Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. I love reading them all!
***STEAM ALERT*** At the end of the chapter when Jack wakes up...things get a little steamy for these love birds!
...
That evening, Bill had taken a couple men from town and collected the bodies of the men. The Commander from Cape Fullerton would be sending two men to retrieve the bodies of all three thieves and notify their families if they could be found.
Jack healed quickly from his latest gunshot wound. Carson's fast and precise work had allowed the wound heal quickly and almost undetectable. He was back at work within a few days and back to normal in a few weeks.
Jesse and Clara's wedding had been the weekend following the incident with the horse thieves. They considered postponing it, but everyone insisted that they go as planned. It had been a perfect day for an outdoor wedding, as Clara wanted the ceremony next to the pond. The flowers were blooming along the pond's edge; the yellows and reds in the tulips, blues and purples in the irises, created a rainbow of colors. The scene was like one from a painting, capturing all the beauty of spring. The pond was calm like glass, mirroring the sky, mountains and trees.
The reception was held at the saloon and Lucas and Fiona had it beautifully decorated as a wedding gift for them. The beams were lined with greenery; roses and lilies were intertwined among it. Candles lined every surface along with more greenery and ribbons. All the tables were covered in white lace tablecloths, his best dishes, wine glasses and silverware. The centerpieces varied from table to table, all filled with lilies and roses. White silk and lace fabric were hung to create curtains, gathered in the middle with ribbons. This gave a beautiful backdrop behind the dance floor.
The music began and most of the guests started to dance. Even one-handed, Jack danced with his wife. He would never miss an opportunity to do so. The wedding and reception turned out to be a great distraction from the horrible day that unfolded just a few days earlier. Everyone had a great time; they all danced, laughed and visited throughout the evening. Even Opal and Timmy's families were there, keeping their children thinking of better times, creating lasting memories.
Opal recovered quickly, but Timmy had been having nightmares. Even he seemed to be having fun at the reception as he danced and laughed with his friends; the heaviness of the fear that followed him seemed to have lifted off his shoulders.
Everyone watched Timmy, Opal and the rest of the children; one of them had said something funny and the entire group was laughing, a few of them doubled over. The laughs were infectious and quickly spread through the room. Jack and Elizabeth looked at each other, both smiling, both knowing that the other was thanking God for this wonderful day of healing.
…..
The summer turned out to be one of the hottest in Hope Valley. Elizabeth kept every window of the house open and let the twins play in the water under a large shade tree every afternoon.
Some days, Jack would come home early due to the heat, and take his family to the river where they would all cool off; playing and splashing the water on one another.
One evening early July, when Jack arrived home, Elizabeth was waiting for him in the kitchen.
"Where are the kids?" Jack asked as he hung his serge on the hook next to the back door, and kicked off his boots, leaving them where they landed below the serge.
"They are in their room playing." She pulled a stool out and pointed at it, "have a seat." She smiled nervously as Jack lowered himself onto the stool, eyeing her curiously.
"What's up?"
"Well, I have something I need to tell you." Elizabeth could feel her heart begin to beat harder and faster in her chest.
"Okay." It sounded more like a question than a statement as Jack vocalized the word.
"Well, I went and saw Dr. Shepherd today, and..." Elizabeth fiddled with her skirt fabric nervously, trying to pick her words just right.
Jack stood and gently gripped her arms as he tilted his head down to see her face more easily. His heart began to race, and fear was beginning to grip his very soul. "What is it, Elizabeth? You're starting to scare me."
She lifted her head and looked him directly in the eyes, smiling. "You're going to be a daddy again."
Jack straightened, processing the words, then a large smile slowly invaded his face and his eyes lit up. His heart was racing, but for a very different reason. The fear turned to excitement, and he felt an overwhelming emotion fill him from head to toe. "Are you sure? Seriously? You're pregnant? We're pregnant?" The questions poured out of him before Elizabeth could answer even one, his voice rising half an octave with each one.
