Hello! :-) I hope you enjoy this latest chapter, and I thank you for all of your very kind reviews and for taking the time to read and review my story. I hope all of the Elizabeth and Lucas fans who are out there are enjoying the stories on this site written about our favorite couple. I am grateful there are such entertaining and well-written Elizabeth and Lucas fanfics to read while we remain "hopeful" they will be together [as they should be! :-)] in Season 8! :-) Again, thank you for your wonderful support. Hope you enjoy the chapter! :-)

Chapter 21

Leaving Elizabeth's house, Lucas saw Rosemary approaching and greeted her.

"Hello," she said. "I was checking to see if Elizabeth had returned. Julie told us you and Elizabeth were going to meet your mother."

"My uncle met my mother which saved us a trip. Elizabeth is inside. I'm heading back to the Queen of Hearts."

"Do you have a minute?"

"Sure."

"First of all, I hope your mother's journey went well."

"It did. Thank you."

"Lee and I are hoping to meet her."

Lucas smiled. "I'm sure you will. My mother will be spending a great deal of time with Elizabeth, so…"

"But we wouldn't want to intrude," she hastily clarified.

"Of course not. There will be opportunities to meet my mother, I'm sure."

"I hope so. This is all so thrilling."

"Yes," Lucas agreed, "it is."

"Speaking of opportunities, I want to mention we need to start planning for the Christmas festival. Christmas is a little more than two months away, as you well know."

"The Christmas festival?"

"Yes. Everyone had such a good time last year we want to do it again."

"I'm sorry, Rosemary. I don't think I have time to devote to a festival. It's a lot of work."

"The town wants to. We have already discussed it because a lot of us talked about it during last year's event. If I could meet with you to get some ideas of how you put it together and what your budget was, I can start forming committees and making plans. We definitely need to have more food, we know that."

"You really want to plan that festival?"

"Yes. Maybe it won't be quite as lavish as what you did, but last year's was so much fun, we want to do something. Everyone had a good time. We can do it. We just need to start and get everything organized."

"All right. We can certainly talk. Come by Gowen Petroleum when you're ready. I think that would be easier."

"Easier than the saloon?" Rosemary questioned. "But we do so much of the work there."

"I know, but I'm spending more time at the office. It'll be fine."

"I'm going to mention this to Elizabeth. Maybe Julie can stay for a while longer and help us, too."

"Sounds good."

"One other thing. Lee, unfortunately, has not been able to obtain a reel for this month's movie night. Do you want to put up a notice that movie night is canceled this month? I feel bad saying that, but we think it's for the best."

Lucas shook his head. "I forgot all about that."

Rosemary laughed. "I thought I was becoming forgetful. You certainly must have a lot going on."

"I do, but thank you. You have given me an idea. Don't say anything about not being able to get a movie. I don't want to cancel. It's one night where most, if not all, of the town gathers. I think this could work. Thank you, Rosemary. If there's nothing else, I need to get back to the saloon."

"That was it. But Lucas, wait. What is your idea?"

"You'll see," was all he said. as he waved and headed off.

Rosemary threw her hands up in the air, walked up the steps, knocked on Elizabeth's door as a courtesy and then let herself in.

"I wasn't expecting you back this soon," Ernie said to Lucas, when he entered the Queen of Hearts a short time later.

Lucas smiled. "I see you've made yourself comfortable behind the bar. How does it feel?"

"Not bad."

Lucas noticed the white towel his uncle had thrown over his shoulder and had to comment. "You look like you've been doing this for years."

"Well, then, what can I get you?"

Lucas leaned against the bar. "You know, I don't think I've actually ordered anything for myself from this side."

"Here," Ernie said and laughed, sliding a small bowl in his direction. "Eat some peanuts. I will get you a beer."

"This is feeling way too cliché for me," Lucas said, but he popped a few into his mouth. "Has my mother been here?"

"Not since you left. I was going to check on her in a little while. Gustave said he is making his signature New England clam chowder especially for your mother, so I wanted to let her know."

"I will tell her. I need to talk to her."

"You're not going to wait for her to approach you when she's ready?"

"My conscience is bothering me, so I will explain my position. If my mother is not ready to talk about it, I will abide by her wishes, but at least I will have made my confession."

"You sound so serious. I don't think it's that bad."

