(Jack's POV)
Today was the day. I had taken a train to Union City yesterday, and all that was left was a stagecoach ride to Coal Valley. I had already begun writing to Margaret and was thinking about her constantly, but I also missed my little girl dearly. I didn't know how to tell Beth about Margaret, but I also wasn't sure if there was even much to say at this point. Though I had spent the past five years raising Beth by myself, I still wasn't sure I should be taking the next step yet.
When deciding whether or not to write to Margaret and see if this would go anywhere, I remembered the letter Elizabeth wrote to me before she passed…
"Jack,
I write this to you, in hopes that you'll remember me. Do not stay in the past when I am gone. Please, do try and find someone who'll love you as much as I have. I'll always love you, Jack, with all my heart. I still remember when we first met and how you've helped me, saved me… but most of all, you care about me, Jack. And I'll never forget you.
All my love,
Elizabeth Thatcher-Thornton"
I knew that Elizabeth would want me to be happy. She'd be over the moon to know about Beth, let alone be happy for me if things continued with someone else - Margaret or anyone else. It was just up to me to do the rest of the work. I would also have to explain things to Beth. She understood that she was adopted, but I think the "mom conversation" was a little more confusing. I felt bad that she didn't have a mother, but I also knew that all of the women in Coal Valley most certainly made up for it in more ways than one.
I got off the stagecoach and who did I see waiting for me?
"Daddy!" Beth came running towards me from Abigail, as I set my bag down and bent down to hug her. Though mounties typically didn't show much emotion, especially in uniform, holding my daughter once more had me tearing up quite a bit.
"Beth, oh, I missed you so much." I pulled away from her to get a good look at her. Her hair was in a french braid down her back and she was wearing a purple dress that Rosemary had designed for her fifth birthday. "I thought I told you to stop growing?"
Abigail stepped forward, joining the conversation. "That's not all. Beth, show Daddy what we discovered this morning."
Beth stuck her fingers in her mouth and I could barely understand her as she said, "I have a loose tooth, see? It's wiggling!"
"You really are growing up, aren't ya? Let's get you home and you can tell me all about your time with Abba." I picked up my last bag from the stagecoach and the other I had dropped earlier, still finding room to hold Beth's hand. Before we left I turned to Abigail and thanked her once again for keeping my girl safe.
"Anytime Jack, we had lots of fun together."
"Send my best to Frank & Cody."
"I sure will. Bye Beth!"
"Bye Abba!"
(Rosemary's POV)
It had been a few days since Jack returned from his trip to the Western Territories and I was so excited to hear how it went! I had my hands full recently. The twins were learning to walk, which made things a lot harder to balance my time. Crawling was one thing, but walking was a whole nother ball game.
Lee was very supportive though, offering to give me breaks to even just go into town for a few hours to escape the chaos. Grace & Rowan were my whole world (and Lee, of course), and I wouldn't want it any other way. I decided while Lee was at work one Saturday to take the kids to Jake's house and check in on him.
"Knock knock!" I opened the front door to Jack's house and found Beth drawing while Jack cooked lunch for the two of them.
"Auntie Rosemary!" Beth came running to me and wrapped her arms around my legs. Then, she peered into the carriage to see the twins. "Hi Gracie, hi Row-man." Her nicknames for them were the cutest, she was so good with them. I set the twins on the floor and Beth sat with them, making silly faces and showing them her drawings.
"Hi Rosemary." Jack gave me a side hug as he held his spatula in his other hand. "What brings you by?"
"Lee decided to work this weekend, so I thought I'd stop by and check in. I feel like we haven't talked in forever, and I miss that." Though things didn't work out romantically between Jack & I, I still cherished our friendship and valued his opinion on things, and I could tell he felt the same way. But he sure was a tough nut to crack sometimes, that man never made it easy to get feelings out of him.
"Well between my job, raising Beth, and you starting your own family, we've just been busy. But I'm glad you stopped by. Can I get you some of this roast I'm working on?"
"Oh, I'm fine, thank you. We ate lunch before we came. Sooooo, how was your trip? You've seemed different since you got back."
"Different how?" Jack poured helpings onto plates for him and Beth, and called her to the table.
"Normally when you come back, you just get right back to work. But something feels different. You seem… happier. Did something happen?"
"Beth, eat your lunch, okay? Auntie Rosemary & I are going to talk, keep an eye out on Grace & Rowan."
"You got it Daddy!" Beth gave him a thumbs up and continued eating.
Jack led me into his room, and shut the door. "Jack, what's going on?"
"I met someone. I don't know if it's going to mean anything down the road, but I really like her."
"And?" I tried to search for the answers on his face, and then it hit me. "You don't know if you're ready? Or is it Beth?"
"A little bit of both. I think I'm ready, I'm just scared. It's been so long, and I truly thought Elizabeth would be 'the one'. But yes, I also don't know if or when I should tell Beth."
"Jack…" We sat on the edge of his bed and I put my hand on top of his. "Of course Elizabeth was your everything, but God had other plans. You can't close yourself off forever. You & I both know she wouldn't want you to do that. As for Beth, she's much smarter than you give her credit for. She'll be fine, I think you're just using her as an excuse. Tell her when you're ready though." I sighed and I could tell Jack was feeling better, because his face was more relaxed. "So tell me about her. I assume she lives in the Western Territories?"
"That's where we met. Her name's Margaret Williams. Her husband, James, was the last mountie there, so now she's a widow. She has a son, Matthew, about sixteen. He's very protective of her, times have been tough since James' death."
"Oh, I can't imagine what that must be like."
"She lived in a small cabin just outside of town. Sells food from her garden to make it by. But there's just something about her… she's so strong, keeping her head held high. And she's quite eye-catching." Jack filled me in on Margaret and his trip overall, and I could just feel in my soul that this was going to turn into something bigger.
Jack & I eventually made our way back into the living room, to find a disaster. The kids were covered in roast and Wheatley was licking it off of them, while the children giggled.
"Penelope Elizabeth Thornton, what is going on?"
Beth stood and hung her head low. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I thought Grace & Rowan would like the mashed potatoes, so I went to give them some and I flipped the whole plate by accident. Then the babies started giggling, and Wheatley wanted to eat the roast. I can help you clean it up."
"Jack," I put a hand on his arm. "Clearly it was an accident, and the kids were having fun. I'm not mad. I'll help clean this up." I knelt down and stripped the kids clothes so they were just in their diapers and set them in the carriage. "Let's clean this place up and then Beth, you can help me give the little ones a bath, how does that sound?"
"You're sure you're not mad?"
"Of course not, let's get to work!"
Jack cleaned the kitchen, while Beth & I did the living room and the kitchen table, as Wheatley looked on, sad that we were cleaning up his surprise snack. Then I used Jack's bathroom to clean up the twins, and Beth had fun getting the kids excited about the bathtub.
As I got ready to leave, Jack walked me to the door and apologized for his temper earlier. "This is probably why I need someone in my life, women tend to balance me out."
"You don't say." I gave him a look and we both chuckled. "Have a good night, Jack."
"You too, Rosemary. And thank you for everything."
