Hello! :-) I begin this author's note with a couple of caveats. The first one is Google is my friend. :-) In order to write Helen's part of this story, I relied heavily on my Google search, so I hope it reads okay. If not, blame Google. Just kidding! Blame this author. :-) But I hope what I wrote makes sense. :-) My second caveat is writing this chapter has now made me a concerned E&L fan as far as them becoming a couple on the show. Watching the episode where Lucas is reading Elizabeth's chapters and asks her about Luther [one of my favorite scenes :-)] and then the follow-up scene at the mercantile where he's looking for humble pie made me realize Elizabeth's novel seems to be about a blended family. Is that foreshadowing? :-( I had not let myself think about that before because I enjoyed E&L so much in those scenes, but since I wanted to refer to her characters in my story, I wanted to make sure I remembered correctly about her characters in the book she was writing, and that thought hit me. Okay! I won't think about it. :-) Elizabeth did tell Lucas it was just fiction, so there's that. :-)

As always, I appreciate very much the kind reviews, faves, follows and the viewings of everyone who is taking the time to check out this story! Your response amazes me, and I am very grateful. :-) I hope you enjoy the chapter as this E&L fan tries to remain hopeful! :-)

Chapter 24

"Do you have time for a cup of coffee before heading out?" Ernie asked Lucas the next morning, when he entered the main area of the saloon.

"Sure. That would be nice."

Ernie poured the coffee; Lucas carried the cups to a table where they both sat.

"I assume everything went well at Elizabeth's?"

"It did. I think she and Mother will be fine."

"Good."

"I did pitch an idea to them that I would like to mention to you."

"What's that?"

"We usually have movie night here in the saloon once a month where most of the town gathers. Rosemary told me Lee has been unable to obtain a film, so I thought maybe we would use that time to fill people in on what's been happening, and one announcement would be that you are stepping in to run the Queen of Hearts. What do you think?"

"Do you think it's really necessary?"

"I do. I won't be as visible here, and I would like my friends and patrons to know why. It would also give me a chance to introduce you as my uncle, which would give me great pleasure."

Ernie smiled at his nephew's graciousness. "It's fine with me if that's what you want to do. What other news are you sharing?"

Lucas smiled happily. "We are going to let them know about Elizabeth's book deal. She has not told many people and now with Mother in town, we can make that official. We are also going to formally announce our courtship. We suspect most people know and you know how word of mouth goes but, I have to admit, I will thoroughly treasure the moment when we say it publicly. Elizabeth wants me to be next to her when she talks about her book. I am very happy and honored to be able to be there for and with her."

"That all sounds great. It will be a celebration of sorts."

"Yes, exactly. This is happening on Friday evening, so we have time to rearrange the tables and chairs. We need to talk to Gustave and Rick. I would like an assortment of appetizers and drinks to be available. We will have music and dancing, too. We also need an area for the children with some games."

"This will be quite some party."

"It will be low key compared to some we've had, but I do want people to enjoy themselves, especially since they won't be seeing a movie which is why they are coming. And," Lucas added, with a twinkle in his eyes, "maybe you can ask a certain lady to dance?"

Ernie looked at the coffee in his cup. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do. I heard you met Molly Sullivan."

Ernie looked up. "You did? From who?"

"Molly."

"Oh," he said and then drank from his cup. "I see."

"Well," Lucas said, "what do you think? She seems quite taken with you. Of course, Elizabeth had to point that out to me, but still…"

"Elizabeth knows, too?"

"We were together when we saw Molly and Florence."

"Oh, my. This town does have word of mouth, doesn't it?"

"I told you. But this is a good thing, right?"

"I did enjoy meeting her," Ernie admitted.

"So, hopefully, you will get to converse with her more on Friday night and maybe share a dance or two?"

"Maybe," Ernie said, beginning to warm to the idea. "She does seem like a lovely woman. That wavy red hair is very becoming on her."

Lucas smiled. "It would be nice to see you have some fun, Uncle Ernie."

He looked a bit contrite. "I guess it has been a long time."

"Too long," Lucas agreed. "On Friday night, that all changes."

