Hi #Hearties Here's chapter four It's a bit shorter than my other chapters, but I wanted to get another chapter posted before too much time had passed. Hope you like it.. Thanks for your continued support. It's greatly appreciated. :)
"You like her, don't you?" Pimental asked Jack as soon as they were in their cruiser headed back to the station.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Jack denied, "we're just friends."
"You were quite flirtatious for someone who is "just your friend."" Pimental gestured with air quotes.
"I was caught up in the moment," Jack defended, "besides, the children loved when I put the handcuffs on their teacher."
"They're not the only ones." Pimental mumbled.
"What did you say?" Jack asked.
"Uh… Yeah children love when their teacher gets embarrassed." Pimental stated.
"Yes, they do." Jack chuckled in agreement. His mind went back to a few hours prior when he had handcuffed himself to Elizabeth. He didn't know what it was about Elizabeth Thatcher. He just met her, but he found she often crept into his thoughts. He liked being around her. He began to smile.
Jack's grin didn't go unnoticed by his partner. "What's that smile about?" Pimental asked.
"Uh… nothing." Jack quickly wiped the smile off his face and cleared his throat.
"Mmhmm." Pimental countered. "You're thinking about her, aren't you? Why don't you just tell her you like her?"
"What if she doesn't feel the same?" Jack asked.
"I knew it!" Pimental exclaimed. "You do like her! Talk to her she may surprise you."
"She just got out of a bad relationship." Jack replied defensively, "Even if I did like her, and I'm not saying I do, I doubt she'd be ready."
Jack pulled the cruiser into the parking lot at the precinct and parked the car. He reached for the door handle.
"Well that's understandable," Pimental agreed, "and you don't have to say you like her. It's written all over your face." She placed her hand on his knee and gave it a squeeze. "I care about you, Jack. I just want you to be happy. We've been partners forever and I've never seen a woman make you light up like that since Melissa broke off your engagement."
"C'mon, let's just go." Jack climbed out of the car and headed toward the building. He was hoping to change the subject before they made it to the door. If he was being honest with himself, he did like her, but she'd told him herself she wasn't ready. He imagined it would be a while before she'd be ready. He thought it would be best if he didn't get in over his head, to protect his own heart.
"Thornton," Pimental placed a hand on his arm before he could open the door. "For what it's worth, I think she makes you light up more than Melissa ever did." She walked past Jack and opened the door.
"Thornton, we're have you been?" Chief Snyder asked as soon as he and Pimental entered the station.
"We were at Hope Valley Elementary talking to Ms. Thatcher," Jack replied, "per your request."
"Oh right," Snyder recalled, "did you get a statement?"
"She's coming to the station after school." Jack responded.
"Great." Snyder remarked. "We need that statement ASAP. Kensington is claiming that you attacked him and that he was wrongly arrested."
"What?" Jack exclaimed. "He had Ms. Thatcher pinned against the car. She was screaming and struggling to get free."
"Listen, I believe you," Snyder replied, "but without witnesses, there's nothing we can do."
"I'm going to go have a chat with Charles Kensington." Jack made his way to the cell where Charles was being held.
"Thornton, wait." Snyder called after him, but it was too late, Jack was on a mission and didn't even hear Snyder calling him.
"Officer Thornton," Charles called when Jack approached his cell, "Here to attack me for no good reason again?"
"That's not true and you know it, Kensington." Jack remarked.
"How do you know?" Charles questioned, tauntingly. "Elizabeth likes it rough."
"I know what I saw," Jack knew that Charles was trying to get to him. He was also aware that that was exactly what Charles wanted; he needed to keep his cool, "she was afraid of you. But I will make sure you never hurt her or anyone else ever again."
"You just have a crush on my girlfriend," Charles countered, "You think I didn't see the way you were looking at her?" He paced back and forth in his cell, "and when I get out of here, and I will, I going to take her in my arms and kiss every inch of her beautiful body," He stopped pacing and stared at Jack, "every night."
"Shut your mouth, Kensington!" Jack clenched his fists to fight the temptation to grab Charles by the collar and slam his face into the bars of his jail cell.
