Author's Note:

Again, this is still their honeymoon. Same rules apply as the last couple of chapters. I hope you are enjoying this journey.

Chapter 49

Saturday morning began much later than normal for Jack. It was ten before he opened his eyes. Elizabeth was still asleep and cuddled close to Jack. Her hair was tickling his face and he smiled knowing this was going to be an every morning experience for him.

Sometime during the middle of the night, Elizabeth rolled in her sleep and snuggled even closer to Jack. In the process, she woke him up and lite a fire inside of him at the same time. He tried to calm himself knowing it was early but couldn't because she kept snuggling closer and closer.

He gently pulled back her hair off her shoulder and began softly kissing the exposed skin. With his first kiss, he was a goner. He pulled her hair back even further and began to work his kisses further up her neck. He stopped at the back of her head and began to follow her hair line to her ear. Like a few mornings ago, Jack was enjoying himself as Elizabeth did. He was gentle. He slowly kissed her neck until he reached her ear. Instead of going for the ear lobe he paid attention to the area just below her ear. He gently kissed and sucked the soft skin.

When she moaned, he stopped to see if she was awake. She wasn't but she did have a slight smile on her face. Now he understood what she meant by how exciting it was when she did this very thing a couple of days ago.

She rolled over and was now on her back with her head turned toward him. Then, he noticed the spot he found yesterday in the hot tub. When he found the spot, she let out such a loud moan that she was embarrassed. The spot is where the neck meets the chest. It is the little crevice between the collar bone. That little indention below the Adam's apple, along with her ear lobe, were her spots. He loved that he was learning this about his wife.

Instead of waking her up, he wanted to explore just like she did. Gently, he moved down her neck and began to slowly kiss her collar bone, avoiding her new spot. He moved down to her stomach and gently lifted her shirt enough to show her belly. He slowly and intently ran his fingertips over her soft skin. Her muscles contracted a little bit under his touch but didn't wake up.

Eventually, he made his way down her well toned legs. He caressed her thighs and ran his hand over her calves. Her skin was smooth as silk and felt incredible. He gently ran his hand over the top of her feet. She loved when he would gently rub the top of her feet. It was very relaxing to her.

He retraced his path working his way back up her body. He carefully touched and massaged the same areas trying his best not to wake her. She would occasionally moan and flinch, but she didn't wake up. Much like Elizabeth, he found the fact that he could enjoy his wife without waking her to be exhilarating.

When he reached Elizabeth's face, he gently kissed the tip of her nose. He knew she loved that. He slowly kissed his way down her neck and once he arrived at his target, the new spot he found last night, he grinned a mischievous smile and inhaled a long breath. He knew exactly what he was doing. Her skin glowed in the low light from the moon. The second his lips made contact with her new spot, she gasped, and he increased the pressure. Her gasped turned into a loud moan and she reached up to grab the sides of his head and pulled him up to her lips. No words were spoken, only moans and deep, loving looks into each other's eyes.

"Jack…"

"May I make love to my precious wife?"

The mischievous smile gave him his answer.

…

Elizabeth woke up to the sounds of the ocean and the light streaming into the bedroom. They have gotten into the habit of leaving the French doors open for the sounds of the ocean. She rolled over and kissed her husband on the lips and woke him up.

"That wasn't very nice of you this morning."

"What?"

"Waking me up like that."

"You did that the other day."

"Well…that's different." She teased cutting her eyes.

"How so?" He smirked.

"It just is." She huffed.

"Ok. I'm sorry. I will not do that again." With that, he started to roll over and get out of bed.

"Wait…I didn't say that." She quickly stated and reached for his arm. When she pulled him back, she saw the smirk on his face. "Thomas Jack Thorton, why you little…"

He interrupted her with a kiss that quickly turned passionate.

After a little time together and talking about what they wanted their day to go, they decided a lazy day at the beach for some swimming in the ocean and sunbathing. Elizabeth stepped out of the bathroom in a dark blue bikini that literally made Jack stop in his tracks.

"Elizabeth, I'm not sure you should wear that."

"Why?" She asked with her arms outstretched showing him that it wasn't skimpy.

"Huh…"

"What Jack? It's just a bikini. It's not low cut or a bare all. It's nice and modest for a bikini."

"It's not that, Elizabeth."

"Then, what is it?"

"You look stunning, and I will have to keep all the guys away from you today."

"Oh Jack. Stop being so silly."

