The next morning, Elizabeth woke to a beam of warm sunlight washing over her face. As fall was soon to turn into winter, she found herself soaking up the somewhat warm sunshine— because all too soon, the snow would move in and the warm sun would feel so far away.

It was a beautiful Sunday in Hope Valley. Elizabeth hurried to get breakfast ready before getting both herself and little Jack ready to head out the door for church.

She couldn't seem to wipe the smile Nathan had given her off of her face. She couldn't figure out what had taken her so long to realize that he was the one who could make her this happy!

She flung the door open, trying to quickly head out the door.

"What's that mama?" Little Jack asked while pointing down to a small bouquet of flowers lying on the top footstep of the porch.

Elizabeth leaned down and picked up the bundle of golden sunflowers. She knew who they were from without even looking at the card.

"He's so sweet" She said without thinking.

"Who's so sweet? Me?" Little Jack questioned.

"Well yes, you are so sweet. But, I was talking about Mountie Nathan. He's the one who left these here." She replied with a rather large smile.

"Aww. I love Mountie Nathan... Do you think we could see him and Allie today?" He asked.

"I'm sure we could make that work, sweet boy. Now! Let's put these inside so we can get to church. We don't want to be late!

The church service was simply beautiful. Pastor Joseph preached a sermon about the need for the Savior. He taught about the comfort and peace the Savior brought. Elizabeth resonated with the words he spoke. She had truly felt the comfort and peace he was teaching about, throughout her life.

As Joseph dismissed, Little Jack happily found Lee and Rosemary. He obviously adored them, but he almost adored Goldie even more. He didn't miss a chance to see her.

"Uncle Lee! Aunt Rosemary! Can I hold Goldie?" He asked with the most precious puppy-like eyes.

"Of course you can, young man." Rosemary said as she directed him to have a seat on the nearest pew. She helped little Jack support her head while handing the small infant over.

"Awww. She's so cute! I love her soooo much!" Jack doted.

"And she loves you!" Lee stated.

This whole interaction had Elizabeth's heart bursting. She couldn't wait to see him be a big brother some day.

She quickly ushered those thoughts out of her mind. While yes, she couldn't wait to see little Jack as a big brother, she did not want to rush things with Nathan. She wanted things to happen as naturally as possible. Besides, she wasn't anywhere near ready to be engaged again, let alone get married!

Rosemary interrupted Elizabeth's thoughts, "Elizabeth! As we were headed out the door for church this morning, I looked over to your front porch and saw what looked like a bouquet of flowers! Was it?"

"Yes. It was." Elizabeth answered shyly.

"Um! Excuse me! Who were they from? They weren't from me this time!" Rosemary replied.

"Well.. they were from... Nathan." Elizabeth stated. "Can we talk about this back at my house? You all can come over for lunch!"

"We most definitely can! I HAVE to hear all about this young lady!" Rosemary replied in a very excited manner.

Lee was playing with Little Jack and Goldie in the living room while Elizabeth and Rosemary put the finishing touches on lunch.

"Okay. I simply cannot wait any longer! What happened? We had just spoken yesterday morning and I am pretty sure nothing had happened yet." Rosemary prompted.

"Well, honestly, the past week or so, I've been thinking. Probably overthinking things. I was very sure of my decisions. I felt so free after calling off the engagement. But something was still weighing on me. Yesterday, I took a ride out to the cemetery and spent some time with Jack. I definitely gained some clarity, although I still had— and have some reservations." Elizabeth explained.

"And those reservations are?" Rosemary asked.

"I'm scared. Of what people will think. Of the possibility of something happening to Nathan. The list goes on." Elizabeth replied.

Rosemary looked at her friend with much care. She couldn't even imagine the trauma she has. She couldn't imagine being so scared to love someone.

"Elizabeth, you know Nathan will do whatever needed to ease your fears. Have you talked to him about these fears?" Rosemary questioned.

"Well, sort of. I ran into him on my way home. We were able to talk. I told him I was sick of running from him, but I was scared of what people would say if I ran to him right after breaking off my engagement with Lucas. Then... he kissed me—"

"He did what?! Rosemary exclaimed.

"He kissed me. We had some good conversations, and decided to start growing our relationship very privately. It may be exhausting, but I think it's necessary for a little while." Elizabeth replied.

"I am so happy about this! But, I do think you need to talk to him about the other fears, Elizabeth. I think it would put you at ease." Rosemary said.

"You're right. After lunch would you be willing to watch Little Jack? I want to go talk to him." Said Elizabeth.

"Of course I will." Rosemary responded.

It had been a pretty slow day for Nathan at the NWMP office. He didn't have to work every Sunday, but the ones he did, sure were boring.

He was sitting at his desk, doing paperwork when Elizabeth softly slipped through the door.

"Hi." Elizabeth said shyly.

"Hi." He returned, standing up from his chair and shifting towards her.

He could sense something was off. Not wrong, just off. He could tell she was concerned about something.

"What's wrong?" He simply asked.

"You ready for it? Because it's a lot. And it's heavy." Elizabeth responded.

"Yes. I'm ready to help you get through whatever this is." Nathan assured her.

"Truth is, I love you. A lot. And I have for a really long time. I was just too afraid to love you. I'm afraid if I lost someone so close to me again, I'd never recover from it. I barely did after losing Jack. So I ran to what I thought was safe and that didn't work. Admitting all of this feels so good, but I'm still scared" she said with a small sob.

Nathan lunged forward and enveloped her in a tender hug. He didn't say anything for a couple minutes. He could sense she just needed a hug.

When the time felt right, Nathan spoke up.

"First off, I love you too. So so much. Secondly, your fears are valid. And I meant what I said in the past. I will quit the Mounties if you want me to. In a heartbeat."

"No." She interrupted "its apart of who you are. Sure you could get a different job, but I don't think it would feel right. You are so selfless and caring. This community needs you."

"Okay. If you don't want me to quit, I won't. But, I am determined to do whatever is necessary to help take these fears away. Maybe if you share with me the things that trigger you and instantly take you back to the moments before and after Jack passed away?"

"I don't know. I can't seem to pin point it. Although, both times I've heard the rumors of you being in possible danger, I've had this kind of panic rise in me that I have never experienced in my life." Elizabeth replied.

"Wait. Both times?" Nathan asked.

"Yes. A couple of weeks ago, when you were held hostage. I lost it. Henry witnessed it all. It was bad." She answered.

"Elizabeth. That breaks my heart." Nathan said, with the pain visible on his face.

"I don't know how to make those worries fade away, but I can promise you I will help you face them. Besides, you, Allie and little Jack mean the world to be. You all give me a reason to be safe." He added.

Elizabeth lunged forward to hug him again. "Oh, by the way. Thank you for the flowers this morning. They made my day. I really appreciate the small things like that." She said looking up into his big blue eyes.

"You're welcome. I think I'll enjoy doing the 'small things' for you pretty often." He replied.

"Are you good to wrap things up here for the day?" Elizabeth asked, almost begging.

"Sure am." Nathan assured. "Let's get out of here and go spend some time with those kiddos." He suggested.