Lucas had zero energy, even three days later, but at least he was at home. Something was bugging him. Elizabeth had told him he wasn't a failure.
"Why did you say that I'm not a failure?" he typed out on his phone and pushed send.
A few moments later, his phone dinged.
"Because you aren't," she said simply.
"Why did you use those words?"
She didn't answer so he called her. "Why?"
"Because Lucas, you mentioned that all you are good at is failing and I don't believe it. Not for one moment. You are an amazing father and you are great at your job."
"Why are you talking to my boss about my job? Do you not believe in boundaries?"
"I wasn't talking to him about your job. He brought it up because we were talking about how sweet Catie is. He mentioned that you are the best landscape designer he has ever met. That's all."
"You don't know me, Elizabeth. All you know is bits and pieces. What you need to know though is that I do in fact fail at everything at some point. You don't want to waste your time with me. Find someone that can support you and make you happy. Its not me. Trust me."
"I just want to be your friend, Lucas."
"Why? I'm sure I'll be moving on within the next year anyway. It's what I do according to my mother."
"How old are you, Lucas?"
"Why does that matter?"
"Because my guess is you are more than capable of defending yourself and not letting people's assumptions about you, or opinions of you, dictate how you feel."
"Yeah, well…"
"Just friends, Lucas."
"You'll probably regret it."
"Let me make that decision, please."
"Fine. Friends then."
"Fine. Now my first friendly request is that we go out to breakfast together. Bring Catie. Abigail's has amazing eggs."
"Money is tight right now, Elizabeth."
"Okay then. I will cook for you. I live at 264 W. Main. Tomorrow, 8am."
He stayed silent. "Lucas? How do you and your angel like your eggs?"
"I'm not picky. She likes scrambled with cheese and toast."
"Got it. See you tomorrow.""Does she have a kitty, Dad?"
"I'm not sure, baby."
"Or maybe a doggie?"
"We will have to wait and see."
"Did you tell her that I like cheese in my eggs?"
"Yes, Cates."
"Thank you, Dad."
"You're welcome."
"Does she have toast? I like the white kind with lots of butter."
"She has toast and I'm sure that it will taste good even if it's not the kind you like. Remember, we need to be grateful, even if we don't like it."
"I will and I will eat it even if it doesn't have lots of butter."
"Good girl."
Lucas felt his nerves bubbling up as he pulled into her driveway. It was a nice two-story home with a nice yard, manicured lawn and everything.
He paused for a moment and stared. She had a BMW SUV. Nurses must make a lot of money.
What was he doing here? She said "just friends' but they were so different it was laughable. She was kind and thoughtful. He was rude and thoughtless. She had a great job that obviously paid well, and his job was good, but he'd never be able to afford a BMW.
If their relationship ever went past the 'friends' stage, which it wouldn't, there would always be that gap between them about how much money they made. It could never work.
"Dad? Are we going in?"
"I don't think so, honey."
"But she's waving at us. We can't leave."
She was right. Elizabeth was standing on the porch in an apron that accentuated her trim waist. Friends. Just friends.
"Come on, Dad."
"Good morning, Lucas and Catie Ann. How are you this morning?" she asked cheerfully.
"Hungry!"
"Cates…"
"I promise to eat it even if it doesn't have cheese."
Lucas' face turned red. "Morning," she said to him as they walked past her.
"Hi."
"How are you?"
"Fine."
"Truth. If I hadn't come out and waved, would you have driven away?"
"Possibly."
She laughed. "There's no pressure here, Lucas. Really. Just friends."
"Yeah."
"Do you trust me?"
"I barely know you."
"Well, let's remedy that, shall we?" She would earn his trust if it was the last thing she did. It wasn't going to be easy though. She needed to break through that wall of his.Elizabeth piled cheesy eggs on his plate and gave him two slices of toast and bacon. Then she poured coffee into a cup for him and herself.
"Catie, would you like milk?"
"Yes, please."
Elizabeth remembered that normally, he would just finish Catie's food, but not at her house. He was getting his own food here.
"Lucas, would you like to say a blessing so we can eat?" she asked him.
His fork froze halfway to his mouth. "I'd rather not."
Her blue eyes held his for a moment and she folded her hands. "I'll say it. Dear Lord…."
Lucas didn't pray. He stopped once his marriage fell apart and his wife left him for his best friend. Then he continued not praying over the years because everything bad always happened to him. What good would it do to pray?
"Lucas?" Elizabeth said quietly.
"What?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. This food is good," he said, shoveling a huge forkful of eggs into his mouth.
"Do you have a kitty?" Catie asked her, a milk mustache on her upper lip.
"Nope. I used to when I was your age."
"Don't you want one?"
"Catie, eat please," Lucas said.
"I love kitties," Catie told her, taking a bite of her toast.
"Me too."
"And fish and doggies and horses…"
"Catie Ann…."
"Sorry, Dad."
