FINALE

Chapter 17

"Elizabeth! Uh, hello." Nathan stammered and bolted awkwardly from behind his desk to stand for the lady. "I'm — I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" She stopped in the middle of the small room, trying to read the face she thought she knew so well. "Do you know why I'm here?"

"I'm sorry to be late for dinner, of course. I must be, since you came to get me." He held out his hands apologetically. "Time got away from me. If you can take me as I am, I won't change out of my uniform."

"Could we talk first?" She clutched the envelope tightly.

"Yes." He took a long breath, dread written all over his face.

"Can we sit?"

"By all means." He pulled two chairs to the front of his desk — together, but not close.

Seated and facing each other, Elizabeth held out the envelope. "I know what happened, and I'm sorry for blaming you."

Puzzled, he opened the document and read it through.

"It's the official report about …. Where did you get this?"

"From Rosemary."

"Where did she …?"

"From Bill. He made inquiries at her request."

He read it again and folded it slowly. "I'm sorry."

"You keep saying you're sorry," she said impatiently. "You said it so often, I thought my husband lost his life saving you! Why didn't you tell me what really happened?"

"You didn't give me a chance," he said simply.

"I'm giving you the chance now. Tell me everything."

He sank back in his chair with a heaviness she'd rarely seen in a man.

"Reggie asked if I'd ever cried during my years of service. I told him 'once.' Jack Thornton was the once."

Nathan placed the paper on his desk and rested his hand atop it. Elizabeth followed the motion, staring at his hand. He self-consciously pulled both hands into his lap and clasped them tightly.

She continued staring, this time at both hands.

"Elizabeth. Please. Stop torturing yourself by picturing what happened."

"You dug him out and tried to revive him." Breathlessly, she repeated what the document said. "What was his, um, condition once you got him free?" Her voice raised to a high pitch as she forced out the words.

He closed his eyes and ran a fist across his dampening lashes.

"Nathan, I have to know," she pleaded. "Was he conscious? Did he speak of — me — at the end?"

"He wasn't killed instantly," Nathan admitted, choking on the words. "He was crushed. Injured beyond what anyone could possibly survive. But he opened his eyes. They begged me, though he said not a word."

He took out his handkerchief and made a muffled sound into it.

Elizabeth clutched her own handkerchief and attempted to stem the wave of tears coursing down her cheeks.

But she persisted.

"Where was he that you could see his eyes so clearly?" she urged. "Was he on the ground? On a stretcher beside you? Were you with him until …?"

He held out hands that began to tremble.

"It was twilight," he recalled. "A spring evening, but it was cold. The ground was cold."

His hands shook harder and he clenched them tightly, pounding them down on his legs.

"So I held him in my arms. Off the ground, close to my chest. Until the moment he took his final breath."

He gasped through the words, his shoulders heaving and his head hanging in despair.

Even though she wiped her eyes, it was like looking through a fog when she reached out to his chin. She didn't touch him, but he raised his face toward her.

"The last eyes he looked into were yours," she said softly. "And the last hands that held him …"

She took one of his fists and opened it, stroking it from palm to fingertips again and again.

"Your hands hold Jack's son with so much care."

Head bowed and tears flowing, Nathan gently pulled away from her grasp.

"I haven't told you everything," he admitted.

She held her breath and waited.

"I prayed for him," he said, laboring over the words. "When I said 'amen,' he closed his eyes. His breathing slowed. The last word I spoke was 'Elizabeth.' Over and over, I whispered your name: 'Elizabeth. Elizabeth. Elizabeth.' He died with your name surrounding him."

She was stunned. She wanted to say, "Forgive me for misjudging you." She wanted to say, "I'll never forget your kindness to Jack." But she couldn't say anything while she choked on her tears.

When she finally caught her breath, and after he seemed to, too, she simply said, "Thank you."

She held out her hand, and he took it, looking at her curiously.

"It's a — a pleasure to truly know the man who was there for my husband, when I couldn't be," she said with sincerity.

His face contorted into a pained smile. "The pleasure is mine, ma'am."

She squeezed his hand affectionately. "Please call me 'Elizabeth.' All my friends do."

He nodded, unable to say a word.

"Someday, I hope you'll tell me about Jack's last days on duty," she said, starting to breathe normally again.

"I would be honored," Nathan smiled, this time without the pained look. "After he died, I wrote down everything I could remember about our mission."

"You're a writer?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes." His eyes scanned the stack of personal journals on top of his filing cabinet.

"So am I." Her face tilted up, revealing a peaceful smile. "Seems we have a lot in common. We'll have to share notes sometime."

"I'd like that," he said, still holding her hand.

"Maybe after dinner?"

"I'd like that very much."

"Then let's hurry and eat," she said with a grin. "It seems like forever since you and I had a nice visit."

.

"There you are!" Rosemary gushed, when Elizabeth and Nathan entered Elizabeth's row house. "I kept dinner warm for us, but you took so long in coming back that I went ahead and fed the children."

Elizabeth hurried to Rosemary and gave her a long hug. "Thank you," she whispered. "You were right."

"I'm always right." Rosemary winked. "Just ask Lee." She smiled at her husband, who was sitting on the couch with Betsy, the two of them keeping little Jack occupied.

Elizabeth took in the scene — her cozy living room filled with so many of her favorite people.

The minute young Jack caught a glimpse of red, he squirmed around and reached out for Nathan.

"Looks like it's your turn to take over." Lee laughed, standing and shifting the child into Nathan's arms. "Good thing you're an expert at eating with this little guy on your lap."

Lee went to help Rosemary set the food on the table.

"We make a good team, don't we?" Nathan gave the child a squeeze while rocking him from side to side, while little Jack giggled as he ran his tiny hands over his friend's whisker stubble.

He seems lighter, Elizabeth thought, watching Nathan through new eyes. Much more so than when he first came to town.

She hadn't recognized it then, but when he'd arrived with a heavy heart, he wasn't only grieving the deaths of his brother and sister-in-law, but also bearing the burden of having failed to save Jack, and then meeting Jack's family.

It wasn't until her gaze met his that she realized she'd been watching his hands again. The hands that had comforted Jack as his Heavenly Father beckoned him to his eternal reward were the hands that found delight in soothing and supporting Jack's son.

"How did I not see it before?" she murmured.

Rosemary stepped behind her and placed her hands on Elizabeth's shoulders. "Aren't they a sight to behold?" she whispered in Elizabeth's ear.

"Yes. Oh, Rosemary, you told me that ignorance isn't bliss. You were right. This is."

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THE END

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Thank you to all who have offered enthusiastic reviews of my story!

My heart goes out to those who prefer to read stories about Elizabeth and Jack.

I know that his loss will forever be felt.

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