A Love Worth Waiting For
Chapter 4Nathan arrived at the livery early the morning after Willa had her talk with Josiah. He turned the corner to see Elizabeth struggling with Sergeant. She couldn't get him out of his stall. Her hair was coming loose of its clip and there were tears tracking down her cheeks. Never mind that her left arm was still in a sling from the day she and the horse been hit by a car. No matter that she'd broken his heart last year, he would always care for her - just usually from a safe distance these days. He was done doing her bidding. But, she definitely needed help and a friend right now. He sighed and approached.
Gently pushing Sergeant's stall closed, he put a hand on her right shoulder. "Elizabeth, please sit" he pointed to a nearby hay bale. "You're going to injure yourself worse than you already are."
She turned towards him with a desperate look in her eyes. "Nathan, Jack's horse. He hates me now. I can't even take him out for a walk. What would Jack think?" She swiped her right over her face and began to sob even harder.
As Nathan pulled a hanky out of his pocket, he sat down next to her. "Elizabeth, this wasn't your fault. It was an accident. And, if you were traumatized by it, I imagine that Sergeant was as well." Just then, he had a thought. He'd found out that Willa Hardin did more than just train horses, but she rescued them and seemed to have that uncanny way with the animals that Bill said her mother had.
"Have you heard about the new family in town? The Hardins?" after a momentary pause, she nodded. "Well, Willa Hardin works with horses. And word is that she's very good with behavioral issues. Which can stem from some sort of trauma. You should check in with her and see if she might be able to work with Sergeant. They have a phone, so you could call ahead and not just show up." He waited as she processed what he said and got herself together. She seemed to start to breathe more evenly.
"Thank you, Nathan. I had no idea about Willa Hardin. She could be just what we need." She looked down at his drenched hanky. "Thanks for this as well, I'd like to take it home and wash it for you. If that's okay." With a nod, he stood and held out his hand to help her up, ignoring the long look she gave him - which she'd never stopped doing.
After Elizabeth went on her way, Nathan saddled Newton to head out on his rounds. He spent the ride praying as he often did. Now, besides Bill, Willa and Josiah, he added Elizabeth and Sergeant to his prayer list and when he'd returned to town and taken care of some paperwork, he headed to the cafe to have some lunch and track down Bill.
Upon entering Abigail's, he spotted Minnie and she pointed him towards the kitchen at the question in his eyes. Nathan smiled to himself. Minnie would've made a crack inspector! He found his friend plating some food. Bill nodded towards the table and then took the plates to the dining room.
Nathan removed his hat, helped himself to a glass of iced tea then sat down, noticing a loud rumble from his belly. Bill returned a few minutes later.
"You ready for lunch, Grant? Got a meatloaf, green bean and mashed potato special."
"Sounds great, Bill. Have a few minutes to join me?" Nathan knew Bill might not enjoy his prying, but he was hoping that they'd reached a point in their friendship that he'd not avoid sharing.
Bill hesitated briefly, then sighed and held up a finger. He disappeared into the dining room again and was back a minute later. "You're not gonna let me off the hook, are you?"
With a chuckle, Nathan retorted, "Like you would let me?"
After walking over and reaching into his jacket and pulling out an envelope, Bill sat down across from Nathan. "You got me." He pushed the letter towards his friend. "It's from Merry. Joseph brought it over. Willa found it in her mother's things, which were given to her by her aunt. Nathan...I..." Bill swallowed hard.
"You sure you want me to read this?" Nathan asked, mildly shocked, but pleased that Bill wasn't shouldering this thing alone like he usually did.
Bill looked away a moment, trying to get his voice back - then back at Nathan. "I need you to read it." he said with a nod towards the letter.
"Okay. Would you rather I do it now, or take it back to the office and you stop by before I head home?"
"Let's do that. More privacy. I'm heading back to my office to go over a case file as soon as the lunch rush is finally over. Once I'm done, I'll check in with you. Take your time finishing your lunch, but right now I've got some cooking to do."
Nathan watched Bill walk away and glanced down at the envelope before he tucked into his meal. He'd been doing a lot of extra praying the last couple of days and it looked like he'd be doing a lot more. He'd meant to tell Bill that he'd referred Elizabeth to Willa, but now wasn't the time. What a mess - a good mess - but messy nonetheless.
After a busy couple of hours, Nathan had finally been able to sit down and read Merry's letter to Bill. He was amazed out how hard it was; how he felt as though he were invading their privacy. Once he began reading, he was touched and amazed at what he could now so easily see. His crusty, gruff friend had once had the love of a lifetime and lost it. Too young and inexperienced to understand exactly how to fight for it and once he had, he'd discovered that she was married to someone else. He set the pages down and wiped his hand down his face because, well, he was choked up.
