Elizabeth stood at the Stagecoach stop watching Jesse and Clara walk away, observing their excitement at being home and their love for each other. She was so glad they were back, but seeing them together made her heart ache for what she had lost. She wanted what they had, she realised, a pang of loneliness overwhelming her.

"What is it, Elizabeth," Rosemary asked her. "You know you will tell me eventually, so you may as well come out with it."

Elizabeth smiled, glad to have a friend like Rosemary who knew her so well. She quickly explained Lucas's invitation to attend a Virginia Wolfe reading in Union City.

"Is that all? I feel like there is something else." Rosemary asked shrewdly. One part of her was happy that Elizabeth was considering going; it was one of the first signs she was ready to move on with her life; on the other hand, she wished it weren't an invitation from Lucas that had been the catalyst.

"I'm so confused, Rosemary. I want to see Virginia Wolfe, but I'm not sure I want to go with Lucas, and I know it wouldn't be right for us to attend, just the two of us. I could explain to him it was just as friends, but I worry about what people would think."

"People?" Rosemary pressed her.

"The townspeople, for one. It wouldn't be proper for me to attend." Elizabeth refused to make eye contact with Rosemary and could feel her cheeks heating up with her lie. It wasn't a complete lie; they would be concerned about her decision, but they weren't really what was stopping her from going.

"Just the Townspeople? because if that's the case, Lee and I could go as Chaperones; we could take Jack and mind him during the event."

That would be the perfect solution, Elizabeth knew. She also knew Rosemary could see right through her and was waiting for the real reason.

"It's Nathan. I don't know how he would feel about it."

"And you care what he thinks?" Rosemary asked gently.

"I do. I realised I care very much."

"Then you need to talk to him. If you want to be friends with Lucas and only friends, I think attending would send the wrong message to Nathan." Rosemary paused and added, " I think he would see it as you making a choice."

Elizabeth didn't respond; what could she say? Rosemary was right. She had to talk to Nathan, and she had to tell Lucas no.

Nathan stood in the backyard of his row house, trying to find motivation. He had the whole afternoon and evening ahead of him. Many lonely hours. He had been pleased to receive the Telegram advising he was no longer required to attend Cape Fullerton and present evidence in a Trial. When he let Allie know, she had begged to have the planned sleepover at Opal's and with Mrs Wiese's agreement, he had allowed it.

Now he was home, alone with his thoughts, and they were dark ones. He had been in the Mercantile, responding to the Telegram he received when he overheard Lucas talking on the phone, confirming his reservations for the weekend. The weekend he was spending in Union City with Elizabeth.

Nathan had been crushed when he heard. He knew Lucas was pursuing Elizabeth and had made it somewhat of a competition between the two of them, but until then, he hadn't realised Elizabeth had made a choice. To agree to an overnight outing with Lucas, without her son or a chaperone, was bold, something she would have done with careful thought and clarified the decision she had made about her future.

It was time to let her go, he decided. He couldn't keep hoping for something that was never going to happen. He would have to talk to Allie and explain it to her in such a way that she wasn't angry with Elizabeth. She couldn't help who she loved, and he had to accept it wasn't him.

Rising from the back steps, he took a moment to stretch his body, ready to get started on his daily exercises. Exercise, he decided, was what he needed to do. At the Academy, they had spent part of everyday doing physical activity, and while it might not have always been his favourite part, he always felt energised afterwards. Physical exercise cleared his mind as well, and that was something he needed right now.

He had dressed in the clothes he wore to exercise at the Academy, soft pants with enough stretch to allow for a full range of movement, and a short-sleeved Henley, tight across his chest and arms.

Nathan worked his way through the routine he had modified, improvising with things in the yard in place of the weights he had at the Academy.

