Jack greeted Elizabeth as she walked through the door, pulling her in for a kiss. "Good morning."
"Morning, handsome." She kissed him again.
He put his arms around her. "I wish I could stay longer, but I need to get to work."
"I know."
"Harrison's still asleep, so feel free to watch TV or whatever until he wakes up. Simba's still in his kennel, also sleeping, but he'll probably need to go outside to go potty pretty soon. Instructions for feeding him are with his food, and Harrison can help with that. If you have any questions, you can call me, or call the practice, and they can get a hold of me."
"I've got it under control, Jack." She touched his cheek. "You don't need to worry."
"I'm not worried." He sighed. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you, too." She stood on her toes and kissed him once more. "You'd better get going before you're late. Wouldn't want to keep your patients waiting."
"I love you, Beth."
"I love you, too."
Fifteen minutes after Jack left, Harrison wandered into the living room, finding Elizabeth sitting on the couch with Simba snuggled up in her lap.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Miss Beth?"
"Good morning, buddy."
"Where's daddy?"
"He had to go to work, so you get to hang out with me today. Is that okay?"
He nodded slowly, clearly still sleepy.
"Why don't you help me feed Simba, and then we can get some breakfast for you and decide what we want to do today." She lowered the puppy to the floor and reached for Harrison's hand.
"Can I have eggs and sausage for breakfast?"
She squeezed his hand. "Sure."
"And can we go to the park?"
"Maybe."
"And watch a movie?"
She chuckled. "We'll see."
...
"Miss Beth," Harrison excitedly began as she carefully pushed him on the swing. "I get my cast off tomorrow."
"You do? That's very exciting."
"Daddy said we can get ice cream after."
"Let me guess. You're going to get chocolate ice cream."
"Uh huh." He nodded. "With lots of sprinkles."
"Yum." She slowed the swing, helping him hop off. "Why don't we take a break from the playground and have our picnic now?"
"Okay."
She took his hand and they returned to her car to retrieve the blanket and picnic basket.
"Miss Beth, can we watch Lion King?"
She laid out the blanket on the grass, and he helped her straighten out the corners. "Is that your favorite movie?"
"Yep! It has a meerkat in it."
"Did you know that your daddy was younger than you when that movie came out? And I wasn't even born yet."
He furrowed his brow. "You and daddy must be old."
She laughed. "We aren't that old, Harrison. And yes, we can watch it when we get back to the house."
...
When Jack returned from work, he found Harrison curled up on the living room floor with Simba, intently watching the movie on the TV.
"Hey, bud."
"Hi, daddy." He briefly glanced away from the TV to give his dad a smile.
"Where's Miss Beth?"
"Making popcorn."
"Okay. I'll be right back, Harrison." He set his wallet and keys on the table by the door and made his way to the kitchen. "Hey." He leaned against the counter, smiling as Elizabeth pulled a bag of popcorn from the microwave.
"Hi." She put the bag down and stepped into his arms. "How was work?"
"Good, but I would've rather been here with you and Harrison." He kissed her softly. "Although, it is very nice to come home to you. I could get used to this."
She smiled shyly, a blush rising in her cheeks. "I think I could, too."
"How was Harrison today?"
"He was great. We went to the park and played on the playground. We had a picnic lunch there. We came back here and played with Simba in the yard for a while, and now we're watching Lion King."
He put a hand on her cheek. "Sounds like a wonderful day."
"Oh, he also called us old."
"What?" He laughed. "Why did he say that?"
"I told him that you were a little younger than him when Lion King came out. Apparently, it's a really old movie to him."
"Well, as long as he didn't ask you about babies."
"Nope." She chuckled. "No baby talk, thank goodness. I'm not sure that I could give him the answers he'd want." She kissed him once more before taking a step back. "We should probably get the popcorn out there before it gets cold."
"I'm going to change, and then I'll join you."
"Man, but I like the scrubs," she teased, tugging on his shirt.
"Well, I'd leave them on, but I'm covered in drool and snot."
She backed away, pushing him in the other direction as she laughed. "Good point. Go change."
A few minutes later, he came back into the living room, having changed into a T-shirt and athletic shorts. He took a seat on the couch with Elizabeth and slipped his arm around her shoulders. "Do you have any vacation time at work?"
"Yes. Why are you asking?"
"Well, I take Harrison to see Olive's parents every summer, around the time of the anniversary of her death." He turned to meet her eyes. "I was wondering if you'd like to join us this year."
"Jack, I feel like that's something you and Harrison need to do by yourselves."
"But I want you there. We've made the trip by ourselves for three years." He touched her cheek, sincerity on his face. "I don't want to keep that part of my life separate from you."
"If you're sure…"
"I'm one-hundred percent sure." He leaned in and kissed her softly. "We're going the last week of this month."
