Elizabeth brought the kids to The Bean as planned to meet Jack for breakfast.
She unclicked Joey's car seat and helped Fin from her seat. Fin reached up but Elizabeth wasn't going to carry both of them. "You need to walk, Finny."
Fin pouted but grabbed Elizabeth's hand as they walked slowly into The Bean. Jack met her at the door and took Joey. "Hi!" He had a huge grin on his face as he kissed her.
"Hi, yourself," she said as she smiled back.
They walked to their booth where Jack had put a high chair for Fin. Elizabeth lifted her up and buckled her in.
Clara brought them decaf iced mochas and two chocolate cream croissants. Then she set a scrambled egg and some crackers in front of Fin.
"Since when do you serve scrambled eggs, Clara?" Elizabeth asked.
"We don't. We do have breakfast sandwiches though so instead of a sunny side up, I just scrambled it."
"Well, thank you. How are you feeling?"
"Ready to pop. This is my last day."
"One more month to go?"
"Yes. I can't wait, although chasing two small boys around doesn't sound that fun."
"It will be but you won't be chasing this one for awhile," she mentioned pointing at her tummy. "Any names yet?"
"Yes, Brody Jace."
"Oh, that's adorable. Zane and Brody."
"Thank you. Enjoy your breakfast. I need to get back up front."
Elizabeth took a small bite of her croissant and moaned with delight. It had been months. So good.
Jack watched her closely, slowly taking a bite and then closing her eyes to savor the taste. "Elizabeth, you're lucky we are in public," he whispered.
Her eyes met his. "Why?"
"Let's just say watching you eat that croissant is…" His sentence was interrupted by Joey squawking. Jack reached over next to him and unbuckled his son, moving him to his chest and rubbing his back.
Elizabeth watched her hunky husband, dressed in his uniform, rubbing their son's back. He just looked so good loving his children. "What were you saying, Jack?" she asked as she slipped her foot out of her shoe and up under the edge of his pant leg.
He flicked his eyes to meet hers and almost laughed. "Uh..nothing." She grinned innocently at him as if she wasn't driving him crazy.
"Dadada!" Fin said loudly, once again distracting him from his distracting wife's toes toying with his sock.
"Shhh. Yes, Fin?" She pinched a piece of egg between her fingers and held it up to him, playing the game they did at every meal. This time though, just as he was about to eat it, she pulled back and clumsily put it in her own mouth with a giggle. "Oh, teasing Daddy now?" He leaned closer to Fin and kissed her cheek loudly, making her squeal.
"Jack?"
"Yes, babe?"
"I love you."
He winked at her and smiled. "Right back at ya."
…..
As they said goodbye at the SUV thirty minutes later, Jack realized as his nursing education started and led into clinicals and who knew what else, there would be a lot of times he couldn't be with his family. It wasn't going to be easy.
He was going to go for his ADN, associates degree in nursing, because it would only take two years and he could do a lot of it online.
"Jack?" He realized she had been talking to him and his mind had been wandering.
"I'm sorry. Yes?"
"Your radio. I think you need to go."
"Oh. Ok." He kissed her and the kids and looked up as Mike pulled the rig behind her vehicle. "I love you. Let's skype tonight. I want to talk about school." She nodded.
"I love you. Be careful."
….
That night Jack texted Elizabeth to see if she could talk. She agreed so he connected to Skype and waited to see her beautiful face.
"Hey," she said quietly.
"What's wrong? Your eyes are all puffy and red."
"Its been a rough night."
"The kids?"
"Yeah. I'm glad your Mom was here. I'm just overreacting. It's not as if Joey can misbehave or anything but I think he's growing or something. He cried forever and he didn't want to eat and then Fin kept….oh nevermind. It's over now. What did you want to talk about?"
He hesitated now. Hearing how hard it had been having him away, made him rethink the whole school thing, as excited as he was. He would be away sometimes and he didn't want it to be hard on her.
"Jack?" She could see him holding back from her.
"Maybe we can talk about it another time."
"No, honey. Talk to me. I'm fine now. Motherhood isn't always easy and I'm mostly just tired."
He looked at her on his screen and took a breath. "I have some info about school that we need to talk about."