"What's going on in here?" Snyder quickly approached Jack and Charles.
"This officer is attacking me." Charles replied quite proud of himself. "I wish for him to be removed from my sight please."
"That's not true." Jack countered. He gestured toward the black dome in the ceiling. "I never laid a hand on him. Check the cameras."
Snyder put an arm around Jack's shoulders. "Try to calm down Thornton." He leaned closer to Jack's ear. "You have a visitor." He whispered.
"Who?" Jack asked.
"Uh…" Snyder gestured his head toward Charles.
Jack nodded his head in understanding. Elizabeth had arrived. He felt a smile creep to his lips. "Thank you, Chief." He nodded and headed toward the door.
Elizabeth took a deep breath and brushed imaginary dust from her dress before heading into the station. "Excuse me."
"Yes, may I help you?" Chief Snyder asked.
"Is Jack Thornton available?" Elizabeth asked.
"May I ask who's calling?" Chief Snyder asked.
"Elizabeth Thatcher," She replied, "I understand I need to make a statement regarding Charles Kensington."
"Yes, of course," Snyder replied. "Let me go get Thornton. He's in with..." he cleared his throat, "...he stepped out for a moment."
Elizabeth nodded.
"Won't you have a seat?" Snyder gestured toward a row of chairs near the door.
"Thank you." Elizabeth smoothed out her dress and sat down.
"You're her, aren't you?" Stafford asked as he approached Elizabeth.
"Excuse me?" She asked, slightly startled.
"I'm sorry," Stafford extended his hand, "I'm Sergeant Stafford. Aren't you the one who Thornton… uh…"
"Jack saved my life." Elizabeth interjected. "Yes, it was me."
"I was one of the officers Thornton called for backup." Stafford explained. "How are you doing?"
"I'm alive," Elizabeth answered with a smile, "and that's all thanks to Jack."
He patted her shoulder. "Well glad to see you're doing well."
"Thank you."
Stafford pivoted on his heels and headed toward a group of officers. "She's the one." He whispered. "I think she likes him as much as Thornton likes her."
Peterson snickered. "Now even more to give Thornton a hard time about… his girlfriend came to visit him at work." He, Stafford, and Lawson burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" Jack asked, as he approached them.
The laughter quickly subsided. "Nothing," the three of them replied in unison.
"Mmhmm." Jack replied, shaking his head. He glanced toward the door, and saw Elizabeth. He suddenly lost all train of thought. "Excuse me," he said to his buddies. He headed to where Elizabeth was sitting. She was staring at her phone and didn't notice anyone approach her. "Elizabeth, good to see you."
"Jack," Elizabeth looked at him and smiled.
"Are you ready?" Jack asked. "I know this won't be easy, but it is important."
"I know." Elizabeth took a deep breath. "I need to do this. I can do this."
"Yes, you can!" Jack agreed. "Do you want me to go with you?"
"Is that okay?" Elizabeth asked.
"Of course," Jack answered, "why wouldn't it be?"
"Well I would love you with me, to help keep me calm," Elizabeth stated. "But I would be okay doing this alone if you being with me were to get you in trouble for whatever reason."
Jack gripped her shoulders and turned to face her. "Listen to me. I know you're nervous, I would never leave you and trust me, I won't get in trouble." He offered his hand and led her to Chief Snyder's office.
"Chief, this is Elizabeth Thatcher," Jack introduced.
"We've met." Chief Snyder stood from his desk and extended his hand to Elizabeth, "but it's nice to see you again."
"Thank you, you too." Elizabeth replied.
"Won't you have a seat?" Snyder asked.
"If it's alright sir," Jack acknowledged. "Elizabeth asked if I'd stay with her."
"Of course, Thornton." Snyder gestured for Jack to sit in the chair next to Elizabeth.
"Now Ms. Thatcher," Snyder began, "I need you to tell me everything that happened on the evening of February fourteenth."
"Charles Kensington picked me up at my apartment for what I thought was a normal Valentine's day date." Elizabeth recalled.
"How long had you been dating?" Snyder questioned. He began vigorously writing on a yellow legal pad as Elizabeth began to speak.
