One month later…
It was mid-June and Jack was two weeks into his new schedule. He didn't have any more cattle because he had auctioned them for a fair price the month before. He had two horses and poor old Harv who at thirteen was arthritic and spent his days in the shade of the porch.
Jack worked three days a week at dispatch and he had class online two nights a week. The class started at 7pm so he went into their den, shut the door with a large mug of coffee, plugged in his earbuds and concentrated. The class was 90 minutes and then he worked on homework until midnight.
He and Elizabeth decided that weekends were family days. Those two days were school free and he didn't work.
This particular Saturday, he woke early and made waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, bacon, and fresh squeezed orange juice.
When he carried the tray into the bedroom, he sat the tray on the bedside table and leaned over to kiss Elizabeth. "Good morning, beautiful."
"Morning," she mumbled, her eyes still closed.
He kissed her again. "I made breakfast."
"It smells amazing."
"I think you should wake up and eat before the kids do." He had brought a small bowl of eggs and a bottle for Fin, just in case.
She took a deep breath and stretched before sitting up. "Ok, I'm up." He chuckled at her hair which was a bit disheveled. "What?"
"Nothing. You're just pretty cute when you wake up."
"Cute meaning a mess." She ran her fingers through her hair and pushed it behind her ears.
"Only a little." He handed her a plate.
"Waffles, yum. And bacon. This is great but you can have my bacon."
"What? Who are you and what have you done with my Elizabeth?" She put her bacon on his plate.
"I'm trying to get my figure back. Two babies so close together did a number on me."
"First, your figure is definitely there," he told her, his eyes roaming appreciatively.
"Jack, I'm breast feeding. My boobs are going to be big."
"I meant, you look great. You won't catch me complaining one bit."
Elizabeth's eyes found the crib where Joey was waking up. "You can still have my bacon. I need to lose fifteen pounds. Which is why we are going for a nice long walk today."
"Deal."
Elizabeth changed Joey and brought him back to bed to feed him. "So, I also want to go to the farmer's market and get some fresh veggies and fruit."
"Ok. I'm all for getting healthier. I could use some help there too," he said, patting his tummy.
"Really? You're perfect. You workout at dispatch and run here."
"Not perfect, babe. I do workout but I don't eat very well and now that I'm not ranching, I won't have that to help. This will be good for all of us. Maybe we can even get some veggies and make some baby food for Joe and Fin." She nodded. He kissed her softly. "We can get healthier together, babe. You and me."
"Thank you. I appreciate that."
….
About an hour later, they put on tank tops and shorts, loaded the kids, the diaper bag, and their double stroller into the car and drove to town. Elizabeth mentioned parking at her and Julie's old apartment and walking through town to the gazebo and back. She figured round trip it was about two miles.
"Ok. Sounds great." They walked the entire length of the town and then sat under the gazebo to change Joey's diaper. Then of course Joey decided he was hungry so she grabbed a blanket from the stroller and fed him.
A little later, they walked to the farmers market to get their veggies and fruit and then headed to the car. It felt good to be out exercising but even more than that, it felt better to just be a family, together, no interruptions.
When they were headed home, Bill called. "Hey, Pop," Elizabeth said after pushing the Bluetooth button on the dash.
"Hey. The fireworks are tonight at the lake. Do you all want to come?"
Jack nodded and Elizabeth smiled. "Ok, sure. What time?"
"Why don't you come for a barbecue around six? And then plan to stay the night."
"Sounds great, Pop. We will see you then."
"Great. Bye."
"I think we should go to back to the farmers market," Jack said. "Get some lettuce and more veggies for the barbecue."
"Ok." It meant a lot to her that he was supporting her efforts to lose a few pounds. "Thank you, Jack."
"Of course, babe. Together, right?" She squeezed his hand and smiled.
….
That evening, after dinner, after feeding the kids and putting them in the crib that was in Bill and Charlotte's guest room, Jack took Elizabeth down to the lake.
"What about the kids?"
"Mom and Pop are listening for them," he told her as they took a seat on the cool grass against a tree. She moved so she was between his legs, leaning back against his chest. He kissed her temple and inhaled the scent that he loved so much. Her scent. Flowery and subtle. "Today was a good day."
She took his arms and wrapped them around her. "It was. I think Saturdays are my favorite. Just us and our family. It was wonderful."
They lay there, listening to the frogs and crickets. They felt the warm breeze on their skin and just enjoyed being together.
As the sun set, they decided to watch the fireworks from the hammock that rested between two trees on the shore.
Once situated, Jack stared down at her, tracing the line of her jaw with his fingertip. "I love you," he whispered in the quiet. "More than I know how to say."
He looked into her eyes with an intensity that spoke volumes. She knew he loved her but it was confirmed for the millionth time since she met him just by the look in his eyes. "Jack…"
BOOM! The fireworks started, grabbing their attention.
The show lasted a good fifteen minutes and then all was quiet. Not even frogs and crickets made a sound. Just as he was about to kiss her, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He reached back to get it.
"Pop says Joey's hungry and they don't have anything to give him."
"Shoot!" Jack helped her out of the hammock and they hurried up to the house. As they got closer, his cries grew louder and more insistent.
"Here's Mama," Charlotte cooed. "I'm sorry. We thought we had another bag of milk but we didn't."
"Don't be sorry, Mom. Thank you."
Bill snuggled Fin back to sleep on the couch. "I can take her, Pop, if you want." Jack reached for her and held her close as she whimpered. "Shhh. It's ok, Finny."
"Mama," she cried.
