"Nana, where are we going?"
Charlotte glanced in the rearview mirror. "To the airport to pick up your Uncle Tom."
"He was taking pictures of snow leopards," Harrison replied excitedly. "He told me and daddy."
"That's right."
"Did he bring me a birthday present?"
"I don't know, Harrison. You'll have to ask him."
He swung his legs back and forth. "Daddy's taking me to the zoo for my birthday. Miss Beth is going to show me the meerkats."
"Oh, really? Do you and your dad see Miss Beth a lot?"
"Uh huh. She has dinner at our house, and daddy talks to her on the phone a lot."
"Interesting," Charlotte murmured under her breath. "Okay," she pulled into the airport parking lot, quickly finding a spot. "Let's go find Uncle Tom."
Harrison took his grandmother's hand, and they walked into the airport. "Are you coming to my birthday party, Nana?"
She squeezed his little hand. "Of course, I am, Harrison. I wouldn't miss it."
"Who's that handsome boy I see over there?" Tom called out.
Harrison waved wildly. "Uncle Tom!"
He crouched down and opened his arms. Harrison dropped Charlotte's hand and ran to his uncle, nearly knocking him over.
"How's my favorite nephew?" Tom stood, lifting Harrison from the ground. "Getting big, I see."
"I got my blue and purple cast, and I turn four in fourteen days." He held up four fingers.
"Four in fourteen days?" Tom exclaimed. "That's coming up so fast. I still remember the day you were born, little dude. Your mommy and daddy were so excited to show you off. You were so cute." He tickled Harrison's stomach. "Now, let's get home, so I can show you the present I brought."
"Present?!"
"That's right." He leaned over to kiss Charlotte on the cheek. "Hi, ma. Thanks for picking me up."
"Of course, son. It's good to see you. Now, let's get you home so you can rest."
"I'll certainly need some rest if I'm going to be babysitting a certain little dude tonight." He shifted Harrison on his hip. "Right?"
He nodded emphatically. "Right."
...
"Daddy!" Harrison ran to the door when Jack entered. "Uncle Tom is here! He brought me a camel!" He held up his new stuffed camel toy that Tom had purchased for him while in Mongolia.
"Very cool, buddy." He ruffled his hair. "Are you excited to spend the whole evening with Uncle Tom?"
"Can we have pizza?"
"I won't be here for dinner, but I'll let Uncle Tom know that's what you want."
"There's my big brother." Tom entered the room, immediately pulling him into a hug.
"Good to see you, Tom."
"You too." He gave him a nudge. "Now, don't you have a date to get ready for?"
Jack ran his fingers through his hair. "Yes. Are you sure that you're okay keeping an eye on Harrison?"
"Of course. We're going to have a great time together. Watching movies, eating pizza and ice cream."
Jack chuckled. "My being gone for the evening isn't an excuse to throw a party."
"Not a party. Just a little boys' night in. Besides, he doesn't have school tomorrow, so what's the harm in having a little fun?"
"Yeah, yeah." He cleared his throat. "Harrison, I'm going to take a shower, so why don't you figure out what kind of pizza you want and let Uncle Tom know."
"Okay, daddy."
Twenty minutes later, Jack stepped back into the living room, now dressed in a dark pair of jeans and a light blue button up shirt. He rolled up the sleeves, and Tom came over and fussed with his hair.
Jack brushed his hands away. "Cut it out. I look fine."
"Well, you do now."
"Daddy?" Harrison looked up from the sofa, where he had been watching cartoons. "Where you going?"
"I'm going to dinner with Miss Beth. You have fun with Uncle Tom tonight, okay?" Jack kissed the top of Harrison's head. "Now, Tom. You can call me or mom if you need anything. Don't let him convince you that he can have ice cream before dinner, and he should be in bed by eight thirty."
"We'll be fine. You just go, have fun with Elizabeth. Stay out as late as you'd like." He gave his brother a wink.