"I used to have a horse," Elizabeth mentioned.
Catie's eyes lit up, but she stayed quiet.
"His name was Wilbur." Lucas snorted and kept eating.
"What color was he?" Catie asked.
"Brown with a white star on his forehead."
"Why didn't you name him star?"
"I don't know. I liked the name Wilbur."
"I want to ride a horse. A big brown one."
"My parents own horses, one of them is Wilbur. Maybe we can go ride them one day."
"Oh! Can we? Dad? Please."
"I don't know, Cates."
"It would be no trouble, really," Elizabeth told him.
"Gotta go potty!" Catie said, jumping up.
"It's right there, sweetie," Elizabeth told her.
Lucas was shooting daggers again. "Why would you promise her that she can ride horses at your parents' house?"
"I didn't promise. I said maybe. What's the harm in letting her ride horses?"
"It's just…"
"You don't want to let anyone in?" she guessed. "In case you have to leave?"
His eyes met hers with a hard look. One that told her she may have guessed correctly.
"Lucas, why not give someone a chance to get to know you?"
"Look, my life is a mess."
"So what? That means we can't be friends? Look, I know that you think that everyone else must hold the same opinion about you that you have of yourself, but don't include me in that. Don't put words or thoughts in my mouth."
He crossed his arms and stared at her. "So what do you think of me?" It was a challenge so she took it.
"I think you must have been hurt deeply by the people in your life to put up this huge wall around your heart. I think that you love your adorable daughter with all your heart and when you move from place to place, you are doing it to protect not just her, but yourself. I think its easier not to get close to people because you're shielding yourself from hurt when really, you're only hurting yourself in the process. I think that…"
"Okay. I get the idea."
He didn't understand how she possibly could have learned all of that when he didn't give up any information. Maybe he wasn't that great at hiding after all.
"Can we please ride Elizabeth's horses, Dad?" Catie asked after returning to the table.
He looked at Elizabeth again, wavering.
Yes, he was doing all those things for all the reasons she said. She had him pegged to a tee. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.
"Maybe next weekend," he agreed, loving the way Catie's eyes and smile lit up the room.
"Thank you, Dad."
"You're welcome, baby."
"I think that you could use a friend," Elizabeth told him. "I want to be that for you."
She was right. He could use a friend but the woman sitting across from him at the table scared him to death. What if they became friends and then he fell for her and then she left him too? He would survive, but if Catie got attached, it would kill him to see her hurting.
"I'm a good person, Lucas. Just give it a shot."
"Okay."
"Okay."The next day, Shepherd's Pediatrics
"Good Lord, Carson. I've never had to work this hard to get to know someone. This wall he has up is so thick."
"He's protecting himself."
"That's what I think too."
"I think that you are the best person to help him open up again because you've been through hard things too."
"If he'll let me."
"Just be patient with him."Sunday afternoon, Lucas brought Catie over to Elizabeth's house so they could follow her to the stables where the horses were.
He almost backed out a few times, but Catie was so excited about it and he didn't want to disappoint her.
Thatcher Stables screamed money as they drove through the huge iron and stone gates. He felt so out of his element. So uncomfortable.
"Look, Dad! Horses!" Catie yelled.
"I see."
"They are so beautiful," she said in awe. He had to agree.
Once they parked, Elizabeth got out of her fancy SUV and hurried to the arms of an older man. "Hi, Daddy."
"Hi, Bethie," he said, pure love in his eyes. "I've missed you."
"I missed you too." She brought him over to Lucas' car. "Dad, this is Lucas and Catie Bouchard. Lucas, Catie, this is my father, William Thatcher."
So she came from money too. So far out of his league.
Lucas shook William's hand and so did Catie. "Can I ride your horses, Mr. William?"
"Of course you can, Catie."
"Thanks!" she skipped as they walked toward the temperature-controlled barns. "I want to ride Wilbur, please."
Elizabeth smiled and took her over to the fence next to the barn. "Wilbur is an old boy now, Catie but he is really gentle."
Wilbur walked over to the fence where they were and snuffled Elizabeth's hand, looking for a treat. She pulled out a sugar cube from her pocket and handed it to Catie. "Now hold your hand out flat and he'll take it right from you."
Lucas resisted the urge to stop her from doing it. What if the horse didn't like little kids and he bit her?
Then Catie giggled and wrinkled that adorable nose and he forgot his worries.
"Dad! He ate it!"
"I saw," he told her, giving her a smile.
Elizabeth smiled at him, loving the sight of his dimples and his eyes lighting up. It didn't happen often.
His eyes flicked up to hers and he nodded, the smile still there. Was his wall cracking a bit or was it just the sight of his daughter happy that made him smile?
"You have a nice smile, Lucas Bouchard. You should show it more often."
"Yeah well…"
She promised herself right then that she would be the one to get past that wall and get a smile from him often. She would just be patient, like Carson told her. She could do that.