Renewed Hope

Eilzabeth looked around the room. The party was a huge success and Nathan had been smiling since the moment he had walked in the door. She had never seen such a smile on his face before. It broke across his face instantaneously, spreading from ear to ear and reaching up to settle into the most mesmerizing sea of deep blue that she had ever seen on anyone. She could easily get lost in them, drowning in their depths. Her eyes landed on him for a split second as he looked at her, he caught her staring at him. He gave her a wink and flashed that lopsided grin of his at her. She immediately felt the warmth rise to her cheeks as a crimson shade of red evenly flushed over her face. 'No man,' she thought, 'should ever have the right to look that handsome.' She slowly turned her head away as Nathan went back to the task of opening his gifts.

As soon as she felt it was safe, Elizabeth went back to watching him as he picked up the next gift. Her heart practically stopped when she saw that it was her gift he was carefully turning over in his hands. He put it carefully down on his lap and reached for the card. Sliding his fingers under the flap of the envelope he opened it and pulled the card out. He read through the card, soaking in every word she wrote to him. She had addressed it, 'To The One Who Got Away,' and had ended it with a simple, 'with love, Elizabeth.'

He could feel his breath hitch in his throat and thought that surely everyone could hear the loud rhythmic beating of his heart that had to be as loud as rain pounding against a glass window.

For a minute he had almost forgotten about the gift, still resting in his lap. With a small, crooked smile, he picked it up and carefully ripped into the paper surrounding the wrapped object. Upon opening it, he was certain his heart had stopped beating. He blinked, trying to fight back all the emotions he was experiencing, afraid that his shimmering eyes would give him away.

From across the room Elizabeth watched as his eyes glistened with water, making his them shimmer like brightly lit stars. They were so blue that she couldn't stop staring at them. He looked up at her and their eyes locked as if there was no one else in the room, but them. He swallowed slow and hard as he smiled at her and she immediately felt like she was going to melt into a puddle right then and there.

He grasped the desk sized photo frame in both hands glancing down at it completely overcome with emotion and then back up at Elizabeth. He wasn't sure what this all meant, but his heart soared with excitement and hope.

Allie could see the range of emotions play across her dad's face as she studied him carefully and couldn't contain her curiosity any longer, "Dad, what is it? What did you get?"

Nervously he turned the photo around. In the wood frame was the photo of the two of them taken by Carson at Clara and Jesse's wedding. He could feel a solid warmth spread to his face and he was certain it reached and covered his entire body. He once again looked at Elizabeth across the room and mouthed, "Thank you," to her while everyone else was murmuring to one another with knowing glances.

Elizabeth turned to look at Rosemary, "I think I need some fresh air."

Rosemary looked at her curiously, asking the question, but having a feeling she knew the answer, "You do look a little flushed. Are you feeling ok?"

"I'm fine, it's just a little warm in here," responded Elizabeth.

Rosemary nodded her head slowly and with a soft smile simply replied, "Ok," and then watched as Elizabeth quietly made her way out the door trying not to draw attention to herself. Rosemary sighed. She knew there were deep feelings between her and Nathan, but she also knew that they needed to work these things out between them themselves. She shook her head to clear it and moved to sit with her husband.

Unbeknownst to Elizabeth, Nathan had seen her cross the room and quietly walk out the door. As soon as Rosemary had sat down, Nathan looked at her questioningly. With a slight raise of the eyebrows and a nod towards the door, Nathan understood and he dismissed himself from the group, ditching the jacket and hanging it over the back of his chair.

As he slipped out the door he suddenly felt restricted. Quickly reaching up, he pulled at the collar of his shirt, but it wasn't enough, so he loosened the tie and undid the top button of his shirt before turning to see Elizabeth standing at the end of the building, her body leaning against the wall.

As he approached her he smiled saying, "Trying to escape the party?"

She laughed and responded, "No I just needed a little fresh air, and you?"

"Same, I guess I needed air too. I was just feeling a little overwhelmed that everyone would show up for me."

"Nathan, surely you know by now that you are a huge part of our community and that Hope Valley considers you and Allie as family. People here are grateful for what you do for our community and you are loved," she looked up and added, "….and not just by the community."

Nathan bit his lower lip in thought before meeting her eyes with his own, "Thank you, Elizabeth for tonight. I know you helped Allie with the party. I've never had a birthday party before. I was truly surprised and I feel like Allie and I are home. The photo…..," he trailed off. He could barely talk when she looked at him like that with those big blue eyes, "I love it."

"Nathan," her voice was barely above a whisper, "please don't give up on love."

He gave her a slight smile of wonderment, "I don't think I can." Time stood still as they stared at each other before he raised his arm and reached to gently touch her hair, grabbing a couple of strands between his fingers, he turned his hand and ran his fingers down the strand of hair, lightly grazing her cheek with the back of his hand, "you're beautiful, Elizabeth," before cupping her chin with his hand and drawing her face closer to his.

He paused for a minute as if to ask her for permission before proceeding. He saw her eyes travel to his lips and knew that he had gained that permission. He leaned and drew her even closer until their lips met in a gentle and soft featherlike kiss that left both of their heads spinning. Elizabeth felt like her knees would give out at any minute. They both felt the electrical charge that coursed through their bodies. Almost as quickly as it began, Nathan released her. Not wanting to, but knowing he had to because they still had a lot to talk about. He pulled back still connecting to her with his eyes.

Elizabeth could barely breathe, let alone speak. This man who she had ran from out of fear and had hurt so badly still had feelings for her. Her heart leapt with hope.

"I think we still have a lot to talk about, Elizabeth, but for now we should probably go back inside before they send a search party looking for us. I was kind of hoping you might dance with me."

Elizabeth, finally able to find her voice responded with a nod, "I would love that." He reached down and grabbing her hand he tucked her arm into his and began to walk them towards the door, but before reaching it, she stopped him. She reached up and placed her free hand on the side of his face and leaning upward kissed his cheek before whispering into his ear, "Happy birthday, Nathan."

He looked down at her shimmering eyes with pure joy, "It's the best one, yet." He smiled at her with a renewed sense of hope for their future and then led her back into the party.