Rosemary and Sarah looked up when Elizabeth stepped out from behind the curtain.

"Oh, Elizabeth. You look beautiful."

"That's a pretty dress, Mrs. Coulter," Opal added.

"It's nice, but this isn't it." She looked in the mirror and ran her hands along the lacy skirt of the dress. "I'm going to get out of this and go find something else."

Rosemary stood once Elizabeth was back behind the curtain. "I saw a dress when we walked in that I want her to try on."

"Are you sure about that?" Sarah warned. "She said she didn't want us picking things out willy-nilly."

Rosemary waved her off. "It's just the one. It'll be fine."

She returned a few minutes later with a satiny gown, more fitted than those Elizabeth had been trying on.

"That's not the style she's been looking at."

"I know, but it won't hurt for her to try it on." She approached the curtain. "Elizabeth? I know you told me not to go all Rosemary and take over, but I have something I think you should look at."

She peeked around the curtain. "Yes?"

"It's not exactly like the other dresses you've been trying on, but it caught my eye. Please, just try it on."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Fine." She stuck out her arm to grab the dress. "Only because I know you'll get worse if I say no."

Rosemary grinned. "You know you love me."

"Yeah yeah." She chuckled. "Now let me get dressed."

They heard rustling as Elizabeth changed into the gown, and then it went quiet.

"Elizabeth? Are you okay in there?" Sarah wondered aloud. "Do you need help?"

"No. I've got it."

"Well, let's see it then!"

"I wouldn't have picked this one for myself, but this is it." She came out from behind the curtain again. "This is my dress." Her eyes were full of tears as she stepped up to the mirror.

The dress was white satin—almost silvery in the light—and sleeveless with a wide neckline. The skirt was slightly fitted, growing a bit fuller toward the bottom.

"You look amazing, Elizabeth. It's like that dress was made for you."

"I can't believe it." She turned toward her friends. "It's nearly a perfect fit. How did you find it, Rosie?"

She shrugged, a grin spreading across her face. "I have a gift."

"You look like a princess, Mrs. Coulter."

"Thank you, sweetheart."

"I have a question." Opal approached her and took her hand. "If you're marrying my Uncle Jack, does that mean you'll be my aunt?"

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. "It does."

"So I can call you Aunt Elizabeth?"

"Mhmm, I would love that." Elizabeth nodded again. "And Micah will be your cousin."

She grinned and wrapped her arms around Elizabeth's legs. "That makes me happy."

"Me too, sweetheart."

...

Elizabeth sat in the passenger seat of the car, watching the road in front of her as Jack drove.

"So you looked at dresses today?"

"I did more than look at them. I actually got one."

"That's great." He squeezed her hand. "What's it like?"

"It's white and it's long. That's all you get to know."

"A white wedding dress. How novel." He glanced over at her and gave her a wink. "I bet you look beautiful in it."

"Nine more weeks and you can see for yourself."

He groaned. "We still have nine weeks to go? That's basically forever."

"The time is going to go so quickly, what with all the last-minute wedding preparations and—hopefully—moving into our new house."

"You do realize we need to find a new house before we can move into it."

"That's why I said hopefully."

They had looked at a few houses since they came back from their Christmas trip to Chicago, but nothing had really stood out for either of them.

"Well, I think we're just about to arrive at today's option." Jack pulled up in front of a house with a for sale sign in the yard. "The outside looks good."

"Ooh, I really like the color."

It was a decent-sized two-story house, with dark gray siding and white trim. There was a big oak tree in the front yard; because it was winter, it was bare, but they could imagine it full and green come springtime and warmly colored in the fall.

"Let's go see if we like the inside, too." He walked around the car and opened her door, offering his hand to help her out.

They met the realtor outside the front door. "Well, are you ready to see another house?"

"Yes, please." Elizabeth took Jack's hand as they stepped through the door into an open and airy entryway leading to a dark wooden staircase. "Oh, wow. I love this entryway. And that staircase is beautiful."

The spent the next hour walking through the house, taking time to look at each room thoroughly and ask questions. It had three bedrooms in addition to the master—Jack smiled inwardly at the thought of filling those rooms with their babies—and a decent-sized kitchen and living area, as well as a nice fenced-in backyard big enough for Luna to stretch her legs.

After giving them the tour, the realtor left them alone in the living room so they could discuss things.

"Okay. What do you think? Honestly."

"Honestly? I love this house, Jack. I think we should put in an offer."

"I agree. Let's let her know."

...

"Jack, did Elizabeth tell you she got her dress today?"

He looked over at Elizabeth and smiled. "She did."

"Did she tell you I'm the one who found it?"

"No, she didn't tell me that. Now I'm even more curious to see it." He winked and reached over to squeeze Elizabeth's hand.

"Everything's really falling into place now. You have a dress and a venue and flowers."