"About two months." Elizabeth answered. "He seemed nice when we met," but as time went on he became more…" she paused, trying to find the right word, "…aggressive. I thought nothing of it at the time. I guess I just assumed he was just becoming more comfortable with me."
Jack grabbed Elizabeth's hand and squeezed it. She gave him a sideways glance and smiled slightly.
"I knew something was going on with him, the night of our Valentine's Day date," Elizabeth continued, "when we pulled into Olive Garden and he decided at the last minute that he didn't want to go there."
"Where did you go instead." Snyder inquired.
"We ended up in this bar on the side of the road," Elizabeth explained, "Love's Bar and Grille. I'd never heard of it before. After a few minutes, he got up and started flirting with his old girlfriend and left me sitting at the bar alone."
Even though Jack knew what had happened, hearing Elizabeth telling the story angered him. All he wanted to do was jerk Charles out of his jail cell and beat within an inch of his life, but he knew that wouldn't solve anything.
"You're doing great, please go on." Snyder urged.
"That's when I met Detective Thornton." Elizabeth added. "We started chatting and Charles returned and acted jealous. We left soon after. He was driving very fast until we ended up in the parking garage of his apartment complex. He told me it was time for us to take our relationship to the next level and tried climbing on me. I slapped him and gained the upper hand long enough to get out of the car. He got out on the other side, grabbed me, and pinned me against the car. That's when I screamed for help and Detective Thornton came in and saved the day." She and Jack then made eye contact and smiled. Time suddenly stood still.
"How did you know she was in trouble, Thornton?" Snyder queried.
Startled, Jack faced him and cleared his throat. "When I saw them leave the bar, she looked uncomfortable. He had a very tight grip on her arm. I had seen the way he had treated her. I used my instincts as a detective. I followed them just to make sure she was going to be alright."
"Good thinking, Thornton," Snyder acknowledged. "Thank you very much, Ms. Thatcher." He addressed Elizabeth. "We'll get this info to the D.A."
"Is there anything else you need?" She asked.
"I'll have Thornton call you." Snyder replied with a chuckle.
Elizabeth and Jack stood and left the office.
"You did wonderful." Jack offered.
"Thanks," Elizabeth stated, "there's just one more thing I need to do."
"What's that?" Jack asked.
"I need to see Charles. Elizabeth remarked. "Where is he?"
"No, Elizabeth," Jack countered, "that isn't a good idea."
"Please, Jack," She begged, "I know it won't be easy for me to see him, but it's important. I have something I need to say to him."
"Fine," Jack conceded, "but I'm going with you."
"If you insist," She commented.
He escorted her down a long hall to Charles' jail cell.
"Elizabeth, baby," Charles called when he saw her, "did you miss me? I knew you couldn't stay away."
"I'm just here to let you know that I just gave a statement," Elizabeth said, unfazed, as she approached him, "and that if I have anything to do about it, you'll stay in here a good long while."
Charles tried to reach out and touch her but she recoiled toward Jack. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth," He stated in a fictitiously sweet voice, "you know I didn't mean it. I just couldn't think straight. I could tell he…" he gestured toward Jack, "… had a crush on you. It made me crazy. Please, don't push us apart, baby," He begged, "it'll never happen again. I promise."
"Don't blame Jack!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "He has been nothing but kind to me. I noticed a difference in you before I even met Jack. You did this to yourself, and I'm not going to fall victim to you ever again." She grabbed Jack's hand and walked back down the long hall.
"Elizabeth," Charles called, "Please don't give up on what we have. Please."
Elizabeth continued walking down the hall with Jack on her heels. She didn't even look back.
As soon as they were back in the office, Elizabeth burst into tears. Jack quickly took her into his embrace. "Shh, it's alright," he consoled. "He can never hurt you again."
"I'm just so overwhelmed. Everything hit me all at once," she cried into his shoulder, "thank you for being there for me through all this. You really have been amazing."
"It has absolutely been my pleasure." Jack replied with a smile. He released her from his embrace and reached up to brush a stray curl from her face.
