Chapter 32- The World
The sun rising in the east was easing the dark hold of the night sky. Charlotte, unable to sleep from the activities of the day before, made her way to the kitchen to get an early start packing some provisions for their trip as well as beginning a pot of coffee. When it was ready, Charlotte poured two cups and then made her way outside.
From the front porch of the orphanage, Charlotte noted the door to the cottage Nathan had stayed in was still closed. She walked over to the building, took a deep breath, and knocked gently on the entrance. When she did not hear Nathan moving from inside, concern rushed over Charlotte.
Balancing the mugs in one hand, she twisted the knob and pushed open the door. Her eyes scanned the room before finding the cot to her right that Nathan lay on.
Charlotte quietly walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Setting down the coffee cups on an overturned box that was beside the cot. Nathan was still asleep. His chest rising and falling in steady time. Charlotte assumed whatever caused his worries yesterday had stuck with him most of the night. Allowing sleep to come only a couple hours ago.
Like an out of body experience, Charlotte reached out her elegant fingers, gently brushing a stray lock of hair off Nathan's forehead. She sat there a moment longer, memorizing every detail of his face, peacefully asleep with just the low light of dawn beginning to lighten the space around them. Charlotte bent forward and placed a feather light kiss on Nathan's cheek. The feel of his morning stubble beneath her lips took her mind to other, more intimate, places that caused Charlotte's heart to race.
Nathan stirred slightly from her action, his eyes blinking open to see Charlotte leaning over him.
"Good morning," Charlotte whispered.
"Mmmmm…" A blissful smile crept across Nathan's face. His hand had found Charlotte's forearm and began to gently glide along its length. "This is a good morning."
Charlotte smiled in return. "We better get going. It's a big day ahead of us."
Nathan nodded before taking a deep breath and stretching his aching muscles. He pulled his body upright in the bed as Charlotte handed him his mug of coffee.
They both took a long sip of the hot liquid, hoping the contents would jolt them awake. This shared moment was unlike any of their morning coffees in the past. It was incredibly intimate. Charlotte nor Nathan seemed to want to ruin the ambience by words. They were happy to just sit here in the silence, knowing that they were exactly where they needed to be.
Charlotte thought back to Eleanor's words the night before…
A love that I imagine you can sit in complete silence with for the rest of your lives and it would mean more than a thousand words with anyone else."
"What do you think about stopping here for the night?" Chuck asked, as he rode to where Charlotte was bringing a stray back to the herd.
Charlotte pulled up the reins and slowed Danny to a stop. She stood up slightly in her stirrups to take in the lay of the country around them.
"This looks perfect. An open meadow with plenty of grass, a water source with that stream over there, and then tree cover to the west for shade and protection if needed. That should help hold the herd here, so they don't wander overnight. Plus, it is getting late enough that we should stop while there's still daylight to set up camp. Especially with the wagon and children in tow."
"I'll let the others know," Chuck said, taking off towards the front of the herd to talk with his mother, Tess Stewart.
Tess had been a little perturbed all day since they had gotten a much later start to the cattle drive than expected with the addition of a wagon of supplies and children slowing down the process. She had become slightly aloof to the rest of the group and pushed Chuck to take a lead in the cattle drive since it had been his idea for all the extra "guests''. Tess' usual foreman, Lucie Clay, was trailing half the herd to a different pasture, further south, with the rest of the ranch's cowboys.
Since they were running behind schedule, Chuck and Charlotte had been in discussions much of the afternoon on where the best place to stop for the night would be. Chuck had known with their slow progression; they would not make it to the ranch's usually overnight stop.
Nathan had ridden beside Charlotte most of the journey and took great pleasure in seeing this side of her. She had an extensive knowledge of cattle and the ranching industry, and even without telling Chuck or Tess about it, they both quickly picked up on Charlotte's skill set.
"What is that look for?" Charlotte had caught Nathan staring at her with what could only be described as pride.
Nathan smiled. "I am just enjoying seeing how at home you are doing this. Being here. Do not get me wrong. You are an amazing teacher and are wonderful with the children, but I don't know. This suits you. Being outdoors. Riding a horse. It's all a part of who you are, and I love how quickly the Stewarts have realized that."
"You think so? Tess is a hard one to read."
"I know so. She may be tough on the exterior, but she respects the heck out of you. And Chuck. I think he would be a little lost without your input on this trip."
"I'm sure he would be fine without me. It has been so long since I have done anything like this. I'll admit I was a little nervous about it."
Nathan reached over and took Charlotte's hand. "There is no reason to be nervous. This seems to come to you as naturally as breathing."
"It does feel good," Charlotte looked down at where Nathan's hand rested on hers. "I'll be honest. When I was growing up, this is the life I always envisioned for myself. But when I got older and found out that my parents did not own the ranch we worked on, I realized that I needed to change course. I always enjoyed school and had some wonderful teachers growing up who instilled a lifetime love of learning in me. It just seemed like a natural fit. I also enjoyed the fact that with teaching I could help shape others' lives. Especially after I received my certification to teach blind students."
"You said that your friend Megan was the one who wanted you to pursue that interest in college?"
