Chapter 56
Christmas in Hope Valley(part 2)
Elizabeth woke so excited for the events of the day. She was very anxious to give Jack his Christmas presents. He was supposed to come over for breakfast around 9:00, so she would it to him then. Getting dressed in her black skirt with her red sweater,she went and grabbed the pan of cinnamon rolls that she had made the night before. Molly had shown her a recipe for overnight rolls that she could make and refridgerate until she was ready to bake them. Elizabeth had just made the cream cheese icing to put on top as soon as they finished baking, when she heard the knock on the door.
"Merry Christmas Elizabeth!" There stood Jack looking sovery handsome in the dark jeans that she loved with a striking red shirt. They both looked so festive with their red shirts on. Jack stepped inside and gave her a bouquet of carnations, her favorite.
"Come on in. Breakfast is just about ready. I'm on a hot chocolate kick right now, but I can make you some coffee if you would rather have that." Jack shook his head letting her know that hot chocolate was just fine. He sat down at the table while she finished up in the kitchen. A few minutes later, Elizabeth came out of the kitchen with breakfast. The cinnamon rolls turned out really well and paired great with the caramel hot chocolate.
"These are fantastic Elizabeth! Thank you so much for having me over for breakfast." Elizabeth knew that Jack was enjoying them since the nunber of rolls in the pan was disappearing fast:)
"Your welcome, I'm going to clean this stuff up later. Would you like some more hot chocolate? I was actually planning on going to sit on the couch for awhile, yesterday was a long day. Now how about that hot chocolate, I have whipped cream and caramel sauce." She laughed because you can never have to many calories on Christmas.
"Sure, and then come sit with me." Elizabeth hurried while in the kitchen, put the hot chocolate on a tray, and brought it out to the living room. She set it on the table and then sat down with Jack.
"Thanks Elizabeth, breakfast was excellent. Hey I wanted to tell you how proud of you I was and still am, when I saw you last night. You were doing what you love and it showed by how special the children's music was." Jack started to rub her arm and look right into her eyes and she knew that he was indeed proud of her.
"Thank you, that means alot. I'm very happy that we get to be together for Christmas, since we weren't together for Thanksgiving. We are together now and that's all that matters, and I'm so glad that you got to make it to the program last night. It meant alot to the kids and to me that you were there." She got up and took the tray to the kitchen and stood at the counter for a few minutes. She seemed to still get nervous whenever things got sentimental between them and she wasn't sure why. Elizabeth knew that Jack cared for her and she for him. She decided to just take things slow and to conquer each day as it comes. She came back into the room with 2 presents and handed them to him.
"What's this? You didn't need to get me anything." Jack opened the first of the the two packages, a very beautiful sketch book with a set of colored pencils. He looked extremely ,
"Merry Christmas! Um...Lee actually let me in on a secret that I didn't know. It seems that you have an amazing talent for drawing. He actually showed me some of your work so don't even try to deny it:) So I hope that you like it, I got you initials on it and the paper is refillable. So you can keep the book and get more paper from Ned when you need it. Open the other one." Elizabeth was happy that he seemed to really like the sketch book.
"Oh my, he opened the box and held up a gold watch. It had a picture on the front of a horse running on what looked like a ranch. He opened it and inside their was a picture of the two of them that Jack had taken on the night of his Christmas party. He had taken it at her house after he had given her the locket which she happily wore in the picture. Closing it, he saw an inscription on the back, looking at Elizabeth with tears in his eyes, he read the words out loud. It said, Remember that I love you every second of everyday, and until the end of time. Always yours, Elizabeth
"I don't know what to say. Elizabeth, this is the most thoughtful gift that I have ever gotten from anyone,thank you so much." Elizabeth smiled at him, also with tears in her eyes.
"I'm so glad that you like it, I wasn't sure if you would like the inscription. I meant every word of it, you know." Jack moved closer to her and touched the necklace that he had given her with his love.
"Of course I do and I mean every word that is on this necklace. It's fate that brought us together, and as far as I'm concerned we always will be. Jack finally leaned over and covered her lips with his own,something that Elizabeth had been waiting for since he walked in the door. Merry Chrismas Sweetheart."
"Merry Christmas Jack. I made something special for our lunch. I hope you have an appetite, I got a roast from Ned. I put in some potatoes and some carrots and will fix some biscuits. It won't be ready for about an hour though. You will last until then won't you:)" He started to laugh, only because he knew that Elizabeth found out how much of an appetite he had when they had been out together. She went into the kitchen to baste the roast.
"If I have to, then I will:) Hey if it's ok, I have to head back to the jail for just a few minutes. I'll be back for lunch though I promise." Jack called to her and she came out of the kitchen as he was putting on his coat.
"Of course, it's fine and everything will be ready for when you come back." Elizabeth came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She then reminded him to be careful, even if he was just going to the jail,she still wanted him to be safe. As soon as she heard the door close, she started to hum to herself. She was so happy, and she never thought that she would find someone like Jack. Someone that she could trust her life with, and a person that she felt that she could be totally honest with. In turn, she hoped that he could be honest with her. She had decided that she was going to bring some scalloped potatoes and a lemon merague pie for the dinner at Abigail's that night. So while Jack was gone, she peeled all the potatoes and put them in a bowl with water. Molly had shown this technique to her to keep them from getting brown. Then she made the dough for her pie, and put it in the refrigerator. As she shut the door to the fridge, she heard the front door open and close.
"Elizabeth, would you come out here for a minute? Everything was pretty much ready for their lunch, so she went into the living room. He was just standing there grinning by the door. I still have to give you your Christmas present."
