Bill was walking out of the café when he saw Nathan and Jack walking down the street with Pal. Smiling, he made his way towards them. "Hey, Jackaroo, did you have another riding lesson with Mountie Nathan this morning?" he asked once he caught up with them and had knelt down next to the little boy.
"I did." Jack told him, "We even went fast, but don't tell mama." he giggled, looking over at Nathan.
Raising his eyebrows, Bill looked over at Nathan. Knowing what was coming, he clarified. "Before you say anything, I didn't tell him to say that, and it's not what you're thinking. At the end of the lesson, Pal decided to walk a little bit faster than he had during the lesson."
"Uh huh," Bill said with a smirk as he stood up.
Nathan knew that smirk, and closed his eyes, knowing Elizabeth was right behind them. Glaring at Bill, he turned around to see Elizabeth and Allie standing there. Allie was trying not to laugh, and Elizabeth was standing there with her arms crossed, an eyebrow raised, waiting for an explanation. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the sparkle in her eyes, and noticed she was trying not to laugh as well.
"What can I say?" Nathan told her, raising his shoulders, "The kid's a natural, but you would be proud to know that he sat up straight, put his heels down and got Pal to stop all by himself" He left out the part about Jack wanting to do it again. No sense pushing his luck, just yet.
"Is this true, Jack?" Elizabeth asked, looking at her son.
"Yep, except I wanted to do it again, but Mountie Nathan said not until you said it was okay."
Allie, not able to hold it in anymore, chuckled and walked over to Jack and Pal, "Was it fun?" she asked in a loud whisper.
"Yes," Jack answered with a grin.
Elizabeth walked up to Nathan and took his hand, saying, "Let's get Pal settled in his stall, and have some breakfast, shall we?"
"Oh goody, I am so hungry." Jack exclaimed, grabbing Allie's hand and pulling her along with him to the stables.
"You guys go in and get a table, I'll help them get Pal settled." Bill told them, with a wink, and then began following the kids and the pony.
Nathan brought the hand Elizabeth had placed in his to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
"You know I trust you, right, Nathan?" she asked.
Seeing the truth and trust in her eyes, he smiled, "I do. And thank you."
"Come on, let's get a table." she said, pulling him towards the café.
"I have a better idea, come with me." Nathan told her and started waking.
Suddenly, Elizabeth felt herself being pulled between the buildings, hidden from the street. Then she felt Nathan's lips on hers and they were backing up towards the building. Breaking off the kiss, she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away, "Why Constable, what are you doing?" she teased a little breathlessly.
Soon she found herself pinned against the wall, with Nathan's lips on hers. Her arms went around his waist, as his hands found their way to her cheeks. His hands cupped her cheeks so tenderly, and she felt his thumbs gently caressing them. Feeling the fire within him begin to burn hotter and hotter, Nathan tried to pull back, but Elizabeth wouldn't let him. With her arms still around his waist, she pulled him in even closer. She found herself slowly moving her arms up his back, taking note of every muscle she felt, until her hands found his shoulder blades. Curling them around his strong shoulders, she held on as though her life depended on it. At this point it did, because without him holding her up, Elizabeth would have been in a puddle on the ground. Soon, other thoughts began to invade her mind. What it would feel like to actually touch his back, and feel his muscles without the cloth barrier, to run her hands up and down his chest, to wrap her arms around him and… Gasping, her eyes flew open when she realized what was happening, and she pulled back.
"I am torn between saying 'thank you', and being angry at you." Nathan whispered. Trying to get control of, not only his breathing, but his body as well, he rested his forehead on Elizabeth's and closed his eyes.
"Angry at me?" Elizabeth whispered back confused, eyes closed, also trying to regain control, "Why would you be angry at me?"
"For breaking that kiss off. I have never wanted, and not wanted, the same thing, at the same time, in my entire life." he answered with a grin and kissed her nose.
Their eyes were still closed, and slowly their breathing returned to normal. Feeling Elizabeth start to push away from him, he said, "We should probably stay here for a few more minutes, sweetheart."
