Disclaimer: I do not own the characters within this story. All rights and much respect go to Crown Media, Hallmark, Brian Bird, Michael Landon, Jr., the actors, creators, and writers of the show "When Calls the Heart."

Chapter 1- Reminiscing

Elizabeth sat on the side of the road watching the traffic whiz by as she waited on the AAA driver to arrive and change her tire. She was actually quite capable of taking care of the situation, but with it being the left rear tire, she would be right in the line of traffic and felt it best to wait for the wrecker.

"Are you out of danger?" The operator asked her the first and second time she called.

"Yes, but not by much. Do you know how long it will be?" Her question was greeted both times with a "Your wrecker driver is James Robert, and you're the next on his list of calls" answer.

Elizabeth pulled out her bag from behind the passenger seat, reached in for her planning book but pulled something else out by mistake. She sat motionless for a few moments thinking back to the previous weekend…

Elizabeth sat in her room in the north wing of her parent's home cleaning out her dresser and closet, a task she found difficult but necessary. She had several boxes; one was for trash and items she no longer needed, and still others were for storing the memories she wanted to keep. She pulled the final box down from the closet shelf, releasing it from her hold when she read the label …

"Jack and Elizabeth -4ever"

She walked out of the closet, turning back to stare at all of the mementos that fell and scattered across the floor. She took the box for trash inside the closet, shoveling the items with both hands, as the special cards, letters, corsage remnants, and the crown he won for Homecoming King among other once important items were tossed away. She started to tape the box up, intending to toss it away with the rest of the after Thanksgiving trash. However, before she could close the first flap and attach a piece of tape to secure it, she reached inside and removed several of the letters, the pressed rose corsage from their prom, his high school ring, his Virginia Tech football jersey, and his college Homecoming crown.

Elizabeth slipped these items into a Rubbermaid tub, secured the lid and sat it by the door. She picked up the rest of the unwanted items and put them in the trash box. As she lifted up the box to carry it outside, she felt something fall against her leg. Looking down she saw a near and dear friend… her journal. She hadn't written in it since he left her, and she wasn't sure that she could read it now, but she was certain that she wasn't ready to throw it out. She opened her bag and safely secured her journal inside before zipping it closed.

"Elizabeth, have you finished getting everything that you want out of there?" Her mother called out from the hallway.

"I'm almost done, mom," Elizabeth responded, her voice sounding soft and emotional.

Mrs. Thatcher stepped into her room and took a seat next Elizabeth on the bed. "It still hurts, doesn't it?"

"I thought I was over it. I hadn't seen these things for years. It's too soon for me to do this," Elizabeth rattled off without taking a breath.

Mrs. Thatcher wrapped an arm around her daughter and pulled her in tight to her body. "Dear, you both have moved on. Jack made his choice…"

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders, "I pushed him away. I knew he had always dreamed of a career with the FBI, but he applied never thinking that he would be accepted. He kept saying that it wouldn't happen, but then it did." The tears began to flow unrestricted down her cheeks.

Mrs. Thatcher wiped Elizabeth's cheeks, "He did ask you to marry him."

"He asked me because he thought that would keep us together. Besides, we were just kids at the time, and I think he was joking," she thought back to her sophomore year in college when he made the suggestion that they get married. "I had dreams of my own, and being married at the age of 20 wasn't part of them," she stated through her tears, wondering all the while how things would be different if she had followed him. "I guess I always hoped that he would realize that the FBI wasn't his dream after all. That it was me that he wanted, but we know how that turned out," she said sadly.

"You didn't want to be married, but you still loved him," Mrs. Thatcher commented.

Elizabeth shook her head up and down, but found it impossible to speak.

"Well whether you realize it or not, you released him to follow his dream, and that was the most loving thing that you could have done," her mother kissed her forehead wishing that she could take away the hurt that Elizabeth was experiencing. "Well, you know they say things happen for a reason. If you and Jack hadn't gone your separate ways, you never would have met Carson, and you two are doing well, right?" Mrs. Thatcher asked.

