Jack stretched and rolled over, smiling when he saw Elizabeth still sleeping soundly beside him. She moved closer and draped her arm around his waist, seeking him out even in her sleep.

He shook his head and laughed quietly, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that she was now his wife.

He brushed the hair out of her face, dropping a soft kiss on her forehead. "I love you, sweetheart."

"Mm, I love you, too," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"I thought you were still sleeping."

"Nope. Just enjoying this." She opened her eyes slowly. "Good morning."

"Good morning." He slipped his arms around her. "I have to say, I really like waking up next to my wife."

"And I rather enjoy waking up next to my husband." She shifted until she was on top of him, her legs resting on either side of his hips. "I can't believe we actually got married yesterday."

He put his hands on the small of her back. "It was rather impulsive of us. Still no regrets?"

She leaned down, kissing him deeply. "What do you think?"

"I'll take that to mean you have no regrets." He chuckled and pulled her back down, pressing his lips to hers again. "Are you hungry, sweetheart? Do you want some breakfast?"

"No. All I want right now is you."

...

"Okay. Now we really need some breakfast." Jack chuckled, tucking a strand of Elizabeth's hair behind her ear. "Especially if we're going to have a repeat of that performance later."

"Fine." She kissed his jaw, then slipped out of bed, pulling one of Jack's t-shirts over her head. She glanced over at Jack. He was just watching her, making no move to get out of the bed. "You know, for someone who is so insistent on having breakfast, you sure aren't in a hurry to get to the kitchen."

"I'm just enjoying the view."

"Well, if you want to keep enjoying the view, you're going to have to get up." She gave him a smirk before leaving the room.

He joined her in the kitchen a few minutes later, his hair still disheveled. "Have you managed to find anything in here?" He put a hand on her waist, looking over her shoulder into the nearly empty pantry.

"Do you just eat out all the time?"

"Basically."

"We're going to make a grocery list and go to the store later." She reached into the back of the pantry and found a half-full box of cereal. "It looks like we're stuck with cereal this morning. Do you have milk, or are we going to have to eat this dry?"

"Yes, I have milk. It's about all I have in the fridge, though, and I think it might be a few days away from expiring."

She shook her head and laughed. "Jack Thornton. I can't believe you live like this."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I have you to help me change my ways." He poked her in the side, and she squirmed.

"Jack," she laughed, "you're going to have to stop that if you want to eat."

He kissed her temple. "Okay, but after we eat, you're all mine."

A few minutes later, they were seated at the small table that was tucked up next to the kitchen.

"Hey, I was thinking." Elizabeth took a bite of her cereal. "Since we're still having the wedding ceremony in August, does that mean we get to celebrate two anniversaries?"

"Maybe I should've thought through this whole eloping thing more before I agreed to it. You're telling me I have to remember two dates now?"

"Two dates, but double the celebrating."

"Speaking of celebrating, we can't forget about our trip coming up. I just got a reminder email with all the info. We can check into the Airbnb tomorrow afternoon. It'll be like a little honeymoon before our real one in August."

"I almost forgot about the trip. That timing is perfect." She was quiet for a few moments as she ate. "You never did tell me what you have planned for this trip."

"We're going down to the Wichita Mountains."

"Oh, it's been ages since I've gone down there. I remember it was beautiful, though."

"Well, we'll have lots of opportunities to take in the views. We're staying in a cabin nearby, and then I figured we can go to the wildlife refuge and hike or drive around, whatever we're in the mood for."

She smiled. "Now I'm excited. What time are we leaving in the morning?"

"Whenever, really. There's not a specific time we need to be at the cabin, just as long as we get there after two. If you want to wait to leave until after church, we can."

"I was thinking of skipping church tomorrow." She cleared her throat. "I just don't know if I'm ready for everyone to know we got married just yet. I kind of like that it's our little secret right now."

"Well, ours and Tom's and Julie's." He sipped his coffee. "So, when do you want to tell people?"

"Maybe when we get back? I don't want to wait too long." She sighed. "Everyone's going to have so many questions."

"And we'll just tell them the truth. We want as much time together as possible, so we decided not to wait."

