Chapter 19

Henry laid on his new bed in his new bedroom. He was grateful for the peace and quiet. In his old home, there were always people coming and going and they weren't quiet. Plus, they looked scary. He looked around the bedroom and knew he was safe. He exhaled a deep breath he didn't know he was holding.

Frank knocked on his door. Once given permission, Abagail and Frank walked in at sat on the edge of his twin bed. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes sir. I can't thank of anything. Thank you for allowing me to stay with you. This is very nice."

"You are more than welcome, young man. We are the last door at the end of the hallway. If you need anything, please come and get us. Ok?"

"I will, I promise. Thank you."

Frank and Abagail both leaned over and kissed him on the top of his head. "Sleep well, young man." Both stated after their kiss.

When they walked out of his bedroom, "Thank you, God." He prayed out loud.

Abagail and Frank heard his short prayer. Abagail leaned against the hallway wall and started to cry. Frank didn't need to ask what was wrong, he already knew what she was thinking. "Yes, if his social worker allows it, we will adopt him if he wants to stay."

Abagail looked into her husband's eyes and smile. She loved that he knew her so well that he didn't have to ask. She gave him a smile and leaned in to kiss him on his cheek. Staying close after the kiss, she said "Thank you."

…

The rest of the ride home was quiet. It went well and each person was grateful for the silence to work through their thoughts of the evening. William thought about the talk Jack and he would have sooner than later. Elizabeth remembered all the times with Officer T and she was thankful she knew him. She rubbed Jack's hand and forearm hoping to give him comfort. Jack thought about his dad for the first twenty minutes, but then his mind went to his pending talk with William. After hearing William's concern with the time frame of their relationship, he knew he had to have an answer for his concern.

They pulled into the hotel and dropped off William and Grace. Jack and Elizabeth helped them to check in and settle into the room before leaving. Once settled, Jack and Elizabeth said their goodbyes and walked quietly to his car.

"Jack, what are you thinking?"

"I am thinking how I am going to talk to your father. I need to know what to say to him when he mentions his concern about how fast this relationship is going."

"Really. You are not thinking about your father and everything that was mentioned tonight?"

"At first, I was. But honestly Bella, I think about you constantly. You are always on my mind. I want to ask your father for his permission, so I am thinking about that. Now, don't get me wrong, I am grateful to know you knew my father. I really am, but right now I need to figure this out with talking with your father."

"I have all the faith in you, Jack. I can't wait to marry you. How soon are you thinking in talking to him?"

"We have plans for breakfast in the morning."

"Wait, I have plans with mother for shopping."

"Yes, I know."

"How do you know? We just planned it a few minutes ago."

"No, you just found out about it a few minutes ago. I planned this with your mother a few days ago."

"You didn't?"

"I absolutely did. I told you Bella, marrying you is important to me. I don't want to wait too long."

She was amazed at his efforts. This was one way he loved her. He thought things out and planned ahead. She didn't question if he loved her, he showed her in everything he did. She was becoming a little overwhelmed with everything. The fact that she knew Jack's father was a little unnerving to her. What were the chances that Jack's father was her father's good friend? She loved Officer T and wanted to travel with her father every time he visited that warehouse just so she could see him. Then, the speed of their relationship was a little scary. She loved Jack and she knew it. He loved her and she knew it.

"Jack, would you please stay with me tonight?"

"Bella, I don't know if that is a good idea."

"I promise not to push limits if you don't. It's been a long, emotionally, and physically draining day."

"It has."

"We can hold and comfort each other while we rest. Please?"

"Bella, you know I can't say no to you, especially when you look at me with those blue eyes."

"It's nice to know I have that power over you."

"You didn't already know?"

Her face reddened with embarrassment. She never had thoughts like this before. "Well, maybe" she flirted.

Jack stopped and pulled her close to him. "Elizabeth, I never felt like this about anyone until now. I love you and I look forward to our marriage and all that entails."

With that, they both leaned in and kissed each other tenderly on the lips.

…

William and Grace settled into their hotel room. Grace looked at a stunned William. "This had been a strange evening."

"It has."

"Who could have ever imagined that my daughter is dating a friend's son?"

