Christmas Break…
Beth drove straight from school to the lake house, needing to see Jack. This being engaged business made it even more tough to be apart during school. They had started skyping every night, no matter what time, because hearing his voice wasn't enough. Now, she couldn't wait to be in his arms, taste his kisses.
She pulled into the drive and texted him.
"I'm here."
"Thank goodness. Come to the entrance to the basement."
She practically ran around the side of the house to the back, facing the lake. She walked under the deck and raised her hand to knock but he opened the door first. "Hey," she said with a sigh of relief.
He stepped forward and gripped her waist, kissing her as if his life depended on it. "Hey, yourself," he said breathlessly, a moment later. "I missed you."
She nodded, grateful to be held by his strong, muscular body. "Still working out, I see," she told him, her fingers stroking his biceps and shoulders.
"Yeah." He had also started a running regiment, for endurance. He had worked himself up to four miles, which was saying something because he had never run before for exercise.
They walked over and sat on the couch, as close as possible without her actually being on his lap. She honestly had no idea how she would make it a whole year without being married to this man.
She turned and stared at his perfect heart-shaped mouth, needing…
They heard a knock on the door at the top of the stairs. "Yeah?" he yelled, his eyes glued to hers.
"Is Beth here?" his mom yelled back.
"Yeah, she's here."
"Does she want to stay for lunch?"
Jack looked at Beth for an answer. She nodded. "Yeah, she'll stay."
"Great. Ten minutes."
Beth reached up and touched his bottom lip with her index finger. "I love your lips," she whispered before covering them with hers, her hands slipping under his gray t-shirt. His hand grabbed hers and held it.
"No roaming hands, remember?"
"But we were….I mean, that was before." They had just been dating. Surely, they could amend their own rules a bit.
"Seriously, Beth. We can't start going to a place that will be so hard to come back from." She nodded.
"You're right. Um…maybe we should go upstairs." She stood, a look of frustration on her face.
"One thing," he told her as he stood up. "You need to know that stopping you just now was possibly the hardest thing I've ever done." He looked into her eyes and shook his head. "I missed you so much. This next year is going to take forever."
"Yeah. I think so too."
After lunch, he went with her to her parents house, knowing they'd want to see her, but not wanting to be away from her at the same time.
"Beth!" Julie squealed, running up to her as soon as they walked in the door.
"Hi, Jules."
"You'll never guess who's home for Christmas."
"Must be Vi."
"Yes and there's more." She started pulling her by the arm toward the living room. All three of them stood in the doorway and looked. "She had a baby."
"What?!" She eloped and then kept the fact she was having a baby a secret the entire nine months? What was she thinking?
At Beth's shriek, everyone turned toward the doorway. Vi stared, a uncertain look on her face. "Hi, Beth."
"Hi."
Jack followed her but stayed back, not wanting to get in the way.
"What's going on, Vi?"
"What do you mean?"
"You've been gone two years! You eloped and now a baby? How could you not tell your own family?"
She and Vi used to be close, just like she and Julie were now, but that all changed when she left one day and married a guy no one had met and she hadn't returned. Her own heart had broken right along with their mother's.
"I'm sorry." It wasn't enough. Two little words didn't take away the pain of losing her sister.
Beth walked away and took her bag up to her room.
Jack stayed with the family. "Vi, it's good to see you again."
"You too. I heard congratulations are in order."
"I guess that goes for you too," he said, gesturing to the little boy Grace was holding. "What's his name?"
"Collin. He's two months old now." Jack saw the motherly love in her eyes. He could see that something had changed in her.
"Where's Lionel? I'd like to meet him."
She hesitated a moment. "We aren't together anymore."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."
Beth came downstairs awhile later, surprised to see Jack sitting on the couch, cuddling her nephew. She couldn't deny he looked great holding a baby. It did something to her, made her want him even more than before.
He looked up at her as she walked over and sat down. "This is Collin, babe. Want to hold him?"
She looked at Vi, as if asking permission. "Of course," Vi told her.
The moment the tiny baby was in her arms, she felt an immediate longing. This is what she wanted. Babies. She and Jack had joked, finally saying three was the magic number but had never seriously discussed the subject.
