NOTE: I don't know about you, but I am ready for the drama to be over for a while. Have no fear, the Hargraves storyline will be wrapped up, but some sweetness is in order for the next few chapters. Once again, thank you for all the kind reviews, they
encourage me to keep going when the fear and anxiety of hitting publish takes over.
The sun was just started to set as Nathan neared Elizabeth's house. Hearing the giggles and shrieks from the backyard, he headed in that direction instead. Trying to stay hidden so he could enjoy the scene for a moment, smiling at what he saw. Allie, Jack, Goldie, and Lilly were running around, playing tag, with Scout getting everyone's way while causing more laughter. He heard Elizabeth call out, 'He's right behind you, Lilly" followed by a shriek and multiple adults laughing. Walking around the corner, Nathan was surprised to see Lee on the ground with three little kids piled on top of him, and Scout running around barking at everyone, wagging his tail and licking any face he could find.
Elizabeth, hearing a twig snap behind her, looked over and smiled. "Nathan, you're home." she said, standing up to greet him.
Jack having heard his mom speak looked over and scrambled off his Uncle Lee and ran towards Nathan, "Mountie Nathan, you're back!." he squealed, crashing into Nathan's legs and holding on tight.
For the millionth time that week, Nathan's heart exploded with love for this little boy. Trying to keep the tears from his eyes, he knelt down and pulled Jack into a big huh. "I am, did you miss me?"
"Yes, Mama said you went to help some other Mounties and that you wouldn't be home for a while. I was very sad."
"I was very sad to leave you too, Slugger. But the good news is the other Mounties don't need me, so I get to stay here with you, your Mom and Allie."
"So we can have riding lessons, and play baseball and have riding lessons?" Jack asked excitedly.
"Yep, we are going to do all that and more." Nathan assured him. Satisfied things were back to normal, Jack ran back to tell his friends the good news.
Allie, seeing the opportunity, threw her arms around him and whispered, "I am so glad you are okay, Dad. I love you."
Nathan looked down at his daughter and smiled before pulling her close again and placing a kiss on her head. "I love you too Allie, and I promise, we talk about everything okay?" Feeling her nod against his chest, he gave her one last kiss before she let go and went to find Scout.
Sensing Elziaveth beside him, he turned and enveloped her into a hug as well. Laughing, he said, "All this, and I wasn't even gone a full day." Everyone else laughed and then politely averted their eyes and Nathan placed a hand on each of her cheeks, closed his eyes and let his lips find hers. All the emotions he'd been feeling suddenly overcame him, and he began pouring them into their kiss. Elizabeth, remembering where they were and who was around, managed to pull back a little and whispered, "I love you, Nathan" giving them both a chance to calm their emotions down. Reluctantly, he let her go, but reached out for her hand, determined to not let it go for as long as possible.
Faith walked over to him, and quickly gave him a hug. "I am glad you are feeling better, Nathan. Take it easy this evening, and don't forget to eat." With a gentle punch on his shoulder, she waved good by to the others and left to find Lilly.
Rosemary and Lee then came over to them, Lee attempting to straighten his vest and smooth back his hair. "Next time," Lee said, "it's your turn to be at the bottom of the pile."
"Deal." Nathan said with a grin, trying to hide the overwhelming exhaustion that came over him just then.
Rosemary, reached out for his other hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We will have a lot to talk about in the coming days, but for now, you four enjoy the evening together. Lee and I are taking Goldie to the Café for dinner, and will bring some back for you guys." Seeing Elizabeth was about the object, she added, "No arguing."
Nathan, seeing the annoyance flash in Elizabeth's eyes, pulled her to his side and said, "Thank you, Rosemary, that is very generous of you."
Shrugging her shoulder's she said, "Think nothing of it." Took Lee's hand and went to get Goldie.
Soon it was just Elizabeth, Nathan, Allie, Jack, and Scout in the backyard. The sun had disappeared behind the mountains and the air was getting cooler as they made their way inside.
"Mrs. Thornton?" Allie asked, "Can I take Jack with me to go feed Scout and get him settled for the night?"
"Of course you can." Elizabeth said with a smile, knowing the young lady was offering them time alone, before a thought came to her.
