Nathan pulled into the Hope Valley Historical Village lot and put his car into park. Elizabeth frowned a bit. "Nathan, I love this place, but I think it's closed." Though, she did notice that there were fairy lights hanging in certain places. The western sky was lit with fading blues, pinks and purples with stars twinkling in the east, all of it leaving the most beautiful reflection on the surface of the pond. That's when she noticed that a good sized dock had been built and had lights strung along the pergola at the top. The place had certainly changed and grown.

"Well, it pays to have connections in the Historical Society." He reached into his console and pulled out a ring of keys. The place is all ours tonight. We just have to be sure to clean up after ourselves, which I'm certain we can handle."

Elizabeth's eyes lit up like a little girl that had just arrived at Disney World. She was a history nerd and the history of this town had always fascinated her. "Nathan! This is fabulous!" She reached for the door handle and he stopped her. Ever the gentleman, he got out and came around to open it for her. He held out his hand.

"My lady."

She looked into those ice blue eyes as she took his hand. It never failed to send a jolt through her whenever they touched. "Why thank you, kind sir."

He led her to the schoolhouse, up the steps and opened the door. He was really excited to see her reaction and to notice that Allie had gone the extra mile with her end of the set up.

Elizabeth gasped. "Oh!" The lighting was soft and accented by fairy lights and there was a round table set up right in front of the teacher's desk that was set for two with a low vase of wildflowers in the middle. Suddenly, soft music filled the room. She took it all in and turned. "Nathan! It's perfect! I really love this place and it's been far too long since I've been here!"

He smiled indulgently as she walked around the room, trailing a hand over the benches that had once served as pews on Sundays and desks for the school. Then, she was off to the teacher's desk and chalkboard, all the way touching each surface. They'd always had this in common - the love of this town and its rich history and solid community. As he watched her move around the room, he grew ever more aware that he wanted to be the next thing her hands trailed over. His face grew warm at the thought.

She wouldn't disappoint him, though, as she stopped right in front of him. Her arms slid around him as she pulled him close. "Thank you, Nathan." Her voice was barely a whisper as her lips drew near to his own. Losing the last of his control, he reached one hand up and cupped her jaw, covering her mouth with his.

They got lost in it. Neither was sure exactly how long they stood there, but Nathan finally pulled back - struggling to catch his breath and calm his racing heart. He fully wrapped his arms around Elizabeth, pulling her against his chest. "I love you."

She tightened her hold on him and looked up into his eyes. "I love you, too."

"Um, we should probably have some dinner." It was really the last thing he wanted to do, but they probably should. He led Elizabeth over to the table and held out her chair. Once she was seated, he went into the office and rolled out a serving cart that held their meal.

It was simple fare, not requiring to be kept warm. Minnie's famous fried chicken, a green salad and some buttermilk biscuits. "Nothing fancy, but perfect for the setting." Nathan positioned the cart so they could reach the food easily and pass the dishes around. The dinner table was small, so the cart was helpful.

"I love it! I haven't had Minnie's fried chicken in forever. And her biscuits...well, as long as you have some honey..."

"Of course, I have honey. Local wildflower honey and soft butter. Nothing better." They ate in silence for a bit, each savoring the great food that Minnie always provided.

"Now don't fill up too much," Nathan warned. "We also have Minnie's blackberry pie with homemade vanilla bean ice cream. The ice cream is Allie's creation, and she's quite good at it. She brought it over on dry ice. Oh, and we have some decaf coffee to enjoy with it. We have a great new coffee shop in town. The Daily Grind and their products are incredible."

Elizabeth immediately pushed her plate away. "Gotta save some room, then. Blackberry pie is one of my favorites." She watched the satisfied grin spread over Nathan's face. Of course, he knew that. She shook her head.

"What? You just shook your head."

Collecting her thoughts, Elizabeth reached out and laid her hand over Nathan's, to which he turned it over and grasped hers. "Tell me, Lizbeth. What's going on in that beautiful mind of yours."

"You know me, Nathan. You've always known me. I was so afraid that I shut you down and insisted that Lucas 'knew me so well', but he never did. He only knew what he wanted me to be. I was some sort of redemption for him for the way he used to live his life, which is a story for another day. He stopped seeing me and, shamefully, I was only settling for him.

