On New Year's Eve, Charles showed up at my parents' house, asking for me. Jack and I had relayed the story of how rude he had been to us after we encountered him in the restaurant, and my parents were quick to turn him away when he appeared. I was thankful that I didn't have to confront him again.

My parents had noticed a change in Charles as well, noting that he had started behaving differently during the first relationship he had after our breakup. He had apparently become more reckless and even had a few brushes with the law. He quickly moved from one woman to the next, and my parents suspected he may have a child or two that he didn't know about.

Thankfully, we had no other run-ins with him the rest of our time in St. Louis, and our visit with my family had been enjoyable. Before we knew it, it was time to return home and get back to work. We had much to look forward to in the new year, but mostly I was excited that it was the year that we would meet our first child.

...

"Well, aren't you just adorable." Abigail greeted me when I walked into the café. "Pregnancy looks good on you."

I put my hand on my stomach and smiled. She hadn't seen me since before I really started showing. The baby—and therefore my stomach—had grown quite a bit in the week and a half since Jack and I left for the holidays. "Good morning, Abigail."

She pulled me into a hug. "Jack had to work early today?"

I nodded. "He wanted to catch up on everything since he took a long vacation for the holidays."

"And how have you been feeling?" We walked over to my usual table.

I slid into the booth. "Much better. I've gotten most of my energy back, and the morning sickness seems to be gone."

"Just in time to get back in the classroom."

I let out a breath. "I have to tell my students about the baby today. I'm already preparing myself for the questions."

"You mean the questions like, 'how did the baby get in there?'"

I rolled my eyes and nodded. "I haven't quite figured out how I'll dodge that one."

"Well, good luck." She filled my glass with water. "Want your usual?"

"Yes, please."

I relished the quiet as I waited for her to return with my food. I knew that it wouldn't be the easiest day at school, as the kids were returning from a break. The news about my baby would probably hype them up even more. I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for the day ahead.

A familiar flutter in my stomach drew me away from my thoughts. I brushed my fingers across my belly. "Hi there, little one." The baby's movements were becoming stronger and happening more frequently, and I was loving it. "Are you trying to get comfortable in there? I hope you're nice and cozy, because you need to stay in there for a few more months. Your dad and I can't wait to meet you, sweet baby. We love you so, so much."

"Talking to yourself?" Abigail set a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of me.

My cheeks colored. "I was just talking to the baby. I can feel him move now."

"Him?"

"Oh, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet." I rubbed my stomach. "I just have a feeling, so I've been saying 'he.'"

"Well, there's something to be said about mother's intuition."

I laughed softly. "Tell that to Jack. He isn't convinced."

"He thinks you're having a girl?"

I shrugged. "I don't think he has a strong feeling either way."

"Well, regardless, you two will be great parents." She refilled my water. "I'll leave you to your breakfast now. If I don't see you before you leave, good luck making the announcement to your students."

"Thank you, Abigail."

...

"Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful winter break." The students all settled in their seats. "I'm so happy to see you all again. Now, to start the day, I'd like for you to take out your journals and write a paragraph about your favorite thing from the break. Maybe it's a present you got, or something you did with your family; it could be anything you want."

As they pulled out their notebooks, I wrote the assignment on the board. They all were writing so eagerly, clearly excited about everything they were remembering. A few minutes later, I could tell that they were all finishing up, so I returned to the front of the classroom.

I allowed each of the children to share what they had written with the rest of the class before I decided that it was time to break the news about the baby.

"Since you all shared your favorite things from the break, I'll share with you what my favorite thing was." I turned and wrote a single word on the board. "Now, does anybody know what this says?"

A few hands went up.

"Yes, Emily?"

She took a moment to sound it out, before she confidently replied, "pregnant!"

"Great job, Emily."

Robert's hand shot up. "My mom is pregnant!"

"That's wonderful, Robert. Can you tell the class what 'pregnant' means?"

"Pregnant is when someone is having a baby, and the baby is in their belly. My baby sister is in my mom's belly right now, and she'll be born in a few weeks."

"That's great. Thank you, Robert, and congratulations on becoming a big brother." I took a deep breath. "Now, can anyone guess why this is related to my favorite thing from the break?"

The children looked around at each other, confused. Finally, Opal tentatively raised her little hand. "Are you pregnant, Mrs. Thornton?"

I grinned. "I am, Opal. You are absolutely right. My favorite thing about the break was telling my family that I'm having a baby." I put my hands on my stomach. "So over the next few months, you'll all get to see my belly get bigger as my baby grows in here. And I just want you to know that I will still be your teacher for the rest of the year. My baby won't be born until after school is out for the summer."

The children all began chattering excitedly; so many questions were being asked simultaneously.

"Okay. Settle down, everyone. We need to raise our hands and take turns when we ask questions, remember?"

Twenty hands went up. I answered a few questions, including whether the baby was a boy or a girl (We didn't know right now, and we probably wouldn't find out until the baby was born), when the baby was supposed to be born (In June), and what the baby's name would be (We had a list of names picked, but hadn't chosen one yet). Then the dreaded question came up.

