"I can't believe we're going camping, and I can't believe it was my idea."
Jack smiled and squeezed my hand. "It'll be great."
"Are you sure your leg is okay?"
"Positive." He shifted all his weight to the leg that had been in a cast just a few days prior. "See? Come on, this trip is supposed to get our minds off the accident."
"I'm sorry. I won't bring it up again."
He let go of my hand so he could get the tents from the back of the car. I opened the rear door to let the dogs out.
I watched him organize all the parts for the tent for a moment before I joined him. After a few misplaced pieces, we finally got the tent up and secured.
I sighed, realizing that we still had another tent to put together. "Do we really have to put up another one of these?"
He raised his eyebrows, and I felt my cheeks color as I realized the implications of my statement.
"I didn't mean… I was just thinking…" I was flustered and embarrassed and unable to form a proper sentence.
Jack chuckled. "I know what you meant. There's plenty of room for both of our sleeping bags in here, plus lots of space between us. But if you aren't comfortable with that, I can put up the other tent."
I shook my head. "One tent is fine. It's not like we haven't slept in the same bed before."
"Multiple times," he added with a wink.
"Just don't try to push your luck, buddy." I tried to give him a stern look, but I ended up laughing instead.
He pulled me into his arms. "Never. There will be plenty of time for that after we're married." His breath tickled my ear as he spoke.
"Jack Thornton!" My face grew hot. "Although, you know I'd be lying if I said I never thought about that. And I know that's something we need to talk about more before we get married, but not right now, okay?"
"Of course. I would never want to make you uncomfortable. We can talk about that when you're ready."
"Thank you." I kissed his cheek and stepped away from him.
I called Bronte over.
"Hey, what are we doing first?"
"The lake isn't too far. I thought maybe we could go fishing."
Rip fell asleep beneath a tree while Bronte explored the water's edge. Jack stood a few feet to my right.
"Jack, can I ask you something?"
"We're getting married in a few weeks. You can ask me anything."
"Are you sure you're okay with moving into my house after we're married?"
"Honestly, I don't care where we live as long as we're together." He slowly moved toward me and placed one hand on my shoulder. "It makes the most sense for me to move into your house. You're more settled there than I am in my house. I have less stuff to move. It has more room for when we decide to have kids."
I leaned in to kiss him when I felt a tug on the line. I quickly turned away, both hands on the fishing pole.
Jack dropped his rod and helped me reel in the fish that was caught on my line.
...
Later that evening, we sat beside each other, gazing into the fire. The dogs were both curled up just inside the open tent.
Jack handed me a plate. "Thanks for catching dinner."
I laughed softly. Poor Jack didn't have any luck on our fishing expedition; meanwhile, it seemed as though my line never spent more than a few minutes in the water before I got a bite. "Thanks for cooking it."
We sat as close as possible while we ate, Jack's left side pressed against my right from our shoulders to our knees.
"You know, I was thinking that maybe we can make this a yearly thing. An end of summer camping trip. And when we have kids, we can bring them, too. It could be a Thornton family tradition."
He smiled and kissed my temple. "I think that's a great idea. I can't wait to start traditions with you. And our kids." He winked.
We sat in silence for a little while after we finished eating, just enjoying being close to each other without the normal distractions of life.
Jack took my empty plate and placed it on the ground beside his before he stood and offered his hand.
"Dance with me, Elizabeth."
I slipped my fingers into his palm, and he pulled me into him. He rested his hands on the small of my back, holding me close. He hummed in my ear as we turned in slow circles.
"Jack?" I tilted my head up, meeting his eyes.
He brushed his lips against my forehead. "Yes?"
"I love you."
The corners of his mouth turned up, and he pressed his lips to mine. "I love you, too."
...
Despite starting out in separate sleeping bags on opposite sides of the tent, Jack and I found each other at some point in the night. When I woke, his arms were wrapped around my waist, and we were sharing a pillow. I thought about moving back to my own sleeping bag, but I relaxed into him instead, savoring the feeling of his warm breath on my neck.
He woke a few minutes later, kissing the top of my head. "How did we end up here?" He tightened his arms around me, pulling me closer.
"Mm, I don't know, but I'm not complaining." I rolled over to face him, meeting his lips with mine. "Happy birthday, Jack."
"Thank you." He kissed me again. "I love you."
"I love you, too." I stretched and extricated myself from his embrace. "I'm going to feed the dogs. You stay right here and relax."
"Mm, okay."
I unzipped the tent and called Rip and Bronte outside. They both ran into the trees, noses to the ground. I followed them to make sure they didn't run too far. I promised them food, and they quickly returned to my side.
A few drops of water hit my head as I was waiting for the dogs to finish eating. A gray cloud hung above me in the sky.
"Uh, Jack?"