"Well," he said, after swallowing and enjoying a good portion of his cold beer, "I don't think it's good either."

"I suppose."

"I also need to discuss something with you."

Lucas looked around and saw the saloon was rather quiet for late afternoon. Maybe he could talk to his uncle about Elizabeth's idea.

"I'm listening," Ernie said, removing the towel from his shoulder and leaning into his side of the bar.

Lucas took another swig of his beer before he spoke. "I have a feeling this is going to sound strange, and I would totally understand if you said no, but what would you think about taking over as more than just a fill-in host?"

"What are you asking me, son?"

Lucas looked at his uncle. "I know we haven't talked much, actually at all, about what work you may be currently involved in, but would you consider taking over this entire operation? For just a little while until I am able to get things more under control at Gowen Petroleum? I know this is asking a lot, and you've already helped me tremendously, so, of course, I would accept your decision if you were to say no, but in all honesty, you are the only person I would want to take over for me. Rick and Gustave would still be your main go to men, and I expect them to carry the heavy load, but I need someone I trust to…"

"Take care of the Queen of Hearts for you?"

Lucas's eyes grew wide, and Ernie straightened his stance, when they heard Helen's stately voice. Lucas turned in her direction. "Mother, I didn't know…"

"I was here? I could tell. That was a very impassioned speech you made to your uncle."

"I was planning to talk to you, too, but if you weren't ready to hear what I had to say, I would have understood."

"Lucas, you know I will always listen to you."

"Thank you."

"Ernie," Helen said, directing her attention to her brother-in-law as she moved to stand next to Lucas, "what do you think about my son's idea?"

Elizabeth offered Rosemary a seat on the sofa and told her she would see if Julie wanted to join them.

After checking on her son who was sound asleep and taking a moment to glance at the rocking chair and recall with a smile the look of pure joy on Lucas's face that her son had fallen asleep in his arms after she knew she had almost paralyzed him with fear at the thought he would be capable of rocking her son to sleep, she knocked quietly on Julie's door. When she opened it, Elizabeth told her Rosemary was downstairs and would she like to join them. She said she would be down in a few minutes.

"How are you feeling?" Elizabeth asked Rosemary, after sitting down next to her.

"I'm doing okay. Maybe starting to get a bit of morning sickness and not in the morning, unfortunately," Rosemary said with a frown.

"I hope that doesn't last too long. That is not fun."

"It's the first issue I've had; and it's not too bad, so I am not going to complain."

Elizabeth smiled. "You look really good," she said.

"Thank you."

"When do you think you'll feel comfortable enough to start telling people? Not that anyone would suspect. You look the same."

"I feel it," Rosemary said. "I'm glad I can make some of my own designs. I'm going to need them. Lee and I talked about starting to tell people. I know he can't wait to tell Jesse and Bill and his sister Susanna and, of course, I want Clara and Fiona to know. And then there are Florence and Molly."

Elizabeth chuckled. "Well, Molly might be too preoccupied now to spread your news when she hears it."

Rosemary laid her hand on Elizabeth's. "With Lucas's uncle, right? He seems like such a nice man. I'm happy I got to meet him. What a surprise to find out Lucas's uncle is in town."

"I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you. Things have been a bit on the hectic side. But Lucas and I spoke with Molly and Florence just a little while ago. I think she is quite taken with Ernie."

Rosemary nodded. "We saw it, too, at the café, but we didn't want to say anything. Could something really happen between them?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe some companionship for both of them while Ernie is in town? It might be nice."

"It sure would be interesting," Rosemary said, as the two women shared a good-natured laugh.

"But tell me more about you. What does Carson say? Does he think it's okay for you to share your news?"

"He said everything is fine. I have another appointment in a month. Lee and I…we just…you know…we want to be sure everything is all right. This has been quite the most pleasant, not to mention unexpected, surprise and blessing. We had already made the decision to adopt when we found out. The timing just seems so right."

"Because it is," Elizabeth said and squeezed her friend's hand. "You and Lee are going to be wonderful parents, and you would have been if you had adopted which, of course, you can still do at some point if you want."

Rosemary nodded. "We discussed that, too. We'll see how this goes and what might happen down the road. We have definitely not ruled out adoption at some point. I think we will start letting people know soon. We're still not quite ready."