"But, you, Nathan, you've always seen me. You've always loved me for who I am and where I'm at. While that kind of love terrified me for awhile, I can now appreciate what a rare and special blessing it is. To be fully seen, fully known and still fully loved by someone is a rare gift." She let go of his hand to brush her fingers over his jaw. "Thank you for never truly giving up on me."

He briefly closed his eyes, savoring her touch. Then he covered her hand with his own. "I'm just glad that you're back. Fully present. Thank you for doing the hard work of healing and for being fully honest with me about your feelings when you did. You could have held back, but you didn't. It was the thing that showed me your true heart and that I didn't have to be afraid of rejection again."

She sniffled. "I certainly gave you plenty of reasons to no longer trust me before."

"Lizbeth, I won't have any tears tonight. Not tonight." He swiped a finger underneath her eye, brushing away some moisture. We're here now and I have no intention of letting you go. Now, let's have some of that dessert." He leaned close and kissed the tip of her nose as he stood and started gathering their plates and putting them on the bottom of the cart.

Her heart warmed beyond reason, Elizabeth began helping him. Soon they had the dinner dishes and leftovers cleaned up and stowed away for transport after their date and they were enjoying their pie, ice cream and coffee. Elizabeth decided to be decadent and put a small scoop of Allie's delectable ice cream in her coffee up and poured some hot coffee over it. She laughed as Nathan's jaw dropped and he deftly reached over, grabbed it and took a sip.

"Wow! What a clever idea, Lizbeth!"

She laughed again and shook her head. "Not really. There's an Italian dessert-slash-drink called affogato. It's actually made with espresso, gelato and liqueur. I went to this new Italian place in Hamilton and tried it. It was heavenly. I plan to suggest it to Gianni's. Allie's ice cream is really amazing and this coffee...you can tell by the smell that even the decaf is going to be great. I just decided to use the ice cream as cream and sweetener."

"Ah-fake-gato" Nathan quipped and laughed at his own joke.

Elizabeth covered her mouth so she wouldn't spit out her pie. "Um, I guess I can see how well Allie's efforts to work on your jokes is going."

"It was funny! C'mon! Admit it! And, Allie, while being quite formidable, is not up to the challenge!"

They finished their dessert and the clean up and decided to take all of their things to Nathan's car at Elizabeth's insistence. She didn't want him to have to come back later to do so and she knew the Village would be open to the public in the morning. They were thoroughly enjoying every second of each other's company. A simple thing like working together and she was having a blast.

Nathan locked the door to the schoolhouse and they descended the steps. He could tell that Elizabeth was surprised when he took her hand and pulled her towards the dock at the pond. "Isn't this new dock something? They started opening the schoolhouse/church to very small weddings and built this dock with the pergola for the same. It also serves as the reception seating. With small weddings, you don't need a lot of space. And, I mean 'small'. It's great because it offers a new revenue stream for the town."

"It's beautiful, and I love the idea of them having weddings in that building again. Can you imagine? Have you been to one there?"

He led her to the bench seating around the edge of the dock and they sat down. "I have. Mike and Mei got married there a few months ago. It was lovely. The reception was held at their hotel, but the wedding was here."

"Hickam married! I think it's great. He was here when I first arrived. Such a nice guy and always there for everyone. I'm glad he's found someone. I often wondered if he would end up with Fiona Miller. Is she still in town?"

"I wondered that, too, for awhile. No, she's been gone for about a year now. Faith said that her sister, who lives in the states, needed her and she was determined to go back to university. Since her credits were in the US, she chose to do that while she was gone. She told Faith that she intends to return at some point. She was here for the Hickams' wedding. She was Mike's best woman."

Elizabeth loved that Nathan was holding her hand, working his thumb gently back and forth. He probably wasn't even aware he was doing it, but she really did love it. "Of course, she was. I admire her for going back now, before she loses out on those credit hours. And, for going to help her sister out."

Now was the time to talk about career changes. They both realized it and each started to speak at the same time. Elizabeth laughed. "Well, since you had the great reveal first, why don't you start."

"Ha! Technically, you were the one to give a clue first when you mentioned going back to finish your Masters in Library Science degree while you were away."

