Jack sat on the back patio after going to the American Legion post to see Gowan and Bill. As he sat on one of the Adirondak chairs, he stared down at his "gift" from the two retired soldiers. He was starting to judge the old men's reasoning just a bit.
The sound of an SUV could be heard coming down the dirt drive. Jack paid it no attention, not even looking away from his "gift", which let out a couple noises from where it sat, alerting Jack about the vehicle.
Lee Coulter, one of Jack's best friends, hopped out of the SUV and walked around to the back of the house looking for Jack.
"Hey! I was just over at the orchard to see you but your mom said you took the afternoon off. I don't remember you ever taking a day off from anything. You okay?"
"Yeah. Just had something come up."
Lee stepped onto the patio and followed Jack's stare. "Dude, what's that?"
"That would be a dog, Lee. A young German Shepard to be exact."
"Yeah, I can see that. When'd you get a dog?"
"Today. He's a gift."
"Someone gifted you a dog?"
"Yup. Meet Ranger. Come boy." Jack spoke and the dog immediately obeyed. Enthusiastically wagging his tail as he rushed over to Jack. "Ranger here is a two year old service dog trained to help with PTSD. My former CO and his friend gave him to me today."
"Wait, does that mean you finally talked to someone about… you know, the past?"
"I did." He gave a slight smile as he petted the pup.
"Wow! That's awesome! I didn't think you'd ever do that. I mean, I also hoped. I stopped asking because it just seemed to tick you off when I did, but I'm happy for you man. This is a good thing, right?"
"Yeah. It's definitely well past time I sort through my stuff here. Or maybe it's now that's the right time. Either way, I'm doing it."
Lee kneeled down and gave the now playful dog some attention. "Just out of curiosity, does this whole getting help thing have anything to do with why you want to finish the house all of a sudden?"
"Don't miss much do you?"
"Hey, I have my moments," Lee teased. "So, anything you want to share?"
Jack looked over at Lee with a boyish grin. "I met someone. Someone who could very well be "the one". In fact, we have a date tonight."
"Wow!" Lee said again. "So you're finally putting yourself out there again. Good for you. Where are you taking her?"
"We're actually staying in. I'm making her dinner." Jack scratched his head as anxiety began to flood him. Ranger was there at his feet a moment later, pawing at his leg to be petted. When Jack did, he started to feel a little calmer. This dog was good. Those two old men knew a thing or two apparently.
"You okay?" Lee asked. "You look nervous."
"I am!" Jack raised his voice and laughed. "History would show I'm no good at this stuff. I don't want to screw it up. She and her son mean alot to me already. More than I ever thought possible."
"Her son?"
"Yeah. He's the same age as Ryan. She adopted him through foster care when he was just a toddler. He's deaf too."
"Wow, again. You're going big there." Jack nodded. "Why do you think you'll screw it up? You're a great guy."
"I've screwed up other important things before."
"You talking about your job? You know, in the army?"
"That, and relationships."
"That was different, Jack. You were a different man in the Army. Your priorities had to be different than the average guy."
"I just want this to work for all of us." Jack petted Ranger a bit longer. "Hey, why'd you stop by anway?"
"Oh! Right. I was gonna see if you wanted me to come over tomorrow so we could get some more done on the house."
"Sure, but don't you have plans with your girl?"
"Eh, I don't know. I think I scared her off."
"What'd you do?" Jack grinned. "Tell her you wanted to have lots of babies with her or something?"
"Basically."
"Dude!" Jack bent over with laughter. "I was making a joke. You really did that?"
"Kind of… yeah." Lee rubbed his hand over his face. "We passed this adorable family the other night and it just sort of came out."
"Oh man," Jack laughed. "I take it she doesn't feel exactly the same?"
"She didn't really say much, but that's the idea I gathered from her overall reaction, yeah. I'm in love, Jack. Really! I mean, we see and talk to each other everyday. She eats dinner at the bar of the restaurant some nights that I work so we can eat together. Then when it's not too busy, we talk. She does her work there and we have dessert after I'm done. It's perfect. But yeah, I may have blown it big time."
Lee's phone buzzed.
"Or maybe I haven't totally screwed up! This is her." He read the text. "Good grief!"
"What? Did she just dump you over text?"
"No… she wants us to double date with her friend and her boyfriend. Apparently Rosie suspects he's no good and wants to check him out."
"Ouch. I guess that's good she's looking out for her friend though. There's some really subpar guys out there."
"Sure, but don't wanna double date with some weird creepy dude."