The touch of his hand on her skin caused her heart to race. She took a deep breath, and hoped he didn't notice. Their eyes suddenly met and time stood still. He tilted his head slightly. She stepped back and cleared her throat. "Would you like to go on a walk? Jack asked.
"I would love to but aren't you working?" She asked.
"My shift ends in about…" Jack glanced down at his watch, "… ten minutes. You mind waiting?"
"Sure." She replied, with a smile.
Ten minutes later, escorted Elizabeth out the door, of the precinct. "I know the perfect place for a walk." Jack led Elizabeth to a paved trail nestled between rows of pine trees, located behind the station.
"Jack, this is beautiful." Elizabeth cried, looking around at the trees. "How come I never knew this was here?"
"We like to keep it a secret." Jack replied, jokingly. "We don't tell anyone, only people who are very special." He nudged her playfully.
"I'm flattered." She commented, "I must be special."
"Of course, you are." He stared at her, from the corner of his eye. If you only knew, He thought to himself.
They came upon a clearing in the trees with a row of several picnic tables. "I didn't plan ahead," Jack gestured for Elizabeth to sit down, "so there's no picnic basket full of goodies." He sat across from her.
"It's alright," she stated, "besides, it's February, too cold for a picnic anyway." She suddenly felt a chill and wrapped her arms around herself, "speaking of."
Jack hastily stood to his feet and rushed to her side of the picnic table. "I'm so sorry," he removed his jacket from his body and began to wrap it around her shoulders, "maybe a walk in this weather wasn't such a good idea."
"No," She rejected, "you don't have to." How will you keep warm?"
"Don't you worry about me," He attempted to wrap the coat around her again, this time with success, "I'm used to it." He offered his hand. "Now let's head back so you can get warm."
They walked in companionable silence, back in the direction of the station. "Which car is yours?" Jack asked as they reached the parking lot.
"The red Kia Soul," she pointed out her car with a nod of her head.
"May I?" He offered his arm.
"Certainly," she placed her arm in the bend of his elbow and allowed him to escort her to her vehicle. She pressed the key fob to unlock her car. He opened the door for her and waited until she was securely inside. "Thanks for staying with me today. I really appreciate it."
"Hey," he stroked her cheek, "that couldn't have been easy for you. Where else would I be?"
"Anywhere," she remarked.
"I saw how scared you were that night." He stated. "I wouldn't want anyone to have to go through that again. I mean we're friends, right?"
"Right," She replied, with a forced smile, "friends."
Jack reached around her and gave her sideways hug. "I'll see you around… friend."
"Yeah see you around." She replied. "You have my number, gimme be a call or a text or something."
"I will, you do the same." He closed the door and waited until she started the engine.
She put her car in drive and waved as she pulled out of the parking lot.
Jack waved back and watched her until she was out of sight. He headed to his car. As he walked he felt a cool gush of wind and wrapped his arms around his body to shield himself from the breeze, and realized that he didn't have his jacket, he'd lent it to Elizabeth and she was still wearing it when she climbed in her car. He chuckled. He quickly unlocked the door, climbed in the car, and slammed the door shut. He started his car and began to drive. Friends, He snickered to himself, why did I say we were friends?" He'd only known her a short while… only two days… but the more he got to know her the more he wanted to get to know her and he most definitely wanted more than… just friends.
Elizabeth climbed out of her car at her apartment complex. The shelter of the parking garage, provided no protection for the cold wind blowing around her. She wrapped her arms around her body to find warmth, when she realized she was still wearing Jack's coat. She pulled the jacket closer around her shoulders and took in Jack's strong masculine scent. She loved the way he smelled. She couldn't help smiling. He's just your friend, she silently reprimanded herself. The elevator doors opened and she stepped inside. "Why am I having these thoughts?" She mumbled to herself. "We can only be friends right now" The elevator opened on the fourth floor and she stepped out while fumbling to find her keys in her purse. She unlocked the door of her apartment and stepped inside. She tossed her purse on the coffee table and plopped down on the sofa. She leaned her head against the back and sighed. "We can only be friends." She said again. She was trying to convince herself of that. Friends. That's all they could be. So why did she feel like she wanted more?... so much more?
to be continued…