She raised a hand in surrender. "Okay, okay!" She nodded towards the schoolhouse. "I realized, when I knew I was coming back here, that I wouldn't be encountering the same students I'd had before. It was the one thing I didn't like about my job. Yes, I'd taught a few different grades during my time here, but that one room schoolhouse over there? Now, that is something I think I'd love. I realized that one way to encounter students of all ages here, could be realized at the library. And, the schools are small enough here that the public library is the place they all go for reading material as well as research projects. That's when I knew what I wanted to do when I came back. I had no idea if it would even work out, but it turns out that Mrs Morin was planning to retire this fall. I'll start about a month prior to her departure to keep things running smoothly. I'm excited.

I don't know that I'd want to work in a large public library, but this one suits me perfectly." It was her turn to run her thumb over his hand. She watched his mouth kick into a half smile.

"That makes perfect sense. I forgot that you graduated high school when you were just sixteen. I'm impressed, Lizbeth."

She smiled at his praise. "Now it's your turn. Tell me everything." She kept up on his hand, trying her best to encourage him with her eyes.

"Well, um, this really started right after that hostage crisis that you mentioned seeing on the news. Allie has always been a trouper with my job. It's all she's ever known. But, she was especially freaked out by that situation. I can't say that I blame her. My parents are in her life, but they live in a retirement community. My mom has Parkinson's. It's really just the two of us. I began to revisit the idea of a career change." He looked down at their joined hands, then back at Elizabeth.

"Bill was the one I started talking to about it. Turns out he was considering his future as well. He's worked hard on his PI business and the idea that it would simply close when he's gone didn't appeal to him. Not that I think that he's going anywhere anytime soon, though. I think that when he got pneumonia, he really started thinking about a plan."

"He and I talked quite a bit while he was ill. FaceTime usually, and when he was really sick, he wouldn't let me see him onscreen. It scared me a bit, but Rosemary assured me that he was going to get through it and she'd let me know if something changed." Elizabeth said. Her heart clenched at the thought of losing the man who'd been like a father to her.

"It came to me then. I've saved plenty of money over the years and I offered to buy into and, eventually, take over his business. For as grumpy and skeptical as the man can be, Bill was all for it. We worked out the idea and the legal agreement. Once all of the paperwork and financials were taken care of, I gave the RCMP plenty of notice. I'll still be investigating, but won't be doing as much field work as I do now."

He gazed into her eyes, trying to determine her thoughts, then realized he could just ask her now. No need to be hesitant. "Lizbeth? What are you thinking?" He couldn't help but remember the moment he'd told her he'd quit the Mounties for her because he knew she was afraid of losing him the way she'd lost Jack Sr and she refused to let him do that. She'd also refused his love and told him 'I can't'. It was never lost on him that, in her panic (and she was panicked), she'd said 'can't' and not 'don't. It was only later, once she'd started dating Lucas, that she'd adjusted her statement to 'don't'.

She watched his brow furrow and caught the moment his thinking changed, and she had a suspicion about what was going through his mind. A sigh escaped her lips. With one hand still caressing his, her other gripped his shoulder. "Nathan. Don't go back there. You now know that what happened with us before had little to do with your job. I didn't realize it at the time, but it's become crystal clear to me now. In the same vein, how I feel about you also has little, or rather nothing, to do with your job. Yes, I think it's an honorable profession, but you can still do good in the PI business. I think nothing less of you. In fact, I admire what you're doing. You, Bill and Tom will make a great team."

Elizabeth smiled when she saw the relief in Nathan's expression. After a brief hesitation, he stood and held out a hand. "Dance with me, Lizbeth?"

She frowned. "Umm, there's no music, Nathan."

He reached into his pocket for his phone. Pressed a few buttons and soft music began playing from...somewhere. There had to be a bluetooth speaker nearby. He'd really thought of everything. She laughed and put her hand in his. Her heart started to race with excitement. Their first dance.

Nathan pulled her close to him, wrapping his right arm around her waist, but kept her right hand in his left, close to his heart. Elizabeth's eyes grew soft as she stared into his and she heard the words to the song playing...

'Oh I wonder what God was thinking, when He created you.

I wonder if He knew everything I would need,

Because he made all my dreams come true.

When God made you, He must have been thinking about me.'*

She didn't know if Nathan had chosen this song ahead of time, but it was perfect. She hadn't heard it in longer than she cared to remember, but she knew she'd be downloading a copy of it when she got home.