"Yes. Megan and I grew up together. When we were teenagers, scarlet fever broke out in our area and Megan was infected. She survived, but at the cost of her eyesight. I learned how to read braille right beside her as she had to relearn how to live everyday life. I didn't want her to go through that struggle alone."
Nathan squeezed Charlotte's hand, "You are an amazing friend, Charlotte Thompson. We are all lucky to have you in our lives."
"I'm lucky to have you." Charlotte smiled in return as the two rode hand in hand to join the rest of the cowboys and cowgirls setting up camp.
"Ms. Rosie, you make the best lemonade I've ever tasted!" Fred smacked his lips together after finishing off his second glass of lemonade Rosemary had made to go with Charlotte's dinner of campfire beans and cornbread.
"Thank you, Fred," Rosemary smiled. "I'm glad you think so."
"Mr. Lee, since we had dinner can you teach me how to skip rocks across the stream like you promised earlier?" Fred asked as he stood up and started to pull on Lee's arm.
"We should probably help clean up here first. Don't you think, Fred?" Lee questioned.
"Ah… alright," Fred's little head dropped in defeat as he started to pick up some of the dishes by the campfire.
"Fred, why don't I help Ms. Charlotte and Ms. Rosie clean up while you and the rest of the kids go learn how to skip rocks with Mr. Lee?" Nathan offered as he took one of the plates out of Fred's hands.
"Really?" Fred's eyes lit up at the idea.
"Is that okay?" Fred's eyes searched back and forth between Lee and Rosemary for approval.
"If Mountie Nathan doesn't mind..." Rosemary said.
"I don't mind at all," Nathan answered. "Actually, Rosemary. Why don't you go along? I seem to remember you are rather good at skipping rocks too."
"Well, if you are sure. You and Charlotte could handle it…"
"We will be fine. And if not, we can always ask one of the other adults to help us," Charlotte said as she gently pushed Rosemary's back in the direction of the stream bank. "Go have fun."
"Look at them," Charlotte motioned with her head to where the group had collected down the stream to skip rocks.
Nathan took the tin plate Charlotte handed him to dry and then looked in the direction she had instructed. There was Lee standing behind Fred, showing him the correct arm motion to use to skip the rocks across the water. Rosemary busied herself searching the stream bank for just the right type of rocks for Fred to use. It seemed as though the other adults had picked up on Charlotte and Nathan's plan and occupied the rest of the children further downstream with a different activity.
"This is all I ever wanted for them," sighed Nathan.
"Me too," Charlotte replied as she helped Nathan finish stacking the dishes they had cleaned to carry back to the campsite. "They deserve to be happy. And Fred. Well, I don't think he could pick a more perfect set of parents."
Dusk was settling into the meadow as Charlotte and Nathan finished stacking the dinner supplies into the back of the wagon. The rest of their group was still occupied at the stream, when Nathan turned to Charlotte and held out his hand.
"What's this?" she questioned.
"What do you say to a bit of an evening stroll?"
A smile spread across Charlotte's face. One of those that caused her eyes to squint and all but disappear in the action.
It was one of Nathan's favorite kinds of Charlotte's smiles.
"I would love to," Charlotte answered, taking Nathan's outstretched hand into her own as they started their journey meandering across the meadow.
"You know," Nathan leaned over to whisper in Charlotte's ear. "We could close our eyes and pretend to be anywhere right now. Wherever your heart desires. Just two people, walking, hand in hand, through the streets of New York City or Paris, France or on some far-off beach in the middle of the ocean."
Charlotte paused their walk and turned to look at Nathan. The moon, just beginning its ascent over the tree line, was illuminating the space around them.
"Is that what you think I want?" Charlotte gently questioned. "What I need in this relationship? As lovely as that sounds. That is not the woman I am. I am perfectly happy right here, right now, with you."
"I only asked because I think you deserve the world and I want to be the one who gives it to you," Nathan looked down at where his fingers were interwoven with Charlotte's.
"Nathan, I don't need fancy dresses or romantic candlelit dinners in some far-off place. That is nice and all, but this is what I want. A simple life full of love, is grander than any romance novelist, or a certain Hope Valley teacher, could write about."
That caused a chuckle to escape from Nathan.
"Look around us…" Charlotte released Nathan's hand as she lifted her arms up to the star filled sky and twirled around in the tall grass. "We could never have this in New York, Paris, or even Bora Bora. Wide open spaces and fresh mountain air. Just you and me; not a care in the world. With dusty clothes, a romantic meal of campfire beans, and these fireflies as our candlelight. That is all I need to be happy Nathan. I hope you know that. I hope that you know we don't need to be anyone other than ourselves. Because that is home to me. Wherever you and Allie are is where I want to be too. You are my world."
They stood there for a moment. With not a single sound between them except for the crickets, babbling brook, and the gentle lowing of the cattle in the distance.
"Plus, if you make me close my eyes as we walk around out here… I'm pretty sure one of us is going to step in a fresh cow patty," Charlotte joked.
Nathan threw back his head and laughed heartily. How could this woman in front of him make him feel such a mix of emotions in a moment's time? He wanted this too. He wanted her and their future life together.
Elizabeth and Lucas could keep their teacups, champagne, and fancy city life.
Nathan had Charlotte. That is all he needed to be happy too.