"But Jack, you gave me my Christmas present a few nights ago. Elizabeth reached up and fingered her necklace. You don't need to get me anything else."
"This is something that I have a feeling that you can use very much. Jack's eyes twinkled like a little child trying to keep a secret. Come on, it's out on the porch." They both went outside and there on the swing, sat the cutest little puppy that she had ever seen.
"Aw she is so precious Jack! Thank you so much." She grabbed Jack and started to hug him, more like squeeze him. He started to laugh.
"Actually she is a he and he is about 10 weeks old, and the best part is that you get to name him. He is a German Shorthaired Pointer and he seems to love RIP so far. I picked him up at the jail while I was gone." Jack explained to her.
"Is this the reason why you were late getting to the program on time last night? Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh as Jack nodded. Can he stay out here while we eat lunch and then we can bring him inside to get settled?"
"Absolutely I'm starving! That will give you time to think of a name for the little guy. Well, I shouldn't say little, he'll grow to be about 75lbs." Jack opened the door for her, and sat down at the table while Eliabeth finished things in the kitchen. She returned a few minutes later with the sliced roast and lots of gravy to eat with the biscuits. Instead of sitting down, Jack got up and pulled her chair for her. She thanked him and smiled, because it reminded her of the first time that they had dinner together. That first Sunday that had had dinner with Abigail and her family.
"Everything looks delicious Elizabeth." She gave him a few slices of the roast, some potatoes and carrots. A few seconds passed and he gave her a pitiful look and looked at the basket of buscuits. She laughed and gave him one, and they were all set.
"Oh I forgot to tell you, you will never guess what I saw yesterday at the school last night. Elizabeth's eyes widened in suspense. Lee was sitting with none other than Rosemary, and they just looked like they were having a great time together. They both had such a happy look on their faces.." Elizabeth was just so happy for Rosemary that she seemed to finally feel at home here, that she found someone that made her happy. They kept talking about all of the possibilites that relationship could bring if it continued, and they kept eating their lunch.
"I've got it! I'll call him Scout! Jack laughed at her sudden burst of excitement. Is it ok to go and bring him inside now,he's probably cold?"
"Sure, let's go out and get him. He's got everything that you need with him, so you're aall set." Jack got up and walked out on the porch. He grabbed the bag with a collar, leash and a few toys, along with a big bag of food. Elizabeth grabbed Scout and got his bed that Jack brought with him. They took him inside and sat down on the floor with him. He was the sweetest little puppyy and he was gray and white with big liver colored patches. He also had a liver colored head with a white line in between his eyes. He had big floppy ears and such a chubby belly. They played ball with him until he let out a big yawn and fell asleep in the middle of the rug.
"Scout is the best gift that you could've given me Jack, thank you so much." Elizabeth stood on her tip toes and tenderly gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Your welcome sweetheart. Merry Christmas! I'm so glad that you love hime, I wasn't sure whether to get you a boy or girl. The absolute best part is that I won't worry when I'm away because I know that Scout will be here to protect you. He will need a little training but he'll learn fast. Jack stood up and she stood up right after him, she bent down and gave Scout a kiss on his soft wrinkly head.
"Hey, would you like to watch him or help me in the kitchen?" Elizabeth still had to finish some things in the kitchen.
"Actually, stated Jack, I'm going to head back to the jail and grab the cage that I got for him. We don't want to have to worry about him while we are at Abigail's." He gave her a quick kiss and said that he would be back soon. Making sure that Scout was still fast asleep, she went into the kitchen, put her potatoes in the oven and finished the pie. She would cook her lemon pie after the potatoes were done, and she would pute the meringue on before they were ready to go.
"Hey Elizabeth, I'm back and look who's awake. Come on buddy, let's go outside." Jack up the puppy who was looking at him, wagging his tail and took him out. That was right where she found them, playing in the snow, after a successful trip outside of potty training.
"Ok the pie is in the oven, so whenever you little boys are done playing, we should probably start to get ready to go to Abigails." She couldn't hold in the giggles that wanted to escape.
"We're coming! I was just trying to wear him out, he's got alot of energy." Jack laughed too as Scout did his best to tackle him in the snow. Come here buddy, let's see if you're hungry."
This dinner tonight was casual so they didn't spend much time getting ready to go. Jack had actually got ready to go when he was at the jail. The time came for them to leave, and even though they hated to do it, they put Scout in his cage with a blanket. Telling him goodbye and to be good, they were on their way with the food in hand. Arriving at the restaurant, they waved to all their friends and put their food on the table.
"Merry Christmas everyone! Frank had gotten everyone's attention. First thing, let's pray and thank God for the fabulous food and for everyone coming out to fellowship with us." As soon as he was done, the food was dug into and everyone started to find somewhere to sit, and a conversation to jump into.
"Elizabeth! How was your Christmas? Abigail grabbed the chair next to her and sat down. Did you have a good day with Jack?"
"Oh Abigail, I'm so happy. I haven't gotten the chance to show you the beautiful gift from Jack. He had it engraved for me on the bad and there's a picture of us in it. Omg and this morning, he surprised me with a puppy of my own. His name is Scout and he is just 10 weeks old. See?" She showed her the pictures that she taken with her phone , while Scout was sleeping and he and Jack were playing in the snow.
"Elizabeth, he is just adorable. I'm so happy that you have found happiness and love here in Hope Valley."Abigail gave her a hug
"Abigail, you have no idea how thankful and blessed I am. God has blessed me so much more than I deserve and I couldn't be more grateful."
