Chapter 196- Heart of a Home
And here we are- the 'So This Is Love' Season 13 Finale.
Thanks again to all of you who have read and reviewed. Your kind words have been sustenance for me and this little story.
Even before Nathan was fully awake the next morning, he knew Charlotte was no longer occupying her place beside him in bed. He cracked open his eyes. It was still dark. Very dark. With a groan, he rolled over and through the window to the east, could just make out the sliver of light beginning to brighten the sky into deep shades of purple and blue. Normally, the couple wouldn't be up for another hour… Or more.
Where on earth was Charlotte this early?
After a few more moments, Nathan found his answer. Or rather he heard it, in the gentle click-clack that the swing on the front porch made when someone had it occupied. It was a rhythmic and soothing sound, especially when it seemed to play a perfect harmonic melody to the music that Charlotte's homemade windchime also created in the early morning breeze.
Nathan got up, pulled on a pair of pants and a few other warm clothes before making his way down the hall and stairs to the first floor. He smelled the coffee that Charlotte brewed fresh that morning. She'd already set out his mug in anticipation of him joining her. Nathan poured his cup and gave Remi a scratch behind the ears before finding his way to the front porch.
As he anticipated, there, Charlotte sat. Her feet pulled up underneath her as she curled comfortably into the swing. She'd stolen her favorite flannel shirt of Nathan's. A dark blue one that was soft and warm. It normally swarmed her smaller frame, but being this late in her pregnancy, the button or two over her expanding belly strained to hold it fasten.
"Mornin'," she drawled. One of her hands held her coffee mug, the other was absently tracing little designs across the child she carried within her.
"Mind if I join?" Nathan asked.
"I was hoping you would."
The dim light of dawn made her features hard to see, but Nathan could still make out Charlotte's smile as he sank next to her on the swing. The chains suspending them creaked as they rocked in comfortable silence, Nathan's arms draped across her shoulders in a familiar position that settled them. Charlotte leaned into his left side, his chest cradling her shoulder.
"What ya doin' up so early?" Nathan finally asked. He trailed his fingertips up her arm until goose pimples broke out.
"Thinking." Charlotte traced her thumb on the edge of her mug. "Thinking about how life is really a journey and not a destination."
"That's a lot of philosophical thinkin' to be doing before the sun's even up." Nathan sipped at his coffee and winked at her. "I may need a few more cups before I can pull out a line that… profound."
Charlotte twisted so her elbow could poke gently into his ribs. Jokingly telling him not to press his luck. "Profound or not, Sarge, real life isn't anything like a fairytale. It's better. There is life after 'the end' that makes livin' it so sweet. Love stories like ours aren't made up of a single moment. They're built over a lifetime."
She took his hand into her own, and Nathan's thumb slid over her knuckles in his reassuring way.
"And…" Charlotte continued. "Wherever our life takes us, with you by my side, I'll already be home."
Nathan tipped her chin toward him and leaned over, tears glistening in his eyes. "I love you, Charlotte."
She pressed her lips to his, weaving a delicious enchantment that made them forget everything weighing on this decision. "I love you too, Nathan Grant."
Nathan picked up the earpiece on the phone in his office, bringing it closer, before changing his mind and returning it to its holder and pushing the device back to the corner of his desk. He had been doing the same move now for almost an hour.
He was thankful that PJ was out of the office, having volunteered to help with a prisoner transfer out of Buxton that afternoon. The other Mountie's absence gave Nathan time to consider this life changing opportunity in peace. He'd gone back and forth all day on whether to take the inspector promotion or not. In the end though, he knew in his heart that the choice he finally made was the right one.
That didn't make the call to Collins any easier.
Nathan knew the next few minutes would direct the rest of his life. And his family's.
Compared to the last time the Force offered him an inspector promotion, this one always carried more weight to Nathan. It wasn't just him and Allie anymore. It was Charlotte, Liam, and the baby too. His parents and friends in Hope Valley, who also became like family to them. And he would be lying if he said that he wouldn't miss the house and ranch he and all those he loved and cared for, made into a home over the past few years.
Nathan looked out the window to his office and watched the activity pass by. The rest of Hope Valley seemed totally unaware of the dilemma he was facing. For some reason his memory went to about a year before Charlotte arrived in town and Nathan had been confronted by Elizabeth in the street at Bill's send off.
.
"I tried to tell you at Allie's parent teacher conference. You are her rock. You are her foundation. If you let her down her whole world crumbles."
"I know. That's part of the reason why I'm trying my best not to show you how I feel about you. It's why I turned down the promotion to inspector. Because believe me, there is nothing I would have welcomed more than to leave here."
.
Nathan shook the fog of the past from his mind. Things had changed since then. For the better.