"Actually, Allie, Nathan, what if Jack and I came to your house this evening instead? It seems like we spend all our time here, and maybe you guys would like to spend time at your house instead?"
"That would be great!" Allie exclaimed, thinking how fun it would be to play the hostess, and looking at her dad for approval.
Hesitating, Nathan said, 'But what about Jack? There isn't much for him to do at our house?"
"That's not a problem, dad. He and I are working on a project and all the stuff is over there. Plus, I found a book at the library I think he will like." Allie assured him.
"Alright then, let's go to our house." Nathan agreed, trying to remember if he's cleaned up last night.
"What do you say, Jack?" Elizabeth asked her son, who had been watching the conversation with excitement. "Do you want to spend some time at Allie and Mountie Nathan's house tonight?"
"Yes!" Jack cried, jumping up and down for joy.
"I guess that settles it, then. Jack, will you go upstairs and get your jacket in case it's cooler tonight when we come home?" Elizabeth asked.
"Okay, mama." he said, before running up the stairs.
Nathan turned to Allie and said, "Why don't you run ahead, kiddo, make sure things are cleaned up."
"Alright," Allie answered, pretending to be put out, before heading out the door.
"You have a very special daughter, their Constable." Elizabeth told him, with a wink.
"Yes I do, and tomorrow I will figure out how to show her my appreciation, but for now, Mrs. Thornton, will you come over here and give me a kiss before your son come back?"
Elizabeth giggled before pulling him close and placing a kiss on his cheek. "There, how's that?" she asked. Just as he was about to protest, Nathan felt her lips gently brush against his, followed by a kiss on the other cheek, just as they heard Jack call out, "Mama, can I bring my Mountie hat?"
"Well, it wasn't exactly what I had planned, but it will have to do." he whispered to her, before quickly kissing her lips, which prevented her from answering Jack.
"Mama?" he called again.
Clearing her throat, Elizabeth called out, "Yes you may, Jack. Thank you for asking."
Soon the little boy was jumping down the stairs with excitement at the prospect of seeing Allie and Mountie Nathan's house.
After grabbing her wrap, the three of them headed out the door and down the lane.
Jessie had been sitting at a table outside the café, watching the sun slip behind the mountains when Lucas found her. Smiling, he walked up the steps and made his way to her. Seeing him come, she smiled and pointed to the chair across from her, while taking a sip of her tea.
"Are you okay? Did everything go okay?" he asked, while sitting down and getting comfortable in the chair.
Looking into his eyes, she noticed the worry and stress behind them. Something he'd not seen from him before. "Maybe I should ask you if you are okay?" the worry evident in her voice.
"To be honest, I've been a nervous wreck since you left with Rosemary and Elizabeth." Lucas confessed, automatically reaching for her hand, waiting for the comfort it brought him.
"I am fine, Lucas, thank you. You really didn't need to worry about anything. I can look out for myself." she explained.
Feeling a little embarrassed at his passionate response, he raised her hand to his lips and gently kissed it. "I know that you can, but from now on you don't need to. You will always have me on your side, no matter what."
"Thank you." Jessie quietly answered. "Rosemary and Elizabeth are just wonderful. Elizabeth hasn't changed one bit since we were in school. Still so kind and caring and thoughtful. You know, if it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't
have graduated from school."
"What do you mean?" Lucas asked, genuinely curious.
"That is a story for another day." She said with a grin.
"I don't know that I've ever met someone with such a wide variety of stories." he said with a chuckle.
"You probably have a few stories of your own to tell, as well, Governor." she told him.
"Can you imagine if we combined our stories, my what a book that would make." Lucas replied without thinking. A moment after he heard himself say it, his cheeks turned bright red, making him grateful he had a beard. "Well, what I meant was…" he stammered.
Jessie, seeing his reaction, smiled and gave the hand he was still holding, a squeeze. "I understand, and it's true. It would probably be a bestseller."
By this time, a waitress had come up to their table with Jessie's order. Seeing the Governor, she quickly asked if he'd like anything, and he asked for a cup of tea.
"Jessie."
"Lucas, I."
Both laughed before Lucas pointed to her and said, "You first."
