.

Nathan & Elizabeth: An Epic Love

.

Chapter One

.

More than a little concerned, in the Café kitchen, Minnie glanced up periodically from her after-lunch tasks to check on her skittish customer.

Elizabeth had been sitting at the table by the front window for hours on end now, singularly focused on one thing.

Though she had a sheaf of papers in front of her, her eyes were elsewhere, constantly drifting to the outside, more specifically to the empty Royal Canadian Mounted Police Office across the street.

Her face held a look of contemplation, so deep she seemed unaware that the lunch crowd had long since come and gone, even though it had been the typical crowded, busy Friday.

But, unfortunately for the teacher, there had been no sight of the one person she was determined to run into, the town's handsome Constable, a known regular for Friday lunch at the Café.

Disappointed, Elizabeth had gone through the motions, placing an order for the daily special, yet her now cold meatloaf remained untouched.

"Elizabeth, allow me…" began Minnie, but her absent-minded customer was far, far away.

So, the Café owner simply removed her guest's lunch plate, without being noticed, and took the cold meal back to the kitchen. There she boxed it up to be taken home and reheated, perhaps for dinner.

Concerned for her friend who had seemed more and more distracted over the last few weeks, Minnie decided to slip in a second piece for Little Jack, along with some fresh mashed potatoes and a couple of yeast rolls which she added in for both.

Suddenly glimpsing a flash of red in the street, Elizabeth startled, pausing only long enough to toss enough money on the table to cover her uneaten food along with a tip, then hurriedly rushed out.

Minnie immediately followed her to the front door carrying the bag containing her friend's take-home meals, calling, "Elizabeth! Don't forget your food!"

But the beautiful teacher was already crossing Main Street, where she paused briefly to see Newton, petting the horse as if that were necessary to compose herself. She then ran up the steps to the boardwalk, hesitating for mere seconds before she straightened to her full height and confoundingly knocked on the door…

Moments before, Nathan, bone-tired, placed his worn Stetson on the rack by his door, then ran his hands through his hair in a rather futile attempt to straighten it.

After a long day in the saddle, he stretched and headed to pour himself a cup of coffee from his thermos, hoping it would wake him enough to finish the three lengthy reports that had to be completed and mailed to headquarters before he could shut his office for the day.

"At least, thank goodness, Bill's in Buxton. Maybe without his constant interference, I can actually get these things done!"

But as the Constable poured his cup of black coffee, he caught a whiff of the one scent that tore at his very heart, that luscious lilac and vanilla blend used only by one person in Hope Valley.

Glancing up, that one person, looking as beautiful as she always did to him, was now standing in his open doorway.

"Elizabeth!" addressed a surprised Nathan.

He cleared his throat before making an emotionless comment of fact in a husky low voice.

"It's been a while."

"Na…Nathan!" she sputtered out less than graciously, especially since it was his office she was now standing in.

"What can I do for you?"

A million ideas catapulted through her mind, setting her heart to race even faster than her nerves had already established as precedent.

She swallowed hard.

The question 'Why is my mouth so dry?' ran through her mind.

"Do you…do you have a moment?" she asked aloud.

"For you? Of course. Have a seat. Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Yes," she nodded as she took the seat across from his desk. "That would be wonderful!"

He set down his own cup of coffee and walked back across the room to pour her a fresh cup with an added dash of cream and a teaspoonful of sugar, just like she liked it.

She watched in awe, realizing that in all her time with Lucas, he had never once gotten her coffee right. He had said it was because he was a tea drinker, himself, and didn't care for the murky brew. Yet Nathan remembered from two, or was it three years ago now?

She suddenly felt sick, as the thought of wasted time, alone, made her feel so ashamed, causing her to want to turn and run away.

But she had already done that, and it clearly hadn't worked.

'No, no more running,' she insisted silently to herself.

"Thank you, Nathan," she voiced aloud.

Her words though, were so soft-spoken, barely above a whisper, that they shook him, making her appear so fragile.

The word 'broken' came to his mind.

He somehow fumbled his "You're welcome," then instantly recovered by nodding and taking his seat, creating what he felt was much-needed space between the two of them.

