Please note: just like the previous chapter, the full chapter name is too long. This one is called "Chapter Four - From Horseback to Horsepower, Part Two." Enjoy!

Following Lee to his house, the two men stopped in front of the foreign four-wheeled machine, allowing for Nathan to take in the sight.

"She's a beaut, isn't she?" Lee said, tracing his fingers along the metallic front of the car. "Now, I know we're testing luck here, but if you destroy my car…" He paused for effect. "I will never forgive you."

Nathan chuckled and put his arms up in surrender. "You have my word Lee, I will do everything in my power to not destroy your car."

Lee lightly slapped the Constable's back before moving to the passenger side. "Good."

Once Nathan had comfortably climbed in and firmly shut the door, he tried to digest the sight of pedals, an abundance of dials, and multitudes of all things metal. Drawing the packet of meat from his pocket and placing it on his lap, he exhaled slowly, attempting to calm his nerves.

"Alright Lee, what do I do?"

The millowner rubbed his hands together, excited to share his knowledge. "Well, you start off with the hand brake. Super simple, you just move it up and down, but to start the car you move it to the middle." He reached over and moved the lever to demonstrate. He then indicated towards the wheel. "The accelerator is what allows you to add speed. To do this you slowly move it upwards."

Lee then pointed down to where Nathan's feet rested. "Now for the pedals; the far right is the 'brake', which allows you to stop. Betcha didn't know that one." Lee delivered a mock pointed look at Nathan.

"No way!" Nathan grinned, an amused look on his face at Lee's joking around.

Laughing, Lee continued. "The one to the far left is the 'clutch,' which basically connects and disconnects the wheels from the engine. The engine's always running, but the wheels aren't, so you have to master the art of transitioning between pedals. The car will stall if you don't, and you do not want that to happen."

Nathan frowned quizzically and turned his entire body to face Lee. "What is stalling, exactly?"

"Oh," Lee pressed his lips together in a fine line, attempting to hide a smile. "We will most definitely cross that bridge when we come to it." He patted Nathan's shoulder at the other man's wary expression. "Don't worry. Now, for the middle pedal; that's reverse. When you press on it, it takes you backwards..."

With one hand gripping the steering wheel, Lee's instructions became a droning echo as Nathan imagined what it would be like driving to and fro towns and cities, exploring the world at greater speeds and at a different point of view. How much this car could hold- of vacation luggage, and children, and the woman of his dreams beside him…

Nathan often wondered what having a family would be like- of course, he had Allie, but that wasn't what he anticipated it would be like; there was always something missing. Ever since he was a little boy, Nathan just knew how he wanted his life to play out- a new life taking a one-eighty from his childhood. A wife. Some kids. A loving relationship with his family abiding in trust, something he longed for from his own boyhood.

Granted, he knew what he was getting himself into when he signed up to be a Mountie. "If we wanted you to have a wife, we would have issued you one," his superiors always told him. Somehow, even if that dream was subdued, there was always a part of him that hoped. His 'absurd' dreams were swiftly allayed when Colleen died, leading to Allie being placed in his care. Nathan was barely even twenty-four. His adult life had just begun, not to mention his desires to marry, and start a family. It's not that Allie was a burden, it was just how quickly things had changed for him. Now that he and his niece had planted some roots, thoughts of love and happiness began to flood his mind again.

"Got it?" Lee questioned, eyeing Nathan.

Embarrassed that he was caught zoning out for the second time today, the Constable nodded his head. "Pretty much," He tossed Lee the beef jerky that was resting on his lap. "Food for entertainment."

Lee let out a small chuckle and opened the bag, reaching for the rough meat, and lobbed a small piece in his mouth. He threw the sealed bag on the dashboard. "Alrighty, first things first, you start the engine." Lee hopped out of the car, which elicited a confused expression on Nathan's face.

"Why…" Nathan made a face. "What are you doing?"

"Engaging the crank," Lee said, bending how to grab hold of the dark, metal rod. "You turn it quickly to the right, and then the engine will turn on."

With a firm twist, the engine roared to life, which caused the Mountie to inhale sharply. "Always use your left hand to turn it, though, or else you may hurt yourself." Lee pranced back in the padded passenger seat, and spotted Nathan's troubled look. "You alright?"

"Oh- yes," Nathan replied after a momentary lapse of silence. "Let's do this!" He said, trying to sprinkle in a bit of levity, and deflect the concern etched on Lee's face.

"That's the spirit!"

Keeping one steady hand on the wheel and the other on the handbrake, Nathan slowly shifted the lever away from him, pausing once it became level to the ground.

Quickly, Lee motioned to the floor. "Now step on the clutch and brake… Easy does it. Now, slowly come off and accelerate." Easing his foot off the pedal, Nathan gently applied pressure to the small lever attached to the wheel.

Gradually, the colossal machine inched its way down the gravel road. "Good!" Lee said above the rattle of the engine. "Now show me how to stop."

Looking down at his feet, Nathan gave a shaky release of the accelerator and pressed down on the clutch, followed by the brake. When the car had stopped moving, Lee reached over and pulled back the hand brake.

"Well done! Now that wasn't so hard was it?"

The Constable let out a quivering breath. "It's definitely something…"

Lee patted him on the shoulder. "With time comes practice, and practice comes perfection. You'll get the hang of it!" Nathan's lips hooked upwards demurely. "Would you like to try again? You could go a little faster this time."

"Sounds good." He replied. Under his breath, Nathan murmured the steps of starting the car. "First the handbrake… Then the clutch and break… Then accelerator…"

Inch by inch, the car began to slowly make its way down the road. It resembled a snail.

"I'm doing it!" Nathan exclaimed above the noise. "Maybe this isn't so bad after all."