"Mrs. Thornton, how did the baby get in your belly?"

"Um," I took a deep breath, rubbing my hand across my stomach, "do you remember in our science lesson when we talked about cells?" The children nodded. "Well, men and women each have special cells in them. Those special cells can join together inside a mom and make what's called a zygote." I wrote the word on the board. "The zygote is what grows into a baby."

"Does that happen when a mom and dad kiss each other?"

I stifled a laugh. "No, but it's something like that."

Thankfully, the children seemed to be satisfied with my answers, and they were ready to move onto the next topic.

"Is your sheriff happy to be a dad?"

I chuckled. "Yes. Sheriff Thornton is very happy that's he's going to be a dad."

Only a few more questions were asked before I was able to move onto the lessons I had planned for the day.

Most of the other teachers noticed my growing belly before I even mentioned the pregnancy, and by the end of the day, the news of baby Thornton's existence had spread throughout the whole school. It was a relief to have it in the open finally.

...

Jack trudged through the door, dropping everything on the table in the entryway before sinking down onto the sofa. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"Rough day, babe?"

He nodded. "It seems like nothing got done while we were gone. It's going to take a while to catch up. Also, I missed you." He pulled me into his arms when I sat on the sofa beside him. He kissed the top of my head. "But everything is much better now that I'm here with you. How was your day?"

"Good. Pretty much everyone at the school knows about the baby now. The kids were asking about you, too."

He grinned. "They were?"

"I was asked if 'my sheriff' is happy to be a dad."

He kissed me softly. "I hope you said I am. And I'm very happy to be your sheriff." He smirked.

"Oh, but the questions weren't all that easy to answer." I laughed softly. "There's nothing quite like standing in front of a room of seven and eight year olds who are all wondering how you got a baby inside of you."

"Oh dear. What did you tell them?"

"Something about special cells that men and women have that come together inside a mom."

He laughed. "I don't envy you, but it sounds like you handled it well."

I brought his hand to my stomach. "It didn't end there, though. After that, I was asked if it happens when people kiss."

"Oh my goodness. And what did you say to that?"

"I told them the truth: It's not kissing, but it's something like kissing. Thank goodness the line of questioning ended there."

He touched my cheek. "'Something like kissing,' eh?" He leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine. "You should've said it starts with kissing."

I kissed him again before he pulled me up from the sofa and started toward the stairs. "That would've been inappropriate. Besides, then they would've asked what it ends with."

He nudged me into the bedroom. "I'll show you what it ends with."

...

Jack leaned his chin on my shoulder and rested his hands on my stomach. I pressed my back into his chest, savoring his warmth.

"Elizabeth, we should probably go have some dinner."

"Mm, but I'm so cozy right here."

"I know, but the baby needs you to eat."

I carefully rolled over to face him, something that was already becoming more difficult as my stomach grew. "Fine. Can we order a pizza?"

"Pepperoni with extra cheese?"

I nodded. "And peppers and onions on half."

He looked at me curiously. "You don't like peppers or onions."

"I don't, but the baby wants them."

"Our kid is weird." He kissed my nose. "One pepperoni and extra cheese pizza with peppers and onions on half, coming right up." He slid from the bed, pulling on some clothes. "I'll go place the order and feed the dogs."

"Come back soon. It's cold in this bed without you."

...

I took a bite of pizza. Normally, I would have gagged at the combination of onions and peppers, but the pregnancy had apparently scrambled my taste buds. "Thank you, Jack."

"Good?"

"Mhmm. So good." The baby moved slightly inside of me. I brought my hand to my stomach. "He's so happy now."

Jack rolled his eyes playfully and shook his head.

"Hey, I know we still have a while before we have to make this decision, but we need to start thinking about who we want as godparents for the baby."

"Do you have anyone in mind?" He looked up at me expectantly.

"Well, any of our siblings would be obvious choices, but I think I'd prefer someone who doesn't live so far. Rosemary and Lee would be another option, especially since we're Alina's godparents."

"But…?" He could tell my list didn't end there.

"Honestly, I'm leaning toward Abigail."

He smiled. "Abigail is a good choice. She was the first to know you were pregnant, and she's been a big help the past few months, especially when I was away. Plus, didn't you tell me that she was the one who initially suggested that we might make a good couple? Without her, we may not have gotten married, and this baby wouldn't even exist."

I laughed. "Don't tell that to Rosemary. She likes to take credit for our getting together."

He took another slice of pizza from the box. "Believe me, I would never tell her that. I wouldn't want to face the repercussions."

"So, Abigail?"

He nodded. "How about we ask her after your next ultrasound?"

"It's a plan." I smiled. "Can you believe we're almost halfway to meeting our baby?"

"I can't wait." He leaned forward and kissed me.

"Mm, babe, my breath is all oniony."

"I don't care." He brushed his thumb across my lips. "I love you, Beth."

I kissed him again. "I love you, too."