Riverton, Maine

"No peeking, babe. Your eyes are closed, right?"

"Yes, Jack. My eyes are closed and even if they weren't, this crazy blindfold does the trick."

"Good. We're almost there."

"That's wonderful. Does this place we are going have a bathroom? I really need to use it." They'd been driving for three hours, down from Augusta. Although they could be in New Hampshire for all she knew.

"Yes, there's a bathroom. Well, an outhouse."

"Jack Thornton! Please take me to civilization so I can use a real bathroom."

"Where's your sense of adventure, Elizabeth? We went bungee jumping and zip lining in Cabo."

"Apparently I left it there. Now may I take off my blindfold?"

He pulled into a small gas station and gently untied her blindfold.

"Where are we?"

"I believe you asked for civilization. Can you grab me a soda and maybe some snacks for us?"

"You don't want real food? How much longer until we get to where we are going?"

"So many questions," he teased. "When are you going to trust me?"

"When we've been married longer than a month." She kissed his perfect lips and ran into the gas station.

It had been a perfect month in his opinion. The perfect summer wedding, followed by an even more perfect honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas. Then, they returned home to Augusta where they had a studio apartment and he told her they were hitting the road again for a the weekend before real life started.

The twist was, real life was going to be in Riverton as soon as he convinced her.

"Alright, babe. I got you a soda and some snacks," she announced a few minutes later, holding up a paper bag.

"Great. I'm done pumping gas so let's go."

They got back in the car and he stared at her. "What are we waiting for?" she asked.

"Blindfold."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. Only about five more miles by my calculations." She sighed and tied the blindfold back on. "Thank you, Elizabeth."

"Mmhm." Yes, she was being a bit grumpy, but in reality, the road trip had been pretty fun until the blindfold came out.

Less than ten minutes later he stopped the car again. He got out, walked to her side and opened her door.

He took her hand and led her a few feet. "Alright. Take your blindfold off."

She did and slowly opened her eyes, waiting for them to adjust. "Where are we?"

"Riverton, Maine. About thirty minutes east of Portland."

"And where are we right now?"

"Our new house."

"Are you serious? It only has half a roof."

"Currently."

"Now I remember telling you I was tired of house hunting and for you to just find us one..."

"So I did."

"Jack, we can't live here. We could die of exposure."

"Its summer. Nice try. Now I need you to envision it. You have a great imagination so I know you can do this." He pointed to the roof. "We will fix the roof, fix the steps on the front porch. Paint and fix the railings and the fence around the yard. Fix the barn out back so we can have chickens and a horse someday."

"What does the inside look like?"

"It needs work. The floors are in good condition but it needs paint and we need to rip out a wall or two."

"How many bedrooms?"

"Four and two bathrooms with room for a third. Plenty for our family."

Elizabeth turned and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her forehead in his neck. "Our family". Those words meant the world.

They were going to foster children and hopefully adopt a few too. They needed a home as big as this one to make that happen.

"How long before we can live in it?"

"It will probably take almost a year to completely finish but we could probably move in sooner."

"And until then? Please don't say the words tent and outhouse."

"I rented a fifth wheel. Its hooked up to the electrical and septic."

She turned and stared, picturing it. "Let's do it."

"You sure, Elizabeth?"

"Yes. I don't suppose the fifth wheel has Wi-Fi?"

"No, but Vera's café has it. It's just down the road about a mile."

"When do we move here?"

"Two weeks. I'll give my notice at my job and we can pack up and drive down."

…..

That night, they decided to campout in the fifth wheel. First, they went and found a cute little Chinese restaurant in town and brought the food back to eat it at their little table.

Elizabeth always read her fortune cookie before her meal. This night was no exception. "All your dreams are going to come true," she read. "Already have, so I guess it knows what it's talking about."

"Well, that's good, but mine is way behind." He handed it to her with a chuckle.

"Marriage is in your future." She giggled. "Unless you plan on taking a second wife."

"Are you serious? I can't handle the one I've got." She nudged him with her toes.

"Very funny."

After dinner, he showed her the blueprints for the house but she was having trouble imagining it so he took her inside.

"So we will knock down this wall here between the kitchen and dining room and this one into the living room so that we will have a big open area."

"Better to see the kids with."

"Exactly. We will refurbish the fireplace here, maybe whitewash the brick or paint it."

Elizabeth could see them sitting on a big L-shaped couch by the fire in the winter, a toddler curled up on her lap. "Sounds good."

He took her hand and led her into the kitchen. "We need new appliances and I'm going to do a herringbone backsplash and quartz countertops on the counters and enlarge the island." She imagined eating breakfast there, cozy and happy.

He took her upstairs to the bedrooms. "This carpet is nasty. So at the very least we need to replace it, unless you want wood floors up here too."

