A WEEK LATER

"Give me a hint, cowboy," Elizabeth whispered.

"It will be beautiful and perfect, just like you." He kissed her and settled back in the hot tub, ignoring her roaming lips. Well, trying to. It was nearly impossible. "Come on. Let me surprise you, babe."

"I'm not a fan of surprises."

"Try, just this once."

"Alright."

Jack got out and wrapped a towel around his waist and smiled. "Let's go pack and then hit the sack. Tomorrow is a big day."

"Because we are….?"

"Going to enjoy ourselves immensely." She stood and accepted his hand to get out of the hot tub. He wrapped a towel around her and pulled her close. "I love you, Elizabeth."

"I know." She stole his towel and ran inside and up the stairs knowing he was now outside, less than clothed. It made her laugh, anyway.

About ten minutes later he walked into the room, a sheepish look on his face. "Well, that was interesting."

"What?" she asked innocently. He slipped on a pair of boxers and walked over to her.

"Let's just say, I'm glad our front door is solid wood. Otherwise Pop would have gotten an eyeful."

Elizabeth's eyes grew big as she tried not to laugh. "Pop was here?"

"Yeah. Returning my truck. He said he had mentioned it to you yesterday."

"Yes he did. Oh! I'm sorry, sweetheart. I completely forgot."

"Yeah well, I don't think he knew why I was hiding behind the door." Elizabeth peeked at the babies as she walked into the bathroom. Jack followed her. "Go ahead and laugh. I know you want to."

"I kinda do but I won't. On the subject from before, is whatever we are doing tomorrow going to involve exercise? I missed my walk today."

"I can say that there will definitely be calories burned."

After they brushed their teeth, she led him into the bedroom. "Let's burn some calories right now."

"Uh, ok. I'm game."

….

The next day, Jack had arranged for Elizabeth to get a massage and a mani/pedi at the day spa while he took the kids and picked up a few things at the store.

He put Joey's car seat in the basket of the cart and Fin sat in the front. "Finny, A, B, C, D…"

"E!" she yelled. He and Elizabeth had been working with her on the alphabet. She knew the tune and quite a few of the letters. At 18 months old, that was quite an accomplishment.

Jack grabbed formula and diapers and wipes, planning on leaving them at the lake house for any future stays. Then he grabbed a bouquet of deep red roses and a card.

"Oooo," Fin said, pointing at the flowers.

"For Mama. Aren't they pretty?" Fin nodded. Jack smelled something. "Are you stinky, Fin?" He got closer. It wasn't her. "Uh oh. We better hurry so Joe can get a clean diaper."

"Go," she said with a nod, wrinkling her nose.

Thankfully there was no line and they got out to the car in time to fix the issue. Jack cleaned him up and secured everyone in their car seats. Then he turned the car on to cool it off and wrote out the card.

…..

Elizabeth climbed back in the SUV completely relaxed.

"Happy Birthday, beautiful," he told her, handing her the flowers.

"Thank you, Jack. They are gorgeous." She leaned over and kissed him.

He handed her the card and pulled onto the road.

TO: THE HOTTEST MAMA ON THE PLANET

YOU TAKE MY BREATH AWAY. I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVER.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,

COWBOY

She laughed, which was what he had wanted. "Thank you. For everything."

He kissed the back of her hand and smiled. "I should be thanking you."

That afternoon, they dropped the kids off at the lake house and then hopped on the highway. "So, Elizabeth, what do you think of your birthday so far?"

"You've spent a lot of money on me, hon."

"Forget the money. I saved it a long time ago. Have you had a good day?"

"Yes. It's been amazing."

"Good." They pulled into the lot of the Bed and Breakfast about an hour later.

"Jack, this is beautiful." He smiled at her and came over to open her door. "Such a gentleman." They wheeled their suitcase inside and checked in. The room he picked was lovely too. It even had a Jacuzzi tub which they vowed to use later for sure.

They walked down to the kitchen where he had arranged for a picnic dinner. She was game for anything at this point.

"There's a lake about half a mile south of here with a beach. Perfect to watch the sunset," the owner told them with a wink.

"Great. Thank you for dinner," Jack told her with a smile and then took Elizabeth's hand and led her down the trail to the lake.

…..

By the time they strolled slowly back, it was dark and only the full moon lit their way.

Elizabeth leaned her head against his shoulder, her hand securely in his. "You're quiet, babe," he mentioned.

"I miss the kids," she said quietly.

"You're such a great mom." He kissed her temple. "Its hard to leave little ones, even with family."

"I know that we need to have time to ourselves and this is wonderful, but it makes me sad that we won't be there when they wake up."

"We can be."

"Are you sure you don't mind? I mean, I don't know what you had planned for the morning."

"All I wanted was to wake up with you in my arms. That will happen no matter what time we go home."

"I love waking up in your arms," she said, moving her hand to his back pocket. "Its where I belong."

"It is."

"So, Jacuzzi?"

…..

Bill sat up long after Charlotte and the kids had gone to sleep. He had been thinking about something, one thing, for a few months. He hadn't shared with Char because he wasn't sure how she would react. Now, he was curious.

In the morning, he would talk to her.

After Jack and Elizabeth arrived early to get the kids, Bill took Char down to the lake to talk.

"What's on your mind, hon?"

"I've been thinking."

"Dangerous," she teased.

"Funny, Char." He wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled. "I love you, you know that."

"Of course."

"I have been thinking that as happy and amazing as our life is, we may be missing something."

"I can't think of a single thing that I need other than you and our family."

"I never had kids, Char. I wanted them but by the time I married the perfect woman, it was too late."

"Now who's being funny? I'm certainly not perfect and you know as well as I do that Tom and Jack are your sons now. And Elizabeth is the best daughter in the world."