"I couldn't have ever guessed it. You always like Officer T and Elizabeth loved him. I remember she used to beg to go with you so she could see him."

"I know. She was always wanting to go when she thought I would see him."

Grace thought for a few moments. "You know she loves him, don't you?"

William laughed. "You would have to be blind to not see it. She looks at him like you used to look at me at that age."

"Used to?"

"Still do, love. What do you think?"

Grace smiled, "She loves him completely I wouldn't be surprised if they are married very soon, and if he is true to what I met tonight, I have no problem with it."

"But Grace, don't you believe they are moving too fast here? They have known each other for almost a week. How can they be so in love and ready to be married? There are so many things they don't know about each other."

"Dear, I loved you the first day we met. I knew that day in the quad at college I was going to marry you."

William laughed at the memory." I knew too. You were so beautiful leaning against that tree with the biology book in your lap studying. I had to find a way to talk to you."

"Is that why you trip over my foot?"

William blushed at his secret coming to light. "Yes, that was the only thing I could think of getting your attention. I was desperate for you to notice me. You wouldn't look in my direction."

"Dear, what you didn't realize was that you already had my attention. You in those jeans with a button up shirt with your sleeves rolled up was very attractive."

"What, you noticed me before I tripped over your foot?"

"Oh William, when I saw you coming in my direction didn't you see me stretch out my leg?"

He laughed. "No, I didn't. Not only were you beautiful, but you were also great to talk with. I knew I wanted another conversation with you."

"Me too. Now, what do you think about Jack and Elizabeth?"

"We are scheduled to have breakfast in the morning. I'm sure he will want to talk to me about something."

"I know. Jack called me a few days ago and arranged everything."

"Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"Dear, it wasn't my story to tell. What are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure. I like him. I really do. But I still believe this is going too fast."

"Love, we were married in less than a year of meeting. We were engaged in a few months from meeting each other. And the only reason we waited so long to get married was to finish out the school term."

"I know, dear. But it wasn't a week."

"William, I think you need to hear him out, plus, they are a little older than we were."

…

Elizabeth led Jack up the sidewalk and into her apartment. "Jack, would you like some tea?"

"I don't think so. I am tired, I don't think I will have any trouble going to sleep. I can sleep on the couch."

"You are not sleeping on the couch. You are staying with me, in my bed but just sleep." She smirked at him.

"Yes, Ms. Thatcher." Jack smirked back at her.

She tossed him a pair of new athletic shorts she bought him in case he was to stay over again. He went into the bathroom to change, and she changed in her room. She put on a loose pair of shorts and an oversized shirt. Something she slept in often. He came out in the shorts she purchased and no shirt. When she saw him without a shirt for the first time, she was convinced her heart stopped beating. All she could do was stare at him. She looked him up and down like he was a piece of meat for sale. She greatly enjoyed what she was looking at.

For Jack, it wasn't much different. He thought she was gorgeous. She glowed in her baggy shorts and shirt. Her hair was in a loose ponytail, and it was hanging over her left shoulder. His breath caught in his chest and all he could do was stare at her. Neither spoke. Instead, they just admired the other. Finally, she walked over to her bed and pulled back the blanket and sheets. She crawled in and patted the side of the bed beside her.

Without saying a word, he walked to the other side of the bed and crawled in and scooted over to her. She leaned into him with her back to his chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist. She reached and held his hand and pulled him closer. He kissed her shoulder, and he noticed her shiver. He smiled that his touch could do that. He kissed it one more time but quickly realized he couldn't do that again. He was about to lose control over such a simple touch.

He laid his head down on the pillow and took a deep breath. She scooted a little closer and took her own deep breath. Both of them wanted to give into their natural desires, but they also wanted to wait until their wedding night to fulfill their relationship. It was a battle they were both fighting but didn't know how much the other person was struggling.

"Jack"

"Yes, Bella."

"Good night, Dimples."

"Good night, Bella."

After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. "Jack"

"Yes"

"Not too long, ok?"

"I promise. Not too long." With that, he wrapped his arm around her and placed it on her flat stomach. He pulled her in until they were completely touching from head to toe. They intertwined their legs together to get closer. She reached down and covered his hand with hers. She raised it to her chest and held it there. He tightened his hold on her a little more and sighed. This was going to be a struggle.