He poked his head out of the tent. "Is everything okay?"
"Is it supposed to rain?"
He exited the tent and looked up. "I checked the forecast before we left and it didn't show anything."
Suddenly, thunder cracked and it started pouring. The dogs shot into the tent, spooked by the storm.
Jack just started laughing and pulled me into his arms. We were completely drenched by the time we got back inside the tent. He pulled a towel from his bag and tossed it to me.
"Jack?" I wrapped the towel around me.
"Mhmm?"
"Can you, um, turn around for a second so I can change into something dry?"
"You mean you don't want to stay in wet clothes all day?" He smirked, and I rolled my eyes. He turned to face the wall of the tent.
I quickly pulled on dry clothes, thankful that Jack didn't protest when I asked him to turn away. We were only a few weeks away from our wedding, but I was not comfortable undressing in front of him before then.
"Okay, you can turn back around now." I had turned my back to him to look through my suitcase, and when I turned back, my breath caught in my throat. I felt heat rise in my cheeks.
He had decided to change clothes as well, and his shirt was off when I turned around. I quickly dropped my gaze before he caught me staring. It wasn't as though I had never seen a man without a shirt on, but this was Jack. My fiancé. The man I was going to marry.
I knew he was fit—I could always feel his tight muscles through his clothes—but it was different to see him. The muscles in his back and chest were rigid, defined.
"Um, so what are we, um…" I lost my train of thought as the image of Jack without his shirt on remained plastered in my mind.
He chuckled, and I assumed he knew exactly what I was thinking about. My cheeks flamed.
"What are we going to do today?" He finished my thought for me as he pulled his shirt over his head.
I nodded.
"Well, I wasn't planning for it to rain, so I don't really have much for us to do inside, but I think I have a deck of cards in my bag."
We spent a while playing Go Fish. I taught Jack to play Slapjack, and he taught me to play War. I laughed harder than I had in a long time. The thunder let up quickly, but the rain continued throughout the morning. Rip and Bronte were curled up on my sleeping bag, oblivious to the downpour outside.
Eventually, Jack and I found ourselves in the same position we had woken up in that morning.
"Jack, I'm sorry that this is how your birthday has ended up."
He kissed the top of my head. "Elizabeth, this is one of the best birthdays I've had. I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday than just laying here with you." He tightened his arms around me. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
"Hang on a second." He rolled over and pulled something from his bag. "You spent your birthday with your favorite book, so how about we spend my birthday with my favorite book?" He leaned back against the pillow, and I leaned against his chest.
"And your favorite book is…?"
He turned it around so I could see the cover.
I raised my eyebrows. "Jane Eyre? That's really your favorite book, Jack?"
He shrugged. "I wasn't lying when I said I enjoyed it. I got myself a copy."
"You could've borrowed one of mine."
"I know, but it really is my favorite book now. I wanted my own copy. I guess we'll just have three copies of it when I move in with you."
I laughed softly. "We can never have too many copies of Jane Eyre in our house." I reached up and brushed my hand against his cheek. "Read it to me?"
He kissed me before he opened the book and began to read aloud.
I woke up a little while later. Jack had apparently fallen asleep, too; the book lay open on the floor of the tent beside us.
I kissed his cheek, and he stirred.
"Mm, I like being woken up like that." He kissed me softly.
"A few more weeks, and that'll become a daily thing."
He wrapped his arms around me. "I can't wait."
"Hey, I think the rain finally stopped. What do you say we go for a walk or something?"
The dogs walked a few paces ahead of us as we strolled through the trees, Jack's hand in mine. The leaves were still dripping from the rain that had fallen earlier in the day.
He squeezed my hand. "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm just thinking about how, in a few years, we could be walking through here with our kids."
"I can't wait." He turned toward me, settling his hands on my waist. He brushed his thumbs back and forth on my stomach.
"Jack." I chuckled and kissed his cheek. "There's still nothing in there."
"Sorry." He moved his hands to my shoulders. "It's just nice to imagine."
"Someday. I promise. Just not for a little while."
"I know, I know." He kissed me softly. "I'm not trying to pressure you. I meant it when I said I'll wait until you're ready."
"I love you, Jack Thornton."
He kissed me again before taking my hand and leading me further into the trees.
Rip had slowed, now lumbering his way through the brush behind us, while Bronte continued to sniff out the path in front of us.
I hoped Jack knew where he was going, because I was already hopelessly turned around.
There was a rumble in the distance, and I noticed that the sky had grown darker.
"Was that…?"
Jack nodded and called Bronte back to us.
"I can't believe this keeps happening."
He put his arm around my waist. "But this gives us an excuse to go back in the tent and snuggle up in my sleeping bag."
"Well, when you put it that way…" I glanced up at the sky. "Bring on the rain!"