She took a deep breath before continuing, praying that he would understand what she was trying to say. "I just wanted to thank you, once again, for everything. It's been a long time since I felt safe enough to tell my entire story, in fact, you are the only one who knows it all. The fear of judgement from others always held me back, but with you, I didn't even think twice. It all felt so natural. If there is anything I can to help with action against Superintendent Hargraves, I am happy to do what I can. And while I understand that the next few weeks the story will have to be told again and again, my hope is that after that, it can stay in the past and I can move forward."
"Thanks are not necessary, Jessie," Lucas said, "and I can promise I will do all in my power to shield you from having to relive things any more than absolutely necessary. Truthfully, don't know what is going to happen with all of this, but, if you are okay with it, I want to be by your side through it all."
Something about the softness in his voice brought Jessie up short. Confused, she asked, "Really? Why?"
The reaction caught Lucas off guard for a moment, before he chuckled, knowing exactly what she meant. "I want you to be in my life, Jessie, always. In fact, I want to marry you."
The room hadn't changed much, since the last time she'd been inside his house. The only difference was there wasn't a tree standing in front of the window at the moment. Jack, who was always excited about going new places, pulled up short after looking around.
"It looks just like our house." He said, the disappointment heavy in his voice. "I hoped it would be different."Nathan and Elizabeth chuckled.
"You know, Jack," Allie said coming down the stairs, "All the row houses look like this, which means you know where all the rooms are so you don't get lost."
Jack looked around a little, but quickly agreed with her. "What's in the basket, Allie?" he asked, noticing what she had been carrying.
"It's for our special project." she answered with a grin. "Come on, let's get started."
Jack nodded and was soon taking everything out of the basket and placing it on the kitchen table. "Mountie Nathan, Mama, you go away so we can work." he told them.
"Okay, honey bear. How about if we sit on the front steps, with the door open, so you can call if you need us?" Elizabeth offered.
"Okie Dokie." Jack answered, already engrosses on whatever it was they were working on.
Taking Elizabeth's hand, Nathan led her out the front door, leaving it open, and together they sat down on the steps. Nathan sitting on the first step, with Elizabeth sitting on the next one, just below him. She leaned her head back into his strong chest and closed her eyes as his arms came around her. Both sat in contented silence, watching as the last pieces of the sky turned dark.
Resting his chin gently on her head, Nathan asked quietly, "How are you, sweetheart?" Then quickly added, "And so you know, fine is not an acceptable answer."
After making his agree he couldn't respond with that same answer, she told him. "I'm not sure Nathan, and I want to talk about it, but can we hold off until tomorrow? Right now, I'd much rather just sit here and enjoy being with you, looking at the stars, and then spend the evening with the children."
"I would like nothing better than to do just that. However, there are a couple of things I feel I need to tell you, but it's only because I don't want you to be blindsided if they come up tomorrow before we can talk. Chief Superintendent Collins and Superintendent O'Reilly are in town, I had just come from meeting with them. After hearing about my resignation," he paused, feeling Elizabeth stiffen under him, before continuing, "They've asked that I take a two-week leave of absence, once this mess is resolved before final decision are made. I know my decision won't change, but Bill did make an excellent point of how school is almost starting, and it would be a great time to spend time together, just the four of us, so I agreed."
Elizabeth sat in silence for a moment before turning on the step to look up at him, a smile appearing on her face. "You mean two weeks of no Mountie interruptions, really?"
"That's what they said, Constable Collins will be temporarily reassigned here and Bill has promised to make sure I stay away." Nathan confirmed.
Quickly standing, while pulling him up as well, she brought his head down to place a quick kiss on his lips. As she pulled away, Nathan tried to follow, not wanting the kiss to end, but Elizabeth was determined to say something. Keeping his head just far enough away from his so she could speak she whispered, "There are a few things in that statement, Constable, we are going to discuss, for now, I am going to rejoice in the idea of two weeks with no interruptions, to spend with you before school starts. There isn't a better gift anyone could give me."