"Carson is a wonderful man, and I do care for him, but I…" Elizabeth began to say.

"Did I hear my name?" A voice called out from the hallway before entering Elizabeth's childhood bedroom.

Elizabeth wiped her eyes and stood up sliding the different boxes toward the door to her room.

"No, I'll take that one," Elizabeth called out as Carson attempted to pick up the one Rubbermaid box. She directed him to the boxes of dolls, posters, school books, and records and asked that he place them in the room above the garage.

Carson made several trips with the boxes she was storing. Each time he entered her room, he found her seated on her bed staring into the red Rubbermaid box. "Those items must be very special. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. There are just a lot of memories contained here," she replied.

"Good memories?" He asked.

"Some good, some bad, but apparently all are unforgettable," she remarked.

"Your first love?" Carson asked as he watched Elizabeth answer with an affirmative head shake. "We've been seeing each other for awhile, why haven't you told me about him? After all, I did tell you about my wife. It was hard to share about her death," he reminded her.

"I know, and I do appreciate you feeling comfortable enough with me to talk about it," she stated. Elizabeth continued, "Jack and I were great friends in high school. We both chose to attend Virginia Tech and we started dating officially in our freshman year. We dated all through college."

"What broke you up?" He asked. Carson and Elizabeth had been dating for quite a few months and he had been very respectful of her desire to remain a virgin until she married. "Did he cheat?"

Elizabeth quickly shot a disapproving glance in his direction, "No," she said sharply. "We just wanted different things in our lives."

Carson took her hand in his and brought it up to his lips, "That's a lot of time to invest and just decide that you want different things."

"Maybe wanting different things isn't exactly right. He had an opportunity to live out a dream of his and it took him away. Our dreams just pulled us apart; he went one direction and I went another," she attempted to explain further.

The blaring of a horn snapped her back to the present. She opened the journal and flipped through some of the entries she'd made many years ago before moving to the beach to teach at Bayside Elementary School. Many of the entries made her laugh, but one in particular, her final entry, written seven years ago, brought her back to a time of depression and deep sadness…

"Young love grips your soul; it's a feeling like no other; where the world is your oyster with the most beautiful, precious, and perfect pearl contained inside. Where even the rainiest of days show promise for a future that will be filled with sunshine and rainbows. Then you grow up; you realize that things aren't always the way they seem, and that although you can sit back and take in everything around you, others keep moving, opportunities open and lives change. Sometimes situations change for the better, but still other times they just simply change."

A knock on her window snapped her out of her reverie as she wiped her eyes.

"Ma'am, I'm James from AAA. Can you step out of the car and sit in my wrecker until I get your tire changed? You'll be safer there," he suggested as he opened her door once the traffic passed.

"Thank you very much," she stated as she looked out the window and into his eyes. "Jim Bob… Jim Bob Harris, is that really you?"

"It's James Robert now. Elizabeth Thatcher, I didn't know you were living here. When did you move here?" He asked.

"I moved here years ago. I'm a kindergarten teacher in Virginia Beach. What brought you here?" She asked.

"My uncle had a shop on Laskin Road. I came here to work for him and ended up taking over the business," he advised. "Who would have thought that you two would end up in the same city?"

"Who two? What are you talking about?" She asked as her phone buzzed signifying a text. "Sorry, it's my boyfriend, I need to tell him what's going on," she stated as she dialed a number and held the phone up to her ear.

James asked quietly hoping not to interfere with her phone call, "Tell Jack I said 'Hi'…"

"Carson…" Elizabeth began to explain.

"Carson," he thought. She and Jack must not have gotten back together.

She continued, "No, I'm safe. You aren't going to believe this. No, you don't need to come get me." She quieted herself as he spoke on the other end. "No, I'm okay, but listen… a guy that I knew from college owns the wrecker company, and he's the one that came out to change my tire."

Elizabeth walked back to the wrecker, hoisted herself up into the cab and finished her conversation. "I'm not sure if the tire can be fixed. I'll take it to the shop and either get it repaired or buy a new one." She listened as Carson spoke. She then responded, "Did you forget? I can't go with you to see your parents. We're leaving for Florida next Tuesday for the Eukanuba Dog Show."

