Chapter 32

Elizabeth wasn't herself for the whole day. She just missed Jack too much. She plastered a smile on her face, but she just couldn't get the lonely feeling out of her soul. I don't know how he has become so much of me in such a short time, but I am grateful for it!

She mindlessly walked into the café hoping to see her best friend. She missed her mother and father, especially since her father came around in this thinking. That was a huge relief. She missed her youngest sister. She couldn't believe how much she has matured over the last six months. She always loved Julie, but since she has changed, they seemed to have grown closer together over the last few days. She missed Charlette too. She grew to love her new mom and valued her. Mostly though, she missed Jack.

Her daily routine was the same as any other day. She worked a full day and when her day at school was finished, she would often visit the café after school. Abagail was always there, and she enjoyed spending time with her. She would go home and finish the day off by grading her student's papers that she needed to wrap up so she could give the papers back to them the next day. She would sketch or just chill out watching a movie. Today however, things were different. She was doing the same activities, but it wasn't the same without Jack. She didn't spend every moment with him but knowing she would see him at some point during the day made things better.

…

"There is my favorite customer." Called out Abagail when Elizabeth walked in and took a seat. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"I will take anything that has a lot of chocolate in it."

"Oh, that bad?" Abagail frowned at her best friend.

"I am missing him, Abagail. How is that possible so soon in a relationship?"

Abagail gave her a hug. With a sympathetic tone she said, "Because it isn't a relationship. This isn't dating to see if you want another date. This is a lifetime story for the both of you. He has become a part of you, and you have become a part of him. That type of commitment is not dictated by time."

Elizabeth offered her sister a half smile. "Yeah. I don't care about the time frame of all of this, I just miss him, and he has only been gone for a few hours on day one. How am I going to make it to one day next week?"

Abagail laughed at her best friend.

"It's not funny, Abagail." Elizabeth huffed.

"Well… ten days ago who would have guessed you would be sitting at your favorite stool complaining that some guy you just meet is away for a few days and you're missing him terribly?"

Elizabeth laughed. "It sounds crazy doesn't it, but it's absolutely true. "She sighed. "I hope he misses me." Her voice trailed off as she finished her statement.

Abagail shook her head. She has talked with Jack after he left Elizabeth at school that morning. He had a few things he wanted to talk to her about. He wanted some help with the honeymoon and wanted Abagail's input on a couple of things. He still wanted the honeymoon to be a surprise, but he needed help. He was just careful not to share too much information. Also, he wanted to do something for Elizabeth, but he needed Abagail's help and guidance. She could see in their brief time together this morning how much this time apart was hurting him.

"I know he is. Elizabeth, he loves you and he will miss you. Now, how about Death By Chocolate?"

"You are the best. Could you bring two spoons, and would you please have a seat with me?"

Mary walked up with two cups of coffee, a plate with a huge piece of chocolate cake, two scoops of vanilla ice cream, and two spoons. She also had a bottle of chocolate syrup she placed beside the plate.

"Abagail, you are the best!"

With that, the ladies dug into the heavenly treat.

…

During the flight, Jack tried to occupy his mind with the cases he needed to hand off and focus on his belongings he needed to pack. Charlette would talk but nothing could force Elizabeth from his mind. The sounds of the airplane's engines were a constant reminder that another mile was added to the distance between him and the love of his life.

"Ma, may I ask you something personal?"

Charlette smiled at her son. That was always a cue for him to continue. He laughed to himself knowing he does the same thing.

"How is it possible that I love Elizabeth so much in such a short period of time?"

She placed a hand on top of his that was sitting on his left leg. He was still looking out the window. He never looked away from the window.

"Jack, love is not a slave to time. There is no time frame that can dictate when you fall in love with someone. I knew instantly with your father. It works that way sometimes, but not always."

"I love her. I want what you and pa had."

"Jack, I need to tell you something and you need to listen to me, ok?"

Jack turned his head and looked into his mother's eyes.

