A/N I apologize for how long it's taken me to update this story, but thank you all for sticking with me!

Also, I posted chapter 1 of a new story (called Faith, Hope, and Love Abide), so feel free to check that out if you haven't already!

...

"Jack's working today?"

I turned to Faith and nodded. "He took shifts this weekend so he can be off the next couple of days to stay with Teddy since I go back to work tomorrow."

"That's great that he can do that."

"Yeah, and then Rosemary has offered to watch him when we're both working."

Rosemary perked up. "I heard my name."

I chuckled. "I was just telling Faith that you're going to watch Teddy when Jack and I are at work."

She smiled. "Oh, yes. I'm very excited. I'm hoping it'll help me convince Lee that we're ready for another one."

I stifled a laugh as Lee rolled his eyes.

"You're putting a lot of pressure on her son, there."

"Really, the pressure is on me to see if I can handle two babies at once."

"Our Sunday lunches are going to outgrow the café if you all keep having babies." Abigail laughed.

"There could be worse problems to have." Clara grinned and rubbed her belly, where a visible bump was just starting to pop out.

"Very true." Abigail grinned and snuggled Teddy closer. "You all just keep having babies. We can find somewhere else for our Sunday lunches if we need to."

...

Teddy smiled and cooed as I dragged the washcloth across his body.

"Yeah? You like bath time, don't you, Teddy Bear? You've liked it ever since you were born, but you probably won't like it for too much longer, though. When you get bigger, bath time can take away from play time, and I have a feeling that you won't like that. We'll just have to get you some fun bath toys."

I lifted him from the bath and wrapped him in a clean towel.

"Goodness, I always forget to bring your clothes down here when I bathe you, and now we have to take you all the way upstairs in nothing but a towel, again." I chuckled and shook my head as I made my way up the stairs. "Maybe someday I'll remember."

I took my time dressing him in his pajamas, savoring every moment with him, because I knew I would be leaving him for work the next day. He gave me a toothless smile as I talked softly to him, showing off the dimples he got from his father. "Well, that's just the cutest little smile I've ever seen." I brushed my finger across his cheek, and he cooed back at me. "Oh, yeah? What else?" I chuckled when he continued making sweet little noises, as if he was actually answering me.

"Elizabeth?" Jack's voice floated up from downstairs.

"Up here."

His footsteps were heavy as he trekked up the stairs, and I knew he was probably exhausted. "Hi."

I turned to face him. He was leaning against the doorframe, a smile covering his face.

"Hi."

"Sorry that I had to work late."

"That's okay. It gave us a little more mama-Teddy time. We went to church and then lunch with everyone, then we came home and read a little bit in the backyard. And little man just got a nice bath. We had lots of fun today." I tickled Teddy's belly, and he grinned. "Right, Teddy Bear?"

"I'm glad you had a good day. And I figured you'd rather spend more time with him tonight than make dinner, so I picked up some Panera."

"Broccoli cheddar soup and extra bread?"

"Mhmm, and a chocolate chip cookie."

"Bless you, Jack Thornton." I lifted Teddy to my shoulder and kissed Jack on the cheek. "Well, I'm starving. Let's go eat."

He pressed his lips to mine. "I'm going to change first. I'll be right down."

I settled Teddy in the bouncy seat downstairs and pulled our dinner from the bag that Jack had left on the counter. "Teddy Bear, you have the very best daddy. He's so thoughtful. Sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself. It's like he knows what I need before I even know what I need." I kissed his forehead. "I hope you inherited his thoughtfulness."

"What are you two talking about in here?" Jack sat at the table.

"You." I set his food in front of him and took my own seat. "I was just telling Teddy how thoughtful you are."

"Well, I don't know about that."

I squeezed his hand. "You are thoughtful, Jack, among lots of other things that I love about you. I really couldn't have asked for a better husband."

"Thank you, Beth." He lifted my hand to his lips. "For the record, I couldn't have asked for a better wife. Now," he smiled, "let's eat."