She continued to listen as her breathing became deeper. "Carson, I registered for the show a month ago, and we had to be invited. I'm going, and I'll just have to meet your parents another time. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll win Best of Breed and they can see me on TV when they televise the groups." She listened, "No, I'm not trying to be funny. I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm sorry if you misunderstood, but my plans are made. I'll meet them the next weekend. Besides, they live in Denver. It makes more sense to see them sometime during the holidays."

Carson ended the call with "I love you," as Elizabeth simply stated, "I'll talk with you later."

Elizabeth watched James as he released the jack from under her Ford Explorer. He put all of the tools away and headed back to the wrecker. He slipped in the driver side, pulled out his clipboard and began to fill out his report.

"Hey, do you still show the dogs like you did in college?" He asked.

"I sure do. I just don't get a chance to go as often as I did before I started working. Sometimes it's difficult to get the time off to go. I show my own and just a few others now. It's so hard being responsible for dogs that don't belong to me," she remarked. "I'm going to Florida for the big Eukanuba National Dog Show next week. That being said, I guess I need to get that tire repaired or replaced. I shouldn't ride around on that fake tire, right?"

"The tire is slit by the rim. You can't repair that. You can come by the shop tomorrow and I'll get you hooked up if you want," James offered.

"That would be great. Could you look over it to make sure that it can make the trip to Florida?" She asked.

"I'd be glad to. Let me walk you up to your car and make sure you get in okay," he suggested as they both exited the wrecker and headed for her Explorer.

As the last of the current group of travelers passed, James opened her door, and saw her safely inside. He handed her a business card, "I'll see you tomorrow. Drive safely."

She made it home; she was several hours late, and her black Labrador Retriever, Onyx, was anxious to get outside, but all was well. Elizabeth snapped the flex lead onto Onyx's collar and they headed out. As they approached the park, Elizabeth could see that the parking lot was filled and there were already several large dogs playing rather rough in the park, so they kept walking. Onyx wanted to play, but Elizabeth tried her best to explain, "Sorry girl, but I can't take a chance on you getting hurt. We have a big show coming up."

They continued through the park, passing the high school on their way back home. In front of the school, Elizabeth watched the cheerleaders practicing as several boys in jerseys, football players she assumed, threw the ball back and forth pretending not to watch the girls as they worked on their routines. She smiled as she thought of her time as a Varsity Cheerleader, and the quarterback who eventually stole her heart.

Although she stood watching the group of teenagers, her thoughts were taken back to homecoming dances, parties with friends, and the walk on the beach in their junior year in college when he told her that he loved her. She remembered high school as such an exciting time. Back then she may have thought that life was stressful, but thinking ahead to what happened later, nothing could have prepared her for the heartbreak to come.

As she turned to head for home, she observed a boy in the #10 jersey take the hand of a cheerleader and they headed for his car. He opened the door for her, kissing her softly before she slid in and he closed the door.

"Jack was #10," she thought as she and Onyx continued on toward home.

As evening rolled around, Onyx's bark alerted Elizabeth to the knock on the door.

"Hi Carson. I hope you're hungry. I have a pizza in the oven," Elizabeth advised as he leaned in a covered her lips with his.

"Whatever you want is fine. I just enjoy spending the evening with you," he remarked as Elizabeth headed back into the kitchen to check on their dinner. "Hey, I talked with my mom, and they are fine with us just coming up for Christmas."

Elizabeth walked out into the den, "Christmas? Carson, I have to go home for Christmas."

"We need to work out something, Elizabeth. We've been dating for quite a while now, and my parents are beginning to think I made you up," Carson huffed as he ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, but maybe I can go see my parents and then fly out to Denver to see you and meet yours after Christmas. That could work, right?" She suggested. "I'm trying to make it work for everyone, Carson. I'm sorry about the weekend. I know I need to meet your folks, but I'm sure I told you about the dog show."

