They just stayed together cuddling, no words being required, as they just let everything sink in. After a while, Elizabeth pulled back just enough to look into his eyes but remained in his arms.
"I know that there will be times that I will need to come to Union City, and I will, but here we have more chaperones and places where you can stay without causing a scandal or putting people out so they can come with me, although I know I could also stay with the O'Reilly's. That was one thing I learned after going to Union City with Lucas, although with him it was only as friends, I never felt right about it afterward. Now that you and I are courting, we must be mindful of appearances when I stay with you at your house."
Before anything else could be said, they heard a loud clap of thunder, and a few raindrops hit them. "I don't think we can make it back to your house, so why don't we go to the church?" Nathan suggested. At Elizabeth's nod, they ran to the church, thankful that Elizabeth had her key. They had just got the door open when the heavens opened, the storm worsening, and a strong wind picked up.
"It looks like it may be a while," Nathan said. "Maybe we should have chanced it and gone to your house so Rosemary wouldn't worry."
"We can actually call her from here. Lee had a phone put out here in case of emergency. Florence only puts through a call in the event of an emergency during school hours. It came in handy a month ago when one of the children ended up getting hit in the head with a baseball and was knocked unconscious. It's just back here in the Pastor's office." Elizabeth said. "If you want, maybe we could call Allie too and figure out how to get her here?"
"Sounds like a good idea," Nathan said after taking another look at the dark sky and heavy rain. "This storm seems to have gotten a bit worse, so we will probably be here for a bit."
After contacting Rosemary and letting her and Florence know they had taken refuge at the church, Nathan called Patrick.
"O'Reilly residence, Patrick speaking,"
"Patrick, it's Nathan."
"Nathan, I hear that not only did things wrap up pretty handily, but Congratulations are also in order?"
"They are," Nathan smiled as he motioned for Elizabeth to come closer to the phone. She is here with me now.
"Congratulations to both of you. I imagine you are calling for two reasons. You want some time off to be there in Hope Valley, and the second is to talk to your daughter, right?" Patrick asked, amusement clear in his tone.
"You got it on the first try, Patrick," Nathan said, chuckling.
"Since wrapping up this case is a priority, I believe that can be granted. Although, since there will be things for you to do, we will temporarily place you there at least until we can get another Mountie posted to Hope Valley; I take it if we did this, you would have no objections?"
"None at all," Nathan assured him, "Though I would have to arrange for some things to be brought here."
"Elizabeth?" Patrick said. "Are you there?"
"Yes, Patrick?" She replied. "I want to tell you how thrilled Carol and I are that you and Nathan have finally found your way together."
"Thank you, Patrick," Elizabeth chuckled. "I get the feeling that everyone else had just about despaired of it happening huh?"
"You wouldn't be wrong," Patrick teased. "We also want you to know that you and Jack have an open-ended invitation to stay here when you visit whenever necessary."
"That means the world to me, Patrick, and please give my regards to Carol." Elizabeth requested.
"I will do that for sure. But for now, I'll turn the phone over to Allie. I have something else to discuss, so I will return on the line after you finish talking with her."
"Dad? Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine, Allie girl. In fact, it is better than okay," Nathan replied.
"Wow, Dad. You sound really happy."
"I am. I am not the only one because Mrs. Thornton is here with me and is very happy too. We are calling because we wanted to share something with you."
"Did you and Aunt Elizabeth finally figure it out?" Allie said, her excitement evident. Nathan's heart skipped upon hearing Allie's new address for Elizabeth.
"We sure did, sweetheart," Elizabeth said. "Your dad and I are officially courting."
"FINALLY!" Allie said, screeching in excitement. "When are you coming back? Can we maybe spend some time in Hope Valley, Dad? How will we do courting if we live in Union City and they live in Hope Valley? Are you coming back for a visit?"
"ALLIE!" Nathan chuckled. He had used his Mountie voice to get his daughter's attention. "First, you need to ask questions one at a time, but why don't we wait until we are together before we discuss anything else? I will let you in on one thing. I finally met A J Grant."
"You did! Who is it?"
"It's Mrs. Thornton," Nathan said with a smile.
Wait….So you are one of her three favorite Mounties, huh?" Nathan could practically see the sly smirk on his daughter's face if she was in front of him.
"It appears so, honey," Nathan told his daughter.
"It is interesting that she chose to honor you as her last name, isn't it, Dad?" Allie asked slyly. Elizabeth had heard what Allie had said and blushed. The sheepish smile on her face assured him Elizabeth was happy about Allie's comments.
"Dad, Uncle Patrick says he has something he needs to say," Allie said. Feeling grateful for the reprieve, he heard Patrick come back on.
"Nathan, I spoke to Carol, who just got off the phone with Rosemary. I will take Allie to your house to grab anything you might require. Then we will catch the last train out this evening and bring her to you. Apparently, a celebration is planned for later, and we have been invited. We should arrive just after dinnertime, and maybe we can finish sorting out Bill's unique situation and what to do with Bouchard. I plan on leaving the day after tomorrow once a full plan is in place." Patrick said.
