Author's Note: This is my first When Calls the Heart piece. I do not own any of the characters or plot points.
Heart on the Run
Elizabeth started her morning by posting flyers for the Miner's Dance around town. She saw Jack on his horse from the other side of the post. Her breath was caught in her chest as her nerves got the better of her. She didn't know if she was nervous or angry when he came around anymore. He had an uncanny way of getting under her skin.
With butterflies in her stomach, she decided to take a gamble and see if her anxious behavior was out of excitement,. She slowly peeked out from behind the pole as Jack tied his horse off by the entrance.
"Hi Jack" she said with a small smile, waiting to see if he would return her greeting with as much warmth.
"Hi" He replied with a surprised smile.
"How's plans for the dancing coming along?" He continued on with the conversation, curious to see how happy Elizabeth was to see him that morning.
"Very well, thank you," she was surprised to find him so pleasant with her this morning.
"I'm looking forward to something in that saloon besides forty miners sawing logs all night long." He joked, trying to see if she would laugh.
She smiled, "I'm just picking up some more supplies, my students are making all the decorations and i'm running out of colored paper." She started to cross the street with more flyers in hand. Jack followed her in the hopes of having a few more minutes with her this morning.
Elizabeth still had butterflies, she crossed her arms in the hope of settling them. after being so irritated by Jack on a regular basis, this was a new feeling.
"So are you going to the dance?" she asked looking to make casual conversation while trying to determine if he had any further prospects for a date to the dance.
"Yes, but in an official capacity," he replied quickly, not thinking much of his answer.
"Does that mean you are going alone?" Elizabeth pushed further, getting slightly annoyed but still curious at the same time. It certainly wasn't easy getting an answer of out Jack. Or maybe she was asking the wrong questions, she thought to herself.
"I will be on duty."
"Oh I see," she replied cautiously. "You are not allowed to have any fun?
What's going to happen when you settle down and have a family?" Elizabeth needed to ask more pointed questions to get the real answer that she was looking for. She was getting impatient.
"Well, thats unlikely to happen. Mounties and marriage are two subjects that don't go together. At the academy, they told us if mounties wanted you to have a wife, we would have issued you one" he said jokingly. It became apparent that the joke was lost on Elizabeth.
"So you don't ever want to get married?" she asked with a frown. Jack wasn't sure where her line of questioning was going.
"No I didn't say that, it's just the mountie life can put a wife through a lot of hardship. For instance, living in a tent for six months at a time without a privy." Another joke that Jack was hoping she would find humorous.
"So theoretically, mounties don't marry because they think women are delicate?" Elizabeth had yet to laugh at his joke and was growing more irritated by his answers.
"I just remembered, i've got some work to do, so i'm going to see to it, ma'am." Jack tipped his hat to her a walked quickly towards the jail. Preventing the conversation from going any worse that it already was.
"Hmm hmm," Elizabeth pursed her lips together in annoyance as she watched him walk away.
The following afternoon was even more eventful for Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was walking back to the row house she shared with Abigail as Billy Hamilton stopped her in the street.
"Professor" he said as he quickly walked towards her.
"Please, it's " she said with a small smile. She continued walking towards the row houses as he buttoned up his shirt and walked with her.
"well , i'm Billy, Billy Hamilton" he said with a wide smile. She was interested his appetite for poetry.
"It came back to me, the end of that Dickinson poem," he exclaimed, hoping to impress her further.
"Really?" Elizabeth replied with curiosity. She was waiting to see if he would complete the poem from memory.
"I had it written in the back of my book from years ago. Little journal I keep." He said proudly.
"I'm surprised to find a poetry lover among miners" Elizabeth said as she kept walking towards the mercantile.
"Oh, I love poetry, i've even written some poems of my own. Only one of six in my family that made it thought secondary school" Billy replied quickly, trying to keep the conversation with Elizabeth going before she reached her destination.
"Did you attend college?" She asked, thinking that he must have attended a college with the robust knowledge he had of poetry.
"I had dreams, but they ended when my father died" He said slowly, pausing in the street.
She turned back to look at him, "i'm sorry."
"Oh no, no. It's all for the best. I never thought I would be a miner. I found a job at the mine back east and ended up hopping from mine to mine. Now here I am." He said with a smile, holding his arms out.