"You did, but I guess I thought of that as just being for fun and it wouldn't be that difficult to give up one show," he stated, doing his best to send her on a guilt trip.

She took his hand and led him over to the sofa where they took a seat, "Carson, you didn't know me many years ago, but I used to show dogs every weekend. I traveled all over the east coast and mid-west during the summer. I show very little now, but Onyx is a Champion and was invited to Eukanuba, so we're going."

Carson put his arm around her and pulled her close, "They know that you are important to me, and they just want to meet you. I'm sure they'll understand."

Elizabeth excused herself to check on dinner. She returned a few minutes later with two plates of pizza in one hand, two glasses in the other and a bottle of wine under her arm. They sat across from each other as he poured their glasses of wine.

Carson held up his glass, as did she, and he toasted, "To close friendships that hopefully lead to more."

They each took a sip of wine then sat their glasses down on the table.

Carson reached across the table and took her hand, "I don't want to push you to feel something that you don't, but I want you to know that my feelings for you are very strong. I hope you see a future for us, because I certainly do."

"I do care about you Carson," she stated.

"But love…do you…" he started to ask before she stopped him.

Elizabeth pulled her hand away, "I care about you, but I'm not ready for love." She looked away before returning her gaze to him, "The last time I gave my love to someone, I was hurt. I like what we have right now; I enjoy spending time with you, no pressure."

"I'm here, and I'll wait. As long as there's a chance for more, I'll be waiting. Just know Elizabeth, that at some point you need to put your fears aside and move on," he stated as he stood up and walked around the table. His lips covered hers before he started toward the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked as she spun around in her chair.

He stopped at the door and turned to face her, "Since we visited your parents and you cleaned out your room back home you've been distant toward me."

Elizabeth turned back in her chair and commented, "That's silly. I have not."

"Think what you want, but I've noticed it. Please look at me," he stated, his tone was soft and sincere.

Elizabeth stood and approached him.

"I care enough about you that I will fight for you…for us. But I can't fight a ghost. I can't compete with him…" Carson began to explain.

"There is no competition between you and Jack," she stated.

He released a hard breath and momentarily looked away. He returned his gaze to her, "Are you telling me that you aren't stuck back in college in a romance with a man who left you?"

"What I'm telling you is that I enjoy spending time with you. My relationship with Jack has nothing to do with how I feel about you," she corrected him.

"What relationship with Jack?" He asked.

"I mean the relationship we shared in college. Don't try to twist my words," she admonished him.

"That's not what I was doing. I just think it's best if I leave now," he stated as he opened the door and turned back to face her. "But Elizabeth, you need to do some thinking, and when you figure things out, let me know where I fit into your life." Carson left the apartment closing the door behind him and leaving Elizabeth to wonder if her holding him off was fair to either of them.

Elizabeth walked to her bedroom and stepped into her closet. Behind the pairs of tennis shoes, pumps, casual slip ons and her favorite boots, she pulled out the box she received as a Christmas gift six years ago from her mother. She opened the box and pulled out the leather bound journal that was engraved with the following… "Dreams…Your Limitless Imagination"

She carried the journal back into the den and sat on the sofa. Writing for her was cathartic, but once he left it was as if she blamed her journal. She was angry about all of the feelings she had explored in her writings, realizing that they were coming between her and the life she had dreamed of. As a result, she stopped writing, but found it impossible to discard the beautiful gift from her mother. This was the first time that the box had been opened since it was originally gifted. She kept it in her apartment coat closet when she first moved away from home. When she was younger, she tended to write in the privacy of her bedroom. Keeping the journal in her coat closet placed it far from her bedroom…out of sight, out of mind.

Her most recent move, to her current apartment saw the box moving from the entryway closet to her bedroom, yet it remained unopened until today.

She had never opened the journal and was surprised when she did, seeing for the first time a note from her mother…

Merry Christmas to my dear Elizabeth. Sweetheart, you have many things to offer in this life, and one of which is your gift for words. Please don't let the disappointments of the past prevent you from moving forward into the future. I love you with all of my heart.