…

Elizabeth woke up after a very restful sleep. She loved being in Jack's arms. Neither of them had moved a muscle since they laid down. She felt at home. She was at perfect peace in his embrace. All she could think about was a lifetime of mornings just like this one. She was always a little cold while sleeping but Jack was like a heater. She snuggled a little closer to him and then felt something.

"Jack!"

Jack didn't wake up but shifted slightly.

"Jack!"

Jack woke from his sleep without opening his eyes.

"Jack!"

"Bella." Jack stated with sleep in his voice and eyes still closed.

"Jack, what's that?"

"Huh?"

"Jack, that!" She stated as she reached back and swatted at his hip.

A confused Jack asked, "What…oh." He scooted away from her. "I'm sorry Elizabeth. It's morning. I didn't know. I…um…I…" He stated with complete embarrassment.

"That's ok, Jack." She laughed.

"I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. I didn't…"

She interrupted. "Jack. It's ok." She noticed he wasn't looking at her but was looking down.

She could see his embarrassment. He tried to say something, but he couldn't.

"Jack, it's ok. I know that can happen with men in the mornings."

"How do you know that Elizabeth?" Jack sassed.

She just smiled at his remark. "Just one thing, Jack."

"Yes" He stated without looking at her.

"Promise me we won't wait long." She stated with a slight upward curve of the corners of her mouth.

"I'll do my best."

She leaned in and gave him a kiss on his very, red face. She thought he was cute when he was embarrassed. "Let's get going. You have a breakfast date with my father, and I have a shopping date with my mother."

"Elizabeth, can we stay here for a few more minutes and just hold each other. I have a funny feeling that today will be a busy day. I just want to start it off with you in my arms for a few minutes."

She settled back on her side, and he wrapped his arms around her. She placed her head just under his chin and rested it against his chest. "Dimples, I believe this is the best idea you have ever come up with."
…

Grace answered the door when Jack and Elizabeth knocked. She smiled and then hugged her daughter and then Jack. Come in you two and have some coffee before we all head out. William will be a few more minutes until he is ready to go.

Jack declined the coffee. He was already too anxious to drink coffee. He sat with his knee bouncing up and down. Elizabeth calmly reached over and place her hand on his bouncing knee. She offered him a smile and he relaxed at her touch.

After a few minutes of small talk, William walked into the living area of the suite. "Let's go Jack. I'm a little hungry this morning and I believe you want to talk to me about something."

"Yes, sir."

Elizabeth stood to give her father a hug. She whispered in his ear, "Be nice."

Wiliam gave her a questioning smile. "I promise."

Then she hugged Jack. "You'll do fine. Just relax."

Jack gave her a nervous smile. With that, Elizabeth and Grace walked out of the room leaving William and Jack standing in the room by themselves.

…

Bill sat at his desk trying to finish up the paperwork from the previous day's arrest. He answered his phone expecting the state police to arrange a time to pick up James and Jimmy Harvey. To his surprise, Superintendent Johnson, Jack's boss, was on the other end of the phone call. "Superintendent Johnson, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering how the case was going."

"Great Johnson. We made the arrest yesterday. Jack was a great help in solving this. I couldn't have done it without him."

"I hear that a lot about him. He is a special investigator."

"Yes, he is. I'm hoping he will stay here for a good long while."

"Well, that's kind of why I'm calling."

…

Much to her surprise, today was the hardest day for Abagail to go into work. She loves her café and it never seemed like a job to her. She loves what she does. She loves the work and greatly enjoys being around people. That's the best part of the job. She was constantly surrounded by people every day. However, today she did not want to go into work.

She stood in the doorway of Henry's room for about twenty minutes until Frank had to pull her away from her perch. She didn't want to leave. She never experienced this before.

"Sweetheart, I promise he will be here when you get home. We may even come by for lunch."

"Promise?"

"Yes, dear. I promise I won't run off with him today." He sassed.

"Alright, Pastor Funny Man."

"We may go out and do something, but we will come by for lunch. I will also have dinner ready for us when you come home. Deal?"

