Chapter 32

Nathan woke early the next morning, fixing breakfast for Allie and then stopping by Elizabeth's for a few minutes to say good morning, a ritual that he had started doing since the night they had spent in the cabin together. Part of it was him just wanting to make sure she was safe and the other because he just had this desperate need to see her first thing in the morning to make sure that he wasn't dreaming this whole thing up. At first, he had been nervous and scared that one day she would come to him and change her mind about him, but as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months he had become more and more confident in her love for him and it sent a thrill through him and sense of excitement that he had never experienced before. Just when he thought he couldn't love her more, they would have an experience with one another that would intensify those feelings and bring a new depth to their relationship. It was almost to the point now where he couldn't hardly stand it any longer and he just wanted to be close to her. The cold-water baths weren't working any longer and it was getting to the point where there was only one thing that was going to satisfy his craving.

He knocked on her door and within seconds the door swung open. "Nathan….good…..," her words faded out as his lips met hers in a kiss that started off light, but soon deepened and left them both feeling light headed and in a haze. She threw her arms around him as he wrapped his around her. He finally released her. "Wow, good morning to me," she replied in a daze, looking up at him.

"I couldn't resist, it's getting harder and harder you know," he smiled down at her, "I love you, Elizabeth and good morning."

"Do you want to come in?" She asked, still wrapped up in him.

"No, I better not. I don't think it's a good idea until after the wedding if no one else is with us." He brushed her hair to the side as his eyes moved over her face and landed on her eyes, "I just think it's safer that way and I really have to get to the jail. I have a few questions for Beckham that I want answered."

She shifted her arms and felt him jump a bit. "How's your arm?"

"Very sore, it hurts more today than it did yesterday, but I can at least move it. I've had lot of things happen to me, but that's the first time I've actually felt the heat of bullet against my skin and I have no desire to ever feel that again." He felt the light, but quick tremble of Elizabeth's body in his arms at his words. He pulled back a little and gently took her face between his hands, drawing her eyes to his, "Hey, I'm ok. Trust me I don't have any desire to put myself in any unnecessary risky situations. I fully intend to do everything I can to always come home to you and the kids."

She took in a sharp breath, "I know, Nathan, but you have no idea…."

"Shh," he gently said, while rubbing her face softly with his thumbs. "I understand and the last thing I want to do is put you through that pain again. I won't lie to you, my job is dangerous and you of all people know that better than anyone else, but we live in a pretty uneventful town and it's rare for things to happen here that are too dangerous. If there is any place out there that is safe for me to be working as a Mountie this is it and I'm not going to be requesting for a transfer anywhere else. I want this to be our home, Elizabeth. We both belong here. You and the kids are always first, even before my job. I would quit it in a heartbeat just to keep you, if I had to."

She tilted her head and gave him a small coy smile, "and you know that I would never ask you to do that. I admire what you do so greatly and it's a huge part of who you are and who I fell in love with. I could never ask you to be anything less than that, and….," she paused as if to tease him and change things to a more light-hearted feel, "you do look awfully handsome in that red serge."

He smiled down at her with that crooked grin of his and crystal blue eyes that shown brightly with his love for her, "I do, do I?"

She shook her head yes as he felt himself being slowly drawn to her again and he couldn't help, but to steal another kiss from her, this one filled with even more desire than the first one. He released his lips from hers and grinned down at her as he began to speak, "I love you, Elizabeth."

"I believe you told me that already, Constable Grant," she teased him.

"…and are you tired of hearing it, Mrs. Thornton?"

"Never."

He pointed behind him with his thumb, "I probably need to get going to the jailhouse."

She reluctantly let go of him while teasing him, "Well, be safe and don't get arrested yourself."

He smirked and rolled his eyes, "I'm not going to do anything to him. I'm just going to question him."

"I wasn't worried about that."

He eyed her, confused, "then for what?"

"For stealing my heart, Constable."

"Oh," he winked at her as he turned to leave, "Well, I plan on keeping that so don't think you're getting it back anytime soon."

"It's yours and it's always been yours," she smiled back at him.

"I love you, Elizabeth Thornton!" he shouted."