Understanding what he meant, and thankful for the additional time to cool down, she brought her arms back down to his waist saying, "I guess it could be difficult to explain to the kids, not to mention Bill, that you have to carry me because my legs are jelly.
Nathan chuckled, "Jelly, huh?"
"It's one of the disadvantages of kissing my heart's most desire and not a potato."
Laughing Nathan said, "I'll have to remember that."
Slowly he pulled her into an embrace and together they stood there.
"Nathan, I want to marry you and be your wife." Elizabeth softly told him.
"I want to marry you too, Elizabeth."
"Wait, what did you say?" Nathan asked, pulling away from the embrace just enough to see her face, not sure if he had heard correctly.
"I want to marry you. I want to be your wife, and for you to be my husband. I want to wake up every morning to your face, and dream of your kisses all day long. I want to be the one you come home to each night. I want to raise our family together, and experience everything this life has to offer, both good and bad, with you."
Nathan was at a loss for words, he had just heard, word for word, the thoughts that were going through his mind.
"Elizabeth, I want that too, every single one of those things and, well, maybe a little more."
Nathan stopped to take a breath when Elizabeth interrupted him.
"Good. Are we ready to get some breakfast?"
Leaning his head down, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, saying, "Yes, I am starving."
With a grin, he grabbed her hand, and they walked back to the street and towards the Café.
Opening the door to the café, Nathan was relieved to see no one else there. He leaned over and whispered to Elizabeth, "Now everyone leaves us alone."
Elizabeth laughed and then said, "At least we are here before the kids and Bill." before giving him a wink and heading towards the kitchen.
"Good morning, Minnie, are we too late for some breakfast?" Elizabeth asked, seeing her friend at the stove.
"Oh, Elizabeth, it's so good to see you, and it's never too late for breakfast in my opinion"
"I agree with you there, and I think Little Jack would too. Actually, we are waiting on Jack, Allie, and Bill. They are putting Pal away and should be here soon. Can I take a cup of coffee for myself and Nathan while we wait?" Elizabeth asked
"Of course, help yourself," Minnie said with a smile.
Grabbing two cups and the coffee pot, Elizabeth went back to the dining room. "Coffee, Constable?" she asked Nathan when she reached the table.
"I'd love some, thank you." Nathan answered, setting the cups on the table.
"So how was your morning?" he asked.
Elizabeth smiled thinking about all that had happened. "Well, Allie and I had a good long chat about some stuff, and before you ask, no, I will not tell you what we talked about because she asked that it stay between us."
"Keeping secrets from me, Mrs. Thornton?"
"I prefer to think of it as keeping a confidence, Constable. But I did encourage Allie to talk to you about it, and I hope she does"
She'd finished pouring the coffee and returned it to the kitchen. Walking back to the table, she debated telling him about her conversation with Lucas, but heard the door open and smiled at three of her favorite people walking in.
"Did you get Pal taken care of after your wild ride?" she asked Jack once they'd all sat down and given their orders to Minnie.
"Yep, Allie helped me with the saddle and Uncle Bill helped me with his breakfast. I gave him water all by myself."
"Mountie Nathan," he asked, "Can I have another riding lesson after breakfast?"
"Oh Jack," Elizabeth answered, "I think one riding lesson is enough for the day, besides we were thinking of going on a picnic for lunch, how does that sound?"
"A picnic? I love picnic's." Jack exclaimed before turning to Allie and asking if she was coming too.
"I'd love to, Jack, if I am invited too?" Allie said, looking towards her dad.
"Of course Allie can come, it's a family picnic after all" Elizabeth told her.
"Can we go now?" he asked.
"Well, Jack, first we have to finish breakfast, and then don't you think you'll want to wait a while before having lunch?" Nathan asked.
"I guess," the little boy said, sadly. "But what happens until then?"
"Well", Nathan began, "What if we went to the field across from your house and had a little baseball game?"
"You mean like with a ball, and hitting with a bat?" Jack asked curiously.
"Yeah, and maybe some running around the bases. It will be an entire game. What do you think?"