"Deal. I can't believe how hard it is to leave him."

"Well, that sounds like you are a mother. Wait, what about me?" He laughed.

"Well, do you really want me to answer that question, dear?" She sassed with a smile.

"Go to work woman." He managed to say while laughing. She loved knowing he could cheer her up no matter how sad she was feeling.

"I love you, Frank."

"Yeah…yeah…I love you too."

…

Elizabeth and her mother stepped into the first shop after stopping for pastries and a cup of coffee. They really didn't have anything in mind for the day, just a day of hanging out together.

"Elizabeth, may I ask you a question?"

She nodded in agreement.

"How soon did you know you were in love with Jack, and you wanted to marry him?"

"You know the story. Our first meeting didn't go well at all. The next opportunity he avoided me because I was so mean to him. But then we ran into each other at Abagail's café. She pushed for us to sit with each other and eat and talk. We ended up talking for almost five hours. We didn't even notice when they brought refills or took our plates away. We were in our own world." She blushed at her memory.

"Wow. That's great. Did you know then?"

"Looking back on it, I think I did, but I built my wall as Abagail would say."

"Oh, the Charles Wall?"

"Yes. Was it always that evident?" She laughed.

"Yes, dear. You never had a good poker face."

"I feel in love with Jack very fast. I didn't try too, it just happened. We have so much in common and we get along so well. I know we don't know a lot about our backgrounds, but we get along better than any couple I know. He just knows how to love me and expresses that every time we are together."

"I feel in love your father the day we met. I knew then we would have a life together."

"Wow. That's fast too. I know this with Jack is fast, but I hope you trust me in knowing my heart."

"I do sweetheart. I trust you completely with your life."

"But…"

"No buts dear. I trust you completely."

"What about father?"

"He trusts you too. He's just nervous this is happening way too fast."

"Unlike his courtship?"

"Elizabeth, you are his daughter. It's the father's job to worry about his daughter."

"He needs to trust me."

"He does. That's why there is a war is in his heart. He trusts you, but he is still a father."

Julie joined the shopping group in the next store. Julie was always one for shopping.

"Oh Julie, you won't ever guess what we all found out last night." Said an excited Elizabeth.

"What?"

"We found the son of Officer T."

"Really? How in the world did you by chance do that?"

"Officer T is Jack's father." Answered Grace.

"What? How is that possible?"

The women laughed at Julie's shocked exiression.

"I didn't know him, but I remember Elizabeth talked about him all the time."

"Yes, dear. You were only 2 or maybe three. There is no way you could remember him. I don't believe you met him."

"I didn't, but I remember Elizabeth never allowing me to play with all of those Cinderella dolls he bought her."

"They were special, Julie."

"She caught me playing with one of them one day and she hit me. I think that was the only time you ever hit me."

"Well, I warned you to never touch them. I was so angry with you!"

"Yes you were. I believe I grounded you for a week because you punched your two year old sister."

"Well, she had it coming. I told her not to touch them." Elizabeth laughed at the memory.

Julie mocked rubbing her arm. "Yes, I learned my lesson."

…

Jack and William walked into Abagail's café for breakfast. After taking a table in a corner, he noticed something was off with Abagail as she walked over. She wasn't her bubbly self.

"Abagail, what's up?"

"What do you mean Jack?"

"You seem off. I can tell something is wrong."

"I didn't want to come into work this morning."

"Really? You have always seemed so happy whenever I came in here."

"Well, Henry is staying with us, and I have already fallen in love with him. I just didn't want to leave him this morning."

"Franks with him, correct?"

"Well, yes, but I wanted to be the one to be there."

"Oh" Jack said with a grin. "You have already turned into a mother, haven't you?"

She stared at him for a few moments, but couldn't shake the fact that he was right. "Yeah, maybe."

He just smirked. He knew he was right. "It's ok Abagail. It's natural for that to happen. Plus, you are the most loving person I know, it wouldn't take you very long to fall in love with him."

"How do you know that?" She sassed.

"Abagail, I knew you for ten minutes before I felt like you were my older sister."

She gasped at his words. "Well, I never."