"What makes you think he's creepy?"
"Just a guess." Lee sighed. Lee typed on his phone for a moment before it buzzed again. "Oh! Um, okay..."
"What did she say?"
"Well, I asked what she knew about the guy her friend was dating and she gave me his name."
"Do we know him?"
"Oh yeah. It's you, my friend."
Jack stood in surprise "Me?"
"Yeah, says right here. Jack Thornton."
"Hold on now. Her friend's name is Elizabeth?" Lee nodded. "What the heck man! I'm not creepy! Why does she think I'm creepy? Or a dud, whatever it was she said."
"I don't know." Lee laughed. "I can ask though."
"No! Maybe I don't want to know. Wait… does Elizabeth think I'm creepy too?"
Lee typed more, then with shock in his eyes he looked up at Jack. "You haven't kissed her yet? What's wrong with you?"
"Unbelievable." Jack threw his hands up. "Give me that phone! I'm throwing it in the lake."
Jack took a fair bit of ribbing from Lee that afternoon before Lee left to get ready for work. Once he was alone again, Jack took the time to finish cleaning his home, making it spotless for his date. After that, all that was left to do was to get himself ready. He showered, shaved, then stood in front of his closet for a while thumbing through everything he owned. He finally landed on his dark washed jeans, light blue button down and his navy blue v-neck sweater. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times, giving it that windblow easy-going look.
Downstairs, Ranger let out a few barks from his perch on the window seat in the living room, announcing Elizabeth's arrival. Jack slid on his nice brown leather boots and headed outside with the dog to greet her.
"Oh man," he spoke. The very sight of her took his breath away in an instant. She was gorgeous from head to toe. Her fitted jeans wrapped around her legs, showing them off perfectly. She had on a black v-neck blouse with lace around the neck and a tan button-down sweater undone over it. Right away, he was glad they were staying in. He didn't want to have to share this sight with anyone.
"Oh my goodness!" She knelt down letting Ranger run up to her and lick her face. "You got a dog?"
"Yeah. Meet Ranger Thornton," Jack smiled. "He's a trained therapy dog. For PTSD."
"Oh yeah?" She stood, dusting off her knees.
"Yeah. It's a problem of mine. I've been working on it, and now it's something I would like to share with you." His fingers nervously moved through his hair. "I want you to know me, Elizabeth."
She sighed hopeful then smiled at him. "I want to know you, too. All of it."
"Good. Take a walk with me?"
"I'd love to."
He put Ranger on a leash and they headed toward the trails that lead to the orchard just as the sun was starting to set above the trees. Elizabeth took a chance and slipped her fingers into his, relishing the feeling of a new relationship. Jack gave her hand a squeeze as they walked.
"So, PTSD?" she said softly.
"Yeah... I have nightmares and flashbacks sometimes during the day. It can be really debilitating at times."
She tugged him closer as they walked. "Will you tell me about them?"
Ranger nudged his leg, sensing something changing in Jack's demeanor. Jack paused in their walk and gave Ranger a pat. "Thanks, bud."
"You don't have to, Jack. I just want you to know you're safe with me, okay?"
"Yeah, I know." He smiled a bit. Not enough to show his dimples but enough to show he was happy with her encouragement. "My last deployment ended really bad; and not just on the home front. I'm still struggling with the fact that not all in my team made it home. Those that did, many were hurt pretty badly. I sometimes feel like I didn't do enough to save everyone. That it's my fault."
"I don't believe that, Jack." Her voice was soft. "I'm sure that no one in your team believes that either."
"You'd be right about that." He chuckled softly. "Even the spouses of those that didn't make it don't seem to hold any ill will towards me or any of us. Like Faith."
He talked about Faith's late husband, who had been one of his closest friends, and how he didn't make it home to meet his little girl. He talked about the other events of that day as well. The bombs, the capture, tourture and the escape...
"It all boils down to bad intel, honestly. The enemy was far closer than we knew and seemed to have knowledge of our movements. My commanding officer from that time has been helping me to understand that. He's said that by the time the bombs and guns began going off, there was very little any of us could do. We were ambushed, and outnumbered."
As they walked out of the woods and into the orchard, with its beautiful rows of mature apple trees, Elizabeth held Jack close. Trying to give all the peace she could to him as she asked, "What are the nightmares like?"
They started walking again and Ranger stayed close to Jack as he continued. "It's like reliving the moments over and over again. The outcome is always the same. I watch my friends get injured or killed and I'm powerless to stop it. I can still see the face of the men that tried to end my life as well. Their eyes when they thought they'd gotten the best of me."