"I'm all ears."
"Summer classes start June 3rd so I need to register in the next week. I want to get my Associates Degree because it will take only two years and I can do a lot online."
"Ok. That sounds like you have a good plan."
"There is something else that's something we need to agree on or come up with a compromise."
"Ok."
"About having another baby. I think we need to be extra cautious about it and make sure that we don't get pregnant until after I have a job. So that means at least two years. Is that ok with you?"
"Yes. I completely agree." She saw him sigh with relief. "Jack, both kids were oopsies so I definitely want to make sure we can plan the next one."
He smiled. "The best oopsies though."
"Absolutely."
…..
Pete walked in the door that evening with a conflicted heart.
"Pete?" Clara stood in the doorway and smiled. "Hi."
"Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Good. Huge but good."
He took his coat and work boots off and put them on the porch and then came back in. He walked over and hugged Clara, as close as he could with her belly in the way. "Can we talk?"
"Are you hungry?"
"Starving."
"Well, I made enchiladas for dinner. Sour cream and chicken. We can talk as you eat. Honestly, I might eat again too." She led him to the kitchen.
He sat down and waited while she heated their food in the microwave. She set his dish in front of him with a large glass of water and then sat next to him. He took her hand and said a blessing and then they ate. "Kevin called today," he told her.
"Your old boss? What did he want?"
"Me. He said there's a manager position open in my old department and I'd be perfect for it. It's more money, more responsibility, but the benefits are good, especially now that we will have two kids. With Zane and possibly needing surgery at some point, I think it makes sense."
She put her hand on his arm. "This is good. Is it what you really want?"
"Yeah. I just feel bad bailing on Jack. He saved us from losing this house by offering me my job and he's my friend."
"He also knew that it wasn't permanent. He will find someone else."
"I really want this, Clara. Are you sure you're ok with it?"
"Yes. I'm positive."
They finished dinner and then headed to bed. Pete thought about telling Jack the next day for a while before he actually fell asleep. It had to be done before accepting the job offer from Kevin. He just hoped Jack would still be his friend once all was said and done.
….
"I'm happy for you, bro," Jack told him, clapping him on the shoulder. "You deserve this."
"Jack, I feel like I'm bailing on you."
"Don't. You aren't a ranch hand. This was just you keeping your family afloat until you could find something you really wanted to do."
"How will you keep yours afloat?"
"Well, I'm making some changes too. This just makes it happen faster. I'm going back to school to become a nurse. I have been wanting to quit ranching and be a full time EMT but they aren't allowing full time. However, they are paying 80% tuition. So I'm doing it."
"That's great. So the ranch?"
"I'll auction the cattle and keep two of the six horses. Pop wants the other four so he'll buy those. It will be good. Wallace at the ranch next door is going to lease acreage for his crops so that will help with the loss of income."
"Sounds like you got it all worked out."
"Yeah. I think so. Auction is next week so will you go?"
"In Billings?"
"Yep. We will get two cattle trucks, Pop would probably help us."
"I'm there, as long as Clara doesn't go into labor."
….
Bill and Charlotte stood at the stakes on their hill where the house would be. "What do you think, Char?"
"Its big."
"Yes. It is but it only has three bedrooms. It has everything you want and you'll get to pick out the cabinets, the floors, the counters. Everything will be perfect."
She turned toward him and looked into his eyes. "Bill, I know that you're doing this to help the kids…"
"Actually, my dear, I'm building the house for you and me. Helping the kids is just a wonderful perk. Now do you like it or is there something you want to change?"
"Can we add a playroom off the living room? For when Fin and Joey come over and the twins. I don't think we will even need to change the stakes. The living room is huge."
"Sure. A playroom is good."
"Bill."
"Yeah?"
"This is wonderful. Thank you."
"You're welcome but you don't need to thank me. This is where we should be."
….
A few days later…
It was early morning when Jack came home from being on call and wanted to focus on Elizabeth getting time to herself. He of course wanted to be with her but she had had a rough few nights. Fin had apparently started a new phase where she cried when she wasn't being held and then didn't want to sleep in her crib. Needless to day, Elizabeth didn't sleep much and now she was exhausted.