"Oh, man. I can't go that week." She took his hand. "My friend Clara will be on her honeymoon then, so I'm working extra shifts at the zoo to cover for her."
"Oh. That's too bad."
"Maybe another time."
"Yeah. Maybe."
"But hey, I can watch Simba while you're gone. And depending on when you leave, maybe you could come to the wedding with me."
"Sure." He sighed, looking dejected. "I wish you could come with us."
"Jack." She turned her body toward his. "I'm sure there will be other trips for us in the future. And besides, we can facetime while you're away, so we'll still see each other."
He gave her a little smile. "I just like you being with us."
"So do I." She snuggled into him.
...
"You look fancy, daddy."
"Thanks, bud." He straightened his tie. "I'm going to a wedding with Miss Beth."
Harrison's eyes went wide. "You're getting married?!"
Jack chuckled. "I'm not. Miss Beth's friend is."
"Oh. I think you and Miss Beth should get married."
"You think so?"
"Mhmm." He nodded emphatically. "Nana says you love Miss Beth, and when you love someone, you marry them."
"Well, bud," he crouched down in front of his son, "you know how I said people like to be together a while before they have a baby? It's the same with getting married."
"But it's been two months now."
Jack chuckled, ruffling his hair. "I know, but that's still a little soon for me to think about marrying her."
"How many months before you can marry her?"
Jack shrugged. "I don't know. I dated your mommy for ten months before I asked her to marry me."
"Ten? That's forever," he exclaimed.
"It is a while, but it's important that two people know they'll make each other happy before they decide to get married."
"Miss Beth makes you happy."
"She does," Jack agreed. "But it's still not that simple, Harrison."
"I don't get it."
Jack ruffled his hair. "You'll understand when you get older and fall in love."
They both turned at the doorbell.
"Nana!" Harrison ran to the front window, making sure it was his grandmother before opening the door.
"There's my favorite grandson!" Charlotte scooped him up. "We're going to have a fun night, aren't we?"
"Perfect timing," Jack said as he joined them. "I need to get going to pick up Elizabeth on time."
"Have fun." She kissed her son on the cheek. "Don't stay out too late!"
Jack rolled his eyes. "I won't, ma."
...
"That was a nice ceremony," Jack stated as he took Elizabeth's hand and they walked into the reception venue. "Clara and Jesse seem like great people."
"They are. I'll introduce you to them later. Clara's been curious about you anyway."
"Oh, so you talk to her about me?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
She playfully hit his arm. "Yes. It's hard not to talk about you given how much time I spend with you and Harrison now."
He nudged her with his elbow. "I talk about you a lot, too."
They found their table, and Jack pulled out Elizabeth's chair for her. She thanked him, reaching again for his hand once he took his seat.
"What was your wedding like?"
"We married in the church Olive grew up in, one of those big, old buildings with stained glass windows and a huge pipe organ in the sanctuary. Olive wore her mother's wedding gown—I think you've seen a picture of her from that day. The reception was outside, with a fancy three-course meal because Olive's parents insisted even though we would've been okay with a buffet." He smiled wistfully. "We were young, and we really had no idea what we were doing, but it was one of the best days of my life."
"It sounds lovely."
"Did your sisters have big, fancy weddings?"
She nodded. "Oh, yes. They both love a party, and Luke and Owen were happy to go with their ideas."
"And you?" he questioned, genuine curiosity lighting his eyes.
"I think I'd want something smaller. Just family, maybe a few friends. I don't think I could wait long enough to plan a big wedding, anyway."
"Life is short," he stated. "Why wait when you know what you want?"
"Exactly," she agreed, her breath catching in her throat as she thought of the implications of their conversation. She'd imagined marrying Jack Thornton on various occasions ever since she was fourteen years old, but the possibility never seemed so close as it did now. She didn't know how long he would need in order to be open to the idea of getting married again, but she knew she would wait as long as it took, especially since it seemed he was well on his way there.
He squeezed her hand, the air between them heavy with the promise of the future.
After enjoying their meal, Jack led Elizabeth over to the dance floor, where a handful of couples had begun dancing.
He kept one hand on the small of her back, keeping her close to him. When she tilted her head up to meet his eyes, their faces were just inches apart.
"We should dance together more often. This is nice."
Her face warmed. "It is. I'm glad you could come here with me this evening."
"So am I." He leaned down to press a soft, sweet kiss to her lips. "I love you, Beth."
"I love you, too."
Clara came up behind Elizabeth. "So when can we expect your wedding to happen?" she whispered, a mischievous grin on her face.
"Hush."
"What was that about?" Jack asked after Clara was out of earshot.
"Nothing," Elizabeth answered, a little too quickly.
"Whatever you say." He leaned in to kiss her once more. "Have I mentioned how much I enjoy being able to kiss you without worrying about a certain someone running in and interrupting us?"