"Oh Jack." She stopped walking and wrapped him in her arms. "That's such a heavy burden to have to carry all these years."
"I felt like it was my curse. That there was no choice but to. That because I couldn't give my friends the future they deserved, I didn't deserve one either."
Taking a step back while holding his hands in hers, she brought them to her lips and kissed them. "What made you finally talk about it? Not to me, I mean to Bill and Gowan?"
"You want to know the truth?"
She nodded.
"It was you." Jack smiled softly. "I met you and I didn't want to live in the past anymore. I wanted a future. You need to know though, I'm not in perfect shape here. Sometimes, I'm kind of a mess."
"I don't need you to be perfect, Jack. I just need you to be you." She kissed his cheek. "Let me be a part of your life. Let me help and walk beside you in the dark days and the bright days. Let me be there for you when you need me. Be honest with me with how you're doing and if you're going to need space or not and I'll do everything I can."
Jack lifted his hand and slowly caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "I don't think I deserve you."
"Well, I don't feel like I deserve you either. Maybe that's a good sign though."
"Why wouldn't you deserve me?"
"Jack… do you have any idea how wonderful you are? I have a son and to you he's not a burden. You seem to thoroughly enjoy every moment you have with him."
"I do! He's amazing. The way I see it, you two are a package deal, in the very best way."
"Most men aren't like that."
"I can't speak for most men. I'm just being me, Liz. Not trying to be anything special."
"That's the best part. You're naturally special to me."
Her feet shuffled forward, moving her body just a little closer in his arms. "May I... Kiss you now?"
"Not if I kiss you first."
His arms wrapped around her as he'd spoken, pulling her tight against his body. As lightly as a whisper, he kissed the corners of her mouth. Teasing her.
"Jack…" Her eyes were closed, heart thundering with anticipation.
His lips touched hers, lightly at first. Then with a tilt of his head, he kissed her harder, working apart her lips to deepen their connection. A soft whimper left her lips, driving him back for more. She tasted like pumpkin spice. Never before had he tasted anything so sweet.
When they eventually separated, Elizabeth rested her head on his chest. Feeling it rise and fall as he caught his breath.
"I don't know if I can walk back now," she giggled slightly. "My legs feel like jelly."
"I could carry you," he grinned.
"Um no, I think I can… eee!"
Jack lifted her up and cradled her in his arms. Then, he kissed her again. Short, yet passionate.
"Come on Ranger. Let's get the lady home for dinner."
They laughed the whole walk back to Jack's home with Ranger racing ahead unleashed, then back to check on them. Jumping around them playfully.
Every few steps, one of them would steal another sweet kiss. Their kisses were very quickly becoming addicting for them both.
"I should've kissed you long before now," Jack groaned. "Your lips are amazing."
Elizabeth traced his lips with her finger. "It's okay. I like us this way."
When they reached the house, Jack carried her all the way in through the back door before placing her on the floor.
"Thank you for the walk." He said squeezing her hand. "And for your patience with me. Just for the record, it's been torture not kissing you the past few weeks."
"Your welcome." His smiling lips were in reach again and she couldn't help herself. She'd never had a kiss, let alone a first kiss like the ones she just shared with Jack. She kissed him again. Just a quick peck. "Would the chef like help with dinner?"
"I wouldn't mind some company, but I'll do the work."
Elizabeth hopped on to the counter while Jack began pulling out all the ingredients for their dinner.
"This place is looking great Jack." She said sipping the water Jack gave her.
"Thank you. My buddy and I have been spending a lot of time on it."
"Yeah, you've said that! You've been coming to see Levi and I at our house, I haven't gotten a chance to see the fruits of your labor."
"The kitchen is now complete. Living room needs a little more work and then the bedrooms and bathrooms. I hope to get it all done by spring."
"Is that doable?"
"I think so. I could use some help picking out furnishings though. Most of what I have in here now is bachelor pad garage sale."
"Give me a budget and I could go crazy with a place like this. Spacious log cabin, I'm all over it!"
"Perfect! Lee tries but he's as useless as me in that area." Jack began mixing ingredients. "Speaking of Lee, I learned something new from him today."
"Oh yeah? What was that?" Elizabeth asked as she stole a pepper from the cutting board.
"I learned that your friend Rosie thinks I'm creepy."
Elizabeth choked on the vegetable still in her mouth. "Rosie… wait what? Your Lee is her Lee?"
Jack nodded. "Why doesn't she like me?"