She took hold of Jack's face, "Breathe." The smile on her face was soft and a tear appeared in the corner of her eye.
Jack took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. "When did you think you might be?"
"I haven't been feeling very well, off and on for a while now. I thought it was just a stomach bug that was going around school. Then I felt better for a few weeks and thought I was over it. But a few days ago, I started feeling bad again. Then it dawned on me this morning that I hadn't had my cycle for a couple months. I hadn't even noticed with being so busy with the twins and the house." She wrapped her arms behind Jack's neck. "I saw Carson today and he verified it. I'm already over two months along."
Jack picked her up and spun her around. Then slowly lowered her to the floor as he kissed her. He knelt to the floor and placed his hands on the sides of her stomach and kissed the front of her still flat belly. "You will be so loved," he whispered to the tiny baby inside, then kissed it again. He stood and took Elizabeth in his arms and kissed her. Pulling back, he cupped the sides of her neck in his hands, rubbing his thumbs across her cheeks. "You have made me so happy, Elizabeth." He pulled her to him and kissed her again. "I love you."
Elizabeth laid her hands on his arms and smiled at him. "I love you, too."
…..
The following weekend, Rosemary invited Jack and Elizabeth to their house for dinner. After the meal, Rosemary served each of them a slice of warm apple pie and returned to her seat at the table. It was decorated in full Rosemary fashion; candles, flowers, lace tablecloth and her best dishes.
Hannah was asleep in bed and the twins were playing with toys on the sitting room floor. They love playing with new toys and Hannah already has so many, they kept the twins busy all evening.
After Lee finished telling Jack a story about something that had happened at work the day before, he looked at Rosemary and winked. Elizabeth noticed this and turned to Rosemary who had a smile growing across her face.
"What's going on, guys?" Elizabeth asked, looking back and forth between the couple.
Rosemary slid her hand across the table and placed it in Lee's hand, "Well, we have some news to share." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Lee and I just found out that we are expecting another baby."
"What? That's wonderful!" Elizabeth squealed, jumping out of her seat to hug Rosemary.
"Congratulations." Jack said as he shook Lee's hand and slapped him on the shoulder.
Elizabeth returned to Jack and put her arms around his waist, "We've got some news of our own. We are too."
A very high-pitched scream came out of Rosemary, as she ran and hugged Elizabeth. "We're going to have babies together!"
"Shhhh." Lee warned Rosemary. "You're going to wake up Hannah." But he was too late, a tiny whimper came from her room.
"I got it." Rosemary said. She almost danced as she went to Hannah's room, skipping across the floor.
She returned a few minutes and joined the others in the sitting room. Rosemary and Elizabeth discussed their due dates, symptoms and other details regarding their pregnancies, as Jack and Lee talked about town business and some things that needed done around their homes.
It was getting late and twins were getting tired, so Jack and Elizabeth said goodbye and left for home.
"I can't believe Rosemary is pregnant already," Elizabeth said as the buggy bounced along the little path that led to their house.
"Oh, I know. She's going to have her hands full." Jack looked toward Elizabeth. "We're going to have our hands full," he grinned.
Elizabeth took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "Yes we will." She was smiling when she turned to Jack. "But it will be wonderful."
…..
A few days later, Elizabeth was picking up the toys the twins had scattered across the sitting room when the phone rang. She answered and Fiona announced a call from Julie.
"Julie! How are you?" Elizabeth asked excitedly.
"I'm great. How are you?"
"I'm good. I haven't heard from you in months. What's going on? How's married life? Still perfect?"
"Oh, yes. Tom is wonderful. He is such a great husband. Spoils me like crazy."
Elizabeth was smiling, "Must be a Thornton thing. Jack is the same way."
"I'm actually calling you for a reason. Is Jack there too?"
Elizabeth leaned back and tried to see out the window toward the barn. "He's outside somewhere. I can go get him."
"Yes, could you?"
Elizabeth was puzzled by this request, but obliged. A minute later, Jack joined Elizabeth in the sitting room.