"I understand. I am just so happy for you and Lee. I want you to be able to share your good news. When you're ready, of course."

"Thank you. Now, Elizabeth, you must tell me everything about Lucas's mother. What is she like? Do you like her? Do you think you will work well together? I must know everything!"

"Yes," Julie said, taking a seat next to her sister, "you must tell us everything."

"Well," Ernie said, looking from Helen to Lucas, "let me think about this."

"Of course," Lucas said. "I did not mean for you to give me an answer right away."

"No, it's all right. Your offer sounds intriguing. I do have a couple of business deals I am working on. I'm hoping they can be handled by telegrams and telephone while I am here."

"I have two telephones in my office," Lucas said. "They are always at your disposal."

Ernie grinned. "I noticed that the other day. I'll keep that in mind."

Helen offered Lucas her support. "Ernie, I would like for you to consider Lucas's idea. Obviously, something is going on that is pulling him away from here. We would not want to interfere with your business, of course, but if you could be my son's eyes and ears while he cannot be here, I know that would put his mind at ease so he can concentrate on resolving this other matter."

"I will definitely think about it and let you know."

"Thank you, Uncle Ernie. And I need to say this because it's true. This idea was given to me by Elizabeth."

Ernie looked impressed; Helen surprised.

"Elizabeth?" Helen said.

"Yes. She asked me to consider it. I thought it might be too much to ask of Uncle Ernie, but she told me not to dismiss this idea so easily. When I walked in here and saw how comfortable you already looked, I knew I had to at least ask. Of course, I will understand if you say no, but thank you for at least considering it. I appreciate it."

"Elizabeth is a very wise woman," Ernie said.

"Yes," Lucas agreed, "she is."

"She obviously cares very much about you and your welfare, son," Helen added.

"I know. And that's why I never take anything she suggests lightly or automatically dismiss it. I know she's thinking about me and wants what's best. I struggled with this request only because I know what it is I am asking, but I knew I had to at least give voice to her idea. Whatever decision you make, Uncle Ernie, I'm thankful I listened to Elizabeth. I don't regret that I asked."

"Nor should you," Ernie said. "Let me check a few things on my end, and then I will let you know my decision."

"Thank you."

"Yes, thank you, Ernie. We both appreciate this. And now, son, you need to fill me in on the details."

"Helen Bouchard is a very nice woman," Elizabeth said.

Rosemary sighed and rolled her eyes. "Elizabeth. That description doesn't tell us anything. Come on. We need details. Right, Julie?"

"Yes. I agree. We need details. Spill."

"Helen is very kind and thoughtful. She is also very direct, at least when talking to her son."

"Ooh," Rosemary said, intrigued. "Did something happen between them?"

"No, but she is laying the groundwork for when she helps me with my book. She is a lovely woman, but when she goes into editor mode, she does want things to be a certain way, and she let Lucas know that he is not welcomed while we are working."

"Interesting," Julie said. "Whatever will you two do?"

Rosemary agreed. "What will you do, Elizabeth?"

She scoffed at both of them. "We will be fine. We are not lovesick teenagers. We can handle being separated. For a little while," she quickly clarified.

Rosemary and Julie grinned at each other.

"We'll see how long that lasts," Rosemary said. "But her approach sounds fascinating. Do you think she will be hard to work with if she has all these rules?"

"I don't think so. Lucas's uncle told me Helen is more concerned with outside forces interrupting us than who she is working with. He thinks we will get along fine."

"Meaning her son, of course," Rosemary said, looking at Julie with a knowing smile.

"He is definitely an outside force," Julie agreed.

"Will you two please stop?" Elizabeth said. "This is my suitor and his mother we are talking about. Not to mention my book."

"Of course," Rosemary said, patting Elizabeth's hand. "Lucas won't be a problem. At all."

When the two women grinned; Elizabeth shook her head.

"Okay, okay," Julie said. "We'll be good. Tell us what she looks like. Does she seem aristocratic or is she more the scholarly type?"

"Neither. She is a very attractive woman. She's a little bit shorter than me with very pretty green eyes. Her hair is the same color as Lucas's. She keeps it short. It frames her face which gives her features a soft look. I really like her. She is warm and caring. Very intelligent, too, of course, but not arrogant. I think Lucas is a lot like her but, then again, I haven't met his father so that might not be fair to say. I feel comfortable around her, though, the same way I felt comfortable around Lucas before we started courting. "

"She sounds great," Julie said. "I look forward to meeting her."