She waited a couple of moments to make sure she had Jack's full attention. He needed to hear her words. "You don't need what your pa and I had. Our marriage was perfect for us, but that is our relationship, not yours. You may want the type of marriage we had, but your marriage with Elizabeth will be your marriage with her, not my marriage with your father. You need to make your marriage yours, son. You love her how she needs to be loved and she will love you the way you need to be loved."

"I just want that type of marriage. You and pa were so happy. You two loved each other."

"We did. He wasn't a perfect man, and we had our disagreements, but love was always first. Even in the middle of our disagreements and I could have strangled him, I still loved him. When I was being unreasonable, he still loved me."

"I never knew you two argued." He stated a little shocked and confused.

She shook her head slightly. "Jack, I loved your father more than a woman should love a man, but we did have our arguments, but we loved each other more. Parents hide those disagreements from their young children. They were not major arguments, but we did have them. We talked through them and loved each other in them."

Jack was hanging on every word. He honestly never knew they had arguments.

"Besides" Charlette had a huge smile on her face knowing this statement would blow her oldest son away. She leaned in to tell him. "The best part about arguing is making up after." Her devilish grin gracing her face.

"Ma! Don't say that." He winced and placed his hands over his ears. Oh, my ears hurt now!"

"Son, quit being a baby. Intimacy is an important aspect of marriage, and it was no different for your father and me."

"Ma! Stop it!"

Charlette laughed at his antics. "Jack, you are a twenty seven year old man. Act like it."

Jack was sitting there with his hands over his ears with a terrified look on his face. He finally placed his hands on his lap, but his face remained red from embarrassment.

"Speaking of intimacy, how is that going?"

Jack was shocked at her comment. He had never had this type of conversation with his mother. Sure, she told him about the birds and the bees, but never like this.

"Ma, we haven't completely shared that aspect of our relationship. We want to wait until marriage to share that part."

Charlette was a little surprised at her son's statement. She knew he didn't date, but Elizabeth and him were very close. She just assumed they have been togther.

"You two haven't?"

"No. We haven't. Why would you ask that?"

"You two are very close and you have spent a night or two together, I just assumed."

"That's what you get for assuming."

"Alright, Mr. Sassy."

For an hour, Jack and his mother talked about intimacy. He shared his nervousness about it, and she shared the woman's perspective. She shared the importance of continuing to date her and woo her. "Jack, you should never stop dating your wife." Was a statement that stuck with him throughout the conversation.

Charlette shared everything with Jack. She didn't hold back anything. She shared the importance of intimacy, but that intimacy will be different for Elizabeth and him. "Jack don't listen to what other people will tell you about how frequent intimacy should be. That needs to be decided between you two. That will change through time and life's circumstances, but that should always be worked out between you two, not by others and their opinions."

Jack was grateful for this conversation. This was new territory for his mother and his relationship. They never spoke like this, but he was grateful his ma was so forthcoming. He asked questions and she answered them honestly without going into detail about her and her husband's relationship. Jack was grateful for that.

Charlette was grateful for their discussion. Jack was so attentive and asked questions, but most importantly, he paid attention. Their flight passed by so quickly. As they were landing, Charlette said, "Jack, make sure you communicate with her, with everything. Talk about intimacy, talk about finances, discuss how she is doing. Everything should be discussed. When you meet her needs, she will meet your needs." With that, she squeezed his hand.

When Jack met her eyes, he wrapped her in a big hug. "Thank you, ma." She saw the look in his eyes and knew that everything was going to work out with Elizabeth. She also saw the deep gratitude he had for her. Their relationship has always been very close, but now they were in a new area of their relationship and Jack was grateful.

…

Once the plane landed, He noticed the text from Elizabeth. Actually, he had several texts from Elizabeth. He tapped the screen and called her while waiting to deplane.

"Oh, Jack! It's you." Elizabeth answered with Abagail sitting across from her with a spoon full of chocolate cake.

"I miss you, Elizabeth. We just landed and we are waiting to deplane. I had to hear your voice."

"I'm glad you made it safely. It's so great to hear your voice. I miss you!"

They talked for another minute until the line started to move. "Bella, I need to go. We are moving. I will call you later today once I am at the apartment. I love you."