"Nathan? Did you pick this song?"

He seemed surprised. With his right hand, he pulled out his phone and turned up the volume. By the time his arm was back around her waist, he was smiling. "Uh, no...but I should have. Do you think maybe this is our song?"

She replied, her voice low and husky. "I definitely do. I think He had a hand in this...in us. The path hasn't been easy..." Her voice broke and she had to take a few breaths.

"It hasn't. But maybe, just maybe, Lizbeth...we'll be much stronger for the road that's led us here. I think that there's another song about God blessing the broken road."

She felt his hand stroking her back in his comforting way and she became aware that she was gripping his as if holding on for dear life. "There is." She was struggling with words, so she opted for action. She reached up with her left hand and pulled his face down to hers. "I love you, Nathan." Their lips met in a beautifully tender, yet passionate kiss.

Nathan's hands met and linked at the small of her back, effectively pulling her as close to him as possible. A soft moan escaped from her mouth and he thought he might completely lose his cool. Neither of them were youngsters. Both in their early thirties, they were mature adults and they were going to have to have some conversations about physical intimacy and how they both felt about it. In his mind, he didn't plan on wasting any time before marrying her. He just didn't know how she felt.

They pulled back at the same time, two sets of eyes burning with passion. "Lizbeth. We're going to have to talk about this...soon."

She knew exactly what he meant by 'this'. She had a Nathan problem, for sure, and it seemed like he had the same with her. It was the best problem to have, in her opinion. She nodded. "I know."

After they'd set everything back to rights, Nathan and Elizabeth walked hand in hand back to his car and they were on their way home. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" he asked.

She shifted in her seat so she could look at him. "Just basic household chores, what did you have in mind?"

"First, is Sergeant back in Hope Valley?"

She smiled. "He is. My father had him brought back. He arrived not long after we did. He's boarding at Jed's." Her heart lifted as she hoped she knew where he was going with this.

"Newton is at Jed's, too. He's expanded his operation and there are some new trails. I wondered if you'd like to take the horses out for a ride? Maybe tomorrow after lunch?"

"Oh, Nathan! I'd love that! I need to go see him anyway. I haven't had a chance to do more than drop by." She reached over and laid her hand over his on the console, a smile playing on her lips.

Back at Elizabeth's, they went inside to find the house perfectly quiet. Allie and Scout were cuddled up on the couch while the girl read a book. She smiled at them as she stood up, stowing her book in her messenger bag. "Hi Dad, Elizabeth. Jack and Lily were really good tonight. Jack didn't really want to go to bed, but he fell asleep as soon as I started reading them a story. Tom called and checked in. He wanted to say goodnight to Lily and it was really sweet. Dad? Even Scout behaved."

"I'm not surprised about Jack, Allie. He often falls asleep in the middle of a sentence. He's so full of life, sometimes it's hard for him to turn it off. Stories are the best way." Elizabeth was glad that Tom thought to call his daughter before she went to bed. Now she was going to do something that would cause objections from both Allie and Nathan.

"Allie? Tom and I discussed this. We are paying you the going rate for babysitting. No objections, please. Your time is valuable and we refuse to take advantage of it. No objections from you, either, Nathan. Please." Elizabeth reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. Quickly calculating what she'd paid for sitters in Hamilton recently, she pulled out some cash, grabbed Allie's hand and quickly placed the money in it.

Allie's mouth opened, then closed. She looked to Nathan. While he wanted to object, Elizabeth was right and his respect for her grew even more. He gave his trademark short nod to his daughter. She tucked the bills into her bag. "Thanks, Elizabeth. Oh, is it okay if I leave the Legos here tonight?"

"Hmmm. I don't mind, but I think we should put them into the mudroom, out of sight. Otherwise..."

Nathan immediately went over and picked up the tub of Legos. "I've got it. I'll take it back there. In the closet?"

"Yes, the one next to the washer/dryer will do. Thank you."

"Thanks, Dad. I'm going to take Scout and get home. Goodnight you two."

Elizabeth hung her jacket on the coat rack by the front door and went into the living room to sit down. She wasn't sure if Nathan would stay, but she hoped he would. When she wasn't with him, she longed to see him, and when she was, she longed for him to never leave. She had to admit that this was an almost brand new feeling for her.