Love always, Mom

Elizabeth opened the journal to the first page, took a deep breath and decided that now was the time to start anew…

"Memories are those times of your life that you cherish; safely slipping away mementos to help keep the visual in your mind alive, refusing to allow the thoughts, good, bad, or indifferent to disappear. You fight within yourself to maintain even those sad memories, because without them a part of your life, something that you held so dear will be gone forever. Every relationship is held up to the standards of that great love, finding it difficult to allow anyone in because they don't rival what you felt with that one special person. Years fly by yet you remain in the past unable or unwilling to move forward, telling yourself that it doesn't matter, when clearly it does. Sometimes the only thing standing in the way of your happiness are those demons of your past. When you are finally able to put aside what you thought you wanted; when you realize that what could have been is not your reality; when you stop measuring each relationship by those of the past, then and only then will you open yourself to second chances. After all, don't we each deserve at least the opportunity?"

The following day, Elizabeth pulled up to the big door in front of Harris Tire Center. She walked inside and was immediately welcomed by "Jim-Bob…"

"It's James now," he reminded her.

"I'm sorry. Old habits die hard," she admitted. "Hey, yesterday you made some comment about two of us being in town or something like that. What were you referring to? You and me?"

James hesitated, "No, actually you and Jack."

"Jack? What's he doing here?" She asked.

James looked up from his paperwork, "Well, don't hold me to it; I haven't seen him, but Lee Coulter was in for a set of tires a while back and he mentioned that Jack was stationed at the FBI Headquarters in Chesapeake.

"Lee Coulter? WOW, what's going on with him?" She asked. She wanted to know more about Jack, but didn't want it to seem like she was interested.

"He's a store manager at Lowe's, and get this…he and Rosemary got married," James advised.

"Lee and Rosemary? That's wonderful. I always thought they made a great couple," she replied. "I thought Lee went to New York. Wasn't he some big trader on Wall Street?"

James smiled thinking back to the times when Lee was the banker for their college group; trying to give everyone financial advice. "I had heard that too. He was doing well, but he honestly missed Rosie. He gave it up, returned home and pursued her until she gave in. Personally, knowing Rosie like we do, I think she was just making him work for it."

"Well now let's see what size tire you need," James checked before looking through his inventory for a match. Finding what he needed, he assigned the job to his top mechanic and took Elizabeth into his office for a cup of coffee.

"I have to say that I always thought you and Jack would be together forever. I remember when you broke up, but I guess I always thought you'd get back together," he admitted.

"You and me both," she quickly replied. "He had things he wanted to do, and so did I and I guess they weren't the same. Or maybe I just wasn't as important to him as I thought."

James always said that he wouldn't get involved in the love lives of others. He didn't feel that this was the same thing since so much time had already passed. "It's been seven years now, but I do know when you broke up he was devastated. He said that he'd never love another woman like he loved you."

She knew the feeling. Elizabeth inhaled deeply, releasing a cleansing breath before she took a sip of coffee, "I eventually moved on. I can only assume that he did too." Many years had passed, Elizabeth had someone else in her life, yet she waited to hear James say that Jack was free. Unfortunately, he didn't know so he made no comment.

The day came for Elizabeth, her dog show partner Susan, and Onyx to leave for Florida. They initially planned to only drive half way before stopping, but with taking turns driving, they made the decision to go straight through. They stopped several times for gas and coffee, and arrived in the land of Mickey Mouse at 6am on Wednesday morning. The show started on Thursday, so they had a day to recuperate before the festivities began.

Elizabeth and Susan headed for the show site. The facility was already buzzing with professional handlers and their charges and it was difficult to find a place to set up their crate and grooming table. They were pushed up against the wall in the back, but knew that they would not be hanging around at their set up, so they weren't upset.

Elizabeth, Susan and Onyx headed for the Waffle House located a few miles up the road. Once Elizabeth and Susan finished breakfast, they headed for the hotel, arriving at the Holiday Inn located in Orange County, Florida, approximately three miles from the Convention Center. The hotel had a vacancy, so they were allowed to check in early. They carried their belongings up to the room, and collapsed in bed, with Onyx eating her breakfast before snuggling up close to Elizabeth.