"I look forward to it," he said, because it was true.

"Good. One more thing before I head out. Fiona and Mike are having their first dinner here tonight. Please ask Gustave to create one of his delicious signature dishes for them and could you please choose the most appropriate bottle of wine to go with that meal? I want their evening to be special."

"Of course. I will take care of everything."

"Thank you, Uncle Ernie. You don't know how happy I am you have decided to run this place."

"I think I do, although I'm not sure how much I will be doing. You still seem to have your hands in everything that's going on."

"For right now, but I will let go of the reins. I trust you, and I have a lot of work to do. I will step away completely. Soon."

"Well, I don't know that I want you to step away completely because I am going to need your guidance here and there, but I do want you to tell me you sent that wire to your father and are just waiting to hear from him. That would make me feel so much better about all of this."

Lucas finished his coffee before he answered. Ernie waited patiently for his response.

"I haven't sent it yet," Lucas admitted, toying with his coffee cup and not looking at his uncle,"but I will. Today. I promise. I'm struggling to find the right words to make my father understand."

"Lucas, you don't need to find the right words. You need to tell your father the truth about this situation. That's all he needs to know."

Lucas nodded and rose from his chair. "You're right. I'm heading to the office. I will get that telegram sent this morning."

Ernie stood, too. "It's going to be okay, son. Think of it as much-needed help being sent your way. However your father responds, the bottom line is if he can help you, he will. I believe in him, and I believe in you."

As Lucas sat behind his desk a short time later, he wished he could talk to Elizabeth about what to tell his father. Even though, by his choice, they had not discussed his strained relationship with his father, he knew if he explained at least this part of the situation, she would have the right words and the right tone. Frustration set in as he stared at the blank piece of paper. Why was this so difficult?

Come on, Bouchard, you can do this. You know what needs to be said now write it.

He finally managed to pen something he thought might appease his father while asking for assistance; and without saying why, he told Hickam he was heading to the Mercantile before he changed his mind.

After he had distributed the town meeting flyers Clara had given him, Jesse peeked inside the dress shop window and when he didn't see Rosemary, he entered with a small bouquet of flowers behind his back and greeted his wife who was decorating a mannequin.

"Jesse!" she said, happy to see him. "This is a nice surprise. Thank you for putting up the notices for Rosemary and me, but um, what do you have behind your back?"

He stood in front of his wife and presented her with the bouquet. "Happy Two-Month Anniversary, sweetheart."

Her smile reached her eyes as she looked lovingly at her husband and then inhaled the scent of the fragrant blossoms. "You remembered! How sweet. Thank you!"

"Of course I remembered," he said, following her as she looked for a vase or a container to put the flowers in. "Marrying you was the happiest day of my life."

She turned to look at him and gave him an adoring smile. "It was a wonderful day. You make me so happy. I didn't want to make a big deal at breakfast in case it had slipped your mind, but this is so thoughtful of you. I love you, Jesse. These have been the best two months. I love being married to you."

"I feel the same way, and I love being married to you, too," he said, gathering her into his arms and kissing her, thankful no one else was there so he could show affection for his beautiful bride.

"I could get used to this," Clara said and grinned.

"What if we celebrate by having dinner at the saloon tonight?"

"Honey, I would love that. Yes. Let's. I can't wait."

"Me either," he said, reluctantly releasing her and heading for the door. "I have to get back to the office since I've been away for a while, but I'm counting the hours until I see you again."

"Me, too. I love you."

"I love you, too."

He returned for one more passionate kiss and then said he really had to go. Clara smiled, nodded, waved goodbye and then sighed happily as she returned to her decorating duties while humming a tune and thinking about how blessed she was.

After Lucas sent the telegram, he tried to tell himself everything would be all right as he left the Mercantile. He ran into Rosemary who was heading up the steps.

"Lucas! I'm glad you're here. I have one more thing to ask you."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Did you see the flyers?"

"No, sorry. What flyers?"

"For tomorrow night's meeting about the festival."

"Oh, wow. You are moving fast."

"We have to. There is so much to do and not much time to do it. Is it okay if we take over the saloon from seven until nine?"