Elizabeth shifted Micah in her lap and gave him another bite of food. "And rings. We found those a few days ago."

"We might have a house, too. We put in an offer on the one we went to see today."

"Oh, that's so exciting!"

"I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but I love the house. It really feels perfect for us."

"Well, I'll say a prayer that everything goes through."

"Thank you, Rosie."

"Oh, there's one more big thing we need to do for the wedding." Elizabeth glanced across the table at Lorelei. "Lorelei, honey, Uncle Jack and I want to ask you a question."

She looked over at them. "What is it?"

"Would you like to be a flower girl at our wedding?"

"Yes." She nodded eagerly. "What's a flower girl?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "You'll walk down the aisle with Opal and Micah and drop flower petals on the ground."

"But Micah's a boy. How is he a flower girl?"

"He's not a flower girl, sweetheart." Jack laughed. "He's our ring bearer, so he'll carry a little box with the rings in it. You and Opal will be the only ones with the flower petals, but Micah will walk with you two."

"Do I get a dress?" Her eyes sparkled.

"Yes, you do. We'll go with your mama and Opal and Opal's mom and find something really pretty, okay?"

"Yay!"

...

"Are you okay? You seem like you're far away tonight."

"Yeah." She sighed. "I got a new client today, and he's just staying with me for some reason. Usually, I'm pretty good at leaving work at work, but I can't stop thinking about this one."

"I know you can't talk to me about it, but have you mentioned anything about it to your supervisor?"

"Not yet. I'll talk to her about it tomorrow." She tucked her legs up under her. "I just don't know why this one is bothering me so much. I've had clients with similar stories, but there's something about this one…" She shook her head. "I need to stop thinking about this. Say something to distract me."

"Something to distract you… Oh! Actually, I've been thinking lately, there are a few important things we need to talk about before the wedding." He reached for her hand. "We actually should've talked about these things before we got engaged."

"Like what?"

"First: Micah. After we get married, am I going to adopt him?" He squeezed her hand.

"Oh, um. Truthfully, I hadn't even thought about that." She sighed. "I guess it makes sense, though."

"It doesn't need to happen right away, if you don't want it to. And we can keep Coulter as his last name. We could even wait until he's old enough to decide for himself if it's something he wants. I just want you to be comfortable with whatever does—or doesn't—happen."

"I think I need some time to think about it. And please don't take that as anything against you. You're a wonderful father to Micah. This is just a big thing."

"Of course. I wasn't expecting you to agree to anything right away; it's just something I've been thinking about."

She nodded. "What else did you want to discuss?"

"Babies."

"Babies?"

"Do you want any more children? And if you do, how soon would you want to start trying?"

She took his other hand and smiled. "I would love to have babies with you, Jack Thornton. Maybe not right away, though. We're already starting our marriage with Micah in the picture, so I think maybe we should let ourselves get settled before we try to add any more babies to the mix. Not too long, but maybe a year or two."

He grinned. "Okay. Good."

"You're okay with waiting a bit?"

"Honestly, I'm ready for babies whenever, but you're the one who will be pregnant, so I'm going to leave the timing up to you. And I want you to know that my eagerness to have babies with you isn't because I want one that's 'mine,' because you know I love Micah so much. I know he's not mine biologically, he's Pat's, but I feel like he's mine, too. I just love you so much, and I think it would be nice to have another one. I think it would be good for Micah to have a brother or sister."

"I agree that he shouldn't be an only child. I loved having sisters growing up, and I want that for Micah." She leaned against his shoulder. "You know, that house we looked at has lots of room for more babies."

"It does," Jack agreed. "Hopefully we hear something soon."

"If we don't get that one, I don't know if we'll be able to find another one in time to move before the wedding. Even with this one, we'll be cutting it close."

"Everything will work out. No matter what, we'll be together. That's what matters."

"I know." She traced the lines on his palm. "I just think it would be nice to start our marriage in a house that's ours."

"You've spent the night here enough times that this house is basically yours, too." He chuckled.

They had discussed the possibility that they wouldn't have a house chosen and ready to move into by the wedding and decided that—in that case—Elizabeth and Micah would move into Jack's house in the meantime.

"Yeah yeah. You know what I mean."

"I do." He wrapped his arms around her. "So, how many babies do you think it'll take to fill that house?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. We should start with just one more, and then go from there."

He kissed the top of her head. "Whatever you want."

"Jack, you don't have to go along with everything I say just because we're getting married."

"I'm not just going along with you. I would be happy to have just one more baby with you, or two more, or ten more."

She coughed. "Not ten. I don't know how many more we'll have, but definitely not that many."

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "I was just trying to make a point. We don't need ten more kids."

"I can't even imagine giving birth that many times." She shuddered.