"Jack is here now." She held the earpiece of the phone between them as they both pressed their heads together in order to hear.
"Hey, Jack." It was Tom's voice this time.
"Hey there, brother. How are you?" Jack asked.
"Great. Work is going great. Everything is...well...great." Tom answered.
"So, what's going on, Julie?" Elizabeth asked.
"Tom and I have some wonderful news that we wanted to share with you guys."
"Okay." Elizabeth said after a short pause. "What it is?"
"We're pregnant!" The announcement came from both Julie and Tom in unison.
This time the high-pitched squeal came from Elizabeth and she bounced around in excitement. She gave Jack an apologetic look as she stopped and put the ear piece back between them. "That is wonderful news, Julie."
"Yes, we are very excited. It was a surprise, but we couldn't be happier." Tom said.
"That's great. Congratulations, Tom and Julie." Jack added. He looked at Elizabeth and nodded.
"We have some news ourselves." Elizabeth said. "Jack and I are expecting, too."
"What? That's amazing." Julie said in full Julie excitement. "Our kids will be the same age."
"And guess who else is pregnant." Elizabeth added.
"Who?"
"Rosemary and Lee."
Another squeal, followed by the sound of the earpiece dropping, had Jack and Elizabeth in hysterics by the time Julie recovered and was back on the phone.
"I can't believe it. All three of us at the same time." Julie couldn't contain the excitement in her voice.
"There must be something in the water," Tom finally said after Julie calmed a bit.
"Yes," Jack laughed. "There must be."
…..
The early morning sunlight reached through the open window and touched Jack's face, waking him from a pleasant dream. He stretched himself into consciousness then rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He blinked several times against the bright sunlight, then finally opened his eyes and turned his head toward his wife. Jack rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow and watched Elizabeth's face as she slept. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly into a grin and her right eye twitched; must be having a good dream too, Jack thought to himself.
With the heat of the summer still lingering, sometime in the middle of the night, Jack had removed his clothes and Elizabeth had kicked off the covers; she was wearing only her thin, white sleeping gown.
His eyes slowing moved down her body, taking in every detail of his beautiful wife. Her long, wavy brown hair fell across her shoulders and pillow like silk; her cheeks flushed pink from the warmth of the air. She was lying on her back and Jack watched her chest slowly rise and fall with each breath. He could see through parts of her gown where she was sweating and his eyes stopped and lingered in those areas. Now looking back at her face, he carefully pulled a lock of her hair that was stuck to her cheek and moved it away from her face.
Not wanting to wake her, his hand hovered just above her skin, close enough to feel the heat rise up and touch it. He moved his hand down along her body, following her curves; beginning at her neck, across her collarbone, her breasts, ribs. He stopped above her growing belly; now at almost four months, it was plain to see that she was carrying a baby. Jack loved to look at her stomach and imagined the child that grew within.
Unable to hold back his desire any longer, he lowered his hand to her skin, slowly sliding it up her arm to her neck. Elizabeth opened her eyes to find Jack's face above hers, his big, hazel eyes staring straight into hers, a sheepish grin across his mouth.
"Good morning, Jack." She smiled back, slowly blinking, her eyes adjusting.
Without replying, Jack lowered his face to hers, kissing her softly on the lips. He slid his hand down her body to the hem of her gown and pulled it up until most of her body was exposed. Then he kissed her gently on the cheek and down her neck, taking his time and enjoying the reaction he was getting from her; her back arched slightly toward his touch. His hand wandered along her body, feeling her hot, damp skin.
Elizabeth rolled to her side to face Jack and slipped her leg onto his. Jack ran his hand up the length of her leg then cupped it behind her knee and pulled her closer to him. She ran her hand through his hair then locking her fingers in it, she pulled his head toward hers and began to kiss him, her tongue dancing with his.
With his hand still cupped behind her knee, he pulled her again, this time rolling and moving her body on top of his. They moved in unison, becoming one, their sweat mixing, their bodies aching for release.