Jack went up to the room with the zebra rug and laid down on the bed. He didn't go to Beth that night. He just sulked and tried not to be angry that she confided in Bree instead of him. More than that, the fact that she wasn't excited about their wedding.
He did get up once to direct his mom and David to their room and then he went back to bed.
In the morning, he started early working on the supply closet that he needed to finish as soon as possible. He didn't come out for breakfast so it didn't surprise him that his mom showed up in the doorway to the closet.
"Son?"
"Yeah, Ma."
"What are you doing?"
"Just finishing this closet and then the whole reno will be done."
"You have done a great job."
"Thanks."
"Why are you hiding in here?"
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are. Beth is wondering what's going on. She said you didn't come to bed last night."
"Mom, it's between Beth and I."
"Jack, I am not giving you any grief about sleeping in the same room as your fiancé. I'm talking about whatever it is that is making you hide from her and not talk to her. Whatever it is, don't mess up what you have by running from your problems. It's not fair to her."
"I'm not!" he answered with irritation. "Please, Ma."
"Fine. Watch your tone next time. I'm still your mother."
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew he was doing exactly what she had said.
He finished the closet after an hour and then went to find David who was putting the crib together. He wasn't in Jack's room though. He found him in the master.
"How's it going, David?"
"Done," he said, getting up off the floor. He removed the plastic from the mattress next. "Where's Lincoln? We should have him test it out."
"I'm not sure. With Beth, probably."
"Trouble in paradise, Jack?"
"Something like that."
"We barely know each other, Jack, so take this advice for what you want it to be. You need to keep communication open in a marriage. No ifs, ands, or buts. Must be open no matter what."
"How long were you married, David?"
"Twenty two years until she passed away from a heart condition we didn't know she had."
"I'm so sorry for your loss and I thought Beth and I had open communication but I was wrong."
"Misunderstandings happen because we jump to conclusions. Its human nature. But talking openly is the only way to remedy that."
"Thanks, I'll try to remember that. And thank you for getting the crib and high chair. What do I owe you?"
"Mm. I seem to have forgotten how much they cost."
"No, really. I'd like to pay you for it."
"Just consider it a gift from a future possible grandfather to his grandson."
"Possible?"
"If everything goes as planned."
…..
Maybe it was his stubborn male pride that was getting in the way, but Jack couldn't bring himself to go find Beth. Her words hurt and he didn't know how to tell her that.
However, she sought him out. He was thirsty so he was standing in the kitchen drinking iced tea when she walked out of her room.
"There you are."
"Yep."
"Where you have you been, Jack?"
"Around."
"What's going on? We haven't talked all day and you never came to bed last night."
He put his glass in the sink and stared out to the backyard where Tate and Xavier were playing with Ginger. "I heard you."
"Heard me what?"
"I heard you and Bree talking last night."
"Yeah, we were chatting about Linc."
"You said you weren't excited about our wedding! How do you think that made me feel?"
"So you eavesdropped but not long enough to hear the entire conversation?"
"I had heard all I needed to hear. If you don't want to marry me, fine, but maybe I should have been the one you told and not Bree."
"Jack Thornton! Look at me!"
"I need to get into town." He started to walk away but she caught his hand.
"No, you don't. We need to finish this discussion. If you had listened longer to the conversation you would have heard that excited is not the word I'd use to describe how I'm feeling. That the word I would use is ready. I told her I am so ready to be your wife that Friday can't come soon enough. I'm ready to be Linc's mommy and your wife and I'm ready for all that entails."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Oh. Jack, I love you so much. How could you think I didn't want to marry you?"
"You were acting so different and once I heard that…"
"I was acting different because I am sad. Not over you though. Over Linc." She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. "If we could get married today, I would do it. Right this minute."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. I've told you that a dozen times but I'll keep saying it until you believe it. I'm one thousand percent sure."
"Okay, I'm sorry." He gave her a sweet kiss. "I finished your supplies closet."
"You did? That's great."
"Let's go see it." He led her through the kitchen to the door under the stairs.
She opened the door and gasped. "It's perfect. The shelves are great, the drawers, the hooks on the wall. It's great! Thank you so much, babe."
"You're welcome."
"So, tonight I'm going out with Clara and Bree. Kind of a bachelorette thing. I was thinking you should invite Mike over because he already will be watching Tate and Xavier and Jesse can come with Ryder."
"And I'll have Linc."
"Right."
"Okay. I'll text them." He decided to invite Lee over too and everyone said yes.
"Jack, promise me that you'll talk to me if you're bothered by something I've said. We can't go around giving each other the silent treatment."
"Promise."
"And if you eavesdrop, listen to the whole conversation," she said with a wink.
"Deal," he said with a laugh. "It wasn't my intention to eavesdrop. I was in the kitchen and I could hear. That's all."
"I love you, Jack. Always."
"And I love you."
The rest of the early afternoon was spent together, enjoying their own little family but also spending time with Charlotte and David.
Later, Beth came out of her room, dressed in dark skinny jeans and a lavender tank top. Comfortable yet sexy, in Jack's opinion.
He walked over and gave her a kiss. "You look amazing."
"Thanks. Now if Linc gets upset at bedtime, just rock him and massage him, pop a passy in his mouth, and he will sleep."
"I got it. Don't worry."