He shook his head knowing today was not going to be as peaceful as he hoped.

…

Henry was excited about today. Today was baseball sign up day. He always wanted to play, but his father couldn't be bothered enough to take him to practice or games. Frank had been working with him in the yard playing catch and teaching him to throw.

"Frank, do you think I will get good at this?"

"I do, Henry. You are already better than you were a few days ago. Just keep practicing and do what your coach says, and you will be good."

"Thanks Frank."

Henry threw the ball a couple of times and Frank could see that something was on his little boy's mind. Henry loves baseball and Frank was a little surprised he wasn't excited like he normally was when he played ball.

"Henry, what's on your mind."

"Nothing."

"Yeah, would you like to try that again?"

Henry smiled. Frank was a good man. Henry liked him a lot.

"Can we talk?"

"Sure Henry. You never have to ask that question. Let's grab a lemonade and have a seat on the porch."

After sitting down and taking a few sips of their drinks, Frank began. "Ok little man. What's on your mind?"

"Well, I was wondering how long I will be staying here?"

"As long as you want? Why are you asking?"

"I know sometimes a kid can be relocated. Will that happen to me?"

"Abagail and I will do everything we can for that not to happen."

"Like what? I don't want to leave." He pleaded.

"Well, we were going to talk to you about this sometime, but I guess we need to talk about it now. Abagail and I was wondering if you would be ok with us adopting you."

"Does that mean I get to stay forever?"

"Yes. That is exactly what that means. You will have to want too…"

"Oh, I do!" Henry cut him off.

"Well then, we will have to petition the court and see what they say."

"Can we do that now?"

"Well, we can't on a Saturday because they are not open, but we can do this Monday."

"Ok. Let's do that!"

"Are you certain?"

Henry jumped up and hugged Frank in a tight hug. Frank had his answer.

…

Jack and Elizabeth walked to the beach with multiple eyes on them. Jack knew this was going to happen with Elizabeth in a bathing suit. She was drop dead gorgeous. He didn't realize all the woman watching him. He reached for her hand to make sure all the guys knew she was with him, and she did the same thing to show the women he was with her.

When their hands touched, they looked into each other's eyes and after a second busted out laughing. They knew what each was doing.

"Elizabeth, all the men are jealous of me because I have the prettiest woman on the beach with me."

She blushed at his words. "I think all the women are jealous of me because I have the most handsome man on my arm."

"So, you're saying we are blessed."

"Absolutely!"

They found a nice spot on the beach to lay down their towels and a small cooler with water and snacks. They laid in the sun for a little while and then decided to take a swim. They read their books and even napped. For the rest of the day, this was what they did. They were enjoying being with each other and soaking in the atmosphere of the beach.

A few hours later, Jack looked up and noticed Elizabeth was intently looking out at the ocean. He followed her gaze and noticed a boat pulling a person parasailing. She continued to watch the person for a few moments.

"Sweetheart, is that something you would like to do?"

"Yes, but…I'm afraid of heights."

"Would you do it if I was with you?"

"Maybe." She hesitated for a few moments. "Can we watch for a few more minutes?"

Jack reached over and took her hand. He could tell she was a little tense from thinking about it. He thought she would enjoy it if she could get over her fear. He was hoping he could get her to at least try it.

"Elizabeth, why don't we go and ask questions? If you're comfortable with that, we will purchase parasailing for two? If we get on the boat and you just don't want to, we don't have to go for the ride? Even if we start to go up, we can always wave for them to let us back down to the boat?"

Elizabeth thought about it for a few moments and then agreed. She did want to do it. It looked like fun. She wasn't sure if she could get past her fear. "Ok. Let's go and ask."

Jack helped her up and they walked toward the ticket stand. After Elizabeth asked her questions, she felt comfortable enough to get on the boat. There was a jet sky that picked up the riders with a banana float that had hand holds and towed them out to the boat. Once on the boat, her nerves kicked in even stronger. She held Jack's hand even tighter. The man and woman running the boat were very friendly and answered all of her questions again and reassured her it was perfectly safe.

"If the worst case scenario would happen, you would gently fall back to the ocean."

"Fall?"

"Ok…coast." The woman smiled. "You would gently coast back to the ocean."

She thought about it for a few more minutes and agreed. She looked directly at Jack, "You better not let anything happen to me!" She stated pointing her finger at him.

"I will be right beside you the whole time. I promise."

