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Author's Reminder: "Righting by Writing" is a place where I post one-shots and short stories that are glimpses into the life of our Grant family. Each posting will have its own title, so in FanFiction it will appear as a chapter although it is not in sequence nor directly connected to any other story. I hope you enjoy! Eilie
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Finally His
A short story of my imaginings of Nathan, Elizabeth, and the Mountie activities in episode 11.
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'Where was he?'
In vain, Elizabeth stared down the lane. Once both Allie and Jack were finally asleep upstairs, she had hurried outside, her journal in hand, hoping to look as though she'd come outside to read. Her ruse was unnecessary though as the one she sought had not appeared. Even though the setting sun had disappeared beyond the horizon, she read by the golden glow pouring from the open door behind her. Realizing their conversation was long overdue, Elizabeth had glanced over a few journal pages as she considered what she needed to share with Nathan.
Now, she gripped the leather volume, hugging it to her chest.
'Where is he? Is he okay? Did something else happen?' Elizabeth worried, aware that after Nathan had sent Lee to drive Rosemary and Elizabeth home to relieve a worried Allie, Nathan had to stay in town to deal with a dangerous, wanted man. Elizabeth let her mind wander to the events earlier that day…
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Just when Nathan had saddled Sergeant and she had begun to talk as they prepared for their scheduled ride, Henry had interrupted. Again.
Elizabeth had watched Nathan depart, wondering if something serious was going on.
'I didn't suspect it was dangerous until Nathan returned, now dressed in his serge and looking wary.'
"Nathan, what is it?" Elizabeth softly breathed her question.
"There's a dangerous situation, Lizabeth. I can't walk you home, but I want you to get there so I have Henry coming to drive you home to keep you, Allie, and Jack safe. Keep the doors locked. You don't happen to have a firearm, do you?" Nathan was whispering his question while looking around the livery and searching outside the back entrance.
"I do. Jack taught me to shoot and it's locked in the back of my desk. Nathan, what is going on?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't explain now. Keep it ready, but hidden and don't open the door unless you recognize the person's voice. Stay upstairs as much as you can." Leave Sergeant saddled here and please stand over to the side until you hear Henry's voice telling you he's here." Nathan began to walk towards the open doors unaware that Elizabeth was following him.
"Nathan," I whispered urgently, "Be safe. I love you."
Nathan stopped mid-stride and pivoted as if not sure he had heard correctly.
"I'm so in love with you, Nathan. I'm so sorry…"
"I know," He searched my eyes for a moment, then added tenderly, "I love you too. Wait in here for Henry." With that instruction, Nathan strode out the door and into town, towards the jail.
Standing inside the livery entrance, Elizabeth saw Rosemary march determinedly towards the front doors of the Saloon, before disappearing inside.
From a distance Elizabeth watched Nathan and Bill talking with Lucas, Henry, Mike, and Lee in the street, pointing them in various directions. When she saw Nathan hand a rifle to Lee, fear for Nathan gripped her. Henry never came for her so, since she was at this end of town, Elizabeth hurriedly sought Rosemary to walk home with her and entered the front doors of the Saloon.
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There in front of her stood a very frightened Rosemary instructing Elizabeth to run, but it was too late. A man with a gun, hat dipped low over his brow, emerged from the shadows, shutting the door and blocking her escape. Shivering in shock, flashbacks to another time when she had been held hostage in this room skittered untamed across her mind and without a rational thought, she hurried to hold Rosemary.
"Well, well, ladies. Now there are two of you! That works in my favor. Can you tell me where to find your illustrious Governor, Miss? This lady has been less than helpful." The man waved his gun towards Rosemary while motioning them into a booth closest to the back. Seated across from each other, the man stood at the side of the table, sneering and brandishing his weapon between them.
Staring hard at Elizabeth once again he questioned, "Well?"
"I don't know where he is," Elizabeth stated honestly and firmly. "Tell me, what is going on here?"
Having forgotten her friend was a teacher and could muster great strength in the face of opposition, Rosemary's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
A steely glare from Elizabeth quickly transferred from the man to Rosemary and back. Boldly Elizabeth mirrored the man's question, "Well?"
