Elizabeth was standing at the front of the classroom filled with very excited children. She picked up the bell and dismissed them. "Have a great summer!" She called out to them as they all ran out the door as fast as they could.

The past couple weeks had flown by and summer was here. Elizabeth cleaned up the classroom getting it ready for the summer break when Jack walked in.

"Are you ready?"

"Almost. I just need to move all these books over to that shelf."

Jack picked up all the books at once and carried them to the shelf, struggling along the way as to not drop them. Elizabeth giggled, "Are you in a hurry or something?"

"You know that I am excited to show you the progress, Mrs. Thornton." He knelt in front of her and placed his hands on her stomach. "Hello there, little one. I can't wait to meet you," he whispered to her belly. She wasn't showing yet, but Jack couldn't wait to see how much more beautiful she will be when she is.

Elizabeth knew that Jack was going to make a wonderful father. She had no doubts about that. A memory flashed in her head about when they first met and how Jack was never going to get married. "If they wanted us to have a wife, they would have issued us one," she could still hear him say. A giggle slipped out and Jack heard it.

Standing up, so he could look into her eyes, Jack asked, "What's so funny?"

"Oh, you know. I was just thinking about how you said they would have issued you a wife."

Jack's face flushed. "Oh, yes. About that."

They both laughed as they left the little school house. Jack had a team and wagon waiting outside and he helped Elizabeth up into her seat before climbing up to take his spot next to her.

A short while later, he pulled the team to a stop. "Whoa."

"Oh, Jack. It's beautiful." Before them stood a beautiful house. It looked even better than the image she had in her head from what they had discussed and planned. The house was a story and a half tall and had a front porch that wrapped around two sides. They climbed the steps that led up to the front porch and to the front door. They walked through the sitting room and into the dining room. The inside of the house was not complete yet but it was very close to being so. It would not be long before they were able to move in. The kitchen was almost done but it still needed an ice box and stove. There were two bedrooms on the lower floor with a washroom in between. Indoor plumbing, Elizabeth thought to herself: she was very excited about that. There were three more bedrooms upstairs. That is a lot of rooms, she thought to herself again. Perfect for the Thornton Clan as Jack had told her. Elizabeth touched her stomach and smiled.

Jack walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her he placed his hands over hers, covering her stomach. He kissed her on her cheek, "Penny for your thoughts."

"It's just so perfect, Jack. Everything is perfect. It's just like the plans you drew while you were away."

"Come look at this." Jack led Elizabeth out the back door to their second porch. The view from there was amazing too. "Right over there is where we can plant a garden," Jack pointed off to the west. "And over there is where I will build a barn for Sargent and our kids' horses, with a pen to turn them out in right beside it."

"Our kids' horses, huh? So how many stalls with this barn have?"

"Hmm, I would rally to guess about 5 stalls. No, make that 6. We need one for your horse too."

"6 stalls? So, we're going to have 4 children?"

"Oh, at least. They can always share a horse or two if we have more." Jack gave Elizabeth a wink and a silly grin, pulling her in to him and holding her tight. "I don't care if we have one child or eight children, just so long as I'm with you and they are healthy and happy."

"Eight children? I can assure you, Mr. Thornton, that we will not be having eight children."

Jack laughed and pulled Elizabeth into a kiss. Then taking her hand, he led her around the house, "Come with me."

They walked around the house, looking at every detail. Elizabeth picked a few spots to plant some flowers, a spot for a chicken coop and they picked a tree that would be a good spot to hang a swing for their children.

"How much longer until we can move in, Jack?" Elizabeth asked as he helped her back onto the wagon.

"Maybe just another month. We'll be moved in before you know it."

"I can't wait, Jack."

"Me too. Maybe Rosemary will stop listening through the walls and dropping in unannounced then."

"Maybe the listening through the walls will stop but I don't think she'll ever stop dropping in unannounced."

Jack agreed and they both laughed as he shook the reigns and got the team moving back toward town.

Jack left the team and wagon at the livery and the two of them walked back to the row houses. Elizabeth had just begun making supper and Jack had just sat down to read the paper when they heard the front door open.

In burst their neighbor. "I thought you guys were back. How is the house coming along?"

Jack and Elizabeth looked at one another with a snicker. "It's coming along quite well, Rosemary," Jack answered her.

"Wonderful. But I am going to miss having you guys just a few steps away."

"Yes, Rosemary, we will miss being so close to you and Lee as well. But it's only a short ride to our house," Elizabeth reminded her.

"You mean a short walk," Rosemary said with much enthusiasm.

Jack stood and walked across the room to join the ladies in the kitchen, "What do you mean by that, Rosemary?"

"Well, you see, I've been doing some thinking and you know, these row houses are quant but they are so small. So I talked to Lee about building us a house. We just bought the land right next to yours! Isn't that exciting? We'll still be neighbors."

"Oh, how wonderful," Elizabeth replied, her voice going a little higher than she had planned.

Rosemary gave them both a big hug, "I knew you two would be as excited as us. I better get back to Lee. We are working on our house plans so we can get started on it right away."

And with that Rosemary was gone, leaving Jack and Elizabeth standing in silence, not knowing quite what to say. Elizabeth was the one to break the silence, "Remember our conversation earlier about her not listening through the walls anymore?"

Jack looked at Elizabeth with his brow furrowed, "Yes" he said drawing out the word.

"Does the new house have thicker walls?"

They both burst out in laughter, shaking their heads. "Yes, most definitely. They are much thicker. But we are going to have to make sure that we have good locks on both doors."