They were hooked into the harness. "Be on the lookout for Old Henrietta."

Elizabeth looked puzzled. Jack asked, "What's an Old Henrietta?"

"Old Henrietta is a huge sea turtle that is usually around this time of day. She is the size of a Volkswagen bug. She has a beautiful design on her shell. You can't miss her."

For some reason, this made Elizabeth anxious to go. She was hoping to see Old Henrietta.

The woman gave them a count down to takeoff. When she hit zero, the boat's engine roared to life, and they took off rather quickly. Elizabeth screamed when her feet left the boat's platform. She started to kick them front to back and tightened her hold on Jack's arm. Jack wanted to scream from the pain but decided to grunt hoping that would relieve some of the pain from her grip.

They reached their six hundred foot ceiling. With a huge grin, he looked over and noticed Elizabeth had her eyes tightly closed. "Sweetheart, open your eyes, we are as high as we are going to get."

She refused to open her eyes. She shook her head side to side. "Sweetheart, you are missing out." He was trying to persuade her to open her eyes and look around.

"Why is it so quiet?" She finally said something.

"I guess we are high enough the sound from boats and people aren't reaching us. Nani, could you let go of the death grip you have on my arm. People are going to think you beat me."

She chuckled and released the death grip, but not letting go entirely. They rode around for a few minutes, and she was becoming more comfortable. She wanted to look, but her eyes just wouldn't open.

"Oh, look. There is Old Henrietta!" Exclaimed Jack.

Elizabeth's eyes shot open wide, and she looked down toward the place Jack was pointing. Old Henrietta was beautiful and huge. "My word, Jack. She is the size of a van."

"I believe you are right."

When Old Henrietta dove out of sight, Elizabeth took a moment and looked around. She never let go of Jack's arm. "Jack, this is beautiful!"

"I agree. It is almost as gorgeous as you are."

She grinned at him. "Silly man!"

The parasailing lasted for about fifteen minutes and Elizabeth loved it after she opened her eyes. She was nervous when they started to descend, but Jack never let go of her hand. Once back on the boat's platform, she was giddy. She explained to the woman about seeing the giant sea turtle and how quiet it was up there. The lady smiled at her excitement.

Jack leaned over and nudged his wife, "Breath sweetheart or you may pass out."

She huffed at his teasing and nudged him back. "Enough from you, Detective Thorton!"

"That's Chief." He corrected her.

"Not yet!" She smirked.

…

When they were back at their chairs on the beach, she leaned toward Jack and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Jack, thank you for encouraging me to overcome my fears and giving me the chance to experience something I will always remember."

"Elizabeth, I was just along for the ride. You were the one who did all the work. You are so brave to face something that scares you and then you overcame it."

"I was able to because of you."

"That's married life, isn't it? You and me against anything and everything. I think we can make it through anything when we are together."

She smiled at his words. "Me and you."

Years later they would look back on that day realizing that was their motto for their life together. Whenever they faced something that was troubling, they would look at each other and say, "me and you."

"Jack, instead of going out tonight to a restaurant, can we just stay in? Maybe order room service or have food delivered? I'm tired."

"Thank you. I was about to suggest that."

They made their way back to the resort and their room at about six thirty. "Sweetheart, what are you thinking about dinner?"

"I'm not sure."

"Why don't you go and take a bath. I will order something, and I will let you know when it is here."

"Will you join me?"

"Sure." He had no intention of joining her in the tub. She was tired and he could see it. She needed the rest. She wasn't in the tub for five minutes before she was asleep. He noticed she was asleep when he brought in two scented candles to help her relax. I guess I will light them anyways. Maybe they will allow her to rest better.

Jack busied himself in the kitchen and living room after he ordered Chinese for them. The restaurant told him it would be delivered in forty five minutes. Jack took the time to clean the kitchen a little and put away all the items from the beach. He changed into some comfortable shorts and a shirt and went to the living room to find a good movie for them to watch.

When he picked the movie, Jack received the text stating the food was on its way and will be there in fifteen minutes. He walked into the bedroom and picked out some comfortable clothes for his bride and walked into the bathroom. He stared at his beautiful wife. She was in a bubble bath with her head resting on a cushion. Her head was slightly tilted to the left and her mouth was open. A soft snore could be heard. He smiled at himself. "That woman has my entire world in the palm of her hand." He softly stated.