"That is great," Nathan said. "Allie should know what I would want here, but I'll just remind her, and we can always take a day trip if necessary." After talking with Allie one final time, they disconnected the call.
They could hear the storm still raging, and the church had gotten dark, so Elizabeth turned on the light, and they found themselves sitting on a pew cuddled up and listening to the storm,
After making a few plans for where everyone would sleep, Nathan found himself going back to that trip Elizabeth took to Union City. There were a couple of other things too, that had niggled in the back of his mind. Now that they were officially in a relationship, he felt that he was in a position where he could now ask hard personal questions about her and Lucas.
"Lizbeth, can I ask you why you went to Union City with Lucas overnight? Based on a few things that I heard from your two stalwart supporters, that was a significant source of Lucas' continued pursuit of you. I have to admit that I really couldn't bear to listen to much of that poison he was trying to spread." Nathan admitted.
"Honestly, Nathan, where do I start," Elizabeth chuckled. Before he could answer, she continued. "As I mentioned earlier, one thing I learned after going to Union City with Lucas, although with him it was only as friends, I never felt right about it afterward. I have thought about why I would even consider going without proper chaperones, and it hadn't escaped my notice that while you considered that when you invited me to your house, Lucas hadn't. In all fairness, I hadn't thought of it either, so I also shoulder the blame for that. I was so excited about the book reading and meeting Virginia Woolf that I didn't consider all the ramifications of going. That was the draw for me for the entire trip and had nothing to do with Lucas, and I wavered for a while before I finally consented to go. In any case, I can't say that the trip there and back was worth the enjoyment of the reading. Then when I got back and saw how much I had hurt you, and you began pulling away, I knew that I had made a gross error in judgment. I can honestly say that if I could go back, I wouldn't have gone if that helps any."
"Allie had seen you leave and was the one to tell me about it. Then when you returned, I saw you and him talking, and my heart broke. You looked so happy standing there talking to him, so I figured you chose him over me." Nathan admitted.
"When you saw me with him, where were you in relation to me? Did you have a full view of my face?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
"Actually, no, Allie and I were heading to our fishing spot, so your back was to us, and we only saw the side of your features."
"I wondered because what you saw as me being happy was partly true though the reason for it is wrong. On the trip up and back, Lucas talked almost the entire trip. Nathan, I don't think I spoke more than 500 words the entire trip. What you saw was me desperately glad that we were finally home and wishing he would stop talking so I could have peace and quiet with my son. I had my Hamilton smile pasted on that day, but inside I felt like an animal caught in a trap and was desperate enough to want to gnaw my leg off to get away."
He laughed as the memory re-emerged, but in light of the new facts she revealed, any remaining hurt attached to it was gone afterward.
"That man has continued to try to make things into dates, but I only ever saw him as a friend, although even being acquaintances at this point is completely off the table. Even on the outing to the reading, he arranged for us to have a picnic on the side of the road. While the thought was nice, it was just a bit too couple-like for my comfort since all I thought about was you."
"Really?" Nathan said.
"Yes, really," Elizabeth replied. "Nathan, you are the ONLY man since Jack that I have ever entertained a thought of going on a date with. Think back to all our interactions and how often I approached you while, usually, Lucas was the one approaching me. I tried everything I could, short of asking you out directly to get you to ask me."
Again, Nathan thought back to all the interactions and realized she was right. She always encouraged him to say what was on his mind and told him not to shut her out.
"I had hoped when I told you that I went with Lucas because he asked, that you would finally ask, but in hindsight, it was a bad idea," Elizabeth said.
"But wait, then why didn't you say yes that day, I asked before leaving for the transport?" Nathan asked.
"Because I knew that going out with you would be more than just a dinner, and I paused, but before I could respond, you backed off and told me to let you know when I figured it out. I just nodded, thinking that it would allow me to regain control. Not to mention you were about to transport that prisoner, so time was limited." Elizabeth replied.
"Your right. I was good at advance and retreat. I felt that I put you on the spot again, and the awkwardness was growing, so I backed off. Let's make a promise right now, at the start of this courtship, that there won't be any more games and that we will speak openly and not be afraid to seek reassurances and do less assuming." Nathan said.
"I agree and always promise to let you know what is on my mind, my love," Elizabeth said. "I don't want to waste any more time."
"I agree," Nathan said, capturing her lips with his own. They exchanged small, slow kisses for a few minutes to seal their promises. A few wonderful minutes later, they pulled back their hearts fully communing, and finally, they noticed that it had gotten quiet and the storm had appeared to dissipate. Going over to the window, they saw that it had, so they turned off the lights, and with a last look around, they headed toward Rosemary's to pick up Jack before meeting Bill in town.