Not used to strong women who stood their ground, the man backed away, stating gruffly, "You'll find out soon enough. When Bouchard returns to his establishment here, questions will be answered." The man backed towards the door, nearly stumbling over an unexpected chair leg.
Aa he returned to his station beside the door, Elizabeth whispered, barely moving her lips since she was on the side of the booth facing the door, "Do you know who he is?"
With an arched eyebrow, Rosemary quietly responded, "Maybe Casimir Shaw? Wanted for rum running..."
"The poster in the jail?" Elizabeth mouthed the words and saw Rosemary's barely perceptible nod. "Does anyone know you are here?"
Barely moving her shoulders, Rosemary mouthed, "You?"
"Doubt it. Henry was supposed to bring me home, but he never came. Nathan wanted me home with the children and armed, but here I am."
"I know Allie will stay with Goldie and the Wiese's and Montgomery's are nearby, but I'm worried about Lee… Does he know about the danger?"
Elizabeth remained quiet, determining if she should share what she had seen, then finally deciding that she would want to know. Quietly she watched the man who was now looking out the side window. When she was certain he was distracted, she motioned her finger to her lips to tell Rosemary to be quiet, then barely whispered, "He knows the danger. I saw Nathan give Lee a rifle."
Rosemary gasped quietly, glad for the forewarning. She couldn't help the tears forming though, so she slowly reached her hands across the table to take Elizabeth's.
For the longest time, the women sat there furtively glancing out the windows onto the silent street.
Elizabeth caught a glimpse of Henry walking nonchalantly towards the back of the jail from the barbershop so she wondered if he would tell Nathan she was missing.
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Moments later she saw a red serge behind the jail, followed by Bill and Henry. Since Rosemary was facing the direction of the the judge's office, Elizabeth nodded at the window and whispered, "Nathan, Bill, Henry?"
Immediately Rosemary's eyes darted to look and after a few moments, she squeezed her friend's hand three times.
Again eyeing the man, Elizabeth took advantage of his continued distraction and separated the half-curtains allowing them to peek outside better. What they didn't expect was to see dark hair and a pair of clear blue eyes suddenly staring in at them. The look of shock and pain on Nathan's face was momentary until he motioned for them to be quiet. Bill's face was next as if he had to confirm what Nathan had seen.
The women gripped each other's hands tightly as the man with the gun shuffled to a different window for a different view.
Using his movement as an opportunity to speak, Elizabeth asked, "So what is your business in town, Mr….?"
Gruffly the man responded, "my business is my business, Lady, but I'm looking for your Governor. We have some unfinished business you could say. No more questions now or I'll have to lock you in another room." The man eyed the board of keys hanging on the wall behind the hotel desk.
He was unaware, but both women noticed that motion and quickly returned to gaze at each other, biding their time.
A sudden rattle of the front door knob startled everyone, but all they could hear was a male voice stating, "It's locked." It appeared that Henry had tried the door as they could see his shadow quickly move towards the back of the Saloon. The gunman noticed too and strained to see where he went, but was unable to do so. Frustrated, he walked to the bar, poured himself a glass of some alcohol and stared at the keys again as he gulped down his amber beverage and poured another glassful. This time he drank more slowly, while glaring at the hallway to the back office.
Rounding the desk, he held back the curtains and stretched to knock on the office door with his pistol, calling out, "You still okay in there?"
A muffled female voice answered, "You are going to pay for this, Casimir…"
"We shall see about that. I think I have paid plenty already." Casimir Shaw glanced back at the ladies who were watching him carefully, "I'm taking my hostages upstairs, but I can still watch the Saloon from the balcony so don't you move an inch." He released the curtain letting it fall as he headed towards Rosemary and Elizabeth. "Up with ya. We're gonna get a room!" His laugh was coarse and evil. "Come on!"
Grabbing a few keys he followed behind the ladies as they climbed the stairs, brandishing his gun in the air as a sign of bravado.