He walked up to the tub and sat on the edge. He caressed her hair that had fallen out of the bun she put it up in when she got in the tub. She started to wake up with his touch. Her eyes opened and she saw his smiling face. "That is the best wake up call I have ever had!" She smiled back at him. "Oh…Jack! I'm so sorry for falling asleep. I was hoping you would join me."

"You were asleep as soon as you got comfortable. That's ok Elizabeth. Food will be here in about ten minutes, and I have some clothes for you on the vanity. Here is a towel. Get dried off and dressed and the food should be here." He leaned down and gently kissed the tip of her nose and walked out of the bathroom. She smiled when he kissed her nose. She loved when he did that. It was such a simple gesture, but it meant everything to her. She hoped he would never quit doing that.

She walked out to the living room when she heard the doorbell. Jack jumped to his feet and went to the door with his wallet. She walked into the kitchen to pull some plates but realized Jack already had them sitting on the counter. He walked into the kitchen carrying two plates that were covered with a lid.

"I thought we would cuddle on the couch and watch a movie while we eat our dinner. Is that ok with you?"

"Jack, you read my mind. That sounds perfect!"

She plated the food while he pulled out some tea for them. As she walked into the living room with the food, she noticed the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn cued on the TV ready to play.

"Jack, you like this movie?" She snorted a little.

"I have never seen it, but I am guessing it is your favorite chick flick."

"It is one of them."

"What's the other one?"

"The Notebook."

"Hit the blue button on the remote."

When she did, the screen changed, and The Notebook cued on the screen.

"You can choose one and then we will watch the other one later.

"Jack. This is perfect."

She chose The Notebook first and settled beside Jack with her feet tucked underneath her and began to eat her dinner. When Jack finished his plate, he placed it on the side table and reached for a pillow. He placed it on his lap and patted it encouraging Elizabeth to lay down and put her head on the pillow. When she was comfortable, he placed a small throw blanket over her legs and began to run his fingers through her hair and rub her head. Ever so often, he would feel her begin to cry because of the movie and he would hand her a Kleenex. Before the movie was over, he could hear her softly snoring and knew she was asleep. He reached for the remote and changed it to a sitcom and lowered the sound as not to interrupt Elizabeth's sleeping. He watched two episodes and was starting to get sleepy himself.

After turning off the TV, he gently laid Elizabeth's head on the couch and stood. He bent over and placed one arm behind her knees and the other arm he placed around her back. Gently, he picked her up and took her to bed. She quickly snuggled under the light sheet and settled into her pillow. Once he was ready for bed, he climbed in and snuggled closer to her. She instinctively placed her head on her favorite spot, his chest and neck and then placed her arm around his stomach.

…

Grace and William settled back home quickly. They stayed in Hope Valley for a couple extra days to spend time with Julie and Tom. Viola finally told everyone else about her pending divorce from Lionel.

Grace was earnestly praying for her oldest daughter. She knew Vi was having a difficult time, but she didn't seem too heartbroken over losing Lionel. She seemed troubled most by losing so much of herself and the time with him.

Viola walked into the den of her parent's large house looking for her mother. 'Mother, I am so sorry for all the time I didn't call or come home."

"Sweetheart, don't worry about it. It is in the past. We begin today and work toward tomorrow."

"Thank you, mother. I have learned my lesson. No man would take you away from your family like that. I can't believe I allowed him to do it."

"Often times, things like that happen slowly and before we know it, it is our normal."

"Maybe, but I should have known better."

"Well, you know better now. What are your plans now?"

"I have looked into a few jobs here, but I'm not sure this is where I want to be."

"I understand that. This will always be your home, dear, but you need to do the best for you."

"Would you think Julie and Elizabeth would be ok if I move to Hope Valley or somewhere close by?"

"I'm not sure, dear. You will need to talk with them. Do you think you would be happy there?"

"I think it may be the best situation for me now. I need to get my life together and that begins with a place to have as my own and a job so I can take care of myself."

"That's the strong and stubborn Vi I love." Grace smirked.

"Yeah, I lost that along the way, but I am finding myself again."

"That's great. Continue to regain yourself and you will be fine."

Grace was praying her oldest would begin to live her life her way. Vi was a good person but she was a little head strong at times. She allowed Lionel to take her away from her family and created a huge gap between Vi and her family.