Jack slipped his arm around her shoulder and smiled. Yep, this was going to be them in a few years. He looked down at her and their eyes met. He leaned toward her and kissed her, well aware that her family was watching but not caring one bit.
"So when are you two getting married?" Vi asked.
"A year from now," Jack offered when Beth hadn't said anything. "After I finish at the Police Academy."
"Where are you going to live?"
"We haven't discussed that yet but Beth will still be in school so it will probably be in or near LA," he told her.
"Where's Lionel?" Beth asked her sister.
"Not sure. He left me about nine months ago when I told him I was pregnant. Haven't heard from him since."
Beth could see the pain on Vi's face. She loved him. Still. Maybe it was just because of the beautiful baby boy that she now had or maybe she had actually loved him. Did she regret eloping now that her life hadn't turned out the way she thought it might?
As if reading her mind, Vi moved over next to Beth. "Beth, I can't regret eloping that day because that would mean I regret my son. I could never do that." Vi put her hand on Beth's arm. "What I regret is hurting you and Julie and our parents. I have missed you so much."
Beth held back her tears and looked at her sister. "Why did you wait so long to come home?"
"I figured you all might not forgive me. I wanted to do this on my own. I'm stubborn, I guess."
"A Thatcher trait," Beth admitted. Everyone laughed.
"But I realized, I can't do this on my own. I need my family."
"You've got us, Vi," Grace said from the settee. "This will always be your home."
Vi stood and hugged her mom. "Thank you. I do need a place to stay until I find an apartment."
"Nonsense. Your room is waiting for you and your precious son. No need for an apartment."
"I can't ask you to just open your arms and accept us here, like nothing happened."
"You're not asking, Viola. You are our daughter and Collin is our grandson. You belong with us."
…..
Jack and Beth sat in her living room, staring at the tree they had decorated earlier. It was beautiful. Jack had given her an ornament, red and gold, with a scripted "J & B" on it and it now hung front and center on the tree.
"Next Christmas, it will be on our tree," he mentioned, pulling her closer to his side.
"In our home," she added.
"You'll be my wife," he whispered, gently stroking her cheek and jaw with his thumb.
"I want a baby," she blurted.
He smirked and kissed her slowly, taking his time to savor her soft lips. "Some day."
She played with the button on his polo. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, it will be a year before we get married and then you'll still be in school for another eighteen months past that, I'll be looking for a job, and so will you for that matter. Babe, it's going to be a few years before we can think about it."
"When I held Collin, I felt something, Jack. I felt this ache. I want to know what it feels like to hold our baby. I want to feel it move and kick inside me. I want to know what contractions feel like and I want to know the pain of labor and feel it disappear the moment our little one is in my arms."
"I want all those things too, but would it be a good idea to do it right away, when we are still trying to figure things out? What happens if you get pregnant but you haven't graduated? How will you get your degree and have a baby? I need to find a job that will support us, Beth. It may not happen immediately."
She wiped a tear from her cheek and sighed. "Yeah." She hadn't thought about all those things. She just felt the intense need and told him about it. "I'm sorry I brought it up."
"Babe, don't be sorry. We need to talk about these things. They're important."
"This is important to me too but I understand why we need to wait."
….
The next six months flew by and it was time for Jack to graduate. Beth drove home a few days before and was now helping him decide what to wear under his cap and gown.
"Ok, handsome. Try this tie with your shirt."
He held it up and frowned. "Its old looking."
"What? Its paisley. I think its classy. Sophisticated, even."
"And looks like something a grandfather would wear." He tossed the tie and sighed. "Maybe no tie."
"A tie to me says you're taking this seriously. Try this one." She handed him a long skinny box that she had somehow kept hidden.
"Did you buy me one, Beth?"
"Yeah. Open it."
"Whoa. Brooks Brothers. Expensive."
"Its silk so don't spill anything on it at lunch."
"Very funny. I don't wear my lunch typically." It was gray with tiny black pinstripes. "This is great, hon. Thank you." He finished tying it and turned.
"What do you think?"
"I think I'm a lucky woman." She kissed his cheek and smiled. "Know what else?"