"My parents will probably be upset."

"Oh, I know Rosie will be mad at me." Jack chuckled. "I'm sure everyone will get over it quickly, though."

"You're probably right. Especially since we're still having our actual wedding."

He grinned. "I can't wait for that. Seeing you in a wedding dress." He shook his head. "I know that'll leave me speechless."

A flush rose in her cheeks. "Well now I hope I picked the right dress."

"Believe me, you'll be beautiful in any dress. Or in nothing." He winked.

She rolled her eyes. "I can assure you that I'm not showing up to our wedding in nothing."

"I guess that's fair." He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "I still can't believe you're already my wife."

"Believe it, babe. You're stuck with me forever."

"Forever? That's not what I agreed to," he joked. "I thought marriage was just for a few weeks."

"Ha ha." She stood, carrying her bowl and spoon to the sink. "I'm going to take a shower, and then we should probably get to the grocery store."

"Why don't we just wait until we get home from our trip?"

"We can get some staples and things that won't go bad quickly. And besides, we're only going to be gone for a couple of days. Most things won't go bad in that time."

"You just can't stand my empty pantry."

"I can't! I have no idea how you do it."

He shrugged. "Years of practice, I guess."

She shook her head and laughed. "Well, that's all about to change." She leaned in and kissed him. "Start making a list. I'll be out shortly."

...

Jack glanced at Elizabeth out of the corner of his eye as she typed something on her phone. "Who are you texting?"

"My mom. I had sent her a message this morning to let her know we wouldn't be at church or tonight's family dinner."

"Is she upset?"

"No. She told us to have fun and to behave, in all capital letters." She chuckled. "If only she knew."

"Hopefully Tom and Julie won't mention anything."

"I made them promise they wouldn't tell. They know it's best that the news comes straight from us."

He reached over the center console and took her hand. "It's kind of crazy that basically no one knows."

"It's nice. We have a few days, just you and me with no one bothering us or asking questions."

"You know, we could just not tell anyone and let them think our wedding in August is our only wedding."

"While that's a good thought, we'd run the risk of people finding out, and just imagine how upset Rosemary would be if she suddenly learned we'd been married for three or four months already."

"She might cut me off for something like that." Jack smiled. "So, I guess we just have to enjoy these few days in our bubble."

"Well, I think I have some ideas for how we can make the most of this time."

"Do these ideas involve staying in the cabin?"

"Maybe." She grinned, leaning over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, I'm trying to drive here!" He laughed.

"Fine, but when we get to this cabin, you're all mine."

"I'll hold you to that."

...

Elizabeth stepped through the door into the front room of the cabin. "This is so cool." She glanced around at the wooden walls, the fireplace, the big comfy sofa. "Good choice, hon."

"I'm glad you approve. There are two bedrooms, since we were still abiding by our no sleepover rule when I booked this place. So I guess we can just pick whichever one we want, unless you want your own room." He raised his eyebrows.

"Nope. We've shared a bed for two nights now, and I'm not about to go back." She put her arms around him. "I don't think I'd sleep well without you next to me."

"Well, I'm not going to argue with that." He leaned in, kissing her deeply.

"So, which way is the bedroom?" she mumbled against his lips.

"There's one right behind you." He chuckled. "But first, check out the bathroom."

"Seriously, Jack? Right now?"

"Just go look."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but headed into the room he pointed out. "Holy cow. I've never seen a bathtub so big."

"I thought you'd like that." Jack appeared in the doorway. "We'll have to make good use of it while we're here."

She turned toward him, sliding her arms around his waist. "Well, I think I'm going to need a nice long soak tonight. We'll see if I decide to let you join me." She gave him a wink.

"You're such a tease."

"But you love me anyway." She smirked, standing on her toes to kiss him.

"I do love you. Very much." He kissed her again, his hands toying with the hem of her shirt. "Now, let's go find that bedroom."

...

"Jack, look!" Elizabeth excitedly tapped his arm, then pointed at something in the distance. "Buffalo!"

"Technically, sweetheart, those are bison."

"Okay, nerd." She gave him a playful shove. "It's amazing, though. Seeing animals in the wild."

