Another week went by and Mike was getting stir crazy in his house, so Bree had agreed to bring the boys over and make them all breakfast.
He had missed the boys. Xavier and his talkative nature and Tate with his shy affection. They filled his heart with love and he couldn't wait to see them.
"Mike!" Xavier yelled, running in the house without knocking.
"In here, bud."
"Xavier Andrew, you remember what we talked about!" Bree scolded.
"I'll be careful, Mom," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Hey now," Mike told him. "Stop that eye rolling thing. That's not polite."
"Sorry," he said, hopping up on the couch next to Mike. "Mom said you're getting better."
"Yeah, no more stitches."
"Can I see?"
"Sure, climb up on my lap." Tate walked in and watched quietly. "You want to come too, Tater?" he asked, using his nickname for the little guy.
Tate shrugged. "You don't have to be scared."
When Xavier smiled at the scar on his neck, Tate moved closer, a concerned look on his face. "Mama said you got hurt. Are you gonna die?"
"Nope. I'm almost as good as new."
"That's good," Tate said sitting next to him. "Cause I need you to be my Daddy."
"I'm gonna be your Daddy. Very soon."
Tate got up on his knees and hugged Mike very carefully. "Does that hurt?"
"No. It feels really good." Mike kissed his hair and smiled. "I love both of you very much."
"And that means you're going to take care of us and be nice to us, right?" Xavier asked.
"Yes. I promise."
"Because I used to have a dad before and he used to hurt Mama."
"I will never do that. Ever."
"Can we live with you?" Tate asked.
"Yep. As soon as your Mom and I get married, we are all going to live here together."
"Cool. When?" Xavier asked.
"A couple more months."
"Can we have our own rooms?" Xavier asked.
"Well, actually, you and Tate will need to share. My house isn't all that big."
"Maybe you should buy a new one."
Bree laughed from the doorway. "Alright monkeys, time for breakfast. Go wash your hands."
Mike got up and walked over to Bree, pulling her into his arms. "Good morning, love."
"Morning, sweetheart." She gently slipped her arms over his shoulders and kissed his warm lips, getting lost for a moment. "I love you."
"I love you too," he told her. "And I missed you."
"I was just here last night."
"So? That means I can't miss you?"
"Well, no."
"Exactly."
"Are you guys kissing again?" Xavier asked, rolling his eyes.
"X. What did I tell you about rolling your eyes?" Mike asked.
"It's not polite." Mike raised his eyebrows at him. "Sorry."
The four sat down at the table and joined hands and then they started to eat as a family.
About a week later, Beth sat down at the island while Linc was taking a nap to enjoy a cup of coffee.
Abigail was cleaning the guest rooms and there were no guests due until the next day so Aggie's was quiet.
Outside, the concrete slab for the cottage was being poured. She was excited beyond measure. The goal was to have the walls up, windows in, and the roof on before snow started flying.
Her phone buzzed. "Aggie's House, this is Beth, how may I help you?"
"I'd like to make a reservation, please."
"Of course, give me one moment." She stood and walked to the foyer where her computer sat on the roll top desk. "Alright, which days would you be needing a room, sir?"
"The weekend of October 23rd."
"Is there another weekend that would work for you? We have a wedding here that weekend so we are completely full."
"No, that's the weekend I'm in town. Are there any other hotels in town?"
"No, I'm sorry, sir. The closest is about twenty miles away."
"That's disappointing. Thank you for looking."
"You're welcome. Have a nice afternoon."
Abigail walked down the stairs. "Do I smell coffee?"
"Yep. Help yourself."
"I will. Want to join me?"
"Yes, I have about thirty more minutes until I need to start dinner. So what's new, Abigail?"
"I have a sort of...date."
"You do?"
"Yeah. The new pastor in town. Frank Hogan."
"Nice. I'm enjoying his sermons a lot."
"Me too." Abigail poured pumpkin spice creamer in her coffee and took a sip.
"Where is he taking you?"
"To see a movie in Burlington."
Beth smiled at her friend. "I'm happy for you," Abigail."
"I'm happy for me too. Since Noah, I didn't think I'd find anyone else."
"There was Fred Kramer from a few weeks ago."
"He was nice but not really what I need."
"And Frank is?"
"I think he is. I guess I will find out anyway." Abigail watched the work going on in the backyard. "That's a good spot for a cottage."
"I think so too. Close enough to come if there's an issue but far enough away to have privacy."
"You don't get a lot of that with Lincoln in the same room, I'd guess."
"No, but he won't have nightmares forever."
"Mama!" Linc yelled from his crib.
"Coming, baby." Beth stood and walked into the master. "Hi, sweet boy. Did you sleep well?"
"No."
"No? Why not?" He popped his pacifier in his mouth and laid against her shoulder. "Let's try to go potty, okay?"
"Uh uh," he said, shaking his head. "Dada."
"Dada isn't here."
"Actually, I am," Jack said walking in the room.
"Dada!" Linc mumbled with the pacifier still in his mouth.
"Hi, bud."
