Jack opened his eyes to Beth snuggling up next to him. "Hey, sorry I woke you," she whispered.
"Sorry I fell asleep."
"How was he tonight?"
"When you left, he had a meltdown but bedtime wasn't too bad." Jack gave her a kiss and sat up.
"Where are you going?"
"To my room. The more that I think about it, the more I want to save this part for after we get married. Ooh, what's in the pink bags?" he asked, picking one up.
"Something for Friday night."
"Gotcha. Okay." He put the bag down and checked on Lincoln. He had his pacifier in his mouth and was sleeping peacefully. "Love you, bud," he whispered.
"Night, Jack."
"Night, sweetie."
She watched as he quietly left the room. Friday couldn't come soon enough.
The next few days were spent setting up the nursery upstairs for Linc and getting him used to the room. In addition, Charlotte, Grace, and Bree planned a dinner for the whole family for the night before the wedding. David and William spent time getting to know each other and Lincoln and Jack worked on packing up his things at his studio apartment. Bree and Mike moved her and the boys to their new apartment in town as well.
This day Jack had taken Linc to the apartment with him to give everyone else a break from the busy little guy.
As he was packing up his books, Linc kept taking them back out. "Help," Linc said around his passy.
"Well, you think you are, bud. We actually need to take those with us."
"Why?" That was a new word for him.
"Because we are moving to the big house with Ginger and Bella and Beth."
"Why?"
"Because Beth and I are getting married and that means we will live together." Among other things, he thought with a smile.
Linc didn't respond. He just removed another book from the box and brought it over to Jack. "Up?"
"We don't have time to read, bud. I need to get us all packed…." He looked at his hopeful eyes, staring up at him. His arms raised. "Okay, let's read." He sat down on the floor and pulled Linc over to his lap. "You want to read this one?" he chuckled at the novel. It was one of his Dad's from forever before.
"Yeah," Linc nodded and waited patiently.
"Call me Ishmael," he started. As he continued to read Moby Dick to the little guy who wouldn't understand, he felt something in his heart. It was love. Linc was his little boy now and he was responsible for keeping him safe and happy. Part of making him happy was reading to him even though he should be doing something else.
Linc looked up at him and smiled around his pacifier, his little dimple popping in his cheek.
Jack smiled back and kissed his hair. "Love you, Linc."
Once Linc grew tired, Jack laid him down on the bed with an old teddy bear of his and a sippy of juice that his smart fiancé insisted he take with him. Within minutes he was asleep and Jack was able to finish packing. He left a few things in place because he wanted them to be comfortable on their wedding night, but for the most part, he could move the boxes and not miss anything.
Beth turned and looked at the back of her wedding dress in the mirror. Stunning, she thought to herself. She had searched three wedding dress shops with Bree and found the perfect dress and it was her size. The best part about it was the lace made it seem romantic and vintage and that was exactly what appealed to her.
"Oh, sweetie, you look so beautiful," her mom said, walking in the room.
"Thanks."
"Are you ready for this?"
"I've been ready. I've been in love with Jack for so long, Mom."
"I meant all of it. Marriage. Motherhood. Opening the B and B."
"I have to be. It's my life now."
"Are you happy?" she wondered, stepping up next to her in the mirror.
"Yeah. I am."
"Good. I'm proud of you, you know?"
"You are?"
"Your father is too. Moving back here and opening a new business takes a lot of courage. And now being a mother and a newlywed too. I'm not sure I could do it."
"I'm ready for all of it." Someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?"
"It's me, sweetie," Jack told her.
"Don't come in! I'm in my dress."
"Come on, Beth. I don't believe in that bad luck stuff."
"I want you to be surprised when I walk toward you Friday night."
"All right. Well, I'd like to talk to you when you get a few minutes."
"Okay. Where's Lincoln?"
"He's with David and your Dad playing with Tate and Xavier."
"Okay."
Beth stepped into her closet and changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top before heading back out to find Jack.
She found him in the kitchen, drinking a bottle of water. "Hey."
"Hey."
"What's on your mind?"
"Nothing much."
"You said you wanted to talk."
"Well, I mostly just wanted a few minutes with you. It's been a long week."
"Oh ok."
He took her hand and led her to the porch swing. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and sighed. "That's better."
"Quiet?"
"Yeah." He slowly touched his lips to hers and lingered there for a bit. "I'm ready to be your husband, Beth."
"Yeah? I can be pretty difficult, you know."
"You? Nah."
"Yeah. I sometimes forget to put more toilet paper on the holder."
"Me too."
"And I might leave my makeup all over the sink."
"That's fine."
"And I might want to wait a few years to have kids." He stayed silent with that one. "I know we haven't talked about it but I want to make sure the B and B is running smoothly before I add more kids to the mix."
"Alright."
"Are you sure it's alright?"
"Yeah, but you do want more kids, right? I mean, I am thinking at least two more."
"Yeah, I do and we will and I may even change my mind at some point about when but right now, I need to keep focused on all the things we have going right now."
"I understand. I have a lot going on too but I'm really glad that I will have you to come home to after it's all done."
She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I think that every night, we should come out here and sit here, just like this."
"Or maybe we could spend some time in that Jacuzzi tub?"
"Well, yeah, we could," she said, suddenly nervous and feeling quite warm.
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "You nervous, hon?"
"I…yeah." Her cheeks felt even hotter, if that was possible.
"We will take our time."
"It's not that I'm not ready. I am. It's just new, you know?"
"I know."
"Is it new for you, Jack?"
"Yeah, for me too."
That made her feel better. They were both learning together. "Is it bad that I'm relieved?"
"No," he said with a smile.
"Bet!" they heard from inside the window.
She turned and waved at Linc. "Hi!"