"Sure. I guess so. I'll let my unc…I mean, I'll take care of everything. Seven to nine tomorrow night. The saloon is yours."

"Thank you. If you could have coffee and tea available, that would be great. We will provide the desserts. You'll be there, right? I know there are going to be questions. You will be the best person to answer them. I promise I won't keep asking you for help, but if you could be there, that would be fantastic."

"Of course. I will be there."

"Thank you. As you see people, spread the word. We need a good turnout to make this work."

"Okay, Rosemary," he said, as he continued down the steps while she climbed them. "Will do."

Lucas made a mental note to tell his uncle about this event, too.

Nathan returned to the jail after completing his early afternoon rounds and heard the telephone ringing. He picked up the receiver and said "hello" before taking a seat behind his desk. Florence informed him he had a call from Seattle, Washington. Nathan told her to put the call through. She stayed on the line until she heard the woman's voice greet Nathan and heard his return greeting.

"Francine?" he asked, once he knew the line was clear.

"Yes, Nathan. It's me. How are you?"

"I'm doing okay. How are you?"

"I'm well. Thank you so much for writing and giving me this phone number. It's good to hear your voice."

"Same here. I wasn't sure if you had a telephone, but I thought this would be an easier way to communicate. I was surprised, but happy, to receive your letter."

"I know it's been a long time. I apologize for not keeping in touch or being there for you and Allie after Colleen died. I was relieved to read you are Allie's legal guardian. I know that's what your sister wanted."

"Yes. It's worked out well, even though we've had to move around quite a bit because of my occupation."

"You wrote you are settled in Hope Valley? How is it? Does Allie like it?"

"She does. I like it, too, for the most part."

"I would like to visit you and your niece. Is that still possible?"

"Ye…yes…yes, it is. Do you know when…when you'd like to come?"

"How about Thursday?"

"Thursday?" Nathan repeated, his brow furrowed. "Like in this...this Thursday?"

She laughed, and Nathan found himself smiling. She sounded the same as he remembered, soft spoken with a melodious laugh. He was sure she thought the same about him. Still tongue-tied around women. Especially women he liked.

"Yes. I have a few days off from work, so I thought I'd make a trip there, if that's okay."

"Um…sure. Sure. That would…Thursday…..Thursday would work."

"Great. I will make the arrangements and see you in Hope Valley some time Thursday afternoon."

"Okay. I'll let Allie know. She is very excited about this. We will meet you at the stagecoach depot in Hope Valley."

"Sounds good. Nathan?"

"Yes?"

"I'm really looking forward to seeing you. Thank you for allowing me to visit you and Allie. I can't wait."

After another distracting day in the classroom which she knew could not continue, Elizabeth picked up her basket which included her manuscript and Helen's notes and headed for the saloon to walk with Lucas's mother to the library. She stopped in front of the library when she saw Helen standing there.

"Hello," Elizabeth said, stepping onto the platform. "I was heading to the saloon to pick you up."

"Hello, dear. I wanted to walk around for a bit, and I remembered where the library was from the tour you and Lucas gave me last evening, so I decided to wait for you here. I figured you had to pass this way to get to the Queen of Hearts. I trust your day went well."

"It did. And yours?"

"Fine."

"Let's go inside," Elizabeth said, opening the door to allow Helen to enter.

Once inside, Elizabeth locked the door so they would not be disturbed. After retrieving her manuscript and Helen's notes, along with paper and pen, she set her basket down on the floor underneath the main table and then removed her coat and placed it on a nearby chair.

"You didn't feel chilled?" Elizabeth asked, noticing her outfit.

Helen wore a pale pink blouse with a matching colored skirt. The blouse was covered by a cream-colored short-waist jacket with buttons, but she did not have a coat.

"I'm fine."

"I'm already starting to feel the cold," Elizabeth said, as they sat next to each other at the table. "I do believe winter will be here soon."

Helen smiled and nodded. "I didn't feel too cold, but I am glad I packed warmly for this trip. How is Little Jack?"

Elizabeth smiled. "He's fine. Laura and my sister are with him."