"Lee and I do, too."

"I invited her here for tea tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to walk with her from the Queen of Hearts once school lets out. I can bring her to the dress shop, Rosemary, so you and Clara can meet her."

"I would love that. I'm sure Clara would, too. I'll let her know."

Elizabeth nodded. "And Julie? I told Helen I would like her to meet you and Little Jack and Laura, too, so you will meet her tomorrow."

Julie clapped. "That makes me happy."

"Now, you two will be on your best behavior, right?"

"Of course, we will," Rosemary said and huffed. "I'm surprised you would ask such a thing."

"Julie?"

"Yes, of course. We wouldn't want to make a bad impression."

"Not with someone who is this important," Rosemary agreed.

"Good," Elizabeth said, satisfied there would be no reason for her to fret about Lucas's mother meeting her best friend or her sister. "I want everything to go well while Helen is here."

"Because," Julie couldn't help saying with a grin, "you are not thinking of Helen Bouchard as just your editor, are you, dear sister of mine?"

Rosemary knew exactly what Julie was referring to and silently agreed.

"Talk to me, Lucas," Helen said, as she and Lucas sat in the suite.

Lucas explained the situation with Henry, ending with admitting his uncle had stepped in for him when he realized Lucas had not told her about the situation.

"So, you had not asked your uncle to be your quote-unquote fill-in host?"

"No, but I liked the idea when he presented it."

"What were you going to do?"

"I had not made any decisions. I asked Rick, my head bartender, and my chef Gustave who, by the way, is making you his very delicious New England clam chowder, to take on more responsibilities, but beyond that, I was trying to think or find someone I could trust. I thought of Uncle Ernie, but like I said, I knew it was too much to ask of him, especially since he is already helping me with the oil company."

"Lucas, why would you not want your father and me to know about this? Your father could help you. You know this to be true."

"I didn't want either of you to worry. Mother, I want you to be able to focus on Elizabeth and her novel. This book deal is very important to her. I don't want you to concern yourself. This is my problem, and I will handle it. You need to work with Elizabeth. She doesn't need to be thinking about this either."

"Would you have told your father if he had traveled with me instead of your uncle? I know you and Ernie have a special relationship, and I appreciate how close you two are and always have been ever since…"

"Mother, we don't need to talk about that. I don't know if I would have said anything to Father. This is not one of my better moments as the savvy businessman I supposedly am. But the situation would be the same, so I would have had to say something."

"Then why don't you contact him and tell him about this? I'm sure he knows people who can help you get this oil business going in the right direction quickly so you can return here where I know you truly want to be."

"I'll think about it."

"I know when it comes to the types of businesses you are both associated with and maybe because of a couple of the decisions you made in your past, you and your father do not always see eye to eye, but, Lucas, for something like this, he would understand," Helen said. "And your father would want to help."

Lucas nodded even though he was not certain, at all, the words his mother had spoken were true.

"I have something I need to discuss with both of you," Rosemary said, after they had exhausted the topic of Helen Bouchard.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked, grateful Rosemary wanted to change the subject.

"I ran into Lucas as he was leaving, and I told him about this, too. Many of us want to have the Christmas festival again this year."

"Oh, Rosemary," Elizabeth said. "I don't know. I don't think we can ask Lucas to do the festival again. He has too much going on as it is. He didn't agree to do it, did he?"

"I told him we want to put on the Christmas festival. I did ask if I could speak with him so he could tell me how he went about planning the festival and how much work was involved so we would have a starting point, but this would be a town effort. Once I talk with him, we can start forming committees and assigning tasks. I told him we know for sure we need to order more food."

"This sounds like fun," Julie said.

"Would you be around long enough to help us and then, of course, attend?" Rosemary asked Julie.

Elizabeth looked at her sister. "I'm not sure you should count on Julie's help. At some point, you are returning to Hamilton, right?"

Julie sighed. "I suppose."

"Well, even if you are here for only a little while longer, you can still help. And then maybe you can come back when we have the festival," Rosemary suggested brightly.

"I wouldn't mind helping for as long as I'm here, and coming back to attend the festivities sounds like fun."