He chuckled. "Don't worry. I wouldn't put you through that."

...

"Molly?" Elizabeth knocked lightly on the open door of her supervisor's office. "Do you have some time to talk?"

"Sure. Come on in." She turned away from her desk and motioned for Elizabeth to take a seat in the empty chair across from her.

Elizabeth closed the door behind herself and sank down into the chair. "I need to staff a case. Or I guess it's not really a staffing per se. I have a client that's really sticking with me for some reason."

"Okay, tell me a bit about the case."

"It's a two-year-old boy. He's in foster care because he was abused by his mother. This definitely isn't the first client I've had with a history of abuse, so I don't know why this one is bothering me more than the others."

"How old is your son now?"

"Just under a year and a half."

Molly was quiet for a moment, giving Elizabeth a chance to think.

"Do you think that's why it's bothering me? He's reminding me of Micah?"

Molly shrugged. "I can't tell you that. I'm just suggesting that maybe it's a possibility."

"This is the youngest client I've had since Micah was born. Maybe that's what it is."

"Maybe. Now," she sat up straighter, "if this case continues to bother you like this, we can always transfer him over to someone else."

Elizabeth nodded. "I'll consider it. Thank you, Molly."

...

"Jack?" Elizabeth entered his house and was confronted with silence. "Hello? Jack? Are you home?" She wandered through the living room, beginning to worry until she caught a glimpse of Luna through the back window. "Jack?" She pushed the door open.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Hi, Beth."

She put her arms around his waist and leaned into his chest. "I was worried for a minute when I walked in and the house was quiet."

He kissed the top of her head. "Sorry about that. I figured I'd let Micah run off some energy outside since it's warmer today." He nodded toward the little boy, who was chasing the dog around the yard.

"I talked to my supervisor today."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhmm. I think I might have to transfer my client to someone else, though. We figured out this case is bothering me because he reminds me of Micah."

He rubbed her back with one hand. "Do you transfer clients often?"

"No, not really. It's really only in cases like this one where I can't be as objective. Or if the client wants to transfer; that happens sometimes, too. It's all about what's best for the client."

"That makes sense. Hey," he squeezed her hand, "we got the house."

"What?!"

He nodded, a grin spreading across his face. "We got the house. If everything goes as planned, we'll be in it just before the wedding."

She slipped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "That's wonderful!"

...

7 Weeks Later

Elizabeth and Jack stood in the driveway, glancing between the house and the moving truck.

"Are we crazy? Trying to move a week before our wedding?"

"Maybe a little." He smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

She leaned into him, her back pressing against his chest. "This is our house, Jack. This is where we're going to spend the first night of our marriage. And all the nights after."

"I can't wait," he whispered in her ear.

She shivered. "Me neither."

He cleared his throat, letting his arms fall away from her. "We should, uh, get back to unloading the truck."

"Good idea." She smiled shyly and gazed at the ground, trying to stop the color from flooding her cheeks.

They spent the next hour and a half pulling all of the boxes from the truck and moving them to the correct rooms in the house.

Once the truck was empty, they stood in the middle of the living room, surrounded by stacks and stacks of boxes.

Jack put his hands on her shoulders. "In case we don't have time to unpack everything this week, we need to decide which rooms need to be ready and which can wait a little while."

"The master bedroom and bathroom definitely need to be ready. Micah's room, too."

"Then maybe the kitchen after those?"

"Mhmm. Then the living room and the office. The guest room and other bathrooms can probably be last."

"Okay. How about I order some food now? We deserve a little break."

"That sounds perfect."

...

Jack kissed the top of Elizabeth's head. "I should probably get going. We have a big day tomorrow."

"I don't want you to leave." She grabbed his hand as he started to stand.

"I don't want to leave, either." He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. "But tomorrow, I'm all yours. No more saying goodbye."

"I like the sound of that."

"I'm going to say good night to Micah before I go."

"Okay. Please don't wake him, though. We don't need him to fuss all the way down the aisle."

Jack chuckled. "Good point. That would make for a very interesting ceremony." He walked into the master bedroom, where Micah was fast asleep in his portable crib. He lightly brushed his fingers through his hair. "Good night, little man. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Still asleep?" Elizabeth whispered when he returned to the living room.

"He's out."

"Good."

"Well." He sighed. "I should go." He took her hands and pulled her up. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

She kissed him softly. "I'll be the one in white."

He grinned and kissed her again. "I love you."

Elizabeth wrapped a blanket around herself and wandered around the house after he left. The furniture was all in place, but they had run out of time to unpack many of the smaller things, making the house feel empty.

She sighed, realizing that what really made the house feel empty was Jack's not being there.

One more day, she reminded herself. One more day and they would be married. One more day and they would officially be a family.

That was the last thought she had before she drifted off to sleep on the sofa.

One more day.