NEVER SAY NEVER
CH 21
The next morning, right after breakfast, Nathan saddled Newton up and headed back to Hope Valley. The talk with his mother helped strengthen his resolve to continue working on his issues with Elizabeth in counseling. He had also decided to talk to Allie because he knew it would eventually come up in their sessions. A part of him also wanted to talk with her to assure himself that she was okay with him and Elizabeth pursuing friendship and to make sure she understood EXACTLY what was happening or, more importantly, what wasn't.
He chuckled as he recalled talking with Allie about Elizabeth while she helped him saddle Newton, only to find out that she had overheard everything. A part of him should have reprimanded her, but the other half, the bigger half, was relieved he wouldn't have to go into details.
"Uh …. Allie .…Grandma says that you have been talking about Mrs. Thornton…a lot," Nathan said as he tightened the cinch. "Is there something that you would like to ask or talk about?"
He had paused to look over at her and noticed that she looked guilty about something. He reached over and turned her to face him. "Allie? Something you want to tell me?"
"Uh, nope! But we should probably…."
"Allison?" Nathan repeated, knowing that she would recognize he wouldn't be swayed. "Why do I get the feeling that you know something about Mrs. Thornton?"
Her smile disappeared, and she cast her eyes to the floor. "I know I'm not supposed to listen to private conversations, Dad, but when I heard you mention Mrs. Thornton, I couldn't help it. I am sorry."
Nathan spotted a hay bale nearby that would accommodate the two of them and guided her to sit down. "How much did you hear?"
"Grandma had just told you that I talk about Mrs. Thornton," Allie admitted sheepishly.
"So, in other words, you heard the majority of what we said," Nathan replied.
"Yes Sir."
"Is there something you want to ask me or talk about?"
Allie looked down at her hands clasped together in her lap. It was a sure sign that she was feeling insecure about the situation. "Allie, you know you can talk to me about anything." He placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. "What's on your mind, sweetheart?"
"If Mrs. Thornton broke up with Mr. Bouchard, does that mean she is finally choosing us now?"
"I'm glad you brought it up because there are a couple of rules I wanted to set. First and foremost, no attempts at trying to matchmake like at your adoption ceremony. The second rule is that whatever happens or doesn't happen stays within our family. Do you understand? Third no more listening to private conversations."
Allie nodded. "For now, Mrs. Thornton is talking through everything that happened last year with Pastor Joseph's guidance. She has already expressed a desire to talk with you and apologize for what happened. Allie, you have to know that her feelings for you are not tied up with what she feels for me. She loves you very much, just like I love Jack."
"I would like that, Dad. I miss her a lot.: Allie said. "Only… can you be there with me?"
"You can count on it, Allie girl. We are a team, remember."
"When will we talk with her?"
"Mrs. Thornton thinks that it should be up to you when those conversations occur." Allie had smiled big, and it eased his mind. As he hugged her goodbye, she said, "Dad, is it okay that I hope that Mrs. Thornton and Jack will be part of our family?"
Nathan chucked her under the chin and said, "No, but Allie, please don't read more into the situation than is there." He could see just how excited she was at the prospect of them forming a family and was worried she could get hurt all over again.
He arrived back in Hope Valley just before 3 p.m. and went straight to Bill's office to find out what had happened in his absence. He made a mental note to stop by and talk to Elizabeth about restarting their session and giving Jack his elevators. Allie was bringing the wagon and miniature men so that she could share in the surprise.
Nathan was surprised to see campaign posters for Mayor scattered around town with Hickam's being the most prominent. He noticed both Bill and Lee had theirs up too, but Fiona's were glaringly absent.
After not finding Bill in his office, he settled Newton in the stable and began walking to the Jail. On the way there he ran into Joseph.
"Nathan, it's good to see you back home again."
"Thanks, Joseph. It's good to be home, although I loved being with my mom and Allie."
"Oh? When will Allie be coming home then?"
"She will be here next week. My mom is going to accompany her and stay for a few weeks."
"How wonderful," Joseph said. "I can't wait to meet her. Angela will also be glad to hear that Allie will be home. She has missed her so much.
"Allie has missed her too," Nathan said. "Have you and Elizabeth scheduled any more counseling sessions? I'm ready to continue."
"Excellent. We scheduled to meet tomorrow when Bill said that you would be back. However, if it is too soon for you, then she and I will meet without you."
"No, tomorrow should be fine for me," Nathan said. "I'm ready to face all of it and put it all behind us and hopefully strengthen our friendship. I had a lot of time to think about it while away."
"That's a great attitude to have, and I think that Elizabeth is turning that corner herself. We were worried about her after the last one."
Joseph saw the regret in Nathan's eyes. "Nathan, your words may have been the catalyst, but it was inevitable. All you did was point out the fact that her behavior was witnessed by others, including your daughter. You did nothing wrong, and actually, she is doing much better."
Finding the words reassuring, Nathan replied, "Sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow, then." Then he continued on his way.
Entering the jail, Nathan saw that Elizabeth and Jack were there talking to Bill. They were engrossed in conversation, but Jack saw Nathan right away and came running to him. "Mountie Nathan, your back."