Elizabeth walked slowly back to her row house; she had taken a walk to try and calm herself before going home to Jack. Lucas had been quite upset when she declined his invitation, his anger at her rejection clear. He had come close to raising his voice, and the sneer on his face had turned his usually affable expression ugly. She knew she had made the right decision; Lucas was not the man he pretended to be, and she was glad she had seen his true colours. Not only was he, not someone she could share her life with, she wasn't sure she could remain friends. Nathan would never have responded in such a way, but then he would never have asked something improper of her.

Nathan, she thought with a sigh, was a true gentleman who would stand by her side with honour and integrity, a protector, a confident, someone she could trust around herself and her son.

Elizabeth paused as she realised she was standing outside Nathan's home as these thoughts encroached. She wished he were home and hadn't been needed in Cape Fullerton. She wanted to talk to him about what had happened with Lucas. Admit to him what she had finally realised. He was the one. The one she wanted to start again with, someone she wanted to spend her life with.

Elizabeth's head snapped up as she heard a strange noise coming from Nathan's backyard. Like a grunt. Should she go and see what it was? What if it was something dangerous, or worse, what if Allie had come home while her uncle was away and hurt herself? She heard it again and threw caution to the wind; she needed to know what the noise was.

Hurrying down the side of the house, she rushed into the yard and stopped in her tracks. The sight before her was the last thing she expected to see. No one was in trouble - except maybe her.

Nathan stood with his back to her, a large log of wood held over his head. As she watched, he raised the wood up and down several times, the muscles in his arms and back straining with the effort. His Henley was soaked with sweat and clinging to him, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm her reaction to the sight before her. As her eyes slid lower to the unusual pants he wore, her face burned, and she quickly dragged her eyes up again. As she watched, Nathan lowered himself into a Squat, the log grasped between his arms, adding weight as he rose to his full height. He was magnificent. Elizabeth gasped. She covered her mouth, hoping he hadn't heard, but she was too late. He swung around to face her.

Elizabeth wished he hadn't. Her mouth went dry, and her heart started racing loudly. The Henly, which had clung to his back, was moulded to his chest and abdomen, and she could see every one of his stomach and chest muscles clearly defined. His hair was dishevelled, and a small curl had fallen forward and rested on his forehead.

"Elizabeth, what are you doing here?" Nathan cried, tossing the log to the side as if it weighed nothing. "I wasn't expecting anyone, I..." Nathan looked down at himself and blushed before quickly grabbing a nearby towel to wipe his face, holding it against his chest.

"I'm sorry, Nathan," Elizabeth began, her voice breathy and high. Clearing her throat, she said, "I wanted to talk to you, but I'll come back, now is not a good time."

"Don't go; I want to talk to you too," Nathan implored.

Elizabeth shook her head, her eyes focused on his as she willed herself to focus on his face, not ... anywhere else. "I don't think it's a good idea, Nathan. Can we talk later when you're," she swallowed, "dressed more..."

"Of course, I'm sorry. Let me walk you out."

"No, please stay there," she begged. She didn't want him within touching distance, not when her emotions and desires were so close to the surface. Managing a smile, she said, "Would you like to come to dinner, you and Allie?"

Nathan blinked; dinner with her? He and Allie. What did this mean for her choice of Lucas?

"Don't you need to get ready for your trip?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Nathan," she explained, disappointed but not surprised Lucas had been telling people about the trip. "While I would have liked to hear Ms Virginia Wolfe, nothing else about the trip would entice me to go. Nothing." Elizabeth hoped she had made herself clear, and when she saw his face break out in the crooked smile she loved, she knew he understood. "Shall we say seven pm?"

"Seven it is, but it will be just me; Allie is staying at Opal's."

"Jack and I will see you then, Nathan. I'm looking forward to it."

Nathan stood still, watching the woman he loved walking away, hope blooming in his chest. He loved her and knew they could be happy together. Now it seemed she felt the same way. His deepest desire and wildest dreams were finally coming true.

Elizabeth waited until she reached the street before taking a piece of paper from her basket and fanning her burning cheeks.