"I won't keep you here too long, but I would like us to get started on those first two chapters so we get a sense of how we want to approach this."

"Of course. I have everything right here. I read the chapters again and reviewed your notes."

"What did you think? Do you agree with the areas I identified where your writing could be stronger and more concise?"

Elizabeth hesitated before she responded. "I think so, but to be honest, I'm not really sure I know what you are suggesting. I'm sorry. This is all new to me."

Helen smiled and patted Elizabeth's hand. "This is why we work together. Tell me what you don't understand, and I will explain. Then we can decide if you agree with the changes I am recommending or if there is another angle you want me to explore that you believe works better."

"Okay. I guess one of my questions, based on your notes, is whether I have written my protagonist well enough in the first chapter. The way I read your comment is that you liked the first part of the chapter but maybe not the second part or how I ended it? Does that mean a total rewrite of the second part is needed? I'm sorry. I guess I'm confused."

"First of all, do not apologize. This is what we work on. My suggestion is based on the fact the beginning of your story is excellent. You jump right into the action, drawing in your readers so they are learning about your protagonist. You describe what is happening to your heroine well and the dialog flows, but then you slow down the pace by using more description and less verbs. Your writing becomes passive rather than active. Unfortunately, your readers could lose interest at that point if they are not invested enough in your protagonist, and that is what we want to avoid. The second part of your chapter gets bogged down by too much detail and not enough action.

"Your audience needs to remain engaged with your heroine and what is happening to her throughout the first chapter and also when you introduce your hero and when you set up the first conflict so you have your hook to make them want to read the next chapters to find out what happens and what other conflicts and obstacles Elsa and Luther may encounter along the way. Your readers should want to know how they resolve these conflicts and overcome these obstacles and how this all eventually ends. Your first two chapters, at least, should have your readers involved in the lives of your main characters, and any secondary characters you choose to include, such as the children, and then you can take a step back and begin to use more description and flashbacks to develop their backstories and flesh out the characters more, especially your protagonist and then, of course, your antagonist. That was my other suggestion. Did you see that note and the suggested rewrites I gave you?"

"I did," Elizabeth said, sounding a bit discouraged. "I just wasn't sure I knew how to incorporate them."

"Feel free to use any of my editing suggestions but write them in your voice. You have a very loud, and I mean that in the best possible way, and passionate writing voice. I enjoyed hearing it while reading most of your book, but it needs to be there consistently. In certain areas of your novel, you back away from letting the reader hear your voice, such as the second part of the first chapter, and your story suffers. If you review the first part of what you wrote, I believe you will find a way to make the second half flow just as well; and then you will have an excellent first chapter that will drive the rest of the story which, again, reads quite well in most places."

"I will take another look at the first chapter and make the necessary changes."

"Do the same for the second chapter with my suggestions. I think once you look at those first two chapters and see where you can engage your readers better while revealing more of your voice, you will begin to understand what I am looking for in you as an author."

"I will do that."

"Do you have any other questions or areas you want to discuss?"

"No," Elizabeth said, starting to feel drained.

She wasn't sure what she had imagined this process would be like, but she knew she had been tested in the craft of novel writing. And had failed.

"I have my assignment," she said, knowing she sounded like one of her students.

She felt like one of them, too.

"I will review your notes and work on these two chapters tonight. I want to improve my writing and my story. I will have two new chapters for you by tomorrow."

Helen sensed Elizabeth's anxiety and wanted to reassure her.

"Elizabeth, please take heed of what I am about to say. Your book is excellent, and you are a very talented first-time novelist with a bright future as a published author. What I am recommending in terms of edits is not out of the ordinary for a first-time author. In fact, it is not major at all compared to some manuscripts I have worked on where we basically have rewritten the book. Branson Publishing would not have offered you this contract nor sent you an advance if they did not believe your book was good enough to publish. They would not have agreed to let me be your editor if they did not believe in the product. In you. Take a step back. Put the manuscript aside for tonight. Look at it and my notes tomorrow or even the day after.