For the best.
Yet he couldn't help remembering the very first time he met Elizabeth Thornton on one of his first days in town and she said...
.
"May I share something with you? You know, when I first came here, the townspeople were quite skeptical of me. They really put me through my paces. But now, there is truly no place I'd rather be. And I hope your experience here will be equally as good."
.
It had been good. But the settings of a story changed, just like the characters who brought them to life.
Eight years ago, the place he knew God had called him to be was Hope Valley, but was it still the heart of his home?
Nathan wondered if he made the right choice then and now. If he was thinking more with the heart of a Mountie than the heart of a father, or even the heart of the man he truly was. One that wanted to see good people protected and the world made better for his family.
He took a deep breath, once again pulled the phone closer, picked it up asking Florence to connect him to the RCMP office in Cape Fullerton and then to Chief Superintendent Collins.
When Nathan got home that evening, Allie met him at the door with Liam, asking if he wanted to come with them to see if the apples were ready to pick. If they were, Charlotte said she'd make them a crisp for tonight's dessert. They set off for their orchard, Liam on his shoulders, and found just enough ripe apples to make the special treat and returned home to help Charlotte finish dinner and make the crisp.
Their meal that night was, for the most part, uneventful. Allie carried the conversation, talking about school and her letter that she just received from Angela in Edmonton. And Liam was just happy to provide some laughter for them when he accidentally upset his bowl of food off the table and right onto Remi's head. The dog didn't seem to mind though, and quickly set about eating any evidence of the mishap.
Charlotte surprised them all, not only with the freshly baked apple crisp, but also homemade ice cream! Serving it on top of each generous helping of the dessert she dished up.
When their meal was finished, Allie offered to clean up Liam and give him his bath, while Charlotte and Nathan began to clear the dining room table. As Charlotte filled the sink with warm water, Nathan caught her around the waist with one hand, while his other pulled the bulk of her hair out of the way so he could place a gentle kiss upon her neck. Her eyes closed briefly as he kissed her again and she turned in his arms, her wet, soapy hands looping around his suspenders like a boat tethering itself to shore.
She felt lips start to curl into a smile under her kiss, a reaction of his that never failed to pull at her heartstrings. Charlotte always felt lucky to feel that smile. No matter the years that passed. It was Nathan's subconscious way of showing her just how happy he was to be loving her.
When they drew apart, Nathan picked up the towel to dry. "If I help with the dishes, Mrs. Nathan," he proposed. "Will you promise to go for a walk with me when we're finished? Allie said she'd watch Liam until we got back."
"Is that a request or an order, Sarge?" Her mouth curved in a teasing smile.
"A request." Nathan stated. "If you turn down my request, then it becomes an order."
They laughed together and hurried with the dishes so they could be off on their walk before it became too dark to see where they were going. When the dishes were done, Nathan helped Charlotte with her heavy shawl and they set out holding hands towards the river, taking a similar path as they had when he first brought her to this piece of land over three years ago. It was a lovely evening and the crisp fall leaves that had begun to tumble from the trees crunched underfoot as they walked.
When they were a ways across the field, Charlotte squeezed Nathan's hand in hers. "So…" she said. "When are you going to tell me about your call with Chief Superintendent Collins today?" She caught his sideways glance, the one silently questioning how she knew it was today that he ended up deciding about the promotion. "That is what this walk is about, is it not?"
"Can't a husband just enjoy the company of his wife on an evening stroll without an ulterior motive?" He asked. His lips flattened into a line, but she could clearly see the amusement dancing in his cobalt-blue eyes.
"You can, but tonight enjoying my company is only part of the reason. Spill what's been on your mind, Nate."
He chuckled, his breath coming out in visible puffs. "You do know me better than anyone else, don't you?"
"I do." She leaned in closer, the full length of her arm pressed tightly against his as she wrapped her other hand across her body to gently glide up and down Nathan's forearm.
"Do you remember back to the first time I asked you on an evening stroll?"
"When we went on the cattle drive and were helping Fred find his forever family."
Charlotte smiled up at him. Giving the same smile tonight as she had then. One of those that caused her eyes to squint and all but disappear in the action. It would always be one of Nathan's favorite smiles she shared with him. He asked, "Do you remember what you told me that night?"
"That if you made me close my eyes as we walked around one of us was going to step in a fresh cow patty?"
Nathan's deep laugh reverberated off the landscape. "Yes, you did say that. But I was thinking about something else. I said I thought you deserved the world and I wanted to be the one to give it to you."
Charlotte looked down at where her fingers were interwoven with his. "And I said that we didn't need to be anyone other than ourselves. Because that is home to me. Where you and our children are is where I want to be too. You are my world."