She laughed. "He certainly does have an interesting sense of timing."
"He's just lucky he's cute."
...
Elizabeth glanced up from the book she was reading when her phone began to ring. She answered right away, smiling when Harrison appeared on the screen.
"Hi, Miss Beth!" Harrison waved, the phone shaking in his hand. "I miss you."
"I miss you, too, little man. Are you having fun with your grandma and grandpa?"
He nodded. "I wish you were here."
"I'm sorry I couldn't come with you."
It had been four days since Jack and Harrison had flown out to visit Olive's parents, and Elizabeth was missing them both more than she cared to admit. She had become so accustomed to seeing them nearly every day, and she felt as though a part of her was missing without her boys by her side.
"Harrison, where's your daddy?"
"The bathroom."
"Did he say you could call me?"
"Uh…"
She chuckled. "Uh oh."
"He told me I could play games."
"Who are you talking to, bud?" Jack's voice sounded from somewhere beyond the reach of the phone's camera.
"Miss Beth." Harrison turned the phone to show him, inadvertently giving Elizabeth a glimpse of Jack in nothing but a towel, his dripping hair indicating that he had just gotten out of the shower.
Jack's face and chest immediately turned red, and he backed into the bathroom again. "Ask her about Simba."
"Oh. Yeah." Harrison flipped the phone back around. "Where's Simba?"
"Right here, fast asleep." She moved the phone so he could see the puppy sleeping soundly at her feet. "You can tell your daddy that he's been very good."
"Okay." He leaned back against the headboard of the bed he was sitting in. "We're going to see my mommy tomorrow."
"You are?"
"Mhmm. She's not really there. She's in heaven. But daddy says it's a good place to talk to her."
"I'm glad you get to go visit with her."
"Can you scoot a bit, bud?" Jack appeared beside his son, now dressed in a T-shirt and pajama pants.
Instead of moving over, Harrison climbed into his lap, leaning back against his chest. "Miss Beth said Simba's being good."
"That's good." He glanced up at the screen, meeting her eyes. "Hey."
A smile played on her lips. "Hi. How are you?"
"Good. Looking forward to getting back home so I can see you in person."
"I'm looking forward to that, too."
"I need to get this little guy to sleep, but I'll call you again in a little while."
"Okay. Good night, Harrison."
"Night, Miss Beth." He yawned, giving her a little wave.
Half an hour later, Elizabeth's phone buzzed again. When she answered, she saw Jack sitting outside on his in-laws' back porch.
"Hello again."
He grinned. "Hi, Beth."
"Did Harrison give you any trouble?"
He shook his head. "No. He was pretty tired. His grandparents keep us busy when we visit. And now that he's asleep…" he moved the phone closer to his face and lowered his voice. "I can tell you how much I wish I could kiss you right now."
"Same. Especially after getting that look at you straight out of the shower," she teased.
He groaned. "I can't believe he turned the phone on me then."
"Remind me to thank him for that when you two get home." She winked.
"Never. Wait." He furrowed his brow. "Are you in my room?"
"Um…maybe." She dropped her gaze. "I'm sorry. I tried sleeping in the guest room, but I kept waking up. Once I came in here, I slept through the whole night with no problem."
"It's fine." He laughed softly. "I don't mind, as long as you aren't drooling all over my pillow."
"I would never!"
"Good." He smiled. "I love you, Beth."
...
Jack put a hand on his son's back, nudging him gently toward the grave in front of them. "Harrison, do you want to say anything to your mommy while we're here?"
"Hi, mommy." He stepped up to the stone. "I made this for you. It's a card for Mother's Day. I made it at school." He laid the card on the ground in front of the stone. "Daddy said you can see it in heaven. I'm four now, mommy. We went to the zoo, and I got a puppy. I love you, mommy."
"Mommy loves you, too, bud." Jack gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.
Harrison took his hand. "We can go now."
"Okay, Sonny boy." Jack swung him up onto his shoulders. "Let's go see what grandma and grandpa are making for dinner tonight."
"Daddy?" Harrison spoke up again as they stepped up to the car.
"Yeah, Harrison?" He lowered him into the carseat, buckling him in.
"Is mommy sad that you love Miss Beth?"
Jack sighed, leaning against the car door. "No, I don't think so. I still love your mommy; I'll always love your mommy. She gave me you." He poked Harrison in the stomach, bringing him into a fit of giggles. "But since your mommy is in heaven and not here with us, she wouldn't mind if we found someone else to love. I think she'd be happy that we have Miss Beth in our lives, because Miss Beth loves us and makes us happy."
"Okay." Harrison settled back into his carseat, satisfied with Jack's answer. "I hope grandma and grandpa make pizza bagels for dinner."
Jack chuckled, slipping into the driver's seat. "Pizza bagels? With extra pepperoni?"
"Duh."