"Great. I will pencil you in. I'm hoping to talk to Lucas tomorrow, and I will let you know. We have no time to waste."

Elizabeth knew her friend meant well; and if Rosemary said this was going to be a town effort, she believed her, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety for Lucas. She knew he did not need this particular task added to his already overflowing plate. On the other hand, maybe this would give Rosemary and him a chance to grow closer which she longed to see, provided her friend did not burden Lucas more in the process. She wasn't sure, with all he had going on, how much of "Rosemary-On-A-Mission" he could take.

After Lucas and Ernie closed the Queen of Hearts, Ernie poured each of them a nightcap as they sat at one of the tables.

"You have not looked happy all night," Ernie said to his nephew. "It appeared you and your mother had an enjoyable dinner after your talk so what gives?"

"My mother wants me to contact Father to ask for his help with Gowen Petroleum."

"That's not a bad suggestion."

"Isn't it?" Lucas snapped, and then instantly regretted using such a harsh tone.

Ernie didn't take offense, but he answered his nephew honestly.

"No, son, I don't believe it is. I can help you with everything from here, including taking care of this place for you, which I have decided I will gladly do because I know you need someone, but you need people who know what they are doing to help you get the oil business back on track. Fast. If your father knows those types of people, and I'm sure he does, why not ask him to help?"

"And be willing to accept everything that comes along with that help?"

"To meet your goal of getting back here full time? I would say yes."

Lucas shook his head. "I'm not sure I can or want to do that."

Ernie poured them both another shot and downed his before he spoke the words he knew Lucas didn't want to hear but needed to.

"That's your pride talking, son, and you know, sooner or later, you are going to have swallow it and reach out to your father. So why not do it now? If things go the way they seem to be headed for you and Elizabeth, you are going to want your father to be a part of that, right?"

Lucas stared at the amber-colored liquid in his glass. "I haven't given it much thought."

"I don't believe that for a minute," Ernie challenged. "I know your father didn't make things easy for you after Catherine died and then when you turned him down when he wanted to bring you into the family business, things between the two of you became complicated, but you are going to want your father to be in your life, especially if you are with Elizabeth and her son. You know what your father went through waiting for your mother to finally agree to marry him. You and your sister were such blessings to them, Lucas. And then tragedy struck, and I know how much Catherine's death affected all of you, but I don't believe for one second my brother meant to shut you out of his life or his heart. It is not who he is at his core."

"Unfortunate things happened," Lucas said. "And we've never been the same. If you hadn't been there, sacrificing your own happiness for us, I don't know what would have happened. My father became too busy and too distant in order to try to avoid and dull the pain. My mother threw herself into her work which, don't get me wrong, I am thankful she had to distract her, but it wasn't always healthy. You were there. You saw what happened as I got older. My father stopped listening to me. I told him I did not want to be corporate and sit behind a desk, negotiating deals or studying contracts and ledgers and invoices, but he insisted; and when I said no and finally found the courage to leave to make my own way, I knew things would never be the same between us. But I had to leave. I had different expectations for my life than what my father wanted. I am sorry you and Mother were caught in the middle."

"For what it's worth, and I don't know if your mother ever told you, we were proud of you for standing up to your father. He had not been treating you well for a while. We understood that. We knew his life's work wasn't what you wanted, but I guess he couldn't or wouldn't accept that. I think you would have broken your mother's heart if you had gone into the family business. She knew you were not cut from that cloth. But that did not make you any less of a wise businessman or investor in your own right, and I know your father is proud of you for that. You learned the best parts of what you wanted to do from both of us, and you had your mother's grace on you to be different. There was nothing wrong with what you did."

"Except now I have to tell my father I'm in the exact predicament I vowed to him I would never be in."

"This is temporary. You make that clear to him. You tell him you are asking for his help because you don't want to be in this position. If he feels the need to comment on your situation, read what he's written and then dismiss it. He may lash out because he feels it's what he needs to do, but he won't mean it. He will be hurting for you, Lucas, but he may not know the best way to express those feelings. Ultimately, he will want what is best for you. I believe that with everything I am. He's been a bit lost these past years, I am not denying that, but he wants you to succeed and be happy. You are his only son, and he loves you. By your own admission, you are a risk taker. I think you need to take a chance on your father. At this point, son, what do you have to lose?"