"Mama's feeding Joey." He took her onto the deck and sat on the Adirondack chair, hopefully to get her back to sleep.
….
AT MIKE AND JULIE'S
Julie fed the girls, marveling at how big they had grown in the past four months. They had almost caught up to their cousin Joey.
Mike was at work so she was on her own. Her phone dinged signaling a skype call. She didn't have any hands. She slipped her fingers out from under Claire's head and pushed the accept button.
"Jules?"
"Yes, hon. I'm feeding right now so I can't hold my phone."
"Oh ok. How are you?"
"Good. Just thinking about how big the girls are."
"Yeah, they are growing fast."
Silence filled the room for just a few seconds. "Mike?"
"Sorry. I checked into registration for fall term. I can apply starting July 15th so I can start in September."
"That's great."
They had decided to use his income for June, July, and August to pay for their 20% of the tuition. Her income should cover their car payment, rent, and groceries. They had also decided to continue breast feeding as long as possible to avoid the cost of formula. It would be tight but only temporarily.
"Oh, babe. Gotta go. Talk to you when I get home about seven, ok?"
"Ok, be careful."
…..
BACK AT THE LAKE HOUSE
Feeling bad that Joey had kept them up a lot of the night, Jack decided to cook breakfast for his parents. He found pancake mix and blueberries so he decided to use that. He didn't make any bacon or sausage though, because of the new health kick he and Elizabeth were on.
After a few quiet moments, mixing and pouring, he felt hands slip around his waist and under the edge of his shirt.
"Morning, cowboy," she whispered into his ear, giving him goosebumps.
"Morning, beautiful. You know I'm not a cowboy anymore."
"Yeah, but "morning, EMT" does not have the same ring to it."
"I guess not. Babies still sleeping?"
"Yup. Shouldn't be long though."
He took the pancakes off the griddle and turned toward her. "In that case…" He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her long and slow, enjoying the quiet morning.
"Ahem," Charlotte said as she entered the room. "Sorry to interrupt but I'm needing a big cup of coffee right about now." Jack kept his arms around Elizabeth but turned his head toward Charlotte.
"Sorry about Joey last night, Ma."
"That's ok, son. I know that a bit of sleep deprivation comes along with the joys of parenthood or, in my case, grandparenthood."
"Yes, well, lately that boy has had a voracious appetite," Elizabeth told her, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "He eats every two hours just like when he was a newborn."
"Not too much longer and maybe he can start on cereal?"
"Yeah. I think at about five months we will start."
"That should help." He started crying then so Elizabeth left her cup and headed in to feed him.
"Ma?"
"Yeah?"
"Next weekend is Elizabeth's birthday."
"We would be happy to watch them."
"Thank you. Just Saturday night and part of Sunday. I'm taking her to Billings Bed and Breakfast."
"Nice. She will enjoy that."
"I thought so too." She sipped her coffee and stared at him. "I'm going to finish making pancakes."
She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Your father would be very proud of you, Jack."
"For making pancakes?"
"For who you are. I'm proud of you too."
"Thanks, Ma."
"Dada!" Fin ran in, only her diaper on.
"Hang on, naked baby. Where are your clothes?"
She giggled and ran over to the couch and climbed up, peeking over the top, her disheveled curls sticking up all over.
Charlotte made her half a bottle of formula and handed it to her. "Nana," Fin said with a grin.
"Hi, sweet pea."
"Mmpa?"
"Grandpa is sleeping."
Fin put her finger to her lips and blew, air and baby spit. Jack chuckled. "She hasn't quite gotten the hang of that yet."
Fin laid down and drank her bottle, her feet kicking Charlotte gently. "Watch those piggies," Charlotte told her, grabbing her foot, pretending to eat it. Fin giggled. "Someone woke up in a good mood this morning."
"Is it me?" Bill said, walking out to join them. He bent down and kissed Charlotte and then tickled Fin's bare tummy. "Can I walk around like that too, Finny?" She nodded.
"Uh…please, only when we leave, Pop," Jack said from the stove, laughing.
"I don't know. I'm thinking someone, who shall remain nameless, likes to cook in his underwear and his mother's pink ruffled apron. How is that any different?"
"Maybe because Mom showed up at MY house without calling first."
"Mmm. I guess you have a point. Well, I guess I'll save my underwear for you, dear," he said with a wink to Charlotte.
"Lucky me." She stood and kissed his cheek.
"You said you liked my under…"
"Ok, children in the room….let's change the subject please," Jack said loudly.
"Its getting awfully noisy out here," Elizabeth mentioned as she entered the room with a drowsy looking Joey in her arms.
"Mama!" Fin yelled.
"Who's hungry for blueberry pancakes?"
….
Mike walked in a little late, but safe and sound. There had been a early morning accident involving a fatality. It had hit him hard. Now all he wanted was to hold his wife and baby girls and say a prayer of thanksgiving.
"Honey?" Julie walked in the room with two bottles of milk in her hands and the breast pump attachments. "You're a bit late."
"Yeah. Where are the girls?"
"In their crib." She walked into the kitchen, transferred the milk to storage bags, and placed them in the freezer. Then she washed the attachments and bottles.
After about five minutes, she found him rocking the girls and crying. "Honey, what's wrong?"
"I just love them so much," he told her.
She dried his tears and attempted to hug him but decided to just let him rock them. "They love you too, babe. And so do I."
He knew that, but seeing the aftermath of the horrible accident that morning nailed home once again that he couldn't take anything for granted. Including the two precious girls in his arms and the amazing woman sitting on the bed.