"I am," Nathan replied as he scooped the little boy up in his arms. He then turned to his mother and said, "Hello Lizbeth."
She smiled softly and said, "Hello, Nathan, welcome home."
"I told Joseph that I would be available to join you for counseling, but if it isn't convenient, then let me know."
"No that is fine," Elizabeth said. Their eyes met and connected for a long moment before the spell was broken by Jack. It was then that Nathan recalled the surprise he had for him.
"Elizabeth, I made something for Jack while I was gone. Would it be okay if I give it to him?"
"Of course," Elizabeth said, struck again by Nathan's generosity and love for Jack.
As expected, Jack had been beyond excited about the grain elevators and couldn't wait to play with them when he got home.
"What do you say to Mountie Nathan, Jack?"
"Thank you, Mountie Nathan," Jack replied, executing a good attempt at the Mountie salute.
Seeing Jack was fine, Elizabeth and Nathan had joined Bill at the desk.
"So, anything happen while I was gone that I should know about?" Nathan asked as they sat down. Bill looked over at Elizabeth's brow raised, making Nathan turn to look at her.
With a resigned sigh, Elizabeth explained about Jerome Smith and his connection to the mine. "For now, Henry hasn't seen anything to tell us what his true intentions are, so we really don't have very many options available to us. Plus, we are trying to keep the others from finding out who he is because it will stir things up. Molly, Florence, and Cat lost their husbands, and I still have students whose father died in the mine that day."
"Where's Henry?" Nathan asked.
"Jerome dropped the charges," Bill explained.
Nathan quickly agreed with Bill and Elizabeth's plan, and the talk moved on to the latest directives from Mountie Headquarters that required Mounties to learn to drive a car. As expected, Nathan was having none of it.
"Bill, I'm not giving up my horse."
"Would you consider maybe giving up that mustache? Maybe even that little thing here?"
"That's even less likely," Nathan said flatly.
"Relax I'll teach you how to drive."
"Are you planning to get rid of Hero?" Nathan inquired, knowing what the answer would be.
"Me? No, I'm not giving up my horse."
Just then, there was a flurry of honking followed by raised voices. Nathan and Bill looked out the window at all the confusion as cars became jammed trying to get through town while another almost hit a pedestrian. Elizabeth joined them a few moments later.
"I just had a talk about this with the Canfields. Things are changing around here. That's why the election for mayor is so important. If we don't want that happening," Bill pointed out the window as he growled, "we have to do something about it. Simple as that."
"Well, you got my vote, Bill," Nathan said.
Elizabeth stayed silent, and thankfully, Bill didn't notice. It wasn't that she didn't think he could do the job because he had been doing it since Abigail left. It was because she felt Lee would be the better candidate. Plus, Bill already had enough on his plate, and being Mayor was wearing him out if the dark circles under his eyes were any indication.
A short time later, Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised when Nathan offered to walk home with her and Jack. She quickly said yes, and after hugging Bill, they said goodbye. It was a pleasant walk as they talked about his trip to Rock Creek. She had been overjoyed when he told her upon her return that Allie would be willing to talk with her as well.
As they arrived at her rowhouse, Elizabeth brought up Bill's offer to teach him to drive.
"I'm sure if you want, Lee would help you or even Joseph. He is quite good at explaining. Or there's always Rosemary," She teased.
"I don't know what's worse. The thought of being in a car with her or that I am actually considering it."
Elizabeth chuckled. "You should have been there the first time she got behind the wheel."
"I may ask Joseph tomorrow because having a man of the cloth in the car when I 'm learning might be a good idea."
This time, all three laughed as he made a silly face as well. Nathan felt a stirring in his heart. It was so lovely to walk with her like the old days before angry words and hurt created a deep cavern between them.
"I just don't know how Newton and I are supposed to do rounds in a car," Nathan said distractedly, moving away from her door.
Elizabeth laughed and said, "I don't know either, but I would love to see it."
Realizing what he said, he laughed, too. "Thanks for walking us home, Nathan. I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, Lizbeth. Bye, Jack."
"Bye, Mountie Nathan," Jack said, hugging Nathan before running into the house, anxious to play with his train and grain elevators.
Nathan smiled at both of them before he turned and walked back to his rowhouse as Elizabeth lingered for a moment on the steps.
Nathan felt her eyes still on him as he reached his home. Turning back towards her home, he smiled warmly and gave a little wave. Little did he know that his wave and smile made hope rise in her, causing hope to grow within her heart.
Elizabeth smiled and waved back, the butterflies swirling in her stomach as she entered her house. All in all, Elizabeth felt the day ended on a very positive note. She prayed that tomorrow would end the same, especially since they would resume counseling.
He walked into town later in the evening to grab dinner at the café and ran into Julie and Bill. He joined them at their table and ordered a special.
As Julie began talking about the dress shop and trying to plan for her grand reopening, she mentioned wanting to see if someone could build her some shelves. She had even brought out a drawing of exactly what she was looking for. He was amazed by her talent and told her so, making her blush.
