Chapter 2 – Together Again (short)

Jack gave Elizabeth a dimpled grin.

"So you are not mad?" Elizabeth asked. "I want to remain friends with Nathan, especially since his daughter is one of my students."

"Of course we will be friends with Nathan." Jack said. "He is the father of one of your students and he and I will be working together. I don't want things to be awkward. That is why I was honest with him when we talked in the jailhouse. I forgive him, even if nothing happened. Bouchard on the other hand, I don't know if I will be able to extend the same kindness. He is a gambler and he manipulated you. He used your fears for his own gain.

Frankly, I am glad he is gone and if he is smart, he will sell the hotel and never show his face around here again. Because trust me when I say if he ever speaks to Little Jack the way that he spoke to him this afternoon I won't be as nice. He was muttering something about boarding school for the brat when he walked away this afternoon. Also I wasn't kidding when he was just after your trust fund. According to my sources he had been in contact with a lawyer to see how he could take control once you were married."

"Then he would be in for a big surprise." Elizabeth said. "Father set the trust funds up independent of if we are married or not. If Father doesn't approve of our spouse, he has the right to refuse access to both of us. Father would never have let Lucas have control. Lionel doesn't have access to Viola's and Father approves of him. Speaking of parents. Does your mother know about you?"

"Yes." Jack said. "I stopped in Aberdeen on my way here. So don't be surprised if she shows up at some point this summer."

"She didn't tell you about Little Jack?" Elizabeth asked.

"No." Jack said. "I was in Aberdeen for less than twenty-four hours. I just wanted her to see me and hear from me that I was alive. She was so shocked that she barely knew what to say. She carried on with chores and things. We didn't spend a lot of time talking. She caught me up on life on the ranch and Tommy, then asked about my plans. I told her I was heading here to talk to you. When she put me on the train the next day, she said she would see me when she saw me."

"So are you planning on building that house or are we going to live here?" Elizabeth asked.

"I was going to talk to you about that." Jack said. "I would really love to build you that house. I know that it is further out then you have been, but we can get a car. I want the space. We have plenty of money. Almost everything that I have made in the last five years is sitting in a bank in Union City. As I was working undercover, everything was paid for or I worked for it in a cover job. All my money from the Mounties, minus what was given to you as a 'pension' was put into the bank and never touched. Collins had warned me against touching unless it was an absolute emergency. He set it up with a code word and it was only told to me. If something would have happened, the money would have been given to you."

"Can we just stay here for now." Elizabeth said. "We can talk about a house later. I think there are going to be enough changes for Little Jack to deal with."

"I understand that." Jack said. "But if we want to be in by winter we don't have much time. I also know that we can't decide everything tonight. It is getting late. Let's call it a night. Tomorrow is going to be a big day and then we can work on figuring things out next week."

"Okay." Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth headed upstairs.

Jack waited a moment and locked up everything downstairs and then grabbed his rucksack and headed upstairs. When he got there, the bedroom door was closed, so he knocked. It took Elizabeth a moment to open the door.

"If you are uncomfortable." Jack said. "I can stay in the other room."

"No, it is okay." Elizabeth said. "I am just not used to having someone else in my room."

"Neither am I." Jack said. "We are both relearning how to be with each other."

Elizabeth crawled in bed and Jack changed before crawling in after her. It was awkward at first and then Elizabeth turned over to face Jack.

"I have dreamt about this for so long and now that it is here." Elizabeth said. "I am not sure."

"We don't have to do anything you are not comfortable with." Jack said. "Would I love to be with you, my wife again, absolutely, but I won't force you until you are ready."

"I just don't want to disappoint you." Elizabeth said. "My body is different from the last time. I had a child and that changed things."

"You are as beautiful as ever." Jack said. "I love you no matter what you think is different."

"Maybe you could just hold me for a while." Elizabeth said.

Jack opened his arms and Elizabeth moved to be in them, turning over so her back was to Jack's chest. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. Elizabeth told him more about her students, since many were unknown to him. Jack played with her hair and it didn't take long for that familiar passion to build between them.

Finally, Elizabeth turned over, still in Jack's arms. She played with the buttons on his henley. Jack continued to play with her hair and once ran his fingertip across her collarbone. She slipped her hand under the bottom hem and ran her fingers across Jack's still taut abdomen. The action caused him to shutter. They continued to touch each other's body and exchange small kisses. Slowly their pajamas were pulled off and dropped to the floor as they got more bold. At one point, Jack stared at Elizabeth's naked body. It was almost like their wedding night once again, with the exception they knew the pleasure that would come.

"God." Jack said. "You are more gorgeous then I remember."

Jack then trailed some kisses down Elizabeth's body, starting at her collarbone to her stomach. In response to Jack's touch, Elizabeth arched her back. Jack moved over Elizabeth and returned his lips to hers. They spent time just exploring each other's bodies again. Jack had a few more scars then she remembered, but he was still as fit as ever, maybe more so. She loved to run her hand over his strong muscles. She would never tire of the gorgeous man that was hovering over her, more than ready to continue where they left off when she walked away from him at Fort Clay.