A moment later, the door opened and he ran out, David behind him. "Hey guys. He kept saying Bet…I'm assuming that's you?"
"Yeah. That's me." She picked him up and gave him a hug. "Did you have fun with Papa David?"
"Doggie."
"And Ginger?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, little man, we need to give you a bath tonight. You are all sweaty," Beth told him, kissing his face and making him giggle.
"Bubs?"
"Yep with bubbles."
"And then I will put him to bed in the room upstairs with me," Jack told her.
Charlotte and David appeared on the porch. "We will be back later, son," Charlotte told Jack.
"Where are you headed?"
"Dinner and a movie. David found this theater in Burlington and a nice Greek restaurant."
"Okay. Have a nice time."
Beth stood and smiled at Jack. "So that means we have the house to ourselves, Jack. Whatever shall we do?"
"Hm, I say, dinner for us and bath for Linc and then once he is in bed, maybe we can watch a movie?"
"Sure. I don't really feel like cooking though. Why don't we get Chinese?"
"Sounds good."
The next evening they rehearsed in the backyard. William walked her down the short aisle toward Jack after Clara, Jesse, Bree and Mike walked up.
As the pastor of the town church told them everything that would happen, they listened and agreed in all the right places. Linc of course wanted to be up with them so he played quietly on the ground at their feet with Ginger.
"Then, I will say something like "by the powers vested in me by the state of Vermont, I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Jack pulled her to him in one swift move and kissed her, making everyone laugh. "Sorry, I couldn't help it."
Beth shook her head at him and laughed. "Why don't we just do this tonight?" she asked. "We are all here, I have my dress inside and we have a nice dinner waiting to be eaten."
"I'm good with that," Jack said, again, making everyone chuckle. "So our anniversary will be August 5th instead of August 6th. What's one day?"
"See you in thirty minutes?" she asked him. He just kissed her and took Linc by the hand and headed inside with everyone else.
As Bree helped her into her dress, zipping her up and then helped her with fresh makeup and hair, Jack put on his gray suit and then got Lincoln ready too.
Thirty minutes later, Jack was standing back in the same place, but Lincoln was in Jack's arms waiting for William and Beth to start walking up the aisle.
His heart sped up as Bree played the wedding march on her violin. Then he saw her and he could barely breathe. "Bet!" Lincoln yelled, pointing.
"I see her, bud. Doesn't she look beautiful?" She smiled at them as she walked. He couldn't believe it was actually happening. All the things they had been through, just in the last month made the time seem to crawl but in reality, it had gone faster.
"Hey," she said as she stood in front of them. Linc stretched toward her so she handed her simple pink tulip bouquet to Bree and then held him.
"Hey, you look amazing," he whispered, dying to kiss her.
"Thank you. So do you."
"Bet. Pitty." Linc patted her face and smiled, his pacifier securely in his mouth.
"Shh," she told him. "We need to listen to the pastor, okay?"
"Why?"
"Shhh."
"We are gathered here today to witness and bless the marriage of Jack Thomas Thornton and Elizabeth Grace Thatcher. Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"
"Her mother and I do," William responded.
"Do you Jack, take Elizabeth to be your wife?"
"I do."
"Thank you but I wasn't quite finished."
Everyone chuckled. "Sorry."
"To be your wife? To have and to hold from this day forward. For better or worse. For richer or poorer. In sickness or in health. To love and to cherish until death do you part?"
"I do," he affirmed, pressing his lips to her forehead.
Beth listened as the pastor asked her the same questions and then agreed, "I do."
After slipping their wedding bands on their left hands, the pastor continued, "By the powers vested in me by the state of Vermont, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, Jack." Beth put Lincoln down and Jack pulled her close, not holding back.
"Yay! Tiss!" Linc said, clapping his hands from the grass as he looked up and watched them.
Everyone clapped and cheered and then after a few photos, headed inside for their dinner of Pork loin, roasted red potatoes and greens.
A few hours later….
Jack walked up the stairs to Lincoln's room and stood in the doorway. Beth sat in the rocking chair, still in her wedding dress, singing gently to Lincoln as he watched her.
"Honey?"
She looked up and smiled. "Hey."
"My mom says she will take over for you so we can go."
"Oh. Okay. He's almost asleep."
"Yeah, but you look like you are almost asleep too and that's not really what I want at this point."
She blushed and smiled. "Alright." Charlotte walked in and took the sleepy Lincoln from Beth.
"Bet!" Lincoln burst into tears and reached back for her. "Bet!"
Beth reached for him and held him a moment longer. "Honey, it's time for sleep. Will you let Nana rock you now?"
"Noooooo," he wailed.
"Shhhh, sweetheart. You will be just fine with Nana." Charlotte took him and Beth gave him kisses. "I love you, baby. We will see you tomorrow."
Jack kissed him too and then they forced themselves to leave while he was crying.
"Maybe we can just stay here," Beth mentioned as they walked to the master for her to grab an overnight bag.
"Honey, he will be okay. It's only one night and I really think we need to be alone."
"We can be alone here."
He closed the door and took her hand. "Babe, my Mom and David are here and Lincoln. That's not alone. Trust me on this one."
She nodded and grabbed her bag. "You're right. Let's go."
An hour later….
Beth stepped out of the bathroom in Jack's teeny tiny studio apartment, never feeling so vulnerable. The peach lace bra and panties and the peach silky robe fit well but didn't cover a lot. She knew that was the idea but it was nerve-wracking.
Jack lay back against the headboard, his heart racing. There in front of him was the woman who had occupied so many thoughts and dreams over much of his adult life. She was breathtaking and now she was his wife.
She nervously looked down at herself. "Is it okay?"
"Come here, Beth."