Noah Stanton's funeral was a week later.

Elizabeth walked into the doorway of the boy's bathroom. "Hey. You doing alright?" she asked Jonah.

"No. I can't get this tie." He threw it across the room and sat on the edge of the tub.

"Honey, I can help with the tie. But first, tell me how you're feeling."

"Sad. Very sad."

She ran her fingers through his damp hair, making it slightly less messy and then she sat next to him. "I'm sad too."

"I don't know what to say to her, Mom. How do I make it better?"

"Unfortunately, honey, making it better might not be possible right away. But you being there, hugging her and holding her hand will make her feel less alone."

He nodded and wiped his cheeks. "He was a good guy. A good dad."

"I know."

The doorbell rang so Elizabeth kissed the top of his head and hurried to answer it.

"Ray? Honey, what are you doing here?"

"I can't do this. I can't say goodbye to him. Please don't make me go." Elizabeth pulled her into a tight hug and let her cry it out.

"Shhh. Its okay."

"No it's not! It never will be. Who's going to walk me down the aisle when Joe and I get married? Who's going to dance with me at my reception? Bounce my babies on his knee?"

"Ray?"

She broke into a fresh set of tears when Jonah held her. "Will you stay here with me?"

"Stay? What do you mean?"

"I can't go, Joe. I can't do this."

Jonah looked at Elizabeth for help. She gave him a gentle smile and left them alone.

"We can't stay here, Ray. It's important to be there. To say goodbye."

"I can't."

"You're not alone. I'll be there with you every step of the way."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. "Do you remember your mom's funeral?" she asked quietly.

"Only that I was crying and Gran had to take me out of the church. I didn't understand why Mama wasn't there."

"You were five."

"Yeah. You're sixteen, Ray. If you don't go, you'll wish you had."

Jack, Elizabeth, and Isaac, newly on crutches came downstairs. "It's time to go, kids," Jack told them. "You ready?"

"You can ride with us," Jonah told Ray, taking her hand.

"Okay," she finally agreed.

The funeral was difficult for all involved. Jonah sat next to Raylinn the whole time, holding her hand. Afterward at the dinner, he was next to her, making sure she ate something.

When he sneaked away for two minutes to use the bathroom, she disappeared on him.

He looked around the whole house and he couldn't find her. Then he realized her coat was gone, as were her boots.

So he headed outside to the partially frozen pond behind the house. They met there sometimes to steal some alone time and a few kisses. Tonight though, he found her sobbing, her face in her knees.

Instead of words, he straddled the log she was on and pulled her into his arms. He held her for a long time until she stopped crying, rubbing her back, rocking her back and forth.

She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me," he told her, brushing tears off her cheeks. "I love you."

"You do?"

"So much. I'm always going to do my best to be there for you."

She softly pressed her lips to his for a brief moment. "I love you too."

They watched the moon reflecting on the pond until they both got too cold not to go inside.

The next morning, the boys went to school like always, Bee dropping them off before heading to work herself.

Jack cleaned up the kitchen and disinfected it and both bathrooms. Then, Lee dropped by to let him know he had the necessary permits to start building.

"That's great, bro. Thanks."

"You doing okay? I thought you would be a bit more excited."

"I'm fine. Yesterday was just hard, that's all."

"Memories?"

"Yeah." The memories of the funeral were the hardest. Thankfully, Fiona hadn't wanted a casket at her funeral. She knew it would confuse the boys. He was grateful for her forethought.

However, knowing that he was alone, to raise two little boys...it frankly had made him want to give up. But he didn't. He relied heavily on his brother and his parents and somehow got through it.

"Bro?"

Jack wiped his cheeks. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

"I think we should go for a drive."

"A drive?"

"Yeah." So they did. Lee drove for about ten miles before stopping in a driveway of a large house.

"Where are we, Lee?"

"My new house. It has a barn out back with a woodshop already built."

"You bought it?"

"Well, I put in an offer. If they accept, it will be mine."

"That's good, Lee. I'm happy for you."

"Dude, we need to get you out of this funk. Tell me about where you're taking Elizabeth on your honeymoon."

Jack smiled. "Key West." He chuckled. "In my class that she was taking, I had everyone paint or draw something from their hearts. I swear, hers looked like hairy light poles. She said they were palm trees in Key West which was where she wanted to go."

"So you're taking her." Of course he was.

"I love her, Lee. So incredibly much. I guess with the funeral yesterday….it brought back a time in my life where I didn't think I could go on. I'm not sure I could get through it again." He had almost lost her not three months before. The fear he had felt was very real.

"Jack, I can't imagine losing a spouse. And then having to raise two little ones on my own. It takes a special sort of person. A strong person. That's you. And now, you aren't alone anymore. Beth is with you and she adds to your strength. Just enjoy being her husband. Enjoy having her there to help you. Try not to dwell on the past or what might or might not happen in the future."

Jack nodded. "Thanks, Lee."