"I love you. Talk to you soon."

Abagail could see that Elizabeth's countenance changed. A small smile covered her face, and a sigh escaped her lips. "He made it and they are deplaning now."

"It will be fine. Hey, why don't you come over tonight and watch a movie with us?"

"Thanks, but I think I want to go home. I'll see you in the morning."

…

Jack walked into his apartment followed by his mother. They made a few stops on the way in to pick up some supplies to pack up his stuff and a few food items. He usually didn't keep food in the apartment because of his travels. He could leave within an hours notice, so it didn't make sense to keep a lot of food at the apartment.

After carrying all of the supplies inside, they got busy in going through Jack's stuff to see what he wanted to pack and what he wanted to give away. He took a picture of the piles of stuff and sent it to Elizabeth. "I just wanted to show you that I have started." While Jack was finishing this task, Charlette began to prepare dinner. Something had been weighing on Charlette's heart and mind since they landed.

"Jack, may I ask you something?"

"Sure, ma. What's on your mind?"

"I was thinking" She began slowly. After taking a deep breath, she continued. "With you and Tom moving to Hope Valley, what do you think if I move there too?"

Jack stood silently for a moment trying to process the information. His silence was beginning to worry Charlette. "I don't have to Jack. I just thought since you all are moving to one place and getting married, you all might need some help when babies starting to come. I would love to be a part of their lives. But I don't have too."

Jack wrapped her in his arms. "Ma, that would be great. We would love to have you around and if or when we have a baby, I would love for you to be a big part of his or her life. This is the best news!"

Charlette took a deep breath of relief. She instantly grew excited at the prospect of grandbabies.

…

Elizabeth walked into her apartment and looked around. She loved her apartment. It was nice and she had it decorated in her style. This was the first time in three years she felt her apartment was empty. It was just different without Jack. She could smell the faint scent of his cologne. She walked into her bedroom and immediately stopped in her doorway. Her eyes were glued on one of the walls. On her wall were two new paintings. One of the paintings was her favorite she painted on their first date. The second painting was Jack's favorite painting. Her painting was on the left and his was on the right. They were beautiful because the paintings were theirs and it reminded her of their first date. That night was perfect. He was so loving, caring, and fun. They enjoyed the activity together but did their own work. She wouldn't have traded a moment of that night for anything.

After looking at the paintings for a few minutes, she finally noticed some supplies laying on her bed. She walked over and notice several cases of colored pencils and a large sketch pad. There was a note laying on top with her name on it in Jack's handwriting. She slowly reached down and picked up the paper. She ran her fingers along the edges and inhaled a long, deep breath. She loved his letters.

My Dearest Bela –

This time apart is going to be difficult. It has only been a few hours and I already miss you. I miss your touch, the way your hair falls across your shoulders, your scent…well, everything. I love you.

Here are some supplies. If you are willing, I have a couple of projects for you. First, I need to decorate my office and then my new office when I take over for Bill. Would you be willing to sketch something for me? I don't care what the scene is as long as it if from you. The second project is that we will need to decorate our place. We need to make it ours. So, if you are willing, would you sketch something for our place?

Once you are done with them, please take them to Steve at Draw-N-Things and he will take care of them. He knows you may be coming in the next few days. Maybe this little project will keep your mind off of me and not missing me too much. Well, I hope you are missing me.

I miss you, sweetheart. Know that you are constantly on my mind and in my heart. I will call you later today. I hope you had fun with Abagail this evening.

With all my love.

Your Future Husband,

Thomas Jack Thorton

Elizabeth thought that Jack made a mistake with Bela. Thinking it was just a simple spelling mistake, she reread the letter two more times. That man sure knows how to love me. After thinking about it for a moment, she decided to look up the name just in case. After a quick google search, she realized the name Bela was Portuguese. With the mystery of the name settled, she was excited about sketching something for their new place and for his office. Thoughts were already overwhelming her mind.

She gathered the supplies and made her way to the kitchen table. She was getting excited about the project. She sat down and gathered her thoughts. First, she would work on the sketch for his office and then she would turn her attention to the one for their new place.

