Logic won when it came to deciding when to get married. Elizabeth had been acting purely on emotion and hadn't thought of all the things that still needed to be settled before getting married made sense.
For instance, the boys had school, she and Jack had their jobs, she hadn't told her landlord that she was moving out, they hadn't repainted the guest/new master bedroom and moved Jack into it yet, and they wanted to be able to slip away for a few days to take a honeymoon. All of those things required a bit more time.
That being said, they were going to get married earlier than July first. They decided that Jack would fly Sawyer to see Grandpa Ned in Atlanta in August after his birthday, and they would get married the weekend after the boys finished school. So June 10th was the day and they would get married in New Haven at her mother's home. When they returned home from their week long honeymoon in Maine, they would celebrate Brennan's birthday.
"Where are we going, Mom?"
"First to the store to get paint and then to Dad's house to paint the guest room."
"Oh." She could see and hear his disappointment.
"What did you want to do?"
"I don't know. I guess I want to see Grandma Charlotte with Sawyer. She has puppies."
"Sawyer is spending the weekend there. You want to do that?"
"Yep."
"Well, call your dad and see if its ok."
She handed him the phone and he called. "Hi, Dad!"
"Hey, Bren. What's up?"
"Can I stay with Sawyer at Grandma and Grandpa's? I want to see the puppies too."
"What did Mom say?"
"To ask you."
"Ok, sure, bud. Pack your bag and I'll stop and pick you up on the way."
"Yay! Thanks."
"You're welcome. See you soon."
"He said I could go!"
"Ok, Brennan."
About ten minutes later, Sawyer and Jack walked in. "Anyone home?"
"In the kitchen."
"Hey, sweetheart. Brennan ready?"
"Yeah. He's just using the bathroom."
"You headed to get paint?"
"Yep. You sure that baby blue is ok with you?"
"Its fine." He handed her some cash. "Get a few rollers and some bedding too. I'll help you when I get back."
"Ok. What do you like in your bedding?"
"Soft. That's all I care."
"Ok," she chuckled. He stepped close and kissed her.
"If you can get it to smell just like you, I'd be eternally grateful," he mumbled against her lips.
She giggled and kissed him back. "I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks," he said with one last kiss. "Love you."
"Love you too."
As she walked through the store, she let herself think about the future. It was looking bright. Painting what would be her and Jack's bedroom brought it further into perspective. 7 weeks and they would finally be married. It wasn't long.
When she arrived at his house, she pushed the button in her ceiling that opened the garage. Then she closed it, opened the door to the house, and punched in her code to disarm the alarm.
Being in the house alone made her a bit nervous. It was big and still felt like someone else's, not hers. She knew that would change, she just needed to be patient.
She decided to check out each room and get acclimated. There were two rooms she had never been in. She visited first, his office. She looked at his walls. He had a watercolor hanging above his desk. She looked closer and it had the initials KY in the corner. She knew they were Katie's initials and she told herself not to feel hurt that he had kept her painting. After all, it had been from before they were married and she had a few things that Tyler had given her too. The emotion of losing someone so close to you stuck with you and she understood why he would want to keep it.
She noticed his desk was very organized and he had three computers. One laptop and two desktop monitors. How he kept them all straight, she wasn't sure.
She wandered down the hall and opened another room. Her heart stopped. A library. It was very obviously newly renovated. The new shelves were bare, like they were waiting for her to fill them. The dark wood floors were gorgeous and she could picture a comfy recliner or couch in the corner.
"Sweetheart?" Jack called from downstairs.
"Upstairs!"
He wandered up and found her. "Hey."
"Hi."
"You found it. It was supposed to be a surprise."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Its wonderful."
He soaked in her love and hugged her tight. "I'm glad you like it."
"I do. I hope you like what I bought for our room."
"Honestly, even if it's pink and frilly, it would still be fine as long as you're there."
She laughed and led him to the new master. "So no pink and actually, no blue."
"Ok." She took the lid from the paint. "Gray."
She pulled the bedding out of the bag. The down comforter was navy blue and the sheets, a very soft, gray Egyptian cotton. "Soft enough?"
He touched the sheets. "Yeah. That's perfect."
"Good."
"I'm going to change and then we should start painting."
