The following Sunday after church and lunch, Nathan and Allie pulled up to Elizabeth's rowhouse in a wagon. Nathan put the brake on and quickly jumped out and knocked on Elizabeth's door. She opened the door with Little Jack at her side.
"Hi Nathan!" said a smiling Elizabeth.
"Hello Elizabeth. Hi little buddy!"
Little Jack smiled up at Nathan and held his arms up. Nathan smiled back and lifted the little boy up to his chest. Since their family dinner last Saturday, Jack had already gotten used to seeing Nathan and Allie everyday. Nathan had walked Elizabeth and Allie to and from school each day, always spending some extra time at Elizabeth's house on the way home. Elizabeth would usually serve coffee or hot chocolate and whatever baked good she had baked the night before. Nathan was already obsessed with Elizabeth's chocolate chip cookies. At church last Sunday and this morning, Nathan and Allie had joined Elizabeth, Little Jack, and the Coulters in their pew as well. To both Elizabeth and Nathan, it felt natural and as if they had been seen together all along instead of just over a week. Given how busy the holidays were, Nathan and Elizabeth had also decided to postpone their Cafe date until January.
Elizabeth already had her coat and scarf on so she quickly grabbed Little Jack's coat and Nathan helped her put it on him. She then handed Little Jack's hat to Nathan which he quickly put on him too.
"All set?" asked Nathan.
Elizabeth smiled and nodded and followed Nathan and Jack out the door. She locked the door and climbed up into the front bench of the wagon with Nathan's help. Nathan then handed her Little Jack who sat on her lap. Allie was standing right behind the bench.
"Hi sweetheart. Are you going to find the perfect tree again this year?"
"Hi Mrs. Thornton! Hi Jack! Yes, the perfect large tree." smiled Allie
"That's the key Allie!" said Elizabeth as she echoed her words from a year ago.
By that time, Nathan had come around to the other side of the bench and climbed up. With a quick flick of the reins and a "Giddyup", they were on their way back to the familiar forest. Jack couldn't keep his eyes off the horses and kept yelling "Horsey" every few minutes and would clap his hands in delight. Finally, Nathan pulled him into his lap and showed him how to hold the reins. He then placed his own hands over Jack's and the wagon continued on. The foursome kept up a steady stream of chatter until they got to the forest.
Once they arrived, Nathan helped everyone out of the wagon and then grabbed his saw. Allie took Little Jack by the hand and they walked ahead of the adults.
"Don't let him out of your sight, Allie." said Nathan.
She turned around and smiled at her uncle in acknowledgement. Elizabeth and Nathan walked arm in arm behind their children.
"Well, this feels familiar yet different." smiled Nathan as he looked at Elizabeth. She smiled back up at him. "I can't believe it's been a year since we were last here."
"Last year, I was trying to figure out how to tell you about the Inspector promotion while also just trying to enjoy being present in the moment with you. I think I failed at that miserably."
"In hindsight, I'm kind of glad that you didn't tell me that day. I had such a wonderful time with you and Allie searching for and then decorating the tree together that the news definitely would have put a damper on that. I'm really sorry if I was harsh to you the next day in your office. I was just starting to realize my feelings for you and I didn't want to admit it to myself yet." replied Elizabeth.
"It's ok. I'm actually glad that you confronted me like that. I kind of started to figure out that you weren't simply upset about me not telling you. Between you and Allie, something inside me told me it was the wrong decision to take the job. So, I didn't and I'll be forever grateful for that." said Nathan.
"Me too!" smiled Elizabeth.
"We found them!" yelled Allie.
Nathan and Elizabeth looked at one another and walked in the direction of Allie's voice. They came to the familiar clearing from last year and found the kids standing between 2 identical trees.
"Allie, how did you manage to find the best tree in the forest again? And it's twin?" asked Nathan.
Allie beamed back at the adults. She then proceeded to help her uncle cut down both trees while Elizabeth and Jack watched from nearby. Elizabeth then helped Nathan carry each tree back to the wagon and soon the foursome was on their way back to the rowhouses. They decided to decorate the Grant tree first so that Little Jack would be home in case he fell asleep later on. Nathan had taken out the ornaments before heading out so they were already in the living room just waiting for the tree to arrive. Once the tree was set up, Allie showed Little Jack how to hang ornaments and he proceeded to hang them on the lowest branches of the tree. Meanwhile, the adults worked on the higher branches. Eventually, Nathan handed Elizabeth a familiar looking red cardinal. She smiled and took it from him.
"Oh my Constable. I'm afraid I can't reach the top branch where this is supposed to go." said Elizabeth with a wink and a smile.
"Here, let me help you!"
