I feel it in my ribs
Feel it in my soul
The pulse just grows
So loud and so clear
Let your heart beat here
-Dashboard Confessional "Heart Beat Here"
"I think its Nathan. He's been shot."
Those words still echoed in her head as she rushed out of the Mercantile. She couldn't seem to forget them. She had a feeling she would hear them for awhile even though she didn't want to believe them. It just couldn't be so. She had seen Nathan not long ago. He had asked her to dinner. How she wished she had simply uttered the yes that her heart had called on her to say but she had let fear silence her.
Now, seeing the bit of bright red in the back of the Mounted Police transport wagon, Elizabeth felt a heavy weight descend on her. A weight that she hadn't felt since she had gotten news of Jack's Death.
"He's gone," Carson told Bill softly.
Elizabeth mind's screamed, 'no'. She didn't want to believe it. Nathan couldn't be gone.
In that instance, her mind accepted what her heart had been trying to tell her. She had fallen in love with Nathan Grant.
But now it was too late.
She turned from the wagon. She felt numb. She couldn't speak. She couldn't cry. This couldn't be happening again.
And then she noticed a figure in red walking toward her. At first she thought she was seeing things. However, when the image didn't change, and Nathan continued to walk toward her, Elizabeth felt her heart start beating again. Nathan looked weary and clearly upset but he was walking toward her. The person in the back of the wagon had to be one of the other Mounties.
She hadn't lost her chance at love a second time!
Rushing forward, Elizabeth threw her arms around him. She held him tightly, the side of her head pressed against Nathan's chest. She could hear his heartbeat. It was the most wonderful sound she thought she had ever heard
Right now, she couldn't find any words. Her emotions were all tumbling around inside her. All she knew was that she loved Nathan and somehow, in the days to come, she would find a way to convey that to him.
She and Jack had taken things slow. She had thought it wise at the time. Had she known how little time they would have together after their wedding, she might not have wanted to take things that slow.
She would have thought she would have learned from her mistakes, but once again she had almost lost what could be precious time because she was afraid to face her fear.
She didn't plan on even coming close to a third time. In Nathan's arms was where she belonged. She knew that now.