Almost out of nowhere, a few feet away from the car stood Elizabeth, beginning to near the Coulter home. She had her arm hooked through the loop of her threaded wicker basket, full of papers to grade, and was on her way home from the schoolhouse (Elizabeth stayed there much longer than usual to avoid most of the townspeople on her walk home, of course.). She smiled sweetly at the sight of Nathan driving, slightly swerving in attempts to control the car. Elizabeth gave a small wave towards the vehicle, strolling alongside the row of houses.

Looking up, Nathan began to perspire as he returned the wave. Placing his hands back on the steering wheel, he glanced at the speedometer. The needle was tipping dangerously to the right.

"How 'bout you slow down a bit, you're speeding up." Lee said.

Nodding his head, Nathan shifted his foot and pressed firmly on a pedal. But, to his astonishment, instead of reducing speed, the vehicle lurched backwards, curving left and right as Nathan moved the steering wheel, trying to make sense of what was happening. The blood drained from his face.

Lee's hands were sprawled over the dashboard, holding on for dear life. "You're on reverse!" he shrieked, "Brake! Brake!"

Elizabeth's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. She flattened herself against the house as they veered past her in order to not get run over. The schoolteacher spun her head to the left and took note of Lee and Nathan's faces as the car zig-zagged backwards. Lee was practically hugging the interior of the car, yelling the same word over and over. Nathan, on the other hand, was placid, and knuckles bone-white as he clamped the steering wheel. The scene would have been quite comical if there was a guarantee that lives would be preserved.

Letting out a small squeal, Nathan took a quick look at his feet, gaping at the fact that his foot was on the reverse pedal. Lee leaned forward and grabbed hold of the steering wheel, praying it would guide the car away from the approaching rowhouses. With his heart doing somersaults out of his chest, Nathan rapidly transferred his weight to the far right pedal.

Tires screeching and dust flying, Nathan stomped as hard as he could on the brake, but at the same time took his weight off the other foot, which was on the clutch. As a result, the automobile reeled forwards and backwards, forwards and backwards, until it came to a complete stop. Though the car ceased to shake, the passengers' bodies made no effort to stop shuddering.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, Lee placed his hands on his lap, and looked at Nathan, who was obviously traumatized. "Well," he started. "We've most certainly crossed that bridge."

Nathan banged his head on the wheel. "So that's stalling," he groaned. The Constable bashfully peered up from the wheel to see Elizabeth cautiously walk up to Lee's car from where she once stood, where her back was plastered on her rowhouse.

"Are you two okay?" She asked, a mix of worry and amusement gallivanting in her eyes.

"We will be… Eventually." Lee dryly answered.

Nathan gave a side glance, heart still pounding. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the sight of a hurried Florence Blakely disappearing from the front of a distant rowhouse. "So I'm not so good at some things…" He said sheepishly, praying a silent prayer that he wouldn't be the town's next big twaddle.

Lee gave a weary chuckle. "Well, you didn't wreck my car, so that's a plus."

Elizabeth bestowed a relieved smile. "I think you guys got it sorted out." She shifted the grip of her basket awkwardly and looked behind her. She found herself feeling a little uncomfortable with Nathan's appearance at the moment. No longer pale, his face was rosy and flushed, tainted with pearly beads of perspiration on his forehead. His dark hair out of place, blended with his heavy breathing caused Elizabeth's stomach to feel hot and uneasy. To make matters worse, he locked eyes with her, just for just a moment. The way the electric, steely blue contrasted with his scarlet face made her face burn and body to feel antsy.

How is it possible for a man to look this handsome?

"I… Umm…" Elizabeth walked backwards, towards her rowhouse. She stumbled a bit, still facing the men. "I have to grade some papers…" She gave one last smile before walking briskly to the door of her home. "Bye." She shut the door, and leaned back against it, slinking down to the floor. Elizabeth sighed, feeling frustrated with how ruffled she was.

Outside, Lee and Nathan shared a confused glance.

"What was that all about?"

Lee shrugged. "I have really no idea."

Nathan rendered a small smirk. "I know what you're trying to do… She was just… Flustered at the fact that… Uhm…"

Lee returned the smirk. "Right. You know you've got it bad, right?"

"You know, I think I like horses better." Nathan said, hoping to diverge the topic.

"Have you realized luck and love go hand in hand?" Lee continued.

Nathan looked Lee square in the eye. "I am never, ever testing luck again."

The millowner bit his lip, suppressing a laugh. "No, my friend." He said, rubbing his hand over his face. "That might not be as swell of an idea. And next time- I will make sure to explain everything thoroughly."

The Constable sighed exhaustedly. "As if there's going to be a next time." Lee let out a laugh.

The two men swung the car doors open and inched their way out, a little wobbly on their feet as they made contact with the ground.

"Unfortunately, I must make my way back and clean up my kitchen catastrophe." He started as Lee shut his door. Dinner at this point seemed vague. "Can't let it sit there forever."

"Wait, wait, wait." Lee said hurriedly, hoping to cheer the embarrassed and shaken Constable. "Here, it's been quite the day. Why don't you have dinner with Rosie and I?"

Nathan ran his fingers through his hair. "No, that's alright, I wouldn't want to impose. Especially since I nearly gave us both heart attacks."

"Nah," Lee replied, waving a hand in the air, leaning against the car. "I insist. We're still alive, so it's okay. It'll be my forgiveness gift. Rosie always makes extra anyways, so there'll be enough. And what were you even planning to eat while your kitchen is a necropolis?"

Reluctantly, the thought of a hot, non-charred dinner caused Nathan to give in. "Okay, if you insist." He answered, following Lee to his home. "But like I said, I will never, ever test luck ever again."

And with that, Lee opened the door and the pair entered the Coulter Home.