That thought made her wonder where they were going to live. Abagail's apartment would not work. Her apartment was nice, yet a little small, but big enough for them both. If they wanted to start on a family, they would have to upgrade soon. Or they could just begin in a whole new place that was just theirs. That's something we will need to discuss.

She steadily worked on the sketch for Jack's office. She narrowed it down to what she wanted to draw. She went through her normal routine of visualizing what she wanted and drew a small sample on a piece of paper. Then she put pencil to paper working slowly. She wanted it to be perfect.

She looked at her counter and noticed the clock which showed the time was eight o'clock. "Wow, it's been almost four hours since I have been home." She stated out loud to no one. "Oh, he's good. He has kept me busy so I wouldn't dwell on missing him. I have thought about him, but not to the point of missing him." She laughed out loud when she realized what he did.

At that moment, her phone notified her of a skype call. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair hoping to calm down any loose strains of hair. She tapped the screen and noticed the love of her life staring at her.

"Wow! You are absolutely beautiful!" Jack stated with a dimpled smile.

"Jack, I must look like a fright."

"Sweetheart, are you really going to argue how beautiful you look with the man that adores you?"

Elizabeth blushed at Jack's compliment. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. Ma and I just finished dinner. We will start packing some things tonight. I've already been through everything and began picking out things I want to keep and things I will donate to a charity."

"Wow! You have been busy." She took a deep breath. "Jack, where do you want to live when we are married?"

"I've been thinking about that. Do you have any ideas?"

She thought for a moment, "Abagail's apartment won't work. We could either do my apartment or look for a house, but that may take some time."

"True. What do you think about me moving into your apartment and then we will look into buying or building a home after our honeymoon or a little later?"

"I think we could be comfortable in my apartment and then at some point look into the later option."

"Would you mind sharing your apartment with me?" He started to tease her.

"Jack" she said slowly exhaling a breath. "As long as you don't snore." She giggled.

"I don't snore. You, however, do snore and I love it."

"Thomas Jack Thorton, I…Do…Not…Snore!"

Both Elizabeth and Jack needed this little banter back and forth. This calmed them. They enjoyed their times together, no matter what they were doing. They loved the limited physical contact they have. Their kisses were better than they ever imagined it could be. They loved their talks and walks in the park, and they loved their banter, their sass towards each other. Their time together was priceless, no matter the activity.

"I thought you made a mistake with my name until I looked it up. It is so close to Bella."

"It is close but not the same."

"I was going to give you a hard time about the mistake but after checking I realized the difference."

They chatted about a few small things until Jack had to ask about the projects. He was hoping she was ok with doing it.

"Elizabeth, are you ok with working on the projects?"

"Oh, yes. The projects."

"Did you forget about it?"

"No."

"You were so consumed with the name that you forgot, didn't you?" He smirked in the camera.

"I love your nicknames for me. I can't help it." She stated blushing. She really did love the names he had for her. Each one and each time he used them touched her heart and made her feel special.

"So?" Jack asked.

"So…"

"Elizabeth, the projects?"

"Yes. I have been working on the one for your office."

After a few moments of silence, he asks, "Well, are you going to share with me what you're doing?"

"Nope. You will have to be patient and wait." She said giggling. She loved the banter and greatly enjoyed herself when she was one up on him.

"You should know that I am not a patient man." He huffed but she wouldn't relent.

After an hour of talking, they said their goodnights so Elizabeth could prepare for bed. She had to work in the morning. Jack wanted to work for another hour packing and then he needed to rest for work too. After saying good night for the fourth time, they just stared at each other on the phone. They just didn't want to lose that connection. They were missing each other more than they thought they would.

"Jack, would you mind if we stayed on the phone while I lay down and we can just talk? Once I fall asleep, then you can disconnect the call." She pleaded.

Jack's smile gave her his answer. With that, she jumped to her feet and headed toward her bedroom. She left the phone on the bed side table and talked to him while she was in the bathroom changing and finishing up for bed. She came back and laid down on the bed. She plugged her phone into the charger and placed it on the pillow beside her so she could lay down and see him. His smile was comforting to her, and she relaxed in her pillow.