"How may I help you, Elizabeth?"

'Yes, I will keep whatever this is strictly professional,' he determined inwardly.

"I was wondering…I was wondering…how you're doing? I mean, I suppose...we've both been busy…uh…since we haven't seen each other for...several weeks now," she answered.

He nodded as it was now his turn to swallow.

'This is not anything professional! But that's all I can currently handle. Now, get it back on track, Grant!' he ordered silently to himself, in a rather desperate attempt to regain his composure.

"Yes, I've been quite busy, here and in Benson Hills as well as Rock Creek. Quite a few changes are coming that I'm preparing for as best I can."

She nodded but knew she had no right to ask him what the changes were, though every ounce of her desperately needed and wanted to know.

She took a sip of her hot coffee to buy some time and collect her thoughts.

'Why do my thoughts always scatter so when I'm with this man?' she asked herself.

"Elizabeth, I don't mean to be rude, but I have very little time this afternoon and several reports that have to be done. Was there something you needed?"

Somehow his words completely escaped her.

"Hm?" she asked having lost her entire train of thought.

'Was there something you needed?"

"Oh, yes, Nathan! I...I needed…rather, I wanted..."

She looked down at a complete loss for words, having thoroughly been called out, finding the one-knot hole in the floor plank, focusing there to regain her courage.

"I wanted…I needed…I mean…I want things to...to be better…between us!"

For the life of her, she couldn't raise her eyes from the floorboard, because that would mean she had to look into those oceans of blue, and that, she couldn't do.

Not now! Not with so much left unsaid between them.

There, she had at least gotten the words out that she had meant to say, albeit breathlessly and a bit scattered.

But he said nothing. Instead, solemn-faced, his eyes bore into her, not knowing what he should be thinking.

At that moment, a deeply snoring Scout woke up from his spot in his favorite jail cell, on his favorite bed, and ran straight to Elizabeth, wagging his tail in a manner that proved at least HE was thrilled to see her.

Truth be known she was as glad to see him, thankful for the interruption and diversion of making over the pooch. When all she truly wanted to do was pamper and smother this man who was sitting in front of her with copious amounts of affection. This man to whom she now knew beyond any doubt was her greatest love, her lifetime love.

But for now, she would have to settle for loving his dog.

"Elizabeth, if you'll forgive me, I'm no longer sure I know how to do that, how to make that happen. The making things better part I mean, at least not where we're concerned."

The fact he used all four syllables of her name somehow cut her heart, even though he hadn't meant them that way. Where were the days when "Lizbeth" fell off his tongue? But she couldn't blame him in the slightest.

Those two beautiful syllables had always lifted her to some higher place, but only when this man had said them.

Yet why in the world would he want to use an endearment of any kind with her? Of course, he was confused. He had every right to be.

She had done that to him. More confused herself than she had ever been in her life, she had caused this man sitting before her irreparable pain. Yet he had carried on with a smile on his face, still fathering his child whom she had also deeply hurt, still making sure that she, Elizabeth Thatcher Thornton along with everyone else in Hope Valley, was safe.

However, besides being broken, she was no longer at all sure about his heart.

Suddenly she realized she had done that too; she had broken his heart by rejecting his love and choosing another man without any real explanation whatsoever, thereby forcing him to lock his heart away and guard it.

As though that hadn't been enough, she had taken his broken heart, and then slashed the remains into a million pieces in this very room, telling him she had only been looking for Jack in him. She now realized with full import, that vicious slashing had also been done by none other than her to protect herself from great love, his love.

To make matters worse, she had run away from him confessing his love for her, straight into the arms of Lucas, flaunting their new comfortable, secure, and safe relationship in Nathan's face like it had been her lifeblood, when in fact, that had never been the case.

Most notably, she had had no consideration whatsoever for this poor man's feelings but instead was concerned only for her own pseudo-happiness, expecting him to still come to her aid, and even Lucas's aid, whenever they needed or wished.

Inwardly, she moaned as her torrent of words tumbled out.

"Your confusion? That's my fault. Please know that, Nathan. I realize that now. All of it's my fault and only my fault! And I'm so sorry!"