"I like that idea." Jack said with a grin, before quickly diving back into his food.
Elizabeth had been very quiet throughout breakfast, and still hadn't said much during the walk home. It wasn't that she was upset, on the contrary she didn't know when she'd been this happy. But it was her words to Nathan earlier about wanting to get married that were keeping her occupied. She was willing to admit that the words had slipped out during the heat of the moment. Just thinking about that kiss brought heat to her cheeks, but the more she thought about it, the more it became clear that it really was true. The question that arose was when she attempted to put a timetable on it. On the one hand, she couldn't wait to get married and experience the joy's of having a husband and children. For so long she had dreamed of what it would be like to have someone around, all the time, to help, who wasn't a neighbor with their own lives. However, she found she was very much enjoying the newness and excitement of being in a relationship with Nathan. Being with Lucas was wonderful, and she couldn't say she had many regrets, but there was quite a difference between how she reacted to being around Lucas versus being around Nathan.
Feeling a hand slip into hers, and knowing it wasn't Nathan's, she looked over and smiled, seeing Allie next to her.
"Are you okay, Mrs. Thornton?" Allie quietly asked.
"I am, thank you, Allie." she replied, pulling her in for a squeeze.
"Thank you for talking to me this morning. I hope you didn't mind me opening up like that."
Hearing the hesitation in the girl's voice, Elizabeth stopped, making sure Allie stopped as well.
"Allie, you have an open-ended invitation to talk to me about anything, anytime, anywhere. Having someone you can trust to open your heart to is so important, no matter how old you are. And I promise to never repeat what you say to your Dad, unless you give me permission, okay?"
After a moment, she added, "Actually, let me phrase that better. I promise to never betray your confidence, unless you give me permission, or I feel like your Dad needs to know. But even then, I will talk to you first. How does that sound?"
"Thanks Mrs. Thornton. I am so happy you and my Dad finally got together, even if it didn't happen when I wanted it to." Allie said with a grin.
"And thank you for making my Dad so happy. I love seeing his real smile, and the twinkle in his eyes, but is it okay if I ask you not to hurt him again?"
Fighting tears in her eyes, Elizabeth pulled Allie into a hug and whispered to her, "Yes Allie, it's ok for you to ask that, and even more amazing that you would think of his feelings." Reaching down, she lifted the girl's chin so they were looking into each other's eyes before continuing, "I promise you Allie, I will never do anything to intentionally hurt you, or your Dad. Being in a family isn't always easy. There will always be disagreements and arguments, maybe even a hurtful word said in the heat of the moment, but I will always love you and Jack and your Dad more than anything in this world. I am afraid you're stuck with us now, sweetheart." she finished with a wink.
"There's no one I'd rather be stuck with, Mrs. Thornton." Allie assured her with a huge grin on her face.
Nathan looked back and smiled, seeing Allie and Elizabeth together and hugging. Deciding to give them a little more time, he asked Jack if he wanted to race to their house.
"Sure!" Jack exclaimed, taking off as fast as he could go. Nathan laughed, following close behind.
Once the four of them had reached the Thornton's row house, Nathan took charge.
Rubbing his hands together in excitement, he said, "Now since baseball requires running, maybe we should change into some more appropriate clothing." Whispering to Jack so Elizabeth and Allie could hear, he added, "We don't want mommy to get mad at us for getting our trousers dirty."
"Yeah, mama gets mad when I get dirty in the wrong clothes." Jack admitted, trying to whisper back, but not quite getting the volume low enough.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "Looks like I am going to have to watch the two of you," she said pointing at Nathan and Jack and winking, "very closely from now on."
"Nathan and Allie, you guys head home and change, and I'll get a picnic basket started so we can eat after the game." She told them, reaching for Jack's hand.
"No need, Mrs. Thornton, Dad already took care of it. Although, he told me it was for a fishing trip." Allie answered with a pointed look at her dad.
"I've got to keep you on your toes' kiddo." Was all her Dad would say.
Laughing, they went their separate ways, excited for what the rest of the day would bring.