He proceeded to come up behind her and take the ornament from her outstretched hand. Nathan reached around Elizabeth to hang it on the top branch. As soon as he finished, Elizabeth slowly turned around in front of him. She was so close that he could feel her breath on his neck as she looked up at him. Nathan's heart was fluttering as was Elizabeth's. After getting lost in each other's eyes for what felt like minutes, Nathan slowly leaned down towards Elizabeth while she bent her head up towards him. They very slowly pressed their lips together. And then they both got absorbed in the kiss. Elizabeth reached up and put her arms around Nathan's neck while he pulled her to him and put his arms around her back. When they finally let go, it took a few seconds for their breathing to go back to normal.
"Kisses!" yelled Little Jack.
Nathan and Elizabeth looked down to their right and saw both kids standing there smiling at them.
"Come here my precious boy!" said Elizabeth as Jack ran over to her. She scooped him up and covered his face in kisses while he laughed. Little Jack then held his arms out to Nathan who took him and proceeded to shower him with kisses too and then started entertaining the little boy with funny faces. Jack giggled nonstop. Elizabeth had tears in her eyes watching Nathan and her son together. They were clearly enamored with one another already.
"What's wrong Mrs. Thornton?" asked Allie. Elizabeth put her arm around the girl and said "Nothing Allie. I'm just really happy right now. And now that your uncle and I are courting, we are going to be spending a lot of time together. I think you should call me Elizabeth when we are outside of school. Would you be ok with that?"
Now Allie had tears in her eyes. She slowly nodded and then pulled Elizabeth into a bear hug. Both ladies were now crying tears of happiness. Elizabeth looked over Allie's head over at Nathan and smiled. Still holding Little Jack, he walked over to the 2 women in his life and used his free hand to join their hug. There was no place else any of them would rather be.
An hour later, the foursome went to Elizabeth's house and set up the tree that they had dropped off earlier. They then decorated the Thornton tree but were slowly losing a member of their party to exhaustion from the busy day. Elizabeth could see Little Jack's eyes starting to droop until he eventually lay down on the floor next to his precious blocks. A few minutes later he was fast asleep. Nathan walked over to Little Jack and picked him up gently resting his head on his shoulder. Elizabeth then walked over and Nathan handed Little Jack over to her. She smiled at Nathan and motioned her head towards the stairs. He smiled back and nodded and then watched as Elizabeth carried her son upstairs to his crib.
She came back downstairs a few minutes later and finished decorating the tree with Nathan and Allie. It turns out that Elizabeth had another red cardinal ornament at her house so she pretended to have trouble hanging it on the high branch on her tree as well. Nathan noticed her having trouble and once again came up behind her and helped hang the ornament. Elizabeth then turned around and drew him into yet another passionate kiss, this time not as slow as the first. Allie pretended not to notice but she did.
"Anyone hungry? I made some beef stew last night and can heat it up with the bread I baked this morning." asked Elizabeth.
"Yes!" replied both Nathan and Allie.
"Actually, how about if I walk over to Abigail's and pick up dinner for all of us instead? We've all had a long day and I don't want you to add cooking to your day Elizabeth." said Nathan.
Elizabeth smiled with tears in her eyes at his thoughtfulness and slowly started to nod. Nathan smiled back and put on his coat and gloves. He then gave Elizabeth and Allie each a kiss on the cheek and headed to town. While he was gone, Elizabeth and Allie cleaned up the ornament boxes while quietly singing Christmas carols. They also set the table just in time for Nathan to return with fried chicken, string beans, and mashed potatoes. Bill had also given him some fresh apple cobbler for dessert. Once again, the conversation flowed easily through dinner and the trio discussed everything from school to happenings in Hope Valley to the upcoming Christmas concert and Little Jack's birthday.
After dinner, Nathan and Allie cleaned up while Elizabeth made coffee for her and Nathan to enjoy with the apple cobbler. It had been a long yet fun day and all were happy with the 2 newly decorated trees and one another's company. Elizabeth was planning to hand out small gift bags to each of her 21 students before the holiday break so she asked Nathan and Allie if they'd like to help her pack them. She wanted to take advantage of Jack being asleep so early so that the bags could get packed without an almost 2 year old running around. Elizabeth had already gathered the supplies she needed from the mercantile and the bank. Each small burlap bag would contain: 2 licorice sticks, a chocolate truffle, a peppermint button, a caramel creme, a brand new pencil, and a shiny new penny for good luck in the new year. The class had recently been studying superstitions so Elizabeth thought a lucky penny would be appropriate. It also allowed each student to purchase an additional piece of candy of their own choosing at the mercantile. Once the 21 bags were fully packed, a red ribbon was tied around each one to seal it. By the time they were done, it was almost 9pm.
Eventually, Allie's eyes started to droop as well and that was the cue for the Grants to head home. Neither Nathan nor Elizabeth wanted the day to end. Nathan gave Elizabeth one more kiss before leaving and Allie gave her a hug and a thank you for the fun day. All were looking forward to spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together. It would be a magical holiday indeed.