She'd had a wonderfully loving and romantic relationship with Jack Sr. It was a young love, full of drama and romance. It was tragically short-lived. They'd only been married for two weeks when he was killed while leading a training mission. Caught in a landslide after a freak storm. About a month later, she'd discovered she was pregnant.

With Nathan, they'd been friends first and for so long. They were both single parents. No, he'd never been married, but he'd raised Allie for over 10 years on his own. Now that she had finally been able to break free from her fears about another great love, she realized that she just wanted to jump in with both feet. She'd never felt that way with Lucas. Lucas had been her hiding place, while Nathan was her safe place, her refuge. She knew that now.

The subject of her thoughts drew her attention. Nathan stood in the entryway to the living room, a fond smile on his face. "Penny for your thoughts, Lizbeth."

Her cheeks flamed. He was such a beautiful man and when he looked at her like this...well...whew! From the way his smile widened, she could tell that he knew she was admiring him. She patted the sofa. "Come, sit. I'm just warning you that if I share what's been on my mind, you might be here awhile."

He shrugged out of his jacket and hung it by the front door, then returned to sit by her, slipping an arm around her back. "I'm okay with that. I don't want to leave you, anyway."

She slipped off her shoes, and tucked her feet underneath her, leaning slightly into his side. "Well, we have that in common. As my thoughts began when I realized that, while we've only been together for mere days, I long for you when you're not with me and long for you to stay when you are. Some might write that off as newness in a relationship. But I've been in that newness twice before and I can tell you that this is different."

Nathan's heart kicked up. He could honestly say that Elizabeth had been the only woman he'd ever truly been in love with. Sure, there was his college sweetheart, Cara. He thought he'd been in love with her - until he'd taken in Allie. Cara was not on board with being a part of a ready made family. Her true character came through and it was over.

He took her free hand in his, working his thumb the way he did. "I've never experienced this, either. And, I feel the same way that you do." The electricity in their touch fairly crackled in the air. They both looked down at their entwined hands.

Their eyes met and held. Nathan finally cleared his throat. "Lizbeth? I..." He blew out a breath. "I don't want to do anything to disrespect you, but I'm finding it hard to behave." He held up their hands. "I mean, do you feel that? Or, is it just me?"

Elizabeth shook her head slightly with a laugh. "Oh, I definitely feel that! How is it that you express the very thing that I was going to say before I even mention it? Nathan, I'm also finding it hard to behave. We're adults. Parents. And, I don't think that you would disrespect me."

They both heard a car door shut out front and knew that their privacy was just about over. Regretfully, Nathan said, "Maybe we should table this all for tonight and pick up this conversation tomorrow afternoon? I have a feeling that we have plenty to talk about and it's already very late."

She squeezed his hand and nodded. "Probably a good idea. I don't want to rush Tom out of the room." They both stood.

"Why don't I pick you up around 1:30 tomorrow? Would that work for you? Do you need to worry about a sitter?"

"1:30 is fine and I think that Rosemary is wanting to have Tom and Lily over tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that she won't mind Jack coming as well. If there's a problem, I'll let you know."

They shared a quick kiss right as Tom opened the front door. "Hey, you two. I'm not interrupting, am I? Elizabeth, I promise that I'll find my own place before too long." He looked back and forth between them with a small smile on his face.

"Tom, there's no rush. Nathan was just heading home. Did you and Faith have a good time?" Elizabeth asked.

The smile grew. "Yeah, yeah we did. Thanks, Elizabeth." He hung his coat on the rack. "I'm going to get a quick snack and head up to bed. 'Night, Nathan."

"Goodnight, Tom." As Tom disappeared to the back of the house, Nathan pulled Elizabeth into his arms and his mouth descended upon hers. The kiss sent delightful shivers down to her toes. Her eyes were glazed over as he pulled back and Nathan just grinned. "Something for you to think about tonight. 'Night, Lizbeth. I love you."

She swatted his arm playfully. "Goodnight, Nathan. I love you, too." With that, he was gone and she was in such a daze that, after she'd locked the door, she just turned out the living room light and headed up to her room to do just what he'd said...think about him and that kiss. In the morning, she'd remember hearing Tom chuckle in the kitchen.

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A/N: *'When God Made You', by Newsong

Also - 'Elizabeth had a Nathan problem' - an Easter egg for SU and their followers, of which I am one.