"I love you, Bela." Jack stated after hearing her snoring.

…

The next morning was typical for Elizabeth. She smacked her alarm four times before getting out of bed. She rushed around her apartment dressing and gathering her items for school. She looked around her apartment wondering what changes will occur when Jack moves in. Then she noticed the two framed paintings from their first date. Whatever changes were going to follow, they were going to be good changes. She exhaled a laugh as she closed her door heading to Abagail's.

She stepped through the front door to a smiling Abagail. She had a stone in a bag and a to go coffee cup waiting for her. Abagail laughed as Elizabeth grabbed the bag and cup and ran off without saying a word. She smiled at her friend behind the counter and headed to school.

She walked into the school office to a smiling Ms. Florence. She has become friendlier since Jack has entered her life. She was always nice, but she smiles a lot more now.

"Good morning, Ms. Thatcher. I hope you are doing well today." She said in a little different tone.

"It is a good morning."

"Is Jack back yet?"

"No, Ms. Florence. He left yesterday. He will be back early next week."

"Then you're getting married on Friday and then heading off to a two week honeymoon." She teased a little.

Elizabeth looked at her confused a little. "Wait, Ms. Florence. Do you know where we are going? Jack hasn't told me anything. I don't even know what to pack yet."

"I helped him with getting your time off, but I do not know where you are going."

Not knowing where they are going was driving her crazy. She likes surprises but only when she was doing the surprising. After smiling back at Ms. Florence and wishing her a good day, she headed toward her room with enough time to scarf down her breakfast.

Pulling the scone out of the bag, she noticed the note inside. She was shocked since Jack was back in Oklahoma City. She didn't know who it could be from because Abagail never left her a note. She slowly opened the note and saw Jack's handwriting.

Good morning Bella. I hope you have a great day! Love Jack

"That man is outdoing me in the romantic department. I love it…but I need to step up my game." She said out loud.

…

Jack walked into the Oklahoma City office eager to get his day started. The faster he could get things handed over, the faster he would be on his way back to Hope Valley. He was heading to a meeting with his boss to see who would get what cases. He had an idea who should receive certain cases, but his boss had the final say.

Emma, the receptionist for Jack's department, smiled at him as he approached her for any important notes or messages. This was his normal routine when he arrived back from a case. Emma was about five years older than Jack. They always got along very well together. She took care of Jack when he was gone gathering all the important information he needed when he would get back from working a case somewhere. She would also help him catch up in the first day or two when he was back. She was his lifeline at work.

"Great to see you, Jack. Here are your messages. The most important are on top and on the blue stationary. Everything else will keep for a day or two. So, is it true what I hear?"

Jack smiled at his friend. "It is and I can't wait."

"I would say it's way too fast, but I know you Jack. You wouldn't do this unless you are absolutely certain. This lady must be an incredible woman to, not only capture your heart, but to capture it so quickly."

"Emma, I am the lucky one. She is perfect for me. It's almost like she was made just with me in mind."

"I know the feeling."

Emma has been married for ten years and felt that way about her husband. They were high school sweethearts and married while he was in college.

"Yes, you do. How is Steven?"

"Good."

"Jack, may I ask you a question? It may be a little personal."

"Emma. I don't have any secrets from you. You would ask me anyway if I said no. So, go ahead." He sassed her.

"I know you love this Elizabeth lady, or you wouldn't be quitting and moving to Hope Valley. Is she worth it?"

Her question was not one of disrespect and Jack knew that. She was watching out for him and wanted to make sure Jack's decisions were for his best interest. He loved that about her. She always helped him and took care of him.

"She is worth so much more than what I can give her. I am blessed. I just hope she doesn't know she is marrying down and settling with me."

"Jack, that is great. I am so happy for you. She is not marrying down. You are a great guy, Jack. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you before you leave."

"Well, there is one thing. Are you and Steve still thinking about moving? I can hire a personal assistant when I become police chief and I couldn't think of a better person than you."