Dew glistened on the grass in the early morning sunlight. Soft orange hues warmed Hope Valley and illuminated further the vibrant reds and golds adorning the trees in early autumn. The cool air rested still as the quiet, sleepy town on a Saturday.
A solitary figure in dark cut through the quietude, his polished shoes crunching on the gravel road that led to the rowhouses. In one sweaty palm, he gripped a folded letter, a short missive with a simple request: "Please come see me as soon as you get this."
He'd found the letter folded on the bar in the saloon that morning.
As Elizabeth's house grew larger in his view, Lucas' heartbeat increased with the urgency of his steps. "Please come see me as soon as you get this." Ten words that could mean so much. Ten words more than they had spoken to each other in days. Ten steps until he stood on her doorstep.
Now on her doorstep, he stopped and raised his hand to knock, then paused. His priority moments ago to reach her house evaporated, as did the dew on the grass as the rising sun marked the passing of time. Lucas lowered his hand and retracted his pocket watch. It was just past seven. The second hand ticked away time. His liquid-brown eyes glanced at the sun, which nearly blinded him, then he whisked his gaze back to the wooden door but inches from his face.
Time stopped for nothing, for no one. He had been patient, had waited for her to make the choices to move forward in their relationship all throughout the summer. What had started as friendship had blossomed with the life of a green world around them. Their laughter had filled the air, joining the symphony of birdsong.
He eased his hold on her letter, as he had eased his hold on her: to let her decide again.
Opening the letter, Lucas read and reread her words, her sacred words. He had read thousands of her words, her created world she had first shared with him. They had bonded over stories.
He brushed his finger over those words, then held out his empty hand. Empty. They had held hands. She had held his heart. The soft suppleness of her skin beneath his lips as he had kissed her hand was a brushstroke of memory now. The echo of the music from when they had danced, a dying love song.
His heart thudded in his weary head now. Lucas closed his eyes and inhaled God's soothing, living-giving air. He released the breath and opened his eyes. He remembered her smile. Her joy when they met. She told him she wanted him to share all his joys and sorrows with her, publicly and privately. Elizabeth didn't want him to have any secret sorrows.
He shook his head. Did she know the magnitude, the depth of his secret sorrow in this moment, to have lived in doubt for seven days, questioning at every turn if he had been mistaken in believing, in knowing she was his soulmate?
But he said he would be patient. And patient he was.
But enough waiting. He raised his hand and knocked.
And there she stood, like some vision of an angel to take him to heaven. Elizabeth's blue eyes met his brown, and a smile alighted her perfect face. "You came."
Lucas gave a tight smile, which probably appeared more like a grimace. "Of course I came. I got your letter." He held up the paper. "Is it too early?"
She shook her head. "Not at all. I'm glad you came." Stepping aside, she gestured into the house. "Won't you please come in?"
He glanced between her and the darkened interior. "What...what did you need to talk about?" As if his heart weren't already pounding out of his chest, it now hammered. Lucas shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
An easy smile flitted across Elizabeth's face. She extended her hand. "Please, come inside, Lucas."
His eyes locked on her hand, her offering. "Your rings?" Lucas swallowed thickly and met her open gaze.
"I took them off last night," she said softly, her voice like a lullaby, soothing him. Her fingers beckoned. "They say the third time's the charm, so I'll ask you a third time. Please come inside, Lucas."
He took her hand with some hesitation, his mind unable to completely understand what was happening. The meaning of no rings. Her choice again. This time, to move on. The mental argument began in his battered brain. Surely, she wouldn't have asked him to come if she didn't want to be with him, but what if she was going to tell him that she had picked Nathan?
He entered her house for the first time and took in the simple and sensible decor. Her typewriter sat on a desk near the front. Beyond a sofa and a couple of chairs, a table and stove completed the kitchen in the back. When Lucas spotted Little Jack's playpen, he frowned.
"I hope I'm not intruding. Is Little Jack still sleeping?"
Elizabeth glanced toward the stairs, then back at him with a smile. "Yes, he didn't go down until late last night, so I expect he'll be asleep for at least a couple more hours." She released his hand. "Won't you sit? Would you like something to drink? Tea, perhaps?"
Lucas perched on the edge of the sofa, his nerves on edge as thoughts continued to plague his mind. "I'm fine, thank you."
She joined him on the sofa. Although it wasn't as cozy as the loveseat in his office, Elizabeth was less than a foot away. His hand twitched to hold hers again, but he refrained.
"What did you want to talk about?" he said in an uncharacteristically gravelly voice. Lucas licked his dry lips and wondered if he should have taken her up on her offer for a drink after all, then thought his lips' condition had nothing to do with thirst. At least not for water.
"First of all, thank you for being so patient with me." Elizabeth gazed with intent into his eyes. "You've been a saint through all of this. After Ned and Florence's wedding, I was reminded of my wedding. I've been mourning the loss of Jack for over three years now, Lucas, and I wasn't ready to let him go. But he wrote me a letter, which I received after his death, and he asked me to let love in again. I was afraid...for so long." Her voice shook. A tear dropped down her cheek.
His heart tore and ached for the amazing woman in front of him. In earnest, Lucas took her bare hand and held it steadfastly, kissing it. "Elizabeth, I hope you know how I feel about you. I haven't said the words...yet, but I wanted you to be sure. To be ready. I can't imagine the pain you've been through, and I didn't want to be part of the reason you felt more discomfort."
Her tears poured freely now. "I told... I finally told Nathan I didn't love him. Last night." Elizabeth wiped at her face with the back of her hand.
Lucas removed a handkerchief from his suit coat pocket and passed it to her.
"Thanks." She smiled in embarrassment, her cheeks flushed, her eyes glassy.
As she dabbed at her eyes, Lucas thought she was the most incredible, more beautiful, bravest woman he had ever met. "Take as much time as you need."
When she composed herself, Elizabeth muttered, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Don't ever be sorry for anything you need to do."
Elizabeth squeezed his hand. "How did I get so lucky to meet you?"
Lucas chuckled.
"What was I saying?"
"You said you told Nathan you didn't love him." Hope roved through every fiber of his being.
"Yes, yes, I did. I'm sorry it took me so long to finally find the words."
Lucas couldn't help but chuckle. He gave her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "How many times do I have to tell you not to apologize?"
Elizabeth laughed. "I'm…"
"You were going to say 'sorry,' weren't you?" Lucas teased.
They shared a moment of joyful laughter.
When they sobered, their eyes connected, but going deeper, their hearts connected.
"That's part of what I love about you," Elizabeth said on a breath. She lifted her free hand to his cheek.
Lucas closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. He drew closer. They were but six inches apart now. His eyes eased open, staring into hers. "I love every part of you. I love you, Elizabeth."
He mirrored her by caressing her cheek, then gingerly released her hand and brought his other hand to her face and cradled it like it was the most precious treasure in the world. Elizabeth's fingers gently combed through his beard, then roamed toward his hair. She pushed the stray strand that hung on one side behind his ear. She lifted her other arm and connected hands behind Lucas' neck. Their breath tickled each others' faces, the tingling travelling through their whole bodies in blissful anticipation.
Their lips met, an equal give and take of love. The kiss deepened as Lucas embraced her now, clutching Elizabeth to him like a lifeline. He drank in every bit of sweetness that was Elizabeth Thornton and utterly, completely lost himself in her. And found himself in her.
When the kiss ended, they rested, forehead to forehead, their breathing heavy, the air hot and electrified.
"I love you, Lucas. Thank you for waiting."
"For you, my darling Elizabeth, I would wait until the end of time and beyond."