"Jack, can you see if you can maybe get him to use the potty? Maybe if he sees you do it, he will."
"Sure." Jack removed his gun belt, putting his gun safely in the safe high in the closet. Then he took Linc and disappeared into the bathroom.
Beth walked into the kitchen, shutting the door behind herself, a smile on her face. She was very lucky.
She pulled out the ingredients for tater tot casserole and began assembling them. Then she would work on the menu for the next guests. There were two couples who were vegetarian that would be staying for a few days.
The plan was a sweet potato hash with garlic and onion and then some sort of breakfast taco.
"Guess what, Mama?" Jack said, walking out with Linc.
"What?"
"Tell her, Linc," Jack prompted, pulling the pacifier out of Linc's mouth.
"Potty!"
"You did?! That's so good, Linc! I'm so proud of you!" Beth took him and gave him a kiss on both cheeks.
"Eats?"
"You're hungry?" She gave him a piece of cheese to get him to dinner. "Can Daddy maybe play with you and Ginger so I can finish dinner?"
Jack nodded but slipped his free arm around her waist, pulling her close. "I don't think we said a proper hello," he told her, touching his lips to hers.
"Hi," she said with a smile and a second, longer kiss. "I love you, Jack."
"I love you too."
Later that evening, Abigail went to bed early and once Linc was in bed, Jack suggested they watch a movie with a glass of wine.
"Ooo, like a date?" she asked.
"Mmhm."
"Sounds good. I'm going to go change," she told him with a kiss. "You get the wine."
He knew it was too much to ask for her to wear his favorite peachy lacy combo since they weren't alone in the house but he did hope.
Instead she joined him in a pair of flannel pants with hearts on them and a slinky pink tank top.
It wasn't peach but it sure got his heart pumping faster. Especially when he noticed that there was about a two inch gap between the waist of her pants and the hem of her tank. The soft skin there teasing him, begging for him to touch.
He blew out a breath and sat back on the couch.
"What's wrong?" she asked, taking her glass of wine.
"I just….I mean we really need to get that cottage done. Fast."
"Why?"
"Because, Abigail...she's upstairs and I really just want…" He shook his head. "Privacy, Beth. You and me. No Linc in our room, no Abigail upstairs."
She could feel his frustration and tension, mostly because she felt it too. "I have an idea, babe." She took his hand and led him into the master. They peeked at Linc who was asleep with his pacifier in his mouth. She put her finger up to her lips and pulled Jack into the bathroom.
"Beth?"
"Look. You, me. No Linc or Abigail." She turned on the water in the shower and lit a couple candles before turning off the lights. "A little romantic, right?" she whispered, stepping into the shower.
"Yeah. This is good."
Beth was up at six the next morning to get ready for her guests who were arriving at eight, just in time for breakfast.
She made the sweet potato hash and had started on the black beans for the tacos when Jack walked into the room in his uniform, all strong and important.
She blushed when he walked over. "You make that look beyond sexy," she told him, stretching up to give him a long kiss.
As they stood wrapped in each other's arms for a few moments, her phone rang. She sighed and reached for it. "Jesse."
"Jess? Its early."
"Hey, um I need a huge favor."
"What's that?"
"Can you watch Ryder this morning? I need to take Clara somewhere and we can't take him."
"This morning?"
"Yes. I know you're busy and I don't want to bother you but this is an emergency, Beth."
"Okay. Bring him over. Of course I'll watch him."
"Thank you."
She frowned at her phone.
"Beth?"
"It was Jess. He needs me to watch Ryder. He has an emergency with Clara."
"What kind of emergency?"
"I don't know."
"How are you going to watch Linc, Ryder and deal with guests?"
"I'll manage. I guess I'll need to when we have a baby someday."
"True." He gave her another kiss. "Love you. Let me know if you need me for anything."
"I will. Love you too."
Ryder came in tears a few minutes later with Jesse. Beth picked him up and held him, questioning Jesse with her eyes.
"I'll call you." He kissed Ryder's cheek and left.
"I want to go! Mama is sick. Please!"
"Shhh. Ryder, sweetheart, it's okay," she told him, even though she didn't know that for certain.
Abigail came downstairs to see what was going on. "Good morning."
"Morning, Abigail."
"Who do we have here?"
"This is my nephew, Ryder. Can you say hi to Miss Abigail?" Ryder kept his head buried in Beth's shoulder.
Then Linc yelled. "Mama! Up!"
Beth sighed. "Let's go get Linc up. Abigail, can you keep an eye on this hash?"
"Of course."
The morning was a challenge, needless to say. Ryder was clingy and Linc was jealous because Beth was paying attention to Ryder. Abigail graciously took over serving breakfast to the Thomson's, much to Beth's relief.
Around noon, Jesse called as promised.
"Hey, Jesse."
"Hey, Beth."
"What's wrong? You sound weird."
"Um, can you watch Ryder the rest of today? I wouldn't ask but I don't know who else to get with Mom and Dad out of town."
"Sure, I mean is everything okay?"
"Yeah. It's okay. Just scary."
"Where are you?"
"The hospital."