"What's that?"
"I'm very proud of you."
"Thank you." He sighed, wrapping his arms around her for a few moments. "Ok, let's go."
Jack was anxious. He was graduating, true, with an associate's degree in criminal justice, but he had yet to hear final word from the LAPD. He had completed the online application, had done the background screening necessary. Once that had been accepted, he had done medical, aptitude, and psychological testing. He just needed to know if he passed. If so, he should start within the next week or two.
He needed to or their December 26th wedding date might not happen.
On their way to the college, his phone rang. "Hello?"
"I need to speak with Jack Thornton, please."
"This is he."
"Jack, this is Sgt. Reynolds Trant at the recruitment office, LAPD. How are you doing today?"
"I'm great. Just going to get my diploma."
"Congratulations. I just wanted to also congratulate you on being accepted as a recruit into our training program."
"Are you serious?" He pulled over and stopped the car, grabbing Beth's hand.
"Absolutely, Jack. Our next training course starts June 16th if you accept the offer."
"Yes, sir. I accept."
"Very good. Be checking your email for instructions."
"Yes, sir. Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome."
Jack hung up the phone and grinned. "I'm in. I start in ten days, babe."
"That's amazing. I'm so proud of you." She reached over and kissed him. "I'm gonna miss you but I'm so proud."
….
Beth sat in the audience next to his brother Tom, her parents and his, waiting for the T's in the alphabet to be called. It felt like it was taking forever.
She stared lovingly at her engagement ring. It was gorgeous and it was a family heirloom and it meant everything that it was now on her left hand. Then she looked at her right hand, at her promise ring. It held special meaning as well, symbolizing that first promise he had made her almost two years before.
"Carson Wayne Shepherd," the dean announced. Almost to the T's.
Charlotte reached over and held her hand, squeezing gently. Beth knew she was just as proud.
"Jack Thomas Thornton." Beth couldn't help the smile on her face or the tears in her eyes. She took a picture with her phone and then sat back down. "He did it."
….
The group went out to lunch at Abigail's Pizzeria in Dappleview, a town about five miles away from Hope Valley.
"This place has the best pizza ever," Jack told them.
"Oh really?" Charlotte teased.
"Sorry, Ma. The chef is a genius. The stuffed crust is perfection."
They all slid into a large booth in the back, Jack's arm immediately around Beth's shoulders. "Are you going to tell them?" she whispered in his ear.
"Yeah. Everyone? I have an announcement." They stopped talking and looked at Jack. "Ok, first, I want to thank you for celebrating with me today. It means so much that I, or I guess, we, have support of our families. When Beth and I were on our way to the graduation I received a phone call from the recruiting office. My application was accepted. I start at the Academy in LA in ten days." Everyone clapped and shook his hand. "This support from everyone is what Beth and I will need going forward. I'm going to be away for six months and so all the wedding preparation and finding us a place to live in LA will need to be done without me."
"Don't worry, babe," Beth told him. "Everything will be great."
"Yeah, bud," Tom added. "Whatever needs to be done, we will take care of. We support both of you."
"Thanks, Dad."
"What can I get you folks? My name is Abigail."
….
After amazing pizza and family time, Jack and Beth drove to the lake and decided to spend time on the beach. She remembered to bring a bathing suit that fit this time so she was comfortable.
"Hey, babe, let's float."
"Ok," she agreed. They grabbed the tubes and got themselves settled in the water. "I have my first fitting tomorrow for my wedding dress," she mentioned, laying her head back and sighing as the sun heated her skin.
"Oh yeah? I can't wait to see it. The thought of you walking down the aisle toward me….its amazing to think about."
Her tube bumped his and she grabbed his hand. "You need to get your suit squared away before you leave. Is gray what you want?"
"Yeah. What about tomorrow? Can you meet me after your fitting?"
"Sure. Just shoot me a text. Then we can do that and pick out our wedding rings too."
"And go to lunch."
"Jack?"
"Yeah, babe."
"I don't know how I'm going to get through six months without seeing you."
"We will make it because at the end of it all, I will be a police officer and we will be husband and wife. We won't need to be separated again."