"When I was walking around, I noticed a flyer for a town meeting tomorrow night. Something about a Christmas festival being planned. Attend that meeting, Elizabeth. We can meet again on Thursday. You will have time to rework parts of those first two chapters, not do a complete rewrite, maybe just garner some fresh ideas we can review, and then after we meet again, I know you will have a better idea of where more editing is needed, and I believe you will understand the process and use it to your benefit. I sense you are a bit overwhelmed, and I understand that. But don't burden yourself with this because your writing is good. Very good. And we want to make it the absolute best it can be. Does that make sense?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, it does. Thank you, Helen. I will take a step back. I made the mistake of reading my manuscript before we met yesterday and doing so caused me some anxiety because I started to think the whole book needed to be rewritten. When you pointed out the weakness in my writing in the very first chapter, that alarmed me. My fear that my writing isn't good enough overtook me."

"Let me assure you your book does not need to be rewritten, so do not spend one more second thinking that it does. What I want is the very best from you in those first two chapters so your readers tell themselves they need to finish this book to find out what happens and to see if they get their happy ending they should now be craving. Elsa and Luther are wonderful characters you have created. Their story, along with the story of their respective children, needs to be told, and people should want to read what you have written and be thoroughly entertained by this work of fiction. That is my goal, and it should be yours, too."

"I understand, and it is. I am pleased to hear you like the way I have written Elsa and Luther and the children. Thank you, Helen, for that encouragement."

"Of course, my dear. I am being very honest when I say that."

Elizabeth nodded, grateful for that positive critique.

"Shall we meet here Thursday afternoon?"

"Yes. I will walk you to the saloon."

"Thank you, but I will be fine. You need to get home to see your son. He will put a smile on your face."

"He always does," Elizabeth said, as she returned the items to her basket.

She unlocked the door and opened it for Helen.

"I need to put on my coat."

Helen nodded and patted Elizabeth's arm. "I will leave you be. I hope you have a pleasant evening."

"Thank you. You, too."

Once she knew she was alone, Elizabeth sank into one of the more comfortable chairs to collect herself. She knew this wasn't going to be an easy road because she realized her novel needed improvement, but she hadn't expected to react so badly because a portion of her first two chapters needed to be rewritten. She'd found some areas in later chapters where she planned to revise, but now she was uncertain how to proceed. She hoped Helen was correct that once she got in the rhythm of seeing what the expectations were as her editor, Elizabeth would begin to feel more comfortable with the other revisions she knew she would need to make.

She recalled her own words to Lucas and the ones he had spoken back to her: one step at a time.

Elizabeth decided she would not look at her writing that night but would start fresh in the morning. She hadn't been getting much sleep the last few nights, even before Little Jack had experienced his sleepless night if she were being honest, so she might as well take advantage of the early morning quiet since she most likely would be wide awake.

She remained seated for a few more minutes, enjoying the solitude while she allowed her thoughts to drift towards Lucas. She looked around, thinking about the wonderful memories they had created in this room.

When she and Lucas had proudly showed his mother the library the prior evening, Helen had enjoyed seeing the variety of books they had available, many of which she had edited. She also liked that Lucas was sharing his vast collection with the children and adults of Hope Valley. She'd told them she greatly admired the work they had done and their dedication to making sure the residents had literary resources at their disposal. Elizabeth appreciated the fact the three of them shared a wonderful common interest. She felt it aided in trying to bring Helen and her closer. She definitely wanted her son to grow up with the same of love of books she had. She smiled when she thought of how much Lucas could assist with that, too, if their courtship continued to progress as it had been.

About to head home to Little Jack, she remembered she had told Lucas to expect a flurry of returned books as the children had finished their latest reading project and were getting ready to embark on the next one. He had told her he sometimes went to the library for a few minutes during the day as a respite and would gladly check in any books he found. Knowing that, she pulled out a piece of paper and her pen and wrote him a note. She had been teasing when she mentioned this mode of communication to him, but she knew just where to put the note so only he would find it. Pleased with herself that maybe she would make Lucas smile while he returned books to their proper places, she buttoned up her coat, gathered her basket and headed home, more than ready to spend precious and much-needed time with her son.