The following morning, Elizabeth, Susan and Onyx arrived at the Orange County Convention Center before 7am. The show started at 8am, and Labrador Retrievers were scheduled for Ring 6 at 9am. Elizabeth picked Onyx up and placed her on the grooming table. They sprayed her coat, sprucing her up with a quick blow dry. In Elizabeth's eyes, Onyx was perfect, so not much was needed in the grooming area. Susan ran the dremel over Onyx's nails, and they chalked one small spot that was missing a patch of hair just under her chest. Elizabeth was certain that the judge wouldn't see it, but she knew it was there, so cover it they did!

The clock struck 9am and Ring 6 was empty, having just finished with the Chesapeake Bay Retriever judging. The Labrador Best of Breed entries were called into the ring. With sixty two dogs entered and fifty six present, Judge Robert Indeglia split the class into four groups. Elizabeth left the ring and waited for group 3 to be called back in. She figured that each group could take up to thirty minutes, so she did not expect to return to the ring before 10am.

Elizabeth placed a blanket on the floor and encouraged Onyx to rest upon it. She and Susan talked about the beautiful dogs in the lineup and how they simply felt blessed to have been invited in this caliber of competition. She pulled out her phone and saw a text from her sister, Julie, wishing her luck, and a phone message from her father.

She pulled up her phone mail and listened as her father's message brought a smile to her face. As she closed out her phone mail, another text came through from Carson…

"Break a leg or whatever they say in dog shows…"

"Thanks, waiting 4 my group…"

"How's the competition…?"

"Tough. Don't expect to get BOB (Best of Breed), but if we do, it's on TV tonight…"

"Fingers crossed. Would love to see u on TV…"

"Gotta go. My group is lining up…" She closed out her phone before he replied.

As each group was judged, Mr. Indeglia pulled his top 5 competitors. Group 3 entered…Onyx showed beautifully. No matter what happened, Elizabeth was beyond proud. She was aware that the judge liked Onyx, as he was the one who awarded her the final win on her way to her championship, but any one of the dogs there were deserving of the win. As the final judging took place with their group, Onyx was pulled out as one of the top 5.

Following the Judging for the fourth group, the top 20 competitors returned to the ring, Elizabeth couldn't help but look around as the judge pointed to her for Best of Breed, assuming that there must have been another competitor behind her that was getting the nod.

Once the realization struck, the pride she felt in Onyx overcame any nervousness she felt. The Sporting Group was scheduled to be televised at 8pm. They had plenty of time to go back to the hotel, rest and return for the nighttime extravaganza.

"Elizabeth, this is for you," Susan said as she unzipped her suit bag and pulled out a beautiful cream colored jacket and matching skirt, with a black sleeveless blouse.

"What did you do?" Elizabeth asked.

Susan smiled, "Well, I'd like to say it was from me, but it's actually from Carson."

"Really?" Elizabeth seemed surprised as she pulled out her phone to call him. He didn't answer, so she sent him a text…

"We won BOB. Love my suit. TY…Watch me on TV tonight…USA channel…8pm…"

Back in Virginia Beach, Jack was sitting at his desk cleaning out drawers containing old papers. This was his favorite piece of furniture and had accompanied him through several moves. He reached way in the back of the middle drawer pulling everything loose to the front. He saw it; he hadn't seen it for years, and had almost forgotten that he had purchased it. Not really...he would always remember, but kept trying to push that time in his life out of his memories. The blue velvet box containing what he thought at the time was his future had been sitting in the back of his desk drawer for seven years, hidden away, suddenly bringing those feelings to the surface.

Jack leaned back in his chair, inhaled deeply before releasing a cleansing breath, as he opened the box.

"Whoa, so you're finally going to do it? You're planning to propose to Brooke?" Lee asked as he rushed to the desk, and playfully slapped Jack on the shoulder.