Elizabeth winced. "I may have told her I was coming here tonight and that Levi had a sleepover. She asked if I was having a sleepover too and I told her we hadn't even kissed yet."
"Ah."
"Yeah."
"Guess that's not an issue now?" He winked, then leaned towards her kissing her again. "Hmmm, I'd say we've got that kissing thing down."
"I would agree. Though, practice is always good," she flirted.
"Agreed." He smiled then turned his attention back to their dinner. "What do you know of them?"
"Lee and Rosie? She talks a lot so I know quite a bit. Why?"
Jack shrugged. "I know it's none of my business but it sounded like he may have made a blunder on their last date."
"The whole four babies thing?"
"Yeah." Jack laughed. "How bad do you think that is?"
"She'll relax in time. She's crazy about him. It's odd, they've been together for a while now, but it seems like they still have a lot of important topics to discuss."
"Maybe, but I bet it's more that they aren't listening when they do talk."
"What do you mean?"
Jack stopped what he was doing and moved to stand right in front of Elizabeth. His hands on her hips as he stood in-between her legs at the counter.
"Take us for example. I wanted tonight to be special. You work hard all week at school and at home with Levi. I wanted you to have a chance to relax, and enjoy yourself."
"Thank you," she blushed as he leaned in, kissing her neck. Clearly they were both enjoying this new closeness.
"Guess what's for dinner?"
She looked over at the counter. "Could it be…"
"Chocolate chip, blueberry pancakes with turkey bacon and loaded scrambled eggs."
"Breakfast for dinner, my…"
"Favorite. I know." He kissed her nose. "I also know you like sweets and I like to eat healthy. So we have the chocolate chips for you and the bacon is turkey which fits with my eating habits."
She laughed. "That's adorable Jack, but I'm not sure it's the same as the big topics like kids and marriage that Lee and Rosie are missing."
"That was just an example. I know a lot more and I bet you do too."
"Well, I've never said anything to you about whether I want more kids."
"Not directly, no. I've watched you with Levi though. You are a fantastic mother. You love your students and you are great with Ryan. I may not know the exact number you want, but I know you want to have another child."
"Huh, well you are right. I think Levi will make a terrific big brother one day. What about you?"
"Well," he grinned. "What do you think?"
She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared into his handsome green eyes.
"I know you love and admire Tom for all he's done. You miss your father and he was one of the greatest influences in your life. You gave up your dream career for Tom and Ryan with no regrets."
Then a tear escaped her eyes. "And you seem to care for Levi almost as if… as if he was yours even though we've barely known each other for more than a couple of months."
Jack nodded, then kissed her tears away. "So what's the answer?"
"You do want children."
"See?" He smiled. "We listen to each other."
"Yes," she giggled. "Much better than Lee and Rosie do."
"You got that right! Make sure to rub that in on that double date she's insisting we go on."
"Oh yes," she giggled. "We must!"
After their sweet filled dinner, Jack made a savory dessert of spinach artichoke dip in a bread bowl for them to enjoy by the woodstove in the living room. This was his first time cooking for a woman and all evidence showed he'd done a good job.
While soft music played in the background, they cuddled up on the floor amongst giant pillows while under the warm blanket. Ranger slept close by on his new plush dog bed.
Jack loved the warm feel of Elizabeth's body as she filled his arms. She fit perfectly there. If he had his way, the night would never end.
"I don't know that I've ever been this relaxed," he whispered, kissing her temple. Her back pressed against his chest. "You have quite an effect on me."
"I'm not really doing anything special," she laughed lightly.
"You're here with me. Happy too, I think."
"Very happy." She rolled to face him, kissing him soundly.
"You're special, Liz. So special I can't even wrap my mind around it, but I love it."
"I love this too. And for the record, I've never felt so content. Not with anyone."
Ranger got up with a stretch and moved to curl up around his humans. Elizabeth reached out to pet him.
"Levi is going to be so jealous that you got a dog. He's been asking for one forever."
"Yeah? Tell him he can come play with Ranger any time he wants. I talked a lot to Gowan about you and Levi, as well as Ryan. Gowan said Ranger is also trained to help with people who are hard of hearing or deaf. He's a full family service dog!"
Jack winced at his words, worried that he'd just implied to Elizabeth that they were a family. He liked the idea of it, but it was far too early for a declaration of that sorts.
Elizabeth didn't make a sound. She just stared at the flames dancing inside the wood stove.
"What's on your mind, beautiful?" Jack asked, moving a stray wave of hair back behind her ear before kissing her just below the ear. In return, Elizabeth moaned softly and laid her head back against Jack's chest.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course." Now he was really nervous.
