with a raised eyebrow, "I'm not so sure Mrs. Thornton is going to think that it's just a scratch."

Nathan cocked his head in the same manner down at her, looking askance, "Well, maybe we can just keep this between us for now."

"So," she responded with a bit of sass, "you're going to lie to her."

"No," he said exaggeratedly, "I'm just not going to say anything."

"Yeah, whatever you say, Uncle Nathan. Come on let's go." She grabbed his hand and led him out the door where Bill was biting his lip trying not to laugh.

"Not a word from you either, Bill," Nathan admonished while walking passed him.

"I didn't say a word," Bill said with a smirk.

Nathan helped Allie up onto Newton and then mounted him behind her and the three of them started the trek back to Hope Valley with one prisoner in tow, mostly chatting idly with one another as they rode. The relief completely apparent in all three of them. By the time they rode back into town it was dark, but all the others who had gone out earlier were gathered in front of the saloon. They were all relieved to see that Allie was safely sitting in front of her uncle on his horse.

Nathan and Bill took the horses to the stable. "I'll take the prisoner to the jail. I think you have someone who is going to want to know you and Allie are back safely, but I would go get that arm checked out first by Carson and then go change my shirt before you go see Elizabeth."

Nathan nodded, "All right, but I can take care of the prisoner first so you can go home."

"No," Bill stated firmly, "I'll take care of him and I'll stay the night in the jail with him to make sure nothing else goes wrong and to give you some peace of mind."

"You don't have to do that, Bill."

"I know I don't, but I want to. Now go take of yourself and your family." Nathan shook Bill's hand, thankful for his friendship and support. He knew that even though Bill could be rough on the outside that he had a soft interior. He had witnessed it a few times now. "Oh, and Nathan, if I were you I would tell Elizabeth the truth. Remember she's tougher than she looks and she can handle it." Nathan paused and faintly smiled with raised eyebrows before exiting the barn.

Nathan walked down the street with Allie to Carson's office and told Allie to wait just outside the office. When he came back out he had a bandage around his arm and 4 stitches in his upper shoulder. He hadn't felt the needle after being given a shot to deaden it, but he still looked away while Carson worked it through his skin, afraid that if he looked he might get squeamish.

He and Allie walked home and he changed his shirt before heading to Elizabeth's house. He really hoped that she didn't notice, but Bill's words about being honest with her came floating back into his head. He and Allie climbed the steps and he knocked on her door.

Elizabeth opened the door, "Nathan." She looked expectantly at him as he moved to the side to reveal Allie standing behind him. Without saying a word, she threw one arm around Nathan and the other around Allie and all three of them just stood there embracing one another until she finally stepped back and ushered them inside.

"I'm so relieved," she said with tears in her eyes. "Allie we were so worried about you."

"I was so scared, Mrs. Thornton, scared that I would never see you or Uncle Nathan again or any of my friends from school. It was such a relief when he found me."

"Yeah, well," Nathan began scratching his eyebrow, "we might not have found her if it hadn't been for Allie's quick thinking. She led us to her by planting pieces of her hair ribbon in trees to give us a way to know which way they had gone. I'm so proud of how brave she was."

Allie beamed, "I learned from the best! Can I go see Jack?"

"Well I just put him down for bed, but if he's still awake I bet he would love it if you read him a story."

"Great!" Nathan and Elizabeth watched as she bounded up the stairs.

"Where is Allie's dad? You didn't do anything crazy did you?" She started peppering him with questions.

"He's in jail, Bill is taking care of it."

"I'm so relieved she is safely home. "Elizabeth moved into Nathan's arms, but as she did so, she both felt and heard him wince. "What's wrong, are you hurt?" she questioned with panic in her voice.

He looked everywhere but at her with his mouth slightly open, "I'm fine, it's nothing, really."

"Nathan are you lying to me?" She called him out.

"It's nothing," he began again, trying to sound more convincing and then Bills words echoed through his head and he knew he couldn't keep the truth from her. He sighed, "I got shot at, but I'm ok. It just grazed my shoulder."

He watched as her facial features changed from panic to worry and then to anger. "Don't ever lie to me, Nathan. Always tell me the truth." She shook her head at him and let out a huff of frustrated air, "Jack wouldn't always talk to me about everything and then one day…" She looked down at the ground not wanting Nathan to see the pain in her face.

"Look," he put his good hand into the air and gestured toward her, "I didn't lie to you, I'm really ok and not hurt bad at all. I just don't want you to worry unnecessarily."

"Nathan," she began with an edge of irritation in her voice, "I will always worry about you." She paused and her eyes softened and she reached her hand up and placed her palm against his cheek, exhaling slowly, "I want you to always be honest with me. I can handle it, but for my peace of mind, please just be honest. I love you so much and I can't even bare the thought of losing you."

He grabbed her hand off of his face and kissed it gently and then reached up to cup her cheek with his other hand, "The truth is, he shot at me when I charged at him, but I was careful and God was protecting me. I will never take an unnecessary risk and I will always do everything in my power to come back home to you. You and Allie and Jack are the most important people in my life and I have a lot to live for. I just want to protect your heart, Elizabeth because you matter to me and I love you too." A small pouty smile spread across his face. "Forgive me?"

Elizabeth smiled coyly, "I guess so, this time, but it will cost you." She then moved closer to him as he gingerly wrapped his arms around her and she slipped her hands around the inside of his jacket and around his back, drawing him into a tighter embrace. He leaned downward and found her lips with his own. It started out as a light kiss and then slowly deepened and became more passionate, showing their hunger for one another in a desperate way that left them both breathless as he broke away and left a trail of smaller kisses down the side of her face and ending behind her ear. She collapsed into him unable to take it any longer and remain standing, her knees having gone weak at his touch.

They stood there in each other's arms, her head resting on his chest as their breathing slowed into a study rhythm, their hearts beating in sync. Elizabeth finally lifted her head to him as he spoke out loud, "How long until we're married?"

She toyed with the button on his shirt, "three weeks away now."

He smiled, shaking his head at her, "I can't wait until we don't have to say goodnight to each other any longer, but I should probably get Allie and take her home. It's been a long, scary day and I'm so tired I can hardly stand right now and I need to leave anyways because it is getting harder and harder to just walk away from you."

She sighed heavily, "I know you're right, but I could stay like this with you forever. Three weeks seems so close, yet so far away at the same time." She laid her head on his chest one more time before finally pulling away just as Allie was coming down the stairs.

"It's ok, you know. I know you hug and kiss one another and it doesn't bother me. I suspect you'll do it all the time once you're married. I'm so happy that you and Uncle Nathan finally told each other how you felt. I think the whole town knew before the two of you had it figured it out." She yawned as Nathan and Elizabeth looked at each other and laughed with their eyes in surprise.

"I think it's time for me to get you home and in the bed, Allie. It's been a long day that I have no desire to ever repeat again."

"I don't think any of us want to do that." Elizabeth looked at Allie with a light in her eye that Nathan recognized as love for her and it melted him on the inside that he had found someone that cared about his niece as much as he did, "I was so worried about you, Allie. I'm so glad that God brought you home safely to us."

Elizabeth walked over to Allie one more time and hugged her before saying goodnight to both of them and walking them to the door. Nathan opened the door and then leaned down toward Elizabeth one more time, giving her a shorter kiss goodnight this time in hopes of not making it harder on him to leave, but it was pointless because even that small gesture had such an affect on him, creating a spark inside of him that he immediately recognized, a spark that had been happening to him since his fingers had grazed hers on that book in the library in what seemed like an eternity ago now. He smiled at her and winking closed the door behind him on his way out.

TBC…..reviews always welcomed!