Upon reaching the second floor, he hesitated, then seemed to decide it would be easier to have the women share a room, so opened a door and shoved them both inside with instructions, "Now, no noise out of you two and I may consider sparing your lives. Got that?"
Both women nodded and whispered in unison, "Yes."
They stood frozen, listening as he locked the door and dropped a key on the floor in front of it. When they heard his footsteps descend the stairs, they tiptoed to the window to see what they could. Pointing up the street, Elizabeth and Rosemary gasped. A vehicle with three Mounties crept slowly to the Café and stopped. Around the corner came another Mountie who quickly dismounted from his horse and tied his reins to a porch post. The Mounties stood, watching something intently until they snapped to attention and saluted Nathan who materialized from between two buildings. He quickly corralled them into the Café, and although it was beginning to get dark, the women never saw any of the Mounties depart the building.
Not long after, an arm in a red serge attempted to unsuccessfully open their window, before he crept past, ready to move along. When Elizabeth lifted the latch from inside, Nathan took a step back and saw her face. He groaned inwardly that she was in such danger, but silently lifted the sash slightly to ask, "Are you alone?"
"Rosemary is here and we are locked in this room together."
"Nathan, where is Lee?" Rosemary whispered desperate for news.
"I cannot answer that but we have men all over the town. He's armed though. Keep this open, stay quiet but don't stand in front of it. I'll be back."
From the same direction as Nathan had gone, they heard a rustle and suddenly saw a surprised Bill in the window. He didn't look pleased, but turned towards Nathan with a nod.
When Rosemary poked Elizabeth, she pointed towards the street just as Bill stood by the window.
"Rosemary, come out and stay behind me. No heroics you hear? I'm going to try to get you down the back stairway." Bill moved forward so Rosemary could climb from the window.
"Nathan's coming for you," Bill nodded at Elizabeth and slowly backed away, Rosemary hunched over behind him.
Alone now, all Elizabeth could do was pray yet when she heard a gunshot and a window shatter, it was all she could do to keep from screaming in fear. Listening carefully, she thought the voice was the same female who had spoken from Lucas's office and in the scuffle, she thought she heard Lucas's voice say "Shut up, or you'll be the one injured this time."
Next she knew, she saw a handcuffed Jeanette being handed over to Bill who was hurrying across the street with Rosemary. As Elizabeth turned in the other direction, she saw two cars being pushed towards the Saloon, Mounties with guns drawn hiding behind open doors. She even saw Mike maneuvering the steering wheel of Lucas's car as he was protected behind a Mountie.
Her eyes filling with tears, she searched for Nathan until she heard footsteps in the hallway outside her door. In a split second decision, Elizabeth climbed out of the window intending to run towards the stairway when she felt Nathan's strong chest in front of her. He quickly pushed her against the wall and whispered, "Do you trust me?"
When Elizabeth whispered, "Yes," he wrapped his arms around her holding her tightly. "Hold on!"
He lifted her over the railing momentarily sitting her on the rail as he lifted his long leg over. He stepped on the outside edge for a moment before he commanded, "Jump!"
They flew through the air into a wagon filled high with hay.
"Ooafff!" Nathan landed under Elizabeth as he had intended and quickly rolled over her. With one hand to her lips, he whispered in her ear, "Are you okay?"
Frozen with fright, she could only nod yes and grip his strong arms.
"Lizbeth, do not move," His warm breath tickled her ear and he rolled to her side.
Later she remembered how she had missed the weight and warmth of his body and thought she had seen him give her his crooked grin, but at this moment she couldn't even think.
Above them a volley of shots from the street broke some windows and they heard a thud as if a man had been hit and fallen.
Nathan moved to the edge of the hay wagon, his gun poised again. Trusting his fellow Mounties, Nathan peeked over the edge of the wagon just in time to see Casimir Shaw reach his hand through the spindles of the porch railing above. With the aim of a sharpshooter, Nathan shot the gangster's hand causing the man to scream in pain, lose his grip, and drop his gun to the ground below.