"I agree with that but what if there was someone who needed us? Someone who needed a safe, loving home, even if just temporarily."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"No, but there are thousands of kids, Char, that aren't with their parents now because it was a bad situation. I want to give one of them a place to go until they can go home again." She saw his eyes tear up. He was a dear, wonderful man.

"What if we do this and we fall in love with him or her and then they have to leave? I don't know if I could do that. I've lost a child before. It's the hardest thing I've ever been through."

"We need to go into this with an open mind and open heart knowing the possibility is always there that they could go home. I know it's scary but these kids need love, Char. We can give them that." After a few moments of silently walking on the beach, Charlotte stopped him.

"What do we do first?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. You're right. Lots of kids need love and safety. We can give that. Now how do we start?"

"I looked it up online. We need to call Child Services and talk with them."

"Let's do it. I can't think of anyone better for the job than you, Bill Avery."

"Only if you're by my side. I can't do it without you."

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

…..

Jack watched as Elizabeth fed Joey and Fin sat on her lap, a look of pure contentment on her lovely face. He bent down and kissed her. "Happy?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. I'm going to go start a load of laundry and turkey chili for dinner." She nodded and went back to focusing on her babies.

Their song popped into his head, so he started singing it.

"Its late in the evening,

She's wondering what clothes to wear…."

Elizabeth smiled as he sang up the stairs and disappeared into the nursery to get the kid's clothes to wash. Then he came back down, still singing as he disappeared into the laundry room.

"You look wonderful tonight."

Apparently he was happy too.

She stood up a few minutes later and took both babies to their crib, grabbing the baby monitor and heading down to find Jack.

He was humming in the kitchen, browning their ground turkey and onions for the chili. They had decided to limit their red meat intake and use ground turkey or pork for a lot of their meals.

"I have to actually go into Bozeman next week, Wednesday, for a lecture. I guess we are having a guest speaker and they want us in class to meet them."

"Ok."

Jack was thankful that for the most part, his classes could be done online. He knew though that eventually, certain lectures or labs would need to be done at the college.

"Its Faith."

"Who? The speaker?"

"Yeah." He turned and looked at her.

"How do you feel about that, Jack?"

"Fine, I guess. Apparently she's head of nursing at Boston Memorial." She walked over and stood next to him. "Are you ok with it?"

"The fact that she was your girlfriend at one point is fine. That was a long time ago. She knew we were getting married last time we saw her and I trust you, Jack."

He stepped close, resting his hands on her hips and his forehead touching hers. "I never loved her. You are the only one I've ever loved. Nothing will ever get in the way of that. I promise."

"I know." She tilted her head and kissed him, slow and passionate, as if confirming her trust. "You're my cowboy, no one else's."

"Always will be." He returned her kisses for a moment and then turned away to stir the meat, keeping one hand around her back. She stood close as he poured tomatoes and beans into the pot, adding a few spices along the way. Then he put the lid on it and pulled her in for a hug.

Somewhere in his gut, he had a feeling. He couldn't figure out what it was. Then it hit him. Worry. He worried about seeing Faith again. He wasn't sure why but that's what it was.

….

WEDNESDAY

Jack sat in the lecture room, nervous and excited. He had always loved school. He had been a good student and lectures even excited him. Today, he was grateful for a full classroom. He intentionally sat in the back, hoping Faith wouldn't even see him. His hope was short lived.

She walked in and started walking around talking to his classmates. When she looked around to the back, her eyes widened slightly and then she gave him a gentle smile.

He nodded and smiled back. She walked toward him and it was his turn to show surprise. She looked great and she was also about six months pregnant in his estimation.

"Jack Thornton. It's good to see you. It's been a while."

"It has." He fidgeted, spinning his wedding ring around on his finger with his thumb. "Its good to see you too."

"How was your wedding in Aruba?"

"Perfect."

"You're happy?"

"Very. Are you happy?"

"Yes. I got married too. About a year ago."

"Congratulations, Faith. I'm happy for you."

"Thank you." She absently touched her rounded tummy. "Well, I guess we should get started. Maybe we can have coffee later? You, me, and my husband?"

"I really need to get home after. But thank you."

"Ok." He sat down and looked up as she started speaking, feeling much better.

"Good evening, I'm Faith Shepherd. I'm the head nurse at Boston Memorial, emergency room…."

…..

He sent Elizabeth a text about nine o'clock, when the class ended. "I'm done. I'll b home in about an hour and a half."

"Ok. Love u. Please b careful."

"I will. Love u 2."

When Jack walked into their bedroom, Elizabeth was in the bathtub. He peeked his head in. "Hey," he whispered, not wanting to scare her or wake the kids.

"Hey. Wanna join me?" She smiled and turned the water off with her toe.

He wasn't going to turn her down. A moment later, she sat forward and he slid in behind her, bubbles up to their necks. He sighed.

"So, how was your class?"

"Good. It was a lecture about Emergency medicine. They are trying to help us figure out what type of nursing to go into."

"What did you think?"

"I honestly am not sure yet. I have time to decide. After this year, I'll be starting to do rotations at the hospital. That should help me decide."

She nodded and kissed his jaw. "I'm proud of you."

"Why?" He smiled and kissed her temple, nuzzling her wet hair with his nose. "You smell good."

"You're doing something that most people wouldn't do. Going back to school as an adult is hard."

"I think it will be good for our family."

"Me too. So did you talk to Faith?"

"Yeah. She walked around at the start of class."

"How was she?"

"Happy. Married. Pregnant."

"Really? Good for her."

"I told her I was happy for her. She asked me to go out to coffee with her and her husband."

"Oh. You should have gone."

"I didn't want to. I wanted to come home." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. "This is the only place I want to be."