"I can think of one." Nathan whispered, his breath brushing over her lips before he placed a gentle kiss on one eye, followed by light kisses down the side of the face, ending just at the corner of her mouth. Slowly, he tipped his head in the other direction and repeated the same process, once again ending at the corner of her mouth. Feeling her start to tremble, she pulled her tighter to him, and placed a sweet kiss on the tip of her nose, before gently nibbling at her top lip. Soon a boldness came over her, and she reached out to meet his lips with hers. The emotions of the day finally were able to come out and once again she felt herself slowly being walked backwards until she felt her back gently stop at the post by the stairs. Grateful for the dark of the evening and the coolness of the night, Elizabeth sank deeper and deeper into Nathan's kiss, and Nathan was more than willing to sink right along with her.
All too soon, the reality of where they were, and what they were doing, came back to them and they both started the journey back to reality. With their foreheads touching, and eyes closed, they both whispered to each other, "I love you." Hearing Rosemary's unmistakable laugh in the distance, gave them just enough time to compose themselves, and thankfully the night air could cool down the heat they'd been creating.
As soon as dinner was over, Jack and Nathan made their way to the couch and began looking through an old baseball magazine. Jack was excitedly pointing at everything and asking all sorts of questions, which Nathan happily answered.
Allie and Elizabeth had remained in the kitchen to clean up and have a quiet talk of their own.
"Allie, are you okay after what happened today?" Elizabeth had asked, concerned by how quiet the girl had been during their meal.
Taking a few moments to gather her thoughts, Allie finally shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know. So much has happened in the last few days, I'm not really sure what I am feeling. One minute things are perfect, and the next everything comes crashing down again. Will it ever just stop so we can be a normal family for a while?"
Elizabeth found herself laughing at her last comment and nudging her shoulder before saying, "Allie, between you and me, I am not sure if we will ever be a normal family."
Allie laughed as well, "It's true, but I don't think I'd change a thing." After a moment, she quickly added, "well, maybe without all the bad stuff that keeps happening."
"If there is one thing I have learned, Allie, especially since coming to Hope Valley, is that the greatest trials bring the greatest blessings. The first few days after I arrived here were filled with some of the greatest trials I'd even encountered until that point in my life. My stagecoach was robbed, the mothers, who had requested a teacher, weren't thrilled when they saw I was a young and inexperienced Hamilton Socialite. I burned down the teacherage, losing the rest of my possessions, and found out that my father requested a Mountie be stationed here to protect me, even though he said he trusted me. What came from that was a dear friend in Abigail, an understanding of what really is important in life, and falling in love with Jack's father. As hard and uncomfortable as those situations were, looking back, there isn't a thing I would change."
Allie looked at her skeptically, "You wouldn't change anything?"
Elizabeth thought for a moment before admitting, "Well, maybe a few things, like screaming at the mouse that ran across the floor of the saloon when I first met the mothers of the town, or telling the mothers, on the first day of school, that I needed a drink." Winking at Allie, she continued, "But no, I wouldn't change a thing."
"There are so many questions I have right now, Mrs. Thornton." Allie laughed, trying to picture all those things happening, "But maybe I'll save them for another day."
"I do have quite a few stories to tell, and there are many that don't show me at my best, but the point is, those hardships helped make me stronger for what was to come, and I think, sometime soon, we will look back at everything that's happened the last few days and be grateful for the experience. In the meantime, though, please don't feel like you have to deal with it alone. I am here for you, no matter what, and so is your Dad. Keeping things in, and trying to deal with them on your own is the perfect recipe for disaster, so promise me you'll really talk to someone, out loud, about your feelings?"
"I promise. Thank you, Mrs. Thornton."
"You are precious to me, Allie, and I am so proud to know you." Elizabeth said, reaching over to hug her.
"I second that, Allie." Nathan's voice interrupted, pulling them out of their conversation.
Seeing the embarrassment coming over his daughter, Nathan added, "Jack wanted to show you something we were looking at, he said it was important for you to see and me not to."
"Thanks, Dad, I love you." Allie said, standing up and giving her dad a quick hug before joining Jack on the sofa.
Nathan smiled and sat down in the seat Allie had left. He reached over and took Elizabeth's hand in his before saying, with a straight face, "So of all the things that have happened to you, kissing a potato as a child was the secret you were reluctant to tell me?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Constable." she responded, trying to sound innocent.
Before either could continue the conversation, Jack called out from the front room, "Mama, I am tired."