When they returned to the house, Jack was surprised to see his truck in the driveway. "That's weird. She's supposed to work all day."

Jack hopped out and rushed into the house, hoping she wasn't sick or something.

"Bee?" He found her on the couch, in tears. "Sweetie? What's wrong?" He sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her. "Are you sick?"

"No. Just...I just needed to see you. Hold me, Jack."

After she stopped crying, he gently tucked her hair behind her ears and kissed her damp cheeks. "What's going on, Bee?"

"Just everything...everything that has happened in the last few months..and then yesterday." She shook her head. "I just keep thinking that I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you." She sat up and kissed him, her mouth rushed and insistent as it moved over his.

He allowed it for a few moments but when he could feel himself getting to a point where it would be difficult to stop, he pulled away, leaning his head on the back of the couch.

"Jack?"

"Bee, we need to slow down."

"I don't want to. I need to be close to you."

"Look, you're sad right now. I'm sad too. It would be so easy to just take you upstairs right now...but we need to make sure this is what we really want to do right now. Less than three weeks before the wedding?"

She nodded and got up, tucking her blouse back into her skirt. "Um, I need to buy a car soon. Will you take me after work?"

"Of course." He stood and gave her a hug. "I love you. You know that?"

She nodded and gave him a soft kiss. "I think I'm going to head back to work."

"Drive safe, sweetheart."

After work, Elizabeth came home, ready to go find a car. "Jack?"

"In the kitchen, Bee."

"Are you ready? The dealership is only open another two hours."

"Yeah. I'm ready."

"Hi, Mom," Isaac greeted from in front of the stove.

"Hi, sweetie. How was school?"

"Good. How was work?"

"Just fine." She gave Isaac a kiss on his messy hair. "I was thinking I'd like to cut your hair after dinner tonight."

"I like my hair like this."

"You need a haircut before the wedding, Isaac. Just to clean it up a bit."

"Come on, Mom."

"After dinner," she told him. "Love you."

"Love you too," he mumbled.

"Isaac, don't forget to feed the dogs and let them out," Jack told him.

"I won't forget."

Jack reached for her hand across the console but she was concentrating on the scenery outside the window. "Bee?"

"Yeah." She looked at him and then his hand. "Sorry." She put her hand in his and turned her head to look out the window again.

He pulled into an empty parking lot and put the truck in park. "Elizabeth, please look at me."

She turned her head and looked at him. "What are we doing?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"No of course not. Just embarrassed."

"Embarrassed? Why?"

"The way I acted earlier. On the couch. I shouldn't have done that, Jack."

"You did absolutely nothing wrong, Bee." He squeezed her hand and kissed her knuckles. "For me, the next few weeks need to go by pretty fast. It's getting harder to resist you." She smiled and he kissed her smiling lips. "I'm proud of you, Bee. The way you handled Isaac this afternoon. You're a wonderful mother."

"Thank you." She gave him a kiss and then buckled up again. "Now let's go find me a car."

After about thirty minutes and a long test drive she found a Chevy Tahoe that she loved. It had all the bells and whistles she wanted and plenty of room for their family now and the one they wanted to have.

The boys were excited to see it, testing out everything before making it back inside to eat dinner.

After dinner, Isaac sat on a stool in the kitchen with damp hair and a towel around his neck.

"Ready, bud?" Elizabeth asked him.

"I guess."

"All the girls are gonna love this," she teased.

"Goodie."

"Maybe just one?"

"Who do you mean?" he asked innocently.

"Uh huh. I think you know. A certain brown haired beauty with glasses."

"Mandie? No, Mom. We are just friends." A friend he wouldn't mind kissing sometime, but he left that part out.

"As it should be right now. But my point was, I think she will like your haircut."

"She likes the way my hair is now," he said, brushing hair off the towel. "How much are you cutting off?"

"Not a lot. Don't worry."

After another moment, he spoke again. "Mom?"

"Yeah, sweetie."

"How old were you when you first kissed someone?"

"Uh, thirty one?"

"What?! Are you serious? That's old!"

"No it's not. I didn't date much." Or ever.

"How old are you now?"

"Thirty two."

"Wait, so Dad…"

"Yep." He was her first kiss, first love and he would be her first everything else too. She didn't regret it. Not one bit.

"Wow." She nudged him. "Sorry."

About ten minutes later, she was done. She brushed off his shoulders and removed the towel. "Go check it out."

He headed to the downstairs half bath and looked in the mirror while she swept up his hair.

"Anyone else want their hair cut?" she called loudly.

"No thanks!" Jonah said as he walked in the kitchen. "Do you wanna play chess?"

"Sure, bud. Set it up. I'm just going to finish sweeping."

Before she was done, the doorbell rang. "Jonah, can you get that?"

He headed to the door and opened it. "Ray! Hey, come in."

"Hey. I have some news."

"What's that?"

"My mom just told us that she's selling the house. But that's not the worst part. We are moving to North Carolina to live with my Grandma."

"Moving?"