…

Elizabeth woke up to an empty bed. She noticed Jack's covers were cold and knew he has been up for a little while. The sounds of the ocean were relaxing, and it took her a moment to get out of bed. She peaked in the kitchen and living room and Jack wasn't there. She faintly remembered watching The Notebook, but she didn't remember watching the ending. She did notice everything was cleaned. She looked into the bathroom, and he wasn't there. "Where is he off to?" She asked herself. She made her way out to the patio and saw Jack standing in the corner leaning on the railing staring off on the ocean. He was still in the athletic shorts he sleeps in, and he didn't have a shirt on. He didn't notice her. He sipped on his hot tea and sighed.

"I hope that's a good sigh?"

"Good morning, Nani. It was. I'm just enjoying the morning breeze. Did you sleep well?"

"I did. I missed my husband this morning."

Jack smiled at her and looked back over the ocean.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep on you last night."

"Don't be sorry, you were tired and needed the sleep."

"Did you watch the ending of the movie?"

"No. Once you began snoring, I changed to a sitcom."

"Jack Thorton. I…Do…Not…Snore…!"

Jack smiled at her refusal to accept the fact she snores. He didn't know why she was so adamant about that.

"My mistake, Nani." He smiled at his beautiful, but a little strange, bride.

"Why are you out here? Are you upset with me?"

Jack looked at her very confused. "Why would I be upset with you? You have done nothing wrong."

"Well…I feel asleep last night."

"Elizabeth, why would I be upset because you feel asleep last night?"

"Well…last night was the first night since we have been married that we haven't made love." She whispered her statement. Not out of embarrassment, but because she felt bad for letting him down.

"Elizabeth, I am not upset because you fell asleep early. We don't have to make love every single day. Now, don't get me wrong, I love that aspect of our life, but Elizabeth, that isn't the most important aspect of our relationship."

She smiled at his response. "I know it's not the most important part of our life, but Jack, I rather like that part of our relationship."

"Me too, Nani, but don't think I expect that every single day."

"Jack, I wouldn't mind if it was."

"Me either, Nani. But let's be realistic, we can't expect to make love every day."

"I know we haven't talked about it too much, but I would hope our sex life would be very active." Now she blushed at the embarrassment of the topic.

"Elizabeth, I hope our intimate life would be active too, but not because it's physically pleasurable. It is, but the most important part of our intimate life is because it's you. You are the one who makes it incredible. I don't think an active intimate life means having sex a certain number of times in a given time frame. I don't want that type of intimacy. I want the type where we desire each other, and we are allowed to act on that desire. No matter how often or infrequent the number is."

"I completely agree. Can we make our love making a priority in our relationship?"

"I would love that. We will make it a priority along with the other things that are important." Jack gave her a smile and a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Sounds like we are going to have a great marriage."

"I agree. Now, why are you out here alone on your honeymoon?"

"Well, my fabulous bride is not a morning person and I wanted to soak up the beauty of the morning breeze and sounds."

"Sounds perfect. Now, why don't you come back to bed?"

"Why?"

"So I can show you what I had in mind if you were still in bed when I woke up." She flirted.

…

"Adam, what do you have planned for the day?"

"Pastor Frank asked if I could help with a small project this afternoon for about an hour or two. Why? Do you have something you would like to do?" Adam asked when they were finishing their breakfast.

"I need to look for housing. Frank and Abagail have been gracious in allowing me to stay with them, but I need to find something for me.

"What are you thinking? An apartment or a house?"

"Well, it doesn't matter right now. I just need to get here. Eventually, I will want my own house, something a little bit on the smaller side but big enough for grandkids…eventually."

"That sounds perfect. So, renting something and then something else?"

"Yes." She looked at him suspiciously. "What do you have in mind?"

"Nothing dear."

Adam and Charlette have been getting alone very well since their decision to date. They were finding themselves falling in love with each other but neither one was willing to share that bit of information quite yet.

…

"Tom! Hey Tom!"

"Yes Jules."

"Jack and Elizabeth will be back in a week. What if we are married the following week or two? That would give us time to get the wedding planned and the house will be ready soon after. It will be ready by the time we get back from our honeymoon."

Tom thought about it for a minute. "Plus, my new job will start in four weeks. That will allow us time to plan a wedding, enjoy a honeymoon and get moved in before my work begins. We can take a few days to organize the house."

"Yes, then I can find a part time job and finish all the paperwork for me to enroll in college."

"Well then, I think we have set our wedding date in two weeks."

Tom's smile grew. "I look forward to it.