"Oh and humming or singing helps too."
"Beth, enjoy your evening. We will be fine."
"Okay, okay."
"Up, up!" Linc said, raising his arms to her.
She bent down and picked him up. "HI, sweetie. You be good for Jack tonight, alright?"
"No."
"Yes. I'll see you in the morning." She gave him kisses on his cheeks and handed him to Jack. "I love you both."
The moment Bree and Beth walked out the door, Linc melted down. Crying and looking out the window, refusing to be comforted.
Ginger even came over to him and laid down next to him but that didn't work either.
However the distractions started coming in droves. Jesse and Ryder showed up first. Ryder intrigued Linc a bit so he settled down. Then Mike showed up with Tate and Xavier whom he had taken to the park that day. Then Lee came, bringing burgers, chicken nuggets, and loads of fries.
The men and their boys all sat in the living room and watched kids movies and ate their meals.
"Jack, bro, how's it going? We miss you at the station," Lee told him.
"It's been rough. He freaks out when we leave him so we try not to. He cries for his mom every night before bed. It's hard."
"It's good he has you then."
"I guess. He seems to want Beth more than me but we are getting there."
"Mothers are special. Even though she isn't technically his, he feels that connection because she fills a void."
"Yeah." Jack realized then that each of the little boys there in the room had lost a parent in one way or another. In addition, they all now had two parents who loved them. He noticed the happiness that was on the older boy's faces and that gave him hope that Linc would experience that too.
….
Bree and Clara took Beth to Church St. In Burlington. There was a steakhouse there and they had reservations.
They were shown to their booth and ordered a bottle of wine for the three of them to complement their meal. They ordered prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and Mud Pie for dessert.
"Oh my goodness. I'm so full," Clara said with a laugh. She pushed their shared piece of mud pie toward the other girls. "You can finish."
Clara pulled out a pink bag from under the table and handed it to Beth. "What's this?" Beth asked.
"Wedding present."
"Clara…"
"Open it." Beth smiled and peeked in the bag.
"I'm not pulling this out in a crowded restaurant." Beth felt her cheeks heat. "Not a chance."
"I'll do it," Bree offered, stealing the bag. She lifted out the lacy peach bra and panties and ooh'd and ahh'd over them. "Nice. Pretty sure Jack is going to lose his mind."
Beth took the items back and shoved them in the bag. "Thank you, Clara. They are beautiful."
"You're welcome," she said, looking proud of herself.
Bree pulled her own pink bag out and handed it over. "How did I miss the two of you sneaking these in?" Beth asked.
"Open."
Beth was almost scared to look but she was pleasantly surprised. She pulled out a silk peach robe that matched the items from Clara. "This is nice," Beth told them. "It matches very well. Thanks, Bree."
"You're welcome. Now I have news that I didn't tell you the other night."
"What's that?"
"I'm moving out. The boys and I got an apartment in town."
"You did?"
"Yeah. It's two bedrooms and small but I can afford it and it's only a year lease."
"That's good so if you and Mike were to get married then you aren't locked in," Clara mentioned.
"Married? We just started dating."
"But I can see how you look at him and he's great with the boys. It won't be long."
"I'm in no hurry. Maybe I'll just skip marriage altogether."
"Scandalous," Clara teased, making them all laugh.
"Okay, so, Clara, how's newlywed life?"
…..
Back at the B and B
"It's perfect," Jesse told them. "Tricky sometimes with Ryder but perfect."
Mike stayed quiet. He had never been married so he had nothing to contribute. He wanted to get married, to Bree, but it was still early and he sensed hesitation when they mentioned marriage at all. He didn't blame her, of course, but he hoped her mind changed at some point.
Linc started crying and ran over to Jack, his arms up. "What's wrong?"
He rubbed his eyes and whimpered, "Mama."
"You're sleepy. Should we change your diaper and get you some milk?"
"Yeah."
Jack looked at the clock. It was about thirty minutes past his normal bedtime. No wonder he was tired. "I'll be back in awhile, guys."
"Actually, it's almost these guy's bedtime too," Jesse mentioned. "We will get going." Jesse shook Jack's hand. "Fatherhood looks good on you, bro."
"Thanks, Jess. Thanks for coming, guys."
A few minutes later, Jack was in Beth's room and changing Linc's diaper. Then he put him in his little pajamas and grabbed a pacifier and headed to the kitchen for a sippy cup.
"Hey, son. How's everything going?" Charlotte asked from the island.
"So far so good but I'm expecting a meltdown anytime. He's beyond tired."
"I'm here if you need help."
"I appreciate it, but I need to do this myself. I need him to learn to trust me like he does Beth."
"Okay."
He filled the sippy cup with milk and put a lid on it. "Ready to rock, Linc?" He put his head on Jack's shoulder and took a sip.
Jack took him into the living room and sat in the rocker and began the ritual of humming and rocking and massaging. Surprisingly, he didn't cry too much. He just watched Jack until he couldn't hold his eyes open anymore and drifted off to sleep. Jack rocked him an extra ten minutes and then took him into the master and put him in his crib.
Next, Jack let Ginger outside and back in, fed Bella who was sleeping on the bed, and went upstairs to change into more comfortable clothes.
Finally, he headed back to Beth's room and fell asleep on her bed.