With quick work, Lee stepped out from behind a barrel along the side of the building and grabbed the gun while the Mounties began shooting at the balcony again. When the gunshots ceased, Nathan jumped off the wagon and nodded at a Mountie who was rushing to the back stairway while Nathan stepped out into the street, his weapon trained on the fallen figure. The Mountie crept around the corner of the balcony, then shoved the man over and motioned to his colleagues that he was dead.
At that moment, Nathan saw another figure creep from the shadows and attempt to run into the field. Followed by a couple other Mounties, Nathan took off after the man, shouting, "Mounted Police! Stop. Drop your gun and hands in the air!" When the man kept running, Nathan took a well-aimed shot to his leg and brought him down. By then a couple other Mounties reached the man, quickly handcuffed him, helped him stand, and headed towards the street and the Doctor's office.
Around the corner from the side of the jail came Henry holding the arm of another man who had Bill's gun to his back. He nodded at Nathan, "Got another one."
"Good. Where is Lucas?" Nathan questioned. Suddenly aware that he hadn't seen Lucas for while, Nathan moved towards the kitchen door of the Saloon and saw a large figure standing over a grimacing Lucas, sprawled out and holding a bleeding hand.
With a quick motion to his colleagues, Nathan crept slowly and silently until he was close enough to grab the large man around the neck and cause him to drop his weapon. At that moment Lucas stood and punched the man in his gut as a Mountie stepped up with a gun to the man's back. Within seconds, Nathan had the man's arm pinned behind his back, and he was soon in handcuffs, swearing and cursing at Lucas.
When Nathan pushed the big man's hat off his head, he exclaimed, "Amos Dixon! How about that!" He let the other Mounties walk the prisoner to the jail.
Having hurt his hand and bleeding from some cuts from the window glass, Lucas stumbled into the street. Lee and Mike stepped up to him and helped him towards the Infirmary as Nathan called after him.
"Lucas? We need to talk. Tonight." Nathan's tone of voice told everyone that Nathan Grant was in charge right now and would take no arguments.
By now, Elizabeth had crept to the edge of the wagon and Henry was crossing the street, coming from the jail. Upon seeing her, he came immediately to help her down. With a brief thank you, Elizabeth scanned the street, then called, "Nathan!"
As he turned, she took off running and he took long strides towards her. As they collided, they melted into each other's arms, eyes glistening. As Nathan stroked her hair, he whispered, "I was so worried, Lizbeth, my dear Love. You were supposed to be safe at home…"
"Henry never came so I found Rosemary, but then….' She reached up to brush the hair that had fallen into his face, "Oh Nathan, I can't lose you when we've finally found each other."
She moved her hand behind his neck and pulled him towards her to meet his lips with her own. This, their first and long-awaited kiss, was exuberant; expressing relief, and a pent-up longing for each other that was insatiable.
One would think that with all the activity and so many people now milling around the street that this kiss would be interrupted, but it was not!
Even in the middle of the road, everyone averted their eyes and gave them this moment, allowing their Constable to enjoy the woman he had saved, the woman he loved, and her to enjoy him.
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It had been hours since that memorable kiss and yet Elizabeth, still seated on her front porch steps, touched her lips and blushed as she remembered. Oh, how she loved Nathan Grant!
Nathan had explained it would be hours before he could get home but he promised to stop at her house and knock even if he awakened her so she would know he was safe. She knew he had questioning and paperwork to complete for multiple arrests. When Lee had driven Rosemary and her home, he had told them that there were at least three arrests and that the man who had held them hostage in the Saloon had died.
Elizabeth thought about how frightened Allie had been when neither she nor the Coulters had come home. Elizabeth was proud that the young woman had taken the children to Cat Montgomery's house so they were with an adult. Goldie had gotten cranky as her bedtime approached and, without her parents, it took Allie, Jack, and Cat to calm her and help her finally get to sleep.
When Elizabeth had returned, Allie had Jack ready in his pajamas and they were cuddled together on his bed while she read story after story to him, neither willing to sleep. Elizabeth remembered the loving and relieved hugs from both children when she entered the house and they flew down the stairs into her arms. She was so grateful that Allie was sleeping here with them tonight.
