Elizabeth stood with her back still against the row house door. What was that? Her scarlet cheeks could be explained by her time by the fire, but the pounding of her heart and quickened breathing had been palpable proof that there was more to it than that. It had been so long since she had been close to Nathan, but the last couple of weeks, they had shared several moments that made her question everything she was trying to do—pushing him away to save her the pain of reliving the past. She was beginning to realize, there was one flaw to her thinking. This was not the past, and Nathan was not Jack.
She had loved Jack deeply. She had believed he would be her love for a lifetime. When he had died, this dream had died with him. Baby Jack had not only given her a forever connection to Jack, but had kept her from falling into a deep sadness from which she could not escape. He needed his mother, and she needed him. All they needed was each other.
She could live the rest of her life caring for Baby Jack, and be happy. But the truth was Baby Jack would not be a baby forever. Someday, he would be all grown up, with dreams of his own. As much as she and Jack loved each other, she knew that Jack didn't want her to live her life alone. He wanted her to find love again. Today, she realized that she had. It was just a matter of telling him.