"Honey?"
"Living room," she said as quiet as she could. Fin was asleep in one arm and Joey was eating in her other arm. All three in the recliner.
"Hi." He kissed her and then picked up Fin who immediately started crying. "Shhhh. Fin, it's ok. Daddy's got you." He sat on the couch and rubbed her back to relax her.
"I'm glad you're back," Elizabeth told him.
"Me too. After he's done eating, leave them with me and you can go back to bed."
"That would be great. I really need to sleep." A few moments later, Joey was burped and she was headed upstairs to rest. She really wanted a shower but the king sized feather bed was calling her name.
Downstairs, Jack placed Joey in his swing and put Fin in her playpen. He watched her for a moment to make sure she stayed asleep. She had so he started picking up the typical daily mess that living created. A mostly finished bottle on the coffee table, a burp cloth, a blanket or two. Then he gathered clothes from the kids hamper in the nursery and started a load. Next, he headed to the kitchen and started the dishwasher, including the bottle he had picked up from the living room. He washed the counters and Fin's highchair tray, disinfecting as he went along.
Finally he made a list of groceries they needed. He would go and take Fin with him when Elizabeth woke up.
Fin started crying in the other room. He hoped Joey would stay asleep but that hope was dashed. The short thirty seconds it took for him to rush in there had been enough to wake him as well. He picked up Fin and shushed her and then popped Joey's pacifier in his mouth and moved the swing a bit faster.
"Finny, let's have a talk, babycakes."
She whimpered into his shoulder as he sat in the recliner. "Mama."
"She's sleeping. You and Joey kept her awake last night."
"Baba."
"You want a bottle?"
She nodded and pointed to the kitchen. He stood and took her into the kitchen. He set her on the counter and prepared a bottle. After warming it slightly, he handed it to her and set her on the floor. She immediately whimpered and raised her free arm for him to pick her up.
"How about we go rock in the living room?" He didn't pick her up though, he offered his finger and they walked together into the living room. He sat down in the recliner and picked her up. As he rocked, he sang a favorite Adele song of his.
"When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
Oh, I hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love
I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I will never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong
I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue
And I'd go crawling down the avenue
No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love
The storms are raging on the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing like me yet
I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
There's nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of this Earth for you
To make you feel my love, oh yes
To make you feel my love"
He smiled when he looked down at her, her long eyelashes touching the tops of her cheeks as she slept again. She was as lovely as her mother and now everything was peaceful and quiet.
He sighed, pulled a blanket over them and closed his eyes.
Around lunch time, Elizabeth took a shower and came downstairs to Jack walking Joey around the living room as he fussed.
"Hey."
"Hi. I changed him and I think he's just hungry now."
"I'm sure he is. I think tomorrow I'll start pumping so we have another option when this happens."
"Ok." She sat down and raised her arms to receive the little boy, snuggling him close. He immediately started eating and all was good again.
"You cleaned."
"I did." He sat and started folding the load of laundry , separating as he went. "I did laundry and the dishes and I'm going to take Fin grocery shopping."
"Ambitious," she teased. "Just a suggestion, feed her first or she will be pointing at everything, wanting it."
"Good idea." He handed her his phone. "I made a grocery list. If you need to add anything, go ahead. I'm going to go change and get Fin ready."
"Ok."
He picked Fin up and took her into the nursery to find her some clothes. He put an extra diaper in the diaper bag and changed her into a long sleeve red t-shirt and a pair of overalls. Then he put some red socks on her feet and a red beanie with a white flower embroidered on it on her head. "You look so cute, Finny. Wait until Mama sees you."
Then he put her in the crib in his and Elizabeth's room and changed clothes.
She watched as he made the bed and brushed his hair and then they headed downstairs.
"Wow, matching father and daughter. So adorable, Jack."
He grinned, proud of his choice. He wasn't wearing overalls but he had a red t-shirt and blue jeans that matched quite well. "Thanks. We will be back soon." He kissed her twice and Finny puckered up for a kiss from Mama.
"Bye bye," Finny said with a wave.
"Bye, sweetie. Have fun with Daddy."
Jack took his phone and the diaper bag and they were on their way.