He stood up just as the door opened and Allie rushed in. Quickly, Nathan leaned down and slid the pages underneath his desk blotter. Allie stopped and raised an eyebrow at him. "Dad? Are you alright? Because you kinda look like you're about to cry and, well, you don't really do that very often."
He donned his best smile and walked over to hug his daughter. "I'm fine, Allie girl." She looked up at him with her trademark eye roll and stepped back.
"Daaad. I'm 13! "Allie girl" sounds like I'm five."
He put his hands up in surrender, both of them knowing he would probably still be calling her this when she was 24, or maybe 40. "So, what's going on? I get the feeling that this isn't just a social visit." He watched her closely and knew that look. She was about to ask for something and was calculating just how to get her way. It was his turn to raise an eyebrow at her.
With a smile she waved a hand towards his desk. "Have a seat, Dad. Let's talk."
He rolled his eyes as he sat. Why wasn't there a manual on teenaged girls?! Especially ones who were exactly like their late mothers? He knew better - he'd lived it! Allie was just like Colleen.
After she'd taken a seat, she said "I've just met a lady named Mrs Hardin. She works with horses. Rescues, trains them and gives riding lessons. She's also a mom and is currently looking for help. Paid help. Her aunt takes care of her daughters, so she needs help with the horses. She's already hired a boy from school, but needs someone else. I'd really, really like to do it. Once school starts, I can work around that and I promise to keep up with my studies."
For a moment, he couldn't speak. At some point, everyone was going to find out that Willa was Bill's daughter - but this wasn't his to tell. First, he sends Elizabeth out there and now his daughter wants to work for her. He really needed to talk to Bill and probably Willa about how to proceed with this. More importantly, those two needed to meet and figure this out.
"Dad? Are you really okay? Can we please at least go out and talk to her? You can meet her and see what you think. She seems like a really nice and smart lady and I hear that she's amazing with the horses."
He mentally shook himself, realizing he'd been quiet a little too long. Clearing his throat, he said "I have met her and I don't object, so long as you do keep up with your schoolwork. Maybe we can go by and see her tomorrow. Will that be soon enough for you? I'll have to check with Mrs Hardin and see if it's okay."
Allie nodded. "Thanks, Dad! You're the best!" she rushed around the desk and popped a quick kiss on his cheek. "I'm heading home. Will you be there for dinner tonight?"
"Yes. I have one more meeting and then I'll put Newton to bed for the night. Then I'll be coming home."
After Allie left, Nathan tidied up his desk, then slid Bill's letter out just as the man himself walked in, yanked down the shade and locked the door. Instead of sitting, he paced back and forth a couple of times, then turned with his hands on his hips.
"Bill, are you waiting for me to say something or should I just sit here until you're ready to speak?" Nathan asked, with a little amusement. Bill sat down with a huff and just looked at him. "Okay, then. I'll start. First, I'm sorry for your loss. I really am. I'm thinking that you're feeling as though you've lost Merry all over again. But I also want to congratulate you on your gain - which seems to be great. So, what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, I want to meet my daughter and granddaughters. I want to make this right. I can't ever fix anything with Merry, but I can make peace with Barclay and build a future with our girls. I want to know if you'll help?"
"Of course. The sooner the better. You see, I might have referred Elizabeth to Willa because she's having trouble with Sergeant since the accident. I came across her at the livery this morning in a puddle of tears. Then, Allie came in this afternoon saying she'd met Willa and found out that she's looking for help at the ranch and Allie wants to do it. So, how can I help?" Nathan asked.
Bill took a deep breath. "Can you set up a meeting? Maybe somewhere neutral for the first time. That is, unless she'd prefer for me to come out there. I'll go wherever she wants, whenever she wants."
"I can call her right now." Nathan said and Bill's eyes shot open wide. Nathan chuckled. "She's not going to bite ya, Bill." When he didn't answer, Nathan picked up his phone and asked Florence to connect him to the Hardin ranch for Willa.
After a brief conversation, it was agreed upon that Bill would come out to the ranch in the morning and Nathan was asked to join him. Nathan then mentioned Allie to Willa, who agreed to have him bring her out in the afternoon. "Thanks, Willa. We'll see you in the morning. You have a good evening." Nathan hung up and smiled at Bill. "You gonna make it until then, Bill?" he smirked.
"Very funny, Grant" he grumbled as he got up to leave. When he got to the door, he turned "And, thanks, man. I mean it." Then he slammed the door on the way out.
Nathan shook his head with a smile. The gruff and abrupt from Bill was encouraging, he thought as he got his things together to leave and take Newton to the livery before he went home to his girl. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.