...

"Oh, before I forget, I have a back-to-school gift for you."

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"I know." He grinned and held out a gift bag. "It's nothing big."

I pulled the objects from the bag and smiled. He had printed off and framed a few pictures of Teddy when he was a newborn, at his baptism, and on our camping trip.

"I figured you could put those in your classroom somewhere, so you can see him during the day even when he's not with you."

I leaned in and kissed him. "These are perfect, babe." I ran my finger along one of the frames. The photo showed Jack holding Teddy just a few hours after he was born. "I think this one is my favorite. There's just something about seeing how tiny he looks in your arms. I love seeing you with him."

"Well, this one is my favorite." He held out the frame containing a photo of a day-old Teddy sleeping on my chest. "We really did make the cutest baby." He kissed my cheek.

"That we did. He's my favorite thing." I smiled and sighed. "As terrified as I was when I first found out, I really am glad you got me pregnant by accident."

He laughed, nudging me with his shoulder. "Hey, it took both of us to make him."

I leaned back on his chest. "Touché."

He set all the frames on the nightstand beside him and threaded his fingers in mine. He brushed his lips across my temple. "We should probably go to sleep now. You have an early morning."

"Hold me?"

"Of course."

I slipped down in the sheets, leaning my head on Jack's pillow. He settled me against his chest, and I drifted off quickly.

...

"Elizabeth, we'll be fine." He held out his arms, ready for me to hand over the baby.

"Are you sure? What if he decides he doesn't want the bottle so he refuses to eat?"

He lifted Teddy from my arms and kissed the top of my head. "Beth, honey, he's been taking a bottle for a month, and he's had no problem with it so far. I don't see why he would suddenly stop taking it."

I sighed. "I just don't want to leave him."

"I know you don't, but we've talked about this. It's just until this afternoon. I have Carson's number if—God forbid—anything happens. We'll be right here when you get home." He looked down at our son. "Right, sweet boy? Tell your mama that we'll be just fine today." Teddy grinned up at him.

"Okay, but I'm calling you on my lunch break to check in."

"I would expect nothing less." He leaned in and kissed me softly before shooing me out the door.

I stood on the porch and looked back at my husband and son. "I'll miss you both. And I'm coming straight home as soon as all of my students are gone."

"Okay. Now go. You're going to be late."

...

I stood in the hallway outside of my classroom, watching all the students make their way around the school.

"Mrs. Thornton!" I heard a little voice down the hall, and the girl ran up and wrapped her arms around my legs.

"Hello, Opal! It's so good to see you. How are you?"

"Good, but I wish I was in your class again this year."

"Oh, I know. But I have a feeling that you'll love third grade."

"Did you have your baby?"

I grinned. "I did, a couple of months ago. His name is Teddy. Would you like to see a picture of him?"

She nodded excitedly.

"Okay. Wait right here." I hurried into the classroom and grabbed a couple of the frames from my desk. I knelt down beside her, holding out the frame containing a picture from Teddy's baptism. "He was only a week old in this picture."

"What about that one?" She pointed at the other frame, which contained a photo of Jack and Teddy from our camping trip.

"This was just a few weeks ago. He's two months old there."

"He looks like your sheriff."

I chuckled. "Yes, he does."

"Maybe you can bring him here so we can meet him."

I nodded. "Maybe when he's a little bit older." I stood up. "Well, you'd better get over to your class. It was so good to see you, Opal, and you're welcome to come by and say hi whenever you want."

"Thank you, Mrs. Thornton." She hugged me again and skipped down the hallway to her classroom.

I entered my classroom and put the photographs back on my desk. Within fifteen minutes, every desk was filled, and twenty-three precious faces were looking up at me.

"Hello, everyone! I'm very happy that you're all in my class this year. My name is Mrs. Thornton." I turned around and wrote my name on the board. "Now, to start out the day, I want each of you to take out a sheet of paper and put your name at the top, and then write down a few things about yourself."