He twisted slightly to look back from where they had come. A soft glow spilled from each window of their home, and he could faintly make out the silhouette of Allie and Liam sitting at the edge of the porch decorated with cornstalks and pumpkins they'd grown in their garden. The kids were laughing at Remi as she ran freely round them, fetching a stick, returning it to their feet, and then bouncing in anticipation for them to throw it once more for her to retrieve.
"I think we need to give it a name," Nathan said, returning his gaze to Charlotte beside him. "Don't you?"
Charlotte's brows knitted together in confusion. "What needs a name?"
"The ranch." Nathan watched as the realization swept over her. "We've lived here for nearly three years, and we've never even thought to give it a name like all the other great ranches in Alberta."
"Nathan…" She whispered. "Are you-" The words caught in her throat. She'd clearly resigned herself to believing this was goodbye to a place they held so dear to them. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
Nathan reached out and stroked her hair, his thumb brushing lightly against her freckled cheek. He saw it in the way she looked at him. The amusement and adoration and years and years of friendship and love twisting and twining together. Everything they had ever been to each other. Everything they would ever be.
"Yes, Charlie. We're staying. Hope Valley is where our family has put down roots. Where we've planted our seeds for future generations. I know we could make a home almost anywhere, but here…" His hand swept around them. "Here is where God placed a dream in our hearts long ago and it's here, I truly believe He wants us to be."
"Oh, Nathan!" Charlotte encircled her arms around his neck and pulled her tightly into her. Nathan returned her embrace fully. They laughed. They cried. But most of all they loved.
"Wait!" Suddenly, Charlotte drew back. Her hands resting on Nathan's chest to steady them both. "What about your promotion? Did you really turn it down?"
"I did." Nathan answered.
"Was Collins upset?"
"Well… He wasn't surprised, that's for sure."
"He wasn't?"
Nathan shook his head. "No. He said he had a feeling that this would be my choice. To stay here in Hope Valley. That's why he worked the past few days at getting a new position created."
"New position?"
"Inspector. Based right here out of the Hope Valley RCMP office. He said the position is mine if I want it. And if my wife agrees." Nathan winked.
"She agrees! She completely agrees!" Charlotte nodded enthusiastically. She looked back at the house and saw Allie watching them in the distance, a smile on her face. She waved and then lifted Liam's hand to wave too. Nathan and Charlotte returned the gesture. "I assume that Allie agrees too?"
"I told her and Liam the news when we went to pick those apples after I got home tonight."
"This feels right, doesn't it."
Nathan could tell by Charlotte's tone that it was a statement and not a question. "Yes, it does." He placed a light kiss on her dimpled cheek. "But you still haven't answered my earlier question."
"About a name for the ranch?"
"I have an idea."
"You do? Well stop holding out on me…" She tickled his ribs playfully. "What is it? Aspen Grove? High Meadow?"
"I was thinkin'..." Nathan turned towards her and slipped a hand into his jacket. At first what he pulled from his pocket was hard to see in the low light of dusk, but it didn't take Charlotte long to figure it out and when she did, tears instantly sprang to her eyes. "How do you feel about Forget-Me-Not Ranch?"
Nathan threaded the bloom he picked earlier in their meadow into Charlotte's hair, twisting it to secure the spray behind her ear.
"True love. Fidelity. Long-lasting connections." She whispered under her breath. Repeating the meaning of her favorite flower that Minnie Canfield taught her all those years ago. "I think it is the perfect name."
"Now if only it was as easy to pick a name for this one…" Nathan's hand moved around Charlotte's waist to rest on their child, who upon feeling their father's touch, moved with joy from within.
"We'll figure it out. We always do," Charlotte said, looping her arm through his. Before they made it very far down the path, Charlotte pulled them to an abrupt stop. "Wait!" She spun to face him. "I know now with the new position you're technically supposed to be called Inspector Grant, but…" She bit her bottom lip. "Do you think it is okay if I still call you Sarge?"
Nathan tipped his head back and laughed. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Charlie."
As they made their way back to their home in comfortable silence, Nathan couldn't help but find happiness in what they had built. The mutual love affair they shared was sometimes carried forward through words, but often nourished by the silent accompaniment of two lovers cherishing life's journey together.
Because of Charlotte's love, he knew the importance of finding the magic in the everyday moments. The small things. The things that at times you brush off or move through quickly. Because they seem boring or mundane. They seem so small that they're not worth thinking about, nor remembering.
But as time passes, you look back at life and realize those are the things that hold the most magic. Those little things will be what you crave more of. Those everyday moments will be what warms your heart.
This is your reminder to enjoy them.
To look for them.
To treasure them.
To love them.
Because the small things in life really do become the big things.