In an hour, they had one coat done and needed to wait for it to dry. "Sweetheart, are you hungry?"
"I am."
"There is a new Chinese restaurant that delivers. Want to try?"
"Yeah. Maybe we can watch a movie too?"
"Sure."
With the boys gone, they had the whole day and evening to themselves. Might as well take advantage of it.
As they waited for the food, she made coffee. "Honey, I have something on my mind," she mentioned.
"Ok. What is it?"
"I was here by myself for a bit and I wandered into your office."
"Mmhm."
"I saw a painting on your wall."
"The water color?"
"Yeah. Katie was pretty talented."
"She was." He added cream to his coffee and stirred it. "I honestly forgot it was there. It's been there so long I don't even notice it anymore."
She nodded and stared into her coffee.
"Elizabeth, does it bother you that I still have it? If so, I can take it down. I'll save it for Sawyer, maybe put it in the closet or something."
"No, it's ok. I still have a picture of Tyler on the refrigerator and his wedding ring in my dresser drawer. I understand why you have it. I just wanted you to know that I saw it. I didn't mean to snoop I just wanted to get used to the house. It still just feels like yours."
"You weren't snooping. This is going to be your house soon. In fact, if there are any more changes you want to make, let me know."
…
Soon came fast. Before they knew it, it was the end of May and they were making final arrangements for the wedding and their honeymoon.
Jack confirmed his reservations at Newagen Seaside Inn in Southport, Maine for their honeymoon. He had secured a private cottage on Boothbay Harbor, perfect for them.
Next, he went and picked up his and Tom's suits from the tailor. They were navy, which is what Elizabeth wanted.
Then he picked up the boys and took them home with him because Elizabeth was busy with her sisters and their own preparations.
"Seven more days, Dad! Then we are in first grade!" Sawyer told him.
"I know, bud. That's pretty cool. Only eleven days until we all really become a family."
"Good," Brennan said.
"Something wrong, Bren?"
"It's taking forever!" he said impatiently. "Joe at school says you're not really my dad but I told him you were. He said you and Mom aren't married and our last names are different so you're not really my dad."
"Lots of kids and parents have different last names but they are still a family. Maybe I should have said it a different way."
"I want to have your last name. I want to be Brennan Thornton not Brennan Campbell."
"We might be able to arrange that."
"You can? How?"
"Let me talk to your mom then we will figure it out, ok?"
"Yeah."
Jack would love nothing more than for Brennan to take his name. He hoped Elizabeth felt the same.
He called her that night once the boys were in bed. "Sweetheart, how was your day?"
"Good. Kind of slow at the store so I left Becky in charge most of the morning. I went and picked up my dress and Vi's and then some other things. How was yours?"
"Hmm. What other things might you be speaking about, Elizabeth?"
"Just some stuff. Secret stuff for eleven days from now."
"Oooh…do these secret items have lace on them?"
"Possibly." He could almost hear her cheeks turning red.
"And maybe some satin?"
"You'll just have to wait and see. So how was your day?" she asked, switching the subject.
"Fine. I picked up the suits and then confirmed our reservations for the honeymoon."
"Which is where again?"
"Nice try. You have your secrets and so do I. I do have something to talk to you about though."
"Ok, shoot."
"I want to adopt Brennan. Honestly, I already feel like I'm his dad but it's important to him that he has my last name, like you will have and Sawyer does. What do you think?"
"I think that's a great idea."
"You do?"
"Yes. If it means a lot to him that his name is Thornton, then it's what we should do for him."
"Great. I'll contact my lawyer tomorrow."
"Thank you, Jack. That's a very sweet thing to do."
"I love him, Elizabeth. That's what it boils down to. I'd do anything for our family."
"I know you would. We are very fortunate."
"I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you too."
"I'll see you tomorrow for coffee."
"Ok. Goodnight."
Elizabeth hung up the phone and smiled. Then she stood and packed her new "secret items" in her suitcase for the honeymoon. It had been a while since she had thought about anything lacy or satiny. She preferred t-shirts and shorts since Tyler passed, but once she saw the lingerie, she remembered how beautiful it made her feel and she looked forward to sharing it with her new husband.
…
On the last day of school, there was a family picnic at the local park. Jack met Elizabeth and they walked over together to see the boys.