"..and I love you Nathan Grant!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nathan entered the jail and dusting off the top of his campaign hat, he carefully hung it on the hook by the door and then walked over to his desk and glared at the man who was now standing behind the bars of the jail cell, watching Nathan move around the room waiting expectantly for Nathan to start his barrage of questions. Nathan could tell though that it was unsettling to Beckham for him to silently go about his business in settling himself in before he spoke. Bill had already left and had gone to get breakfast so it was only the two of them and the silence between them was unpalatable.

Nathan kept it up for a few more minutes in an attempt to get inside the man's head and rattle him a bit while trying to get his own body to calm down before talking to him. Nathan pulled his shoulders back making his already tall frame stand out slightly more in an all business fashion. He then authoritatively walked around his desk toward the jail cell, his boots hitting the wood floor in a deliberately calculated rhythm. He came to a stop, towering over the man standing on the other side of the bars and then took a large breath. Releasing the air from his lungs, he hooked his thumbs into his brown belt and stiffened his chin, lifting it upwards with a small scowl of distaste for the man standing in front of him.

Nathan looked Beckham straight in the eyes and only uttered one word roughly, "Why?"

The man spat on the ground and then eyed him carefully before replying, "Same old Nathan, you never change. Straight to the point using the least amount of words needed. Trying hard to not end up like your father."

Nathan released his hold on his belt and put his hands behind his back, hands in a fisted ball, trying to keep himself from reaching through the cell bars, "You know nothing about my father. I ask you again, why?"

"Why should I tell you? You have me where you want me now."

"If you don't tell me, you will have to tell the judge anyways, but I think you owe me an explanation." Nathan stared him down with his cold, blazing eyes.

"All right, if you must know. I needed the extra money and I was going to put her to work. She's old enough now that she could bring money into the home. I knew that if I just tried to come and do it the legal way that you would put a long and drawn out fight."

This time the restraint left him and he swiftly thrusted his arms through the bars and grabbed a hold of the man's shirt collar, pulling his face up against the jail cell bars, "Why you despicable piece of dirt. I'm going to make sure that you never get the right to see her ever again. You abandoned her and her mother. You're a sorry excuse for a human being."

Suddenly the door opened and Bill walked into the jail, taking in the scene in front of him. He quickly rushed to grab Nathan. "Nathan, let go of him," he yelled at him. "Come on, let him go." Bill tried to pull Nathan away and he finally responded by releasing the man's collar and watched him fall backwards onto the floor and then scamper to the bed.

Nathan backed away towards the door, "You better keep me away from him Bill, I better never see his face again." He grabbed his hat off of the hook by the door, "I'm going to go do my rounds." He placed his hat on his head and walked out the door.

Once gone Bill heard the prisoner call out, "Are you going to let him treat me like that?"

Bill coldly stared at the man in the cell, "Like what?"

"Grabbing me like that. There has to be something in the rule book about that."

"You're just lucky it wasn't me because if it had been, I wouldn't have let you go, but as it is I'm going to make sure that you stay behind bars for a while and you and I are about to strike a deal."

"What makes you think I'm going to play your game."

"Because if you don't, as a judge, I can make your life twice as miserable as it's already going to be."

"What do you want from me?" The man said gruffly while turning to sit on the bed.

"You're going to give up your parental rights so Nathan and his fiancé can adopt Allie and then you're never going to show your face in this town again." Bill stared the man down with an icy glare that said he meant business.

"….and what do I get in return if I do."

"I'll make sure that you are sent to one of the nicer prisons and get you hooked up with a job when you do get out, somewhere faraway from Hope Valley."

"If I ever get out," the man mumbled.

"Do we have a deal?"

"Fine, I'll give them up. Not like I can do much from a jail cell anyways."

"Good, I'll draw the papers up and bring them back for you to sign," Bill responded, satisfied. "One more thing, not a word to Nathan about any of this."

"Fine. What's in this for you? Why do you care so much?"

"Nathan and Elizabeth are like family to me. Truth be told the only family I have. I care about what happens to them. I'll be back with the papers for you to sign." With that Bill exited the Mountie's office and headed off to write up the papers with a smile on his face. He couldn't wait to see the look on Nathan and Elizabeth's faces when they realized that Allie could truly be theirs permanently.

To Be Continued