"What are your thoughts about us dating, with Levi? Are you okay with it for now?"
"I'm more than okay with it. Levi is a part of your heart. It makes sense that a lot of what we do should include him. I'd like to make sure we have time just us, but I imagine the majority of the time will be shared with him."
"He made the basketball team."
"Nice!" Jack and Levi had spent many hours before and after dinner on the nights they were together playing ball. Joining the team was a huge achievement for Levi.
"Yeah, he was so excited. He told me repeatedly, to tell you. I think he was afraid I'd forget."
"Tell him I'm so proud of him. I'll make it to every game I can."
Elizabeth craned her neck to look back at him, "Careful Jack. You keep being this wonderful, I may never let you go."
"I have no problem with that." He smiled. "I'm not a runner, and for the record, I'm a one woman guy. I don't date around and flirt or anything like that. I care about you. You're the one I will be choosing to spend my time with."
"What if that changes? What if some pretty woman enters the scene and she can give you more than I can or what if you simply get bored with me?"
"Neither of those things sound plausible, but I'll answer just the same." He shifted so she could have a clear view of his face as he spoke. "If anything should change regarding my feelings towards you, you can be certain you will be the first to know. I won't jerk you around. As attracted as I am to you, and by that I mean, a lot," he laughed. "I also respect you. You're safe with me. So is Levi."
"Thank you, Jack."
"Now can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Where do you stand with this? With us, I mean."
She looked him in the eyes and smiled. Running the backs of her fingers along his clean shaven jaw.
"I'm happy. Really happy. So happy it scares me."
"Scares you?" Jack asked.
"This pull I feel for you, it's intense. I didn't know it was supposed to feel like this, or even that it could outside of a novel or movie. That being said, Levi is the most important man in my life. He has to come first. Aside from that though, I'm a one man kinda girl. I don't have the patience or heart to deal with drama. I'll always be honest and straightforward with you. Sometimes to the point you may wish I wasn't."
He smiled lovingly at her.
"All that being said, I want to see where this goes. I want you in my life, Jack Thornton."
"Good. That's exactly what I want. Anything else you want to talk about? Or should we just make out some more?" The wiggle of his eyebrows made her giggle loudly.
"You're really taking my "practice makes perfect" comment to heart, aren't you?"
"What can I say, your pretty irresistible."
"I know your pain." She sighed, "Can I ask you one more question, Jack? Then after you answer we can go back to... that." she blushed.
"Of course. For you, I'm an open book."
"I find it hard to believe a guy as amazing as you is still single. Have you ever been engaged?"
"No, you?"
"No. Ever been close to being engaged?"
"Nope. My life was the military. I didn't have a lot of time for dating. I did have a relationship here or there, but I deployed so much, they didn't last. The last woman I was with, wanted more from me than I could give. She wanted me to leave the Army. I wasn't ready. She hated how much I was gone. I also realized I didn't feel for her half as much as she appeared to feel for me. So for her sake, I ended it. What about you? That Charles guy ever try to propose?"
"Well…"
Jack leaned back to get a better look at her. "He did?"
"Not seriously. It was more of a plea for me not to end things."
"That's low."
"It wasn't hard to see right through him. I told him we went as far as we could and it wasn't working. Then he said, "Okay fine, let's get married then."
"Really classy." Jack sighed.
"It was desperate, like I mentioned."
"All I know is, if and when it's time for me to propose to the woman I love, I want it to be about her. About how much she means to me."
"Are you sure you're for real?" she sassed.
"Let's see…" And just like that, they were "practicing" their affection for one another.
As the temperature between them was nearing a boiling point, Jack rolled away, both now trying to catch their breath.
They sat quiet for a bit after that. Jack knew if they kept going the way they were, the physical side of their relationship would escalate far faster than it should. "Want to play a game?"
"Sure. What do you have?"
He leaned over to a bookshelf off to the side.
"Jenga, Super Hero Uno, Pokemon Monopoly and Scrabble." Elizabeth laughed at the selection. "Clearly I need games that don't just appeal to my nephew."
"How about Monopoly then?"
As he gazed over at he knew he wasn't ready to stop kissing her all together.
"Alright, but let's make it interesting."
"It's not interesting enough on its own?"
"Go with me on this one. If you land on a property owned by the other person. You have to give them a kiss."
"Oh I see," she laughed. "What kind of kisses are we talking about?"
"Givers choice. You ready?"
"Let's play."