"Well, welcome to Coal Valley" she said with a wide smile.
Billy paused in front of the jail. "Perhaps you should show me around, introduce me to the place?"
"There's not really much to see" she answered, laughing.
"Oh I disagree, i've never been to this part of the country. Out west, it's beautiful. Besides, there must be a reason why someone like you came here, maybe you could show me why? how about tomorrow?" He asked quickly, hoping that she would agree.
Elizabeth smile once again, "I'd be happy to."
"Then its a date," Billy happily smiled and took her hand in his. He gently lifted it up to her hand and kissed it.
Elizabeth blushed a bit and looked away to see that she was stopped in front of the jail.
She saw Jack looking at her sternly from on the porch with his coffee.
She held his gaze as he poured out the rest of his coffee on the ground and walked back inside. She felt a tightness in her chest, holding her breath as he closed the door to the jail.
Elizabeth continued to the mercantile to pick up more readers for her class the next day.
She wasn't in the shop for long and exited the door to hear furious chopping of wood from behind the next building.
Elizabeth walked slowly towards the side of the jail, the chopping getting louder and faster. She somewhat knew what she was going to find.
Slowly peeking her head around the edge of the building, she found Jack in his under shirt, swinging down on the chopping block hard. His face serious, jaw clenched in anger.
She moved further into his view as he tossed the wood into the pile and grabbed another to split.
Jack looked up to see the sunset hitting her hair, giving her a glow in the warm afternoon. His anger slowly fading as she smiled shyly at him. He could tell she was unsure of where they stood after him witnessing Billy Hamilton's advances.
Elizabeth moved towards the back stairs, placing her basket on the steps. She turned around to find Jack right behind her.
"Jack" she started to say as he lightly grabbed her hands. His thumb grazing the back of her hand, sending shivers down her spine. She wasn't sure talking to him was a good idea anymore.
He was breathing hard as he moved closer to her. He looked deep into her bright blue eyes, hoping to find some sort of answer for what happened today.
His hands moving higher up her arms slowly. Elizabeth started to breath faster and she wasn't sure what was happening.
"Jack, I wanted to speak with you..." she said quietly, waiting for him to speak.
He stared hard at her, trying to make sense of what he was feeling and how angry he was at the thought of Billy Hamilton kissing Elizabeth's hand in the middle of town.
She bit her bottom lip in anticipation, his gaze intensifying.
"Please say something Jack," she pleaded as he dropped his hands from her arms. He shrugged his shoulders as he turned to make his way to towards the growing woodpile.
Elizabeth reached out to grab his arm before he was out of reach. He took a deep breath, turning back towards her quickly.
Jack reached out to cup both sides of her face as she backed up against the back of the jail. His lips were soft and gentle at first, growing firm and kissing her faster with passion.
Elizabeth, surprised by his sudden actions, grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her. She could feel how firm his chest was and he leaned into her, their kiss growing deeper. She could feel his fingers in the back of hair.
Such a deep kiss, only lasted for a few seconds, but for Elizabeth it felt much longer. She was breathing hard after he broke the kiss.
Still leaning against the side of the house, she needed time to gather her thoughts.
Jack ran a hand through his hair and looked around to make sure no one had seen them.
"Elizabeth," he started, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." He looked at her painfully.
She crossed her arms and took a deep breath, "What do you mean", her voice wavering.
He moved back to his chopping block, grabbing his axe. "That shouldn't have happened, rest assured it will not again" he said firmly, staring at her coldly.
"What?" She questioned in a whisper. Elizabeth's head was spinning in thought, unsure of Jack's sudden withdrawal from her.
She walked closer to him, staring into his green eyes, waiting for some sign for her to back away.
She stood between him and the chopping block. "You can't just kiss me like that and say it shouldn't have happened Jack" She crossed her arms and held her ground in front of him.
"Elizabeth..." he took a breath, "don't you have to take someone on a tour soon?"
She took a painful breath in. Her eyes hardened as her turned to grab another piece of wood. She stepped backwards as he moved to place the wood on the block.
"You are very right, good day Jack" she said firmly, moving quickly to gather her basket from the stairs and rushing between the two buildings.
The axe came down hard on the chopping block again as Jack refused to watch her walk away from him.