Jack rolled his eyes. "I'll be home by ten. Eleven at the latest." He glanced at his watch. "I should be going. I'm supposed to pick her up at six."
"Good luck, brother." Tom clapped him on the back.
Jack chuckled as he stepped through the door. "I hope I don't need any luck, since we're already together. But thanks, Tom."
...
"Are you sure it's fancy enough?" Elizabeth slowly turned again, letting her sister see her whole outfit: a deep blue, knee-length dress with cap sleeves and a pair of taupe, low-heeled shoes.
"It's perfect. You look great, Elizabeth. Jack isn't going to know what hit him."
She turned when she heard a knock on the door. "That's him. Thanks for the fashion advice, Jules."
"Call me later with all the details!"
"We'll see," Elizabeth chuckled. "Love you, Julie."
"Love you!" Julie called out before Elizabeth ended the call.
Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat when she opened the door to find Jack standing there. "You clean up well."
He gave her a crooked grin. "So do you." He pulled a small bouquet of flowers from behind his back. "These are for you."
"Thank you." She took the flowers from him. "These are beautiful. I'll just put these in water, and we can get going."
Jack took her to a nice restaurant downtown, and before they knew it, three hours had passed. They talked about work, plans for Harrison's birthday party, their families, any and every topic that came up.
Elizabeth slipped her hand into Jack's as they walked to his car after dinner. "I don't know about you, but I think this has been a great date."
He squeezed her hand. "I agree. I don't want to this night to end."
"You can come over, if you want. We can watch a movie or something."
"Just for a little while. I promised Tom I wouldn't be home too late."
After a quick tour of her place, Elizabeth led Jack over to the couch, and they settled down together. She tucked her legs up beneath her, leaning against his side.
"We can't fall asleep this time," he joked. "Tom wouldn't let me hear the end of it."
"Okay." She chuckled. "I'll do my best to stay awake."
"I could get used to this," he whispered, pressing his lips to the top of her head.
She smiled, snuggling further into his embrace. "So could I."
By the time she closed the door behind him an hour later, Elizabeth was certain she was in love with Jack Thornton.
...
"Jack?" Tom knocked on the door frame the next morning.
He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Yeah?"
"Hey, what's going on?" Tom entered the room, taking a seat on the bed.
"I went into Harrison's backpack to get his lunchbox, and I found this." He held out a folded piece of construction paper that was covered in stickers and scribbles.
Tom took the handmade card from him. "'Happy Mother's Day,'" he read. "He made a Mother's Day card?"
Jack nodded. "It would appear so. What am I supposed to do about this? I've never really talked to him about the holiday, because he was too young to really understand it."
"I think you should just be straightforward with him. He knows she's gone, but you can still celebrate her."
He sniffled. "I knew it would be hard to raise him without Olive, but I never realized just how hard it would be."
"You're a great dad, Jack." Tom put a hand on his shoulder. "Olive would be proud of you."
"I had a dream about her last week. Did I tell you?"
"You didn't. What happened?"
He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "She told me to give Elizabeth a chance. She said I could love her if I let myself."
"Wow. So?"
"So, what?"
"Do you see yourself falling in love with her?"
Jack shrugged. "I could see that happening, but it's still so early in this relationship."
"I think she's good for you, man. She seems to make you really happy, and Harrison certainly likes her."
"I haven't felt this way about anybody since Olive. It honestly scares me."
"Well, whatever you do, don't let that fear cause you to make any decisions you'll regret."
Jack put an arm around his brother. "When did you get so wise?"
Tom chuckled. "I've always been wise, you just ignored me because that's what big brothers do."
"Well," Jack cleared his throat, putting his hands on his knees. "I should go talk to Harrison about this card."
"I made it at school," Harrison said a few minutes later as Jack sat with him. "It's for mommy. Can she see it in heaven?"