Jack gave her a big smile and a wink. "I love you Abagail. You have a huge heart for people, and you love them unconditionally. Would Elizabeth and I be together if you weren't so pushy in making us eat together for the first time."

"Hey. I don't know if I would use the word pushy. But it worked."

"Yes sis, it worked." He sassed with a wink.

…

"What do you make of your father and Jack's father knowing each other?"

"That was a little eerie. I would have never thought that Officer T was his father. Jack would talk about his dad and say Tom. I just didn't make the connection."

"How could you. I didn't remember his last name. I heard it once or twice, but I knew him as Officer T."

"I use to beg father in letting me go with him when he visited that warehouse so I could join them for lunch."

"I remember. We had plans to invite Office T and his family to stay with us for a weekend. It was scheduled about three weeks after he died. Your father was devastated when he heard about his death."

"So was I. I remember arguing with father about going to the funeral. He didn't want me to go, but I feel like I had too."

"Why?" Questioned her mother.

"I know this sounds weird, but I loved him. He was always so nice to me. He called me Cinderella. He would often bring me a Cinderella doll. He was so kind to me. I was crushed when I heard he passed away. I had to go and say goodbye."

Grace nodded her head in agreement and with a small tear in the corner of her eye. She noticed the same kind of tear in her daughter's eye.

"He was a kind man. I met him two or three times. He was your father's friend. I would dare say best friend. Your father spoke so highly of Officer T. We invited his family over for the weekend so we can meet the whole family and he could meet all of us."

"I didn't know that."

"Your father loved him. Somehow, Officer T had a calming effect on him. He would always be relaxed after talking to him."

Elizabeth smiled. Officer T had the same affect on her as well. Jack has the same effect too.

"Yes, I remember. Do you think you met Jack at the funeral?"

"If I did, I don't remember. Jack said he never left his father's casket the entire evening. I finally convince father to let me walk up and say goodbye to him. I was told that if you touched a dead person, you would never forget them. That was my desire. I didn't want to forget him, so I had to touch him."

"Elizabeth, did you?"

"Yes, mother. I did. I touched the back of his right hand. I always wanted to remember him. Now, I will never forget him because of Jack. I know he is just like his father. Do you know what the greatest thing is?"

Grace gave her an interested look.

"Father said Officer T wanted Jack to marry someone like me. Remember father said that he wanted to arrange our marriage. He gave me his approval to marry his son. That means a lot to me. Jack said it means everything to him."

"I know that means a lot to you my dear."

As they walked into the next door of a shop on the main road, she looked up when she walked in and noticed it was a bridal shop.

"Mother, what are we doing here?"

She looked up and saw Charlette looking through a rack of wedding dresses. When she noticed the door closing, Charlette turned and saw Grace, Julie, and Elizabeth standing there. She also noticed the stunned look on Elizabeth's face. She walked over and hugged Elizabeth and introduced herself to Grace and Julie.

"Hello my dear, I hope you don't mind me being here, but your mother invited me and I couldn't turn this experience down."

"What are we doing here?"

"Well, what do you usually do at a bridal shop?"

Elizabeth smiled, "Well, you usually shop for a wedding dress, but I'm not engaged yet."

Charlette laughed. "Yet is the key word there. It is only a matter of time and I bet the engagement will be the world's shortest engagement."

All the ladies laughed. "Elizabeth, my dear daughter, we need to get an early start on the wedding gown so it will be ready soon. I bet you will want to get married very soon and we need a gown. Plus, Charlette and I will need mother's dresses. We can buy the bridesmaid dresses when we know that details, but the bridal gown is essential they start now. So, let's get this going."

Elizabeth looked at the ladies and smiled while giving them each a huge hug. After hugging Charlette, Elizabeth said to her while still in her embrace, "You will never believe what I am about to tell you."

…

"Mr. Thatcher, please feel free to choose anything on the menu. Everything here is great."

"Jack, relax. You said you wanted to talk to me about something. I am pretty sure I know what you want to talk about. I've learned a long time ago in business not to sugar coat things. Let's just talk with each other, ok?"

"Ok. Not too sure about the relaxing thing." He let out a small laugh.

"Yes, I remember having this talk with Grace's father."

"Mr. Thatcher…"