Nathan sat at his desk. He was trying to get work done but his mind wouldn't cooperate. So much had happened in the last few days, weeks, months. It seemed like everything has changed and yet maybe nothing really had. There were moments with Elizabeth that just felt so right. Like the stars were finally aligned for them. And then the next thing he knew he was questioning all of it, unsure how to proceed. He didn't want to push but his heart had waited so long. "I don't want you to get hurt again, dad." Allie's words from this morning ran through his mind again. He didn't want to hurt again either but he absolutely couldn't allow Allie to hurt again. It drove him to his feet.
Nathan paced the Mountie office back and forth, back and forth. Turning toward the door, before his mind could talk him out of it, he walked out onto the boardwalk hoping to spot Elizabeth. No more wondering. They had to talk. He knew she felt the way he did. He had seen it in her eyes as he held her in his arms at the Easter egg hunt. But then he had been so confident before years ago when he poured out his heart to her. ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด, ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ช๐ณ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ. He gave himself a pep talk and kept moving.
There she was. His heart beat hard in his chest. Right in the middle of town probably wasn't the best place to talk but he just couldn't wait.
"Elizabeth!" He called once he got closer, not wanting her to get away before he could reach her. Elizabeth turned and her face lit up when she saw him. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ'๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด, ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ข๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ข๐บ. "Elizabeth, can we talk for a moment? Over hereโฆ"
Elizabeth followed Nathan off the main street to a somewhat secluded spot between buildings. Her mind and heart raced. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต? ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฏ?
"Elizabeth, IโฆI just can't go another minute without knowing. What am I to you? Are we just friends?" There, he'd said it. It was out there and there was no taking it back. All the chocolate eggs were in her basket.
Elizabeth stood there a little stunned. She didn't expect this to be a talk they had in the middle of the street with no warning. She had imagined a moonlit evening, a quiet talk by the log where he had poured out his heart so many years ago. Anything but the middle of town. She was just meeting Rosemary for lunch and now here she was with the man she loved waiting for her answer and there she was with absolutely no words coming together in her brain. She wanted to tell him. She glanced down at his lips. Maybe she'd just show him. She was taking too long and he was looking worried. ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ข๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ! ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด! ๐๐ฉ๐บ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ?
"Elizabeth! There you are! Oh hi Nathan! Elizabeth, I thought you stood me you for lunch too." Rosemary prattled on completely unaware of the moment she'd interrupted. She tucked her arm around Elizabeth's and began to lead her to cafe without waiting for any response. Elizabeth pulled away and turned back to see a stunned Nathan still standing there watching. She reached out and grabbed his hand "Nathan, meet me later. After supper. At the dock." She gave him her best smile, hoping he'd feel her love and reassurance. And then there was Rosemary, grabbing her arm again and leading her toward lunch and away from Nathan.
Rosemary dove into some story about Goldie's latest skill or her current sleep routine or something. Elizabeth wasn't sure. She adored that little sweetheart but her mind was somewhere else. It was in the Mountie officeโฆor at least with the Mountie.
"Elizabeth, you're a million miles away." Rosemary pouted.
"I'm sorry Rosemary," Elizabeth couldn't even attempt to deny it. "I'm just thinking about somethingโฆCan we maybe have lunch another day?"
"Absolutely not! We never get time together any more. But we can take lunch back to my home and visit there." And with that Rosemary gathered sandwiches and sweets and headed off toward the row houses on a mission.
Once they were settled, Rosemary turned to Elizabeth. "Well, spill. You might as well tell me. What's going on?"
Elizabeth sighed and flopped back in her chair. "It's Nathan." Rosemary perked up, a sly smirk playing with her lips. ๐๐ง ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ช๐ด. "He asked me if we're more than friends, what he means to me! Right in the middle of town! Totally out of the blue. Well not really. I knew we'd have to talk. I've wanted to tell him. But I just stood there. No words would come out of my mouth. None. And now I don't know what he thinks! All this time I've wanted to tell him thatโฆthat he's in my heart. And then I just stood there! My heart was screaming but my mind couldn't make a decent sentence." The words came out in a flood. She flopped back again and groaned.
"Well sometimes the mind and heart don't agree." Rosemary said calmly. "Oh Elizabeth, Nathan has loved you for so long. I'm sure he will be waiting for an answer from you. Don't worry. And don't wait!"
"Actually, could you watch Jack tonight after supper?" Elizabeth couldn't keep the smile off her face. "I asked Nathan to meet me later."
"Oh of course! We'll have the best time! And so will you!" Rosemary replied with a teasing grin.
Elizabeth quickly ate a simple supper. It seemed she wasn't very hungry. Her stomach was too full of butterflies to eat anything much. She walked Jack over to Auntie Rosemary's and then turned toward the dock. Replaying in her mind the moment Nathan had asked her what was in her heart. "Let me know when you figure it out." He had said and that was exactly what she planned to do. As she walked she thought of other moments they'd shared over the years. How patient he had been! Her eyes misted a little as she neared the dock and saw him waiting there.
The sun was setting. The world was glowing, golden and warm. Nathan saw her walking toward him and stood. He had thought about Elizabeth all day. So much so that he hadn't even been able to eat supper, he'd been so nervous and excited and anxious to hear what she had to say. Trying to keep his heart in check, he waited for her but it was hard to not let his hopes soar. Could it finally be their time for love? Nathan wasn't looking just to date. He wanted to share a lifetime love with someone, with her. But maybe that wasn't how this conversation was going to go at all. Fears battled in his mind as she drew closer. Were her eyes teary? Was that a good thing? Or another heartbreak walking toward him?
Elizabeth stood in front of the man she loved and stared for a moment. She'd waited so long to let this love in. He opened his mouth to speak but she quickly cut him off. "Nathan, I need to talk. I need to tell you..." She smiled and took a breath. Her face softened and her heart sang as she looked at him. "Nathan, you asked me if we're just friends. I think we are the best of friends but I think we're so much more. You asked me what you are to me. Nathan, you are my home. You're the place where I am safe to be myself and safe to grow. You are my heart. I asked you to meet me here because you asked me a very important question here many years ago. Do you remember?"
"Of course." He answered quietly, his voice full of emotion as he tried to take in all that she was saying. He had only thought about that conversation every time he had rode by this beautiful place on his rounds. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต? ๐๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ง๐ช๐จ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต. Nathan moved closer and reached for her hands. Elizabeth gladly placed her hands in his.
"You asked what's in my heart. It's you, Nathan. It's always been you." He couldn't wait another moment. Nathan pulled Elizabeth close to him and kissed her. It was the perfect kiss, one they'd both waited for and imagined more than they'd ever admit. Gentle and sweet yet filled with fire and love. One sweet, long desired kiss followed another and when they finally pulled apart, Elizabeth looked up into Nathan's eyes and said "I'm finally ready. Ready toโฆ"
"To do what you're afraid to do?" He finished her statement with a grin. The image of Nathan handing her the plaque he'd made when he first came to town flashed through Elizabeth's mind.
The stars had aligned. Love was there for them to share. A great love. The kind you can build a lifetime on. "Yes" she replied with a cheeky smile and a quick kiss. "Ready to love you with my whole heart."