"I'm sure she can, bud." He sighed, smoothing down his son's hair. "I have an idea. When we go to visit Grandma and Grandpa Carter this summer, we can take that card to where mommy is and leave it for her."
"Okay."
"And Harrison," he kissed the top of his head, "you know anytime you want to talk to me about your mommy, you can. Okay?"
"But talking about mommy makes you sad."
"I know it does, but we can still talk about her whenever you want." Jack hugged him. "I love you, Harrison, to the Kuiper Belt and back."
"Love you, daddy."
...
A couple of days before Harrison's birthday, Jack opened the door to find his sister-in-law on the porch.
"Faith." He smiled, pulling her into a hug. "Thank you for coming."
"Of course. I wouldn't miss my favorite nephew's birthday." She pulled away. "Speaking of, where is he?"
He took a step back. "Harrison, come here."
"Auntie Faith!" Harrison came running and launched himself into his Aunt's arms.
"Hi, Sonny boy!" She held him tight. "I've missed you."
"I missed you. Is Uncle Carson here?"
"Not this time, bud." She lowered him to the ground. "He had a big surgery to do, but he's going to call you on your birthday, and he made sure I brought a present from him."
"You know I could help you both find jobs here if you ever want to be closer."
"I know, but we really want to be near my parents right now." She drew her hand to her stomach. "We're going to need their help."
"You're having a baby?"
"Mhmm." She nodded, a smile stretching across her face. "I'm due in November."
"Congratulations, Faith!"
"What's happening, daddy?" Harrison tugged on his pant leg.
"You're going to have a cousin. Auntie Faith is having a baby."
"Oh. I want a brother."
Jack let out a laugh. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah." Harrison nodded emphatically.
"Well, bud, I can't really do anything about that right now."
He looked at him curiously. "Because my brother would need a mommy to be born?"
"That's right."
"You were kissing Miss Beth at the park, and in the living room, and in the car. She could be a mommy for my brother."
"Miss Beth, huh?" Faith raised her eyebrows as Jack's cheeks reddened.
"Harrison, why don't you go get a glass of water for Auntie Faith?"
"Okay, daddy." He hurried out of the room.
"So, who's Miss Beth?" Faith followed Jack into the house.
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, she's an old friend from high school. We reconnected recently, and, well, I guess we're dating? It's still kind of new."
"But it must be pretty serious if she's already met Harrison."
"Yes, well…" He shrugged.
Faith put a hand on his arm. "Olive would want you to be happy."
"I know. And Elizabeth makes me happy."
"Good." She smiled. "You deserve someone, Jack."
...
Elizabeth leaned back on her bed. "Is everything ready for tomorrow?"
"Yes," Jack replied. "I'll pick you up in the morning, and we'll take Harrison to the zoo. My mom and Faith and Tom are going to set up for the party while we're gone."
"And the puppy?"
"I'm picking him up at five. You're welcome to come with me."
"Harrison is going to be so excited. How are you going to top this birthday?"
He laughed. "I have no idea. Thank you for helping me with all of this."
"You're welcome. He's very quickly become one of my favorite kids. Thank you for letting me be a part of his life."
The smile was evident in his voice when he responded. "He loves you."
"I love him." She grinned. I love you, too, she almost added.
It had been a few weeks since their first real date, since she realized she was in love with him. She had yet to tell him, though. They had grown much closer over the weeks, but she still let him take the lead in their relationship, fearing that she would push him away if they moved too fast.
"Beth, are you still there?" Jack's voice cut through her thoughts.
"Yes, sorry. I was thinking."
"About?"
"I, uh," she cleared her throat, "just that I still need to wrap Harrison's gifts."
"Okay…" his tone said that he didn't quite believe her, but he didn't press it. "I should let you go, then."
"See you in the morning?"
"Harrison and I will be there at nine."
"I'll be waiting with breakfast and coffee. And chocolate milk for the birthday boy, of course."
"Good night, Elizabeth."
"Good night, Jack. See you soon."