When she saw the lights of an automobile approach, Elizabeth stood and stepped inside her door, closing it slightly. It had been a frightening night and she was still skittish until the car slowed and she could see it was Henry who had given Nathan a lift. She immediately stepped onto the porch again, observing as Nathan quietly thanked Henry for the ride, then closed the door softly and hurried into Elizabeth's open arms.
Totally ignored by these lovers, Henry grinned as he headed back into town. This was as it was meant to be!
His arms around Elizabeth, Nathan pressed her to himself for the second time that night, lifting her off the ground and swinging her around as she giggled. When he set her down, their eyes met until they glanced at each other's lips. This time their kiss was gentle and unhurried, tasting the sweetness of newly promised love. When they parted, Nathan confessed, "I have waited so long to kiss you, Lizbeth. I adore you and, tired as I am, I can hardly face the idea of going home. Maybe we need to talk about that?"
Knowing now was not the time to discuss their future, Nathan brushed his lips against hers again before changing the subject. "Is Allie alright? And Jack? Are they asleep?"
"They are. Once I got back they hugged me and I hardly finished a story before Jack was asleep. Allie was very weepy, but I held her and we had a good talk about our relationship and how much I love her and love you. She finally thanked me for taking the time with her and snuggled into bed. I've been waiting here to talk to you ever since. There is so much I must tell you, Nathan."
"Thank you for taking time with Allie. I am grateful. As far as we are concerned, dare we try to take another ride tomorrow afternoon? I know we have a lot to discuss."
Nathan brushed a curl from her face and tucked it behind her ear before continuing, "I have Mountie work in the morning, although the men who arrived today are staying overnight and will assist with the transport wagons that Union City is sending."
"Also, the Superintendent is coming and he and I have an appointment to talk with Lucas. He has a lot of explaining to do and I won't take no for an answer anymore. He has his job to do, but the Mounties have theirs to do and I won't stand for any more secrets that might endanger those I love. If Lucas wants protection, he needs to trust us with information. I'm hoping Bill can join us and we can finally clear up six years of mystery."
"You won't be too hard on him, will you? I don't think he's purposely brought danger to any of us."
"Elizabeth, I will do my job." Nathan leaned back to search her face. "Lucas has endangered you, me, and the entire town by trying to handle things on his own and tonight we saw the results of that. Whether or not he meant to, he has made extremely unwise decisions and is actually facing a lot of questions regarding past and current criminal connections. What that does to his governorship is yet to be determined. That will be in the hands of the courts, but I must collect the evidence. I hope you can understand, Elizabeth, that Lucas has broken our trust and now is the time for truth."
Elizabeth laid her head against Nathan's chest, "I do understand, Nathan, and I do trust you. I admire your abilities, some of which I clearly saw tonight. I am thankful you are a Mountie. I mean you rescued Rosemary and me!" Elizabeth smiled up at him, vowing, "I promise to support you and not interfere in your work, even when it involves Lucas."
"Thank you. I needed to hear that." Nathan squeezed her to himself, whispering into her ear again, his breath warm, "So what about a ride or even a walk tomorrow late afternoon. Are you willing?"
Shyly Elizabeth looked into his face, "Can we both ride Newton together? I kind of liked holding on to you and I have a place in mind that isn't too far away."
Nathan gazed into her eyes, his crooked smile barely covering his desire to laugh. "Oh? Is that so! I think that can be arranged." Eventually he let out a soft chuckle as he questioned, "A private place, maybe, where we won't be interrupted?"
"Well, I hope so! Bill interrupted us there last year, but I hope he'll leave us alone now."
"Oh, our log? Where I first confessed my love and you rode away? That might be a good place to start. I have some questions I hope you will answer?"
"I will, Nathan. I wanted to talk this afternoon and then tonight, but it is too late and you need your sleep. Tomorrow sounds great though."
Oh, how Elizabeth longed to tell him how much she loved him and for how long she had felt that love. For now she only said, "Before you go, will you kiss me again?"
"I will kiss you anytime you want, Lizabeth, and maybe even in-between those times too!"
Nathan bent to capture her soft lips with his own, marveling at how they fit together and that she was his Elizabeth. Finally his.
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