"I do, yes."

"Alright. This one right next to the master, I thought we could do as a nursery for a baby or toddler. Then the next one is larger so I thought maybe a couple bunkbeds."

"And the one across the hall? Can we make it a girl's room/guest room?"

"Of course. Whatever you want."

"Great." A white rocking chair by the window with a pink cushion to match the sheer pink curtains popped up in her mind.

The master was a large room with three tall windows and a walk in closet. The master bath needed to be retiled and needed a new vanity, sink, toilet, and shower.

"This is a huge job, hon."

"It is. I'm going to see if there are any guys needing work around here."

Elizabeth knew that moneywise, they were in a good position. Jack had received an inheritance when his grandfather Jack passed away. He was going to use it partly for starting his business and the other part for buying a house. They also had both saved for the last two years, putting every penny they earned away that didn't need to be put towards necessities or bills.

Jack had bought the house for much less than they had planned to spend on a home because of its condition. That left the money they had left in the house fund to pay for renovations. Also, since Jack was the one doing the most work, it would be cheaper than paying someone else.

They had a separate fund for foster care and adoption fees and such and then another for emergencies. Elizabeth herself had a trust fund that she would have access to in a year and a half when she turned twenty five. That was just going to be something they had and invested but didn't touch.

She felt Jack step behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "What are you thinking about?"

"I just can't believe we are finally doing this." She leaned back against him and kissed his cheek. "I can't wait to finally help the children."

Jack loved every single thing about Elizabeth, but the one thing he fell in love with first years before was her heart and its capacity to love.

They had discussed it at length before getting married and both came to the conclusion that helping children who needed homes and a family was going to be a priority. If after tackling that they decided to have their own biological children, their family would be stronger for it.

"I think I'm going to take a shower," she told him. "See you in a bit?"

"Yeah." He stayed in the house a bit longer, just thinking and planning. He could hardly wait to move and start demolition. That was the best part of the whole thing. It was like starting with a blank slate and this blank slate was the start of something big for them.

He wandered into the fifth wheel a bit later and stopped at the gorgeous, tantalizing sight before him. Elizabeth was standing on her toes looking through the cupboards, dressed in short pink plaid shorts and a short white tank top. Her long dark curly hair hung damp down her back.

Her long legs were tan from sunbathing in Cabo a few weeks before. His fingers itched to touch the soft, smooth skin of her back. So he did. He couldn't help it.

"I'm sure you have no earthly idea what you are doing to me right now, looking like that."

She giggled as his fingers inched around to her bare stomach, slipping just under the hem, his lips tickling her neck. "I think I know."

He turned her and gave her a slow, deep kiss and forced himself to walk away. "I uh…I'm going to take a shower."

"Okay." She blushed and headed up to the loft where the bed was to wait.

…..

Jack watched her sleep, her curls spilling over her shoulder as she faced him, a peaceful expression on her face. This will never get old, he thought to himself. She would always make his heart fill with love just by being near him.

Her eyes popped open and she smiled. "Why aren't you sleeping?" she whispered.

"I love you."

"That doesn't answer my question, babe, but I love you too."

"I'm so glad you are willing to do this whole thing. The moving, the reno, the living in a fifth wheel."

"Anywhere you go, I will go. I want this too. All of it."

"You are going to be a great mom, Elizabeth."

"I'm going to try."

"You will be and the kids are going to be so lucky to have you in their lives, even if it's only a short time."

She moved over closer and leaned her head on his chest. "Thank you for saying that."

"It's true."

"You are going to be an awesome dad, Jack."

"I hope so."

…..

The next morning, they drove to Vera's café for breakfast. They sat down and an older woman, about seventy or so walked over. "Good morning, folks. My name is Vera. What can I start you with?"

"Coffee, please," they said in unison.

"Will do. Be back in two shakes."

She was back quickly, two large mugs in her hand and the coffee pot in the other. "You two just passing through town?"

"Actually, we're moving here," Elizabeth told her with a smile.

"That right?"

"Yes, ma'am. We just purchased the house on Spruce St.," Jack told her.

"You are going to live there?"

"Eventually. It needs some work."

"That's a fact," Vera agreed with a laugh.

"Do you happen to know where I can post a flyer or a notice? I need to find someone that has the skill to help me renovate our home."

"I can spread the word, young man, but I know just the person."

"Who is that?"

"My grandson Jesse Flynn. He recently lost his job and moved back here, hoping to find something. His wife Clara is pregnant and so they are staying with me until they find something else."

"Has he remodeled houses before?"

"Yes, siree. That's what he does. He is pretty darn talented too, if I do say so myself."

"Great. Can I give you my phone number so he can give me a call?"

"Of course. Now what can I get you two to eat?"