Elizabeth may have said her body was different but Jack couldn't find anything wrong with her and he was beyond thrilled to be exploring his wife's absolutely gorgeous body again. She may have felt different, but Jack thought she was perfect. Not that he had any other woman to compare her to, but that didn't matter. Only Elizabeth would always be enough for him. Finally, Elizabeth couldn't take Jack's teasing anymore, she opened her legs to Jack. She arched her back to him and grabbed him by his hip, digging her nails into his sides. Jack didn't even register the discomfort from her nails.

"I need you." She whispered.

"I need you as well." Jack groaned.

Jack once again entered his wife and it was in no time, they came together because they had not been with anyone in a long time. They had also spent a lot of time building the passion between them before coming together. Before completely coming down from the bliss they were feeling, they came together again. Their pent up passion of the last five years drove them to be together four or five times before they fell asleep naked wrapped up in each other's arms. They fell asleep happy, exhausted and feeling more loved than either had felt in five years.

…. …. …. ….

Saturday Morning: The Cafe

Saturday morning dawned bright and cool, it promised to be a wonderful day. Several members of the community were gathered at the cafe on that early Saturday morning.

"What are we supposed to do?" Molly asked. "What is going on with Elizabeth? She spent a lot of time in the jail last night and I think she was with Nathan. Should we do something? I mean it appears as if she is marrying one man and carrying on with another."

"I saw Nathan in the hotel." Hickum said. "So maybe she was with Bill or it has something to do with the stranger."

"I say we get ready for a wedding." Minnie said. "Bill said the wedding was still on. Also I suggest that you stop gossiping. We don't know anything and talking about things out of turn can ruin a person's reputation if the wrong person accidently overhears only part of a conversation. Bill said Elizabeth said the wedding is going forward. So that is what we go with."

"But I saw Lucas speed out of town last night." Hickum said. "And as far as I know his car was still gone this morning."

"Bill obviously knows more than the rest of us." Minnie said. "He spent quite a bit of time with Elizabeth, Nathan and that stranger in his office and then the jailhouse last night. I don't know what is going on, but until I hear otherwise, I have a wedding to finish preparing for. Maybe Lucas had to run to Benson Hills for a last minute item for the wedding and stayed since it was too late to drive home last night. Enough speculation. I have warned you about gossiping."

Minnie got up and headed back to the kitchen.

"There was something familiar about that stranger." Florence said. "I just can't put my finger on what it is. Then the way that Little Jack was clinging to him. That must have been so hard on Nathan. We all know how much he loves that little boy."

"He looked homeless." Molly said.

"Nathan came over, got shaving supplies and took them back to the jail." Fiona said. "He wouldn't tell me what was going on and when I asked if he needed my services, he waved me off."

"Maybe they arrested the stranger and he was just trying to let him clean up." Ned said. "Maybe they didn't want you to get hurt by being near the man."

"You would think, if he was dangerous." Florence said. "They wouldn't have let him near Little Jack."

Molly, Florence, Hickum, Ned and Fiona continued to talk about what had happened the previous afternoon while enjoying a cup of coffee as they had finished the wonderful breakfast that Minnie had made for them. They were comparing notes about what they had seen from where they were to try and get more of the story. They talked about what they knew about the stranger, which turned out to be very little. The general consensus was that he was probably just a drifter and Nathan arrested him.

As they were sitting and talking, Bill and Joseph came in and looked at the group.

"I thought you would all be busy getting things ready for the wedding this afternoon." Bill said.

"Is there going to be a wedding?" Florence said. "According to Mike, Lucas was seen speeding out of town late last evening and hasn't returned."

"I talked to Elizabeth and she assured me that the wedding was going forward." Bill said.

"Who was that stranger that was arguing with Lucas yesterday?" Florence asked. "Was he arrested and that was why Nathan was at the jailhouse until after nine last night? Is he dangerous? Why did you let him near Little Jack if he is dangerous."

"I am not at liberty to speak about what happened yesterday." Bill said. "But I will say he wasn't arrested and he is not dangerous. That is all I am going to say. Now, we have a wedding to prepare for."

Bill however couldn't hide his smile and both Florence and Molly noticed. They wondered what Bill knew. They were also confused, because he was suddenly excited about a wedding that he has spent the last few months protesting. They couldn't figure out what changed, but it made them all the more interested to see what was going to happen. Florence and Molly weren't the only ones confused. There were several other members of the community, who were not at the cafe, that were just as confused about what was happening. There were some people that swore that they saw Jack walking with Elizabeth and Nathan last night, but then they knew that couldn't be and figured it was just Jack's brother who had come in for the wedding.

"Bill is right." Joseph said. "If Elizabeth said the wedding is going forward, we need to honor that until we hear otherwise from her. Also, I am sure that we will all learn about yesterday when the time is right."

"Is there something you know that you are not telling us?" Ned asked.

"All I know is what I saw yesterday." Joseph said. "Besides, even if I knew something else, I would also not be at liberty to speak about it. Now, I suggest that we get the church and hotel ready for the wedding, as we don't want an upset bride."

As the group got up, Joseph started to clear the rest of their dishes. Bill grabbed the last of them and they went to the kitchen as the group left to take care of assigned tasks to get ready for the wedding.

…. …. …. ….