As they walked over, they saw a bunch of kids circled around, yelling at something on the ground.
When they got close enough, they hurt the kids yelling to "hit 'em!"
"Where are the adults?" Jack asked, rushing forward.
"HE IS MY DAD! YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" he heard Brennan yell.
"Brennan!" Jack made Elizabeth stand back and he broke his way through the crowd of kids to get to Brennan. "Boys! Time to calm down." Jack pulled Brennan off the top of the other kid, he figured was Joe, and then held out his hand against his chest. "Stop. What's going on?"
"Dad, he said you aren't my dad because you don't love me enough to live with me! It's not true!"
"Of course it's not, son." Brennan wiped his cheeks and sniffled against Jack's leg. "I love you so much, but you can't fight with your fists. You need to use your words."
The teacher came over and apologized. She had been watching the kids at the playground and hadn't noticed the fight. "What happened?" she asked, directing her question to Joe who just crossed his arms and plastered an angry look on his face. "Joseph! What is going on?"
"Nothing."
"Obviously something or you two wouldn't have been fighting." Joe rolled his eyes and looked away. "Where is your dad, Joe?"
"I don't know."
"Is he coming?"
"Probably not." Jack could see the look of pain on the kid's face. Maybe he was acting out against Brennan because his own dad wasn't around much. It didn't excuse it but it made more sense.
"First, you are going to apologize to Brennan…"
"I didn't do nothing!"
"Really?"
"Well, it wasn't anything big."
"If you said or did anything to Brennan to make him angry, you will apologize and then we are calling your parents."
"They won't care."
"Your daddy will care about you," Brennan offered. "I bet he loves you just like mine loves me."
"No he doesn't."
"That's sad, Joe."
"I'm used to it." The teacher nudged his shoulder, reminding him what he needed to do. "I'm sorry that I said those things. I was mad."
"Why?"
"My dad doesn't care about me and yours does."
Brennan thought for a minute. "I'm sorry I almost hit you. Want me to show you me and my brother's secret handshake?"
"Yeah!" Joe and Brennan ran off to play leaving the adults stunned and shaking their heads.
"If only it were that easy in the adult world when people get mad," Elizabeth mentioned.
"It could be," Jack told her, kissing her temple.
"So you are the famous Jack Thornton," the teacher said. "I'm not your boys' teacher but I hear about you because I'm the assistant in the room everyday. I'm Casey Truitt."
"I'm Jack, not sure about the famous part."
"Only famous around here. Your boys love to tell everyone all about the fun things you do. My dad, Jack, does this, etc."
"Sorry about that."
"They love you, honey," Elizabeth told him. "That's a good thing."
"I know. I love them too. I'm sorry about the trouble with Brennan today, Miss Truitt. We will have a chat with him and Sawyer about not using their fists."
"I appreciate that. I need to go call Joe's parents. Hopefully it will have a good outcome."
….
Jack, Elizabeth and the boys were sitting in the living room at the house after dinner. Before Jack could bring up anything, Brennan took charge.
"Dad, can I please invite Joe to my birthday party?"
"Just so I understand, the boy that made you so mad that you were going to hit him is now your friend?"
"Yep," he said with a shrug.
"Brennan, you are an amazing boy."
"Thanks. Can we go play Mario?"
"We still need to talk about what happened today, Bren."
"Ok."
"You and Sawyer both need to listen up." He paused, making sure both were looking at him. "Your mom and I will not tolerate fighting with your fists, under any circumstances. It's not acceptable. If you do it, you have to know there will be consequences."
"Does that mean I'm in trouble?" Brennan asked him.
"It means, no PlayStation until you get back from New Haven. Sawyer is allowed because he wasn't involved in this."
"That's not fair," he said with a pout.
"Which part?"
"That I can't play but he can."
"Did Sawyer fight with anyone?"
"No."
"Then it's fair."
Instead of running off mad, like Jack thought might happen, Brennan looked at him for a long moment and then came over and hugged him. "I love you, Brennan."
"I love you too, Dad."
"I'm proud of you for giving Joe a second chance. That was pretty grown up."
"Does that mean I can play Mario?"
"Nice try. Go get ready for bed. We fly to Gran's early."