Instead of relief for the admission, something akin to pain flashed across his face. Pain he was desperately trying to hide, as it was his turn to look down.

"I don't think fault enters in here, Elizabeth," he answered calmly. "It's just that choices were made that have made me wary, unsure how, or even if I can ever fix any of this between us."

"That's fair, Nathan. That's more than fair. Even kind and most generous on your part."

He looked back up, straight into her beautiful eyes, and thought it would be his undoing, but he was trying so hard to understand and move forward, out of this awful limbo.

"What DO we do, Elizabeth?" asked Nathan solemnly.

And then he added, almost in a whisper, as though the thought of another unknown with her was simply too much to bear.

"I agree we can't go on like this.

"Nathan, I just realized, here I am asking you to fix this mess I've gotten us into. But it's not your place to fix any of this, not now or ever! I came here thinking it was, but I was so very wrong."

She looked up and straight into his beautiful cerulean eyes at last, and though still a jumble of nerves, suddenly the old Elizabeth with grit and perseverance began to seep back into her body.

A slight smile enveloped her face, as at the same time a plan was being laid firmly in her mind.

However, voicing the plan out into the universe was an entirely different matter.

"Nathan…are you…busy…say…next Friday…next Friday afternoon? Say…say around…around this time? Or a little bit before...or after? No, let's see…four o'clock…yes, that's it! Four o'clock it is...in the afternoon…let's say…a week…from now?"

Simple words, but the teacher, the master of both written and spoken words was stumbling over them like the clumsiest of dancers on a crowded dance floor.

"Do you need me not to be busy," he asked pointedly, with just a hint of that crooked smile, leaning back into his chair.

'Is he enjoying this?' she thought incredulously.

As a touch more of the old Elizabeth came back, she gathered the courage to simply ask him, completely unable to keep the accusation out of her voice.

"Nathan Grant, are you enjoying this?"

"I'm not, NOT enjoying this," he assured her calmly in a low, rather husky tone, followed by a flash of white, framed by that full-blown lopsided grin of his.

The one that made her weak in both knees, placed a thousand butterflies in her stomach and made her feel dizzy like a spinning top all at once.

The one that took her breath away.

'Focus, Elizabeth! You have to focus,' she commanded herself.

Suddenly though, she forgot her nerves, as her lips also began to curl in a slight smile, first tenuously, then resolutely.

'If he can flirt, I can too,' she insisted inwardly.

"Yes, Nathan," and suddenly her words flowed. "I need you to not be busy because you and I are going to meet next Friday, 4 o'clock sharp, at my house. Oh, and be prepared to be out till midnight!" she ordered emphatically as she imperiously rose from her chair, reaching to pet Scout goodbye.

"Midnight? Out where?" he asked cluelessly.

"That's for you to figure out, Constable! Must I do everything? Well, I've taken enough of your time. But looking forward to next Friday, and don't be a minute late!" she admonished in advance.

Just like that Elizabeth Thornton swooped out of the Constable's office as quickly as she had swooped in, though in a much more confident, back-in-charge, almost regal manner.

Or so she had feigned.

'We Thatcher gals are pros at feigning a take-charge confidence!' she thought as she shut the door to Nathan's office, then fell back against it with a soft thud, and closed her eyes, releasing an immense sigh of pure relief.

"Well, it's taken all day, but the mission is finally accomplished!" she pronounced placing her hand over her heart, as a sly smile crept onto her now radiant and relieved face.

Little did she know Minnie was watching from across the street, covering a much broader smile with her hand, now more sure than ever that she knew exactly what was going on with her friend...

Inside, Nathan's mouth was simply agape.

"What just happened, Scout? Was I just asked out on a date, or were you?"

Scout barked.

All Nathan could do was pet his failed Mountie dog, and chuckle.

"Come Boy, we have a ton of work to do!"

Scout barked again as if to brag, 'But I'm the one she petted!'

Which brought another hearty chuckle from Nathan and a warm nuzzle from Scout.

Yes, it had taken a while, but Mountie regulations aside, these two had finally bonded.

"What do you say? Maybe we should both show up, Scout! Just in case…"