"What…wait, no, no, no," Jack quickly announced as he slammed the top on the ring box closed and gently placed it back in the drawer.

"What are you waiting for? She is crazy about you, but she won't wait forever," Lee reminded him.

Jack looked down before looking back at Lee. He said nothing but his expression spoke volumes.

"It's still her, isn't it? It's been years Jack. You either need to move on, or oh, I don't know, why don't you contact her?" Lee suggested.

"Don't be stupid; it's been seven years. She's probably married by now, maybe even with a son or daughter," he looked down, lost in thought as this had been one of his dreams.

Lee watched him wipe away the tears that filled his eyes. "Jack, if she's still in your head maybe you need to find out where she is and talk to her. Put everything to rest once and for all so you can move on. I'm telling you Brooke won't wait forever."

"Are you happy with the way your life has gone?" Jack asked. "I mean, you left for Wall Street after college. Do you miss coming back and giving that up?"

"Jack, I'm not you. Rosie and I took a break to see what we wanted in life. Wall Street was hectic, and without her around I had no one really important to me to share it with. My dreams changed, and yes, I'm happy," Lee confided as he watched Jack who appeared to be lost in thought.

Lee sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV, looking for any kind of sports program to lighten the mood. He unintentionally listened as Jack made a phone call…

"Hey Brooke. It's Jack. Oh, yea I guess you knew it was me. Um, I need to get a rain check on dinner tonight," he listened as Brooke spoke. "No, it isn't anything for work. I just don't feel well. I'll give you a call tomorrow," he promised.

Jack walked into the kitchen, returning a moment later with two beers. He handed one to Lee and took the other as he sat on the sofa.

"For someone who doesn't feel well, you sure are downing that beer," Lee remarked.

"Stop it. I can't go out with Brooke when I have things on my mind," Jack stated.

"Not things, Jack…Elizabeth!" Lee retorted.

"What are you watching?" Jack asked as Lee was flipping through the channels.

"Nothing really, just looking for something," Lee remarked.

"Stop…go back," Jack yelled, taking the remote away from Lee and going back through the channels.

"What's that?" Lee asked.

"It's a dog show; the Eukanuba National Dog Show. Hmm, Sporting Group is tonight," Jack stated.

"Why are you watching this?" Lee asked.

Jack laughed, "I used to go with Elizabeth to a lot of dog shows to help her when we were in college. Just be quiet, I want to watch. The sporting group is going in now. After they go you can have the TV back."

Lee stood and glanced between Jack and the TV, "That's right. Elizabeth did well from what I can remember. Well, I need to get going. Rosie was out with some friends from work and she'll be home soon."

"Wait and watch this first," Jack suggested.

Jack watched intently as the Irish Setter, English Setter, Gordon Setter, and the Golden Retriever were judged. Lee asked a question drawing Jack's attention away as the Labrador Retriever was presented to the judge. As Elizabeth prepared to take Onyx on her "down and back" to show her beautiful movement, the announcer began to speak…

"This is #22 CH Mtn Meadow Miss Instigator, call name Onyx. You know Labradors have been the top registered dog with the AKC for the past twenty six years. Onyx is handled tonight by her breeder/owner/handler, Elizabeth Thatcher."

"Shh, be quiet. Elizabeth? Did he say Elizabeth?" Jack watched the screen as the camera panned out and he saw her.

The announcer continued, "Many of those who follow the dog shows will remember Elizabeth as a teenager being awarded the coveted Best Junior Handler title at Westminster. I think she was fifteen if I recall correctly."

Jack quickly replied, "No, she was only fourteen."

Jack's knowledge of Elizabeth did not go unnoticed by Lee.

The announcer continued, "Elizabeth came back several years ago and handled the Irish Wolfhound to Best in Show at Westminster. Looks like she still has the touch with the animals. Onyx is a beautiful Labrador from Virginia Beach, Virginia, so it looks like their long drive was well worth it."

"Virginia Beach…she's here in Virginia Beach?" Jack smiled as he stared at the TV screen.

To be continued…