"If you don't need them right away, I could probably have them done within a week." Nathan offered. "Of course, it will depend on what happens with any Mountie business that comes up."
"Could you?" Julie said smiling. "Oh, I have a wonderful idea. Could I help you build them? I'm always looking to learn new things and I would love to do that."
"I think that would be a great idea don't you, Nathan?" Bill said with a smirk.
"I'm sure Bill could help handle any business, if necessary," Julie suggested.
Now it was Nathan's time to smirk as Bill grumbled a bit but agreed to help as long as nothing came up on his trial schedule which at the moment was light.
"Then it is all settled," Julie said, clapping her hands in glee. Then she jumped up, gave both men a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and headed for the door. Just before walking out, she said, "I can't wait to tell Beth," Then, with a wink, she was gone, leaving them both looking bemused.
Minnie stopped by the table and teased them about Julie having them wrapped around her fingers. Before they could protest, she added, "Just like Elizabeth."
Instead of denying it, they just chuckled because Nathan was still trying to work things out in his mind; he knew that Elizabeth would always be special whether they stayed as friends or eventually became more. He had to admit, though, that he was beginning to hope that it would be more. Unfortunately, every time that hope tried to fill his heart, a deep fear of being hurt would rise up and overpower it.
"Let's go over to my office and let Minnie close up," Bill said.
"I meant to ask you, has anything come back yet on Mei Sou?" Nathan asked as they headed over to Bill's office.
"Not yet, which surprises me. I checked with Carson this morning, and he hasn't heard back, although he has begun searching for eligible Pharmacist candidates for Florence and Ned. I'm glad, too, that he and Faith have put all that unpleasantness behind them. It would be nice if he chose to stay, and we had two full-time doctors in Hope Valley, especially if one was a surgeon. We might even be able to get a hospital built or at least enlarge the infirmary. It would possibly bring a lot of business to Hope Valley."
"Wow, that would be nice. But then it could create a problem for Elizabeth and the school." Nathan mused.
"I'll call Headquarters in the morning and see what I can find out," Nathan said. "Pulling out Julie's drawing, he said, "After that, I guess I'll talk to Lee about the materials for the shelves."
Bill smirked. "Make sure you take Julie with you so she can be a part of that experience. I'm sure it will be a new one for Lee, too,"
Both men chuckled as they began to picture that in their heads. Julie Thatcher was a unique woman with a heart of gold.
"She reminds me so much of my sister. Sometimes, when I am with her, it's like I have her back again." Nathan said with a wistful smile. "Allie and Ma are going to love her."
"Well, if things work out with you and Elizabeth, then you could have her as a sister," Bill said pointedly. "How are things progressing now?"
"I was talking to Ma about her, and Allie overheard. She told me I needed to be protective and keep an open mind. She said that she felt that Elizabeth was running scared and that it sounded like she was being open. Allie has been talking a lot about Elizabeth and how she misses her and Jack."
"That sounds promising," Bill commented.
"It does. She is willing to talk with Elizabeth when she gets back with Ma. However, Allie wants me to be present."
"Of course, that is completely understandable. I know what Elizabeth wants, but ultimately, what do you want?"
Nathan looked over at Bill and rolled his eyes. "I think you know what I would like. I still love her, but there's a fear in me that I'm not sure I can get past, not to mention all the hurt she put us through. I still have some anger as well, and I have to admit I get defensive really quick, but Elizabeth listens and absorbs what I'm feeling. She has been validating them, too, which I admit has gone a long way to making things better between us."
"Well, there's a whole town praying for you two, and I think you know what the whole town wants," Bill said with a smile.
"I don't think the whole town would agree, Bill," Nathan said, thinking of Lucas Bouchard. But there was another person that popped into his head, though he didn't speak their name. That was their new resident Veterinarian.
As if reading his thoughts, Bill said, "I think Lucas is being persistent. Dean escorted Elizabeth and Jack here after returning from the ranch."
"Oh?" Nathan asked, trying to be nonchalant.
"Yeah, he keeps trying to catch Elizabeth alone, and I think she is starting to get angry. Belinda told me last night at dinner that Marylou had a suitor like him who was persistent. Dean told Elizabeth if she needed an escort to let him know, and he would be happy to oblige."
Jealousy rose in Nathan, and unbeknown to him, it showed in his face. Bill just tucked that information away, reassured that Nathan's heart was still Elizabeth's.
"Jack loves doing cowboy stuff with him, and he offered to walk them home after they had some dinner last night. Elizabeth only agreed to dinner if it was a group thing. Apparently, she told him that she would only go if it were as a group and no way was it to be construed as a date. She wanted to ensure no one could get the wrong idea. There ended up being 10 of us eating together at the café."
Nathan didn't say anything and just stood up. "That sounds nice. Well, I'm going to head home, and I'll see you in the morning."
As Nathan walked home, his heart was light as he got the message that Bill was trying to give, making that little spark of hope burn a bit brighter. This time, the fear couldn't shut it down, and for the first time in months, he didn't feel a pang in his heart when he thought about a future with Elizabeth. His sleep that night was peaceful and refreshing.
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11/1/2023 6:33 PM
3212 WORDS