"It is," he agreed. "Seeing them in a zoo is one thing, but out here, without a fence between them and us…It's a little terrifying, to be honest."

"You can't be scared. You're supposed to protect me." She wrapped her arms around him.

"Of course I'll protect you." He snaked his arms around her waist, holding her close. "Even though you're more than capable of handling yourself." He kissed the top of her head. "Let's get some pictures and keep hiking. There's somewhere I want to get to before we have some lunch."

"This better be good. I can tell my feet are going to be killing me by the time we get back to the cabin."

"What if I promise to give you a foot massage this evening?"

She grinned, leaning up to kiss him. "Lead the way."

Half an hour later, they heard the rush of water ahead. As they kept walking, they saw a small waterfall in the distance.

"This is beautiful, Jack."

"See, it was worth it."

She stopped walking, putting her arms around him. "Thank you, Jack. Today has been wonderful."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. I'm glad you're enjoying it."

"I enjoy any time I get to spend with you."

"Gosh, I love you so much, Elizabeth Thornton."

She shook her head and laughed softly. "I'm still not used to that." She kissed him. "I'm so proud to be your wife, Jack. I love you."

...

Jack groaned when his phone started buzzing. "Go away."

"Mm, who is that?"

"I don't know." He rolled over and reached for the phone, squinting as he looked at the screen. "It's Rosie. I should answer it, or she'll just keep calling."

"Doesn't she know you're on vacation?"

"Yes." He accepted the call. "Rosie, this better be important. You woke us up."

"I'm sorry, but it is important. Declan has the flu. Lee and I had to bring him to the emergency room last night, and they had to admit him."

"Oh no!" He sat up. "How is he?"

"The doctors say he'll be fine, but he just looks so helpless. They have him in one of those cribs, and he has all these wires attached to him."

"Do you need me to come back? We can be there in a few hours."

"No, we're fine. I just thought you should know."

"What's going on?" Elizabeth whispered.

He turned the phone away from his mouth to answer her. "Declan is sick. They had to take him to the hospital."

"Was that Elizabeth? Is she there with you this early?"

"Uh, yes."

"I thought you two had some sort of no-sleepovers rule."

"We did." He looked over at Elizabeth. "She's suspicious. Can I just tell her?"

"Go ahead." She wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head on his chest.

"We got married on Friday."

"Jack O'Leary Thornton! You eloped?!"

Elizabeth chuckled. Rosemary's voice had grown loud enough for her to hear.

"Yes, we did. But don't worry, we're still having our wedding in August. We just didn't want to wait."

"You didn't get her pregnant, did you?"

"Why is that always everyone's first assumption? And not that it's anybody's business, but no, she's not pregnant. We went to Doug's funeral, and it got us thinking that we want as much time together as possible."

"I just can't believe you got married without telling me!"

"Well, if it makes you feel better, we didn't tell anyone except Tom and Julie, and the only reason we told Julie is because she and Elizabeth shared an apartment so she would've noticed if Elizabeth was suddenly gone."

"Fine. But once you two come home from your little vacation, we're going to have a celebratory dinner."

"I'd expect nothing less from you." He laughed softly. "Now go be with your son, and give him a kiss for me."

"Okay. And Jack? Congratulations."

"Thank you. Keep me posted, please."

"I will. See you soon."

Jack ended the call and put his phone back on the nightstand. "Well, that was not how I expected that call to go."

"Is Declan okay?"

"He has the flu. Apparently, the doctors say he'll be just fine, but he's in the hospital for now."

"Poor guy. I imagine Rosie and Lee are pretty scared."

"Not too scared to yell at me for eloping." He chuckled. "I told you she'd be mad. But she did say she wants to throw us a celebratory dinner when we get home."

"So she got over it quickly. Also like you said." She smiled. "You're a smart fellow, Jack Thornton."

"Only sometimes." He put a hand on her cheek. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too."

"How do you feel about staying in today?"

"Well, we have done an awful lot of hiking the past few days, and that nice big bathtub is looking a little neglected." She leaned up, pressing her lips to his. "I'll go start the water."