A little hand went up in the air.

"Yes, Anna?"

"What kinds of things?"

"Anything you want to tell me. It could be something about your family, or your favorite color, or something you like to do. I'll give you some examples." I turned back to the board and started writing. "I have two sisters. I'm married to a sheriff, and we have a son named Teddy. My favorite color is purple, my favorite movie is The Sound of Music, and I like to bake."

I watched them as they all started writing on their papers. It was going to be a good year.

...

I retreated to my classroom as soon as I dropped my class off at recess, deciding to eat my lunch alone so I could pump for Teddy and call Jack before I needed to pick up my students from lunch.

Jack picked up on the first ring.

"How's our boy?"

"Hello to you, too." He chuckled. "Teddy's doing just fine. Let's see if I can answer all the questions I assume you want to ask: he took his whole bottle this morning. He hasn't napped yet, but I'm hoping he will after his next bottle. We're just hanging out now, watching Indiana Jones. We might go for a walk later."

"If you take him outside, don't forget to put a hat on him and keep him shaded. We don't want him to get a sunburn."

"I know, I know."

"Has he been fussy?"

"Not any more than normal. Just a little when I took too long to warm his bottle and when he needed a diaper change. And now that we've established that things are going well here, how has your day been so far?"

"Good. I miss Teddy so much, but I'm glad to be back. Oh, it was so great, babe. This morning when I was telling the class a little bit about me, I got to say that I'm married and have a son. So much better than last year when all I could say was that I was engaged. Or the year before, when I didn't even have a boyfriend to mention."

"It feels like we've been together for so much longer than that."

"It does. But sometimes it also feels like we just met yesterday." I could hear Teddy cooing softly. "Oh my goodness, is he making that really cute noise again?"

"The little coos that almost sound like he's talking to you? Yes."

I sighed. "I'm so sad that I'm missing it."

"How much longer is your lunch break?"

I looked up at the clock on the wall. "Fifteen minutes. Why?"

"Let's switch to Facetime. Then you can see little man."

I grinned when I saw my son on the screen a few seconds later. "Hi, Teddy Bear."

His eyes went wide and he smiled at the sound of my voice.

"I miss you, Teddy. I'll be home soon, and then we can snuggle, okay?"

His smile widened and he made the sweet noises that I loved so much.

Jack shifted the phone so he was on the screen. "Will you snuggle with me, too?" He smirked.

"You know I'm always up for snuggling with you."

He smiled mischievously. "Well then, I can't wait for you to get home."

"Just a few more hours." The smile fell from my face. "I should probably get going. I need to get this pump cleaned up and put away so I don't get any questions from my students that I don't know how to answer."

"I'd like to see how you would explain that to a bunch of seven year olds." He laughed. "Have a good afternoon. I love you."

"I love you, too, babe."

...

I grinned when I walked in the front door and saw Jack reclining on the sofa with Teddy resting on his bare chest.

"There are my two favorite guys."

"Shh." He held one finger to his lips. "I just got him to sleep."

I lowered my voice. "How was he?"

"He was fine until he decided that he didn't want to sleep. He cried for about twenty minutes before he finally gave in."

I knelt down beside the sofa and brushed my fingers through Teddy's soft hair. "Poor guy. He was probably just having so much fun with you that he didn't want to miss anything."

"I think he just missed his mama." He pulled my face toward his, lightly pressing his lips to mine. "I missed his mama, too. Hi."

"Hi." I kissed him again. "I'm going to change, and then I need to feed him."

I smiled when I came back down the stairs. Jack and Teddy hadn't moved from their place on the sofa. I almost hated to disturb them, but Teddy was starting to squirm and would need to eat.

"Goodness, I love you both so much."

"We love you, too." Jack passed the baby to me once I was settled on the sofa. He kissed my temple. "Do you need anything?"

"Nope. I'm back with my boys. That's all I need."