Chapter 18 Get Out of Town Wyman Walden

Lucas parked the car in front of the Queen of Hearts and opened the door for Elizabeth. Looping his arm through hers they walked into the Queen of Hearts together for the first time! It was a glorious feeling for both the newlyweds. They saw their families sitting together at a large table in the back and walked over to join them.

"Momma, Daddy!" Jack ran and jumped in Lucas's arms.

Lucas picked him up and gave him a tight hug while rubbing his back. Elizabeth leaned over and kissed their son on the forehead. Lucas pulled out Elizabeth's chair next to Julie so she could be seated. He sat down next to Elizabeth with Jack on his lap.

Julie leaned over and whispered to Elizabeth! "I don't think anything can take that smile off of your face! That must have been some wedding night!"

"Julie!" She quietly nudged her shoulder with a wink.

"Julie we have decided to take a honeymoon after Christmas to Bora, Bora and would love for you to come and help with Jack?" Lucas asked.

"Seriously?" I would love to come!" Julie replied excitedly.

"All of you are more than welcome to come back with us and stay at the house, even you Julie!" Lucas said and they all laughed.

"Me too daddy?" Jack bounced up and down on Lucas's lap.

"Of course you Jack! You and momma will live with me now it's our home."

"Forever?"

"Yes Jack, Forever!" Jack placed his arms around Lucas's neck and hugged him tight. Lucas returned the embrace. The women teared at the sight of the interaction. Their hearts were full!

Lucas handed Jack to Elizabeth, kissed her cheek and excused himself to the kitchen. He proceeded to help get their lunch to the table.

"Gustave, I will be working from home for a bit while my family is here. I will come by during the day to check on things when I drop Elizabeth off at school."

"My deepest congratulations on your wedding, Lucas! Mrs. Bouchard is a very lovely woman!"

"Thank you Gustave, that means a lot to me! I have never been happier!"

Lucas walked out with the last two trays of food only to spot a man sitting in his seat next to Elizabeth! His defenses rose very quickly when he realized it was Wyman Walden. He walked over setting the trays on the table and turned to Walden.

"Mr. Walden what are you doing here?" He asked in a curt tone.

"I am just admiring what a beautiful family you have here! Especially this little boy!" Walden said with a cheeky grin.

Jack buried his head in Elizabeth's shoulder.

"Lucas!" Elizabeth said concern evident in her voice.

Everyone froze to watch what was about to transpire.

"Mr. Walden I have decided not to invest in the railroad with you and I believe it is time you left my establishment!" Lucas stance was firm and tone demanding.

"Now, Now is that anyway to treat someone who just complimented your family!" Walden said with a leering grin as he continued to sit.

Lucas voice was loud now! "NOW!"

William and Jonathan both stood to come to Lucas aid, causing Tom and Alex to rise at the table behind them as well.

"You can leave on your own or I am going to throw you out! It is your choice!" Lucas eyes were now blazing with anger!

Walden looked around as the whole place had their eyes on him. "I will go!" He slowly made his way to the door, Lucas behind him making sure he left.

"Walden whispered, "Oh you will see me again, and Lucas I would watch your back if I were you!" He walked out the door.

Lucas needed a moment to calm down! Everyone watched as he headed to the back to his office. William, Jonathan, and Tom followed him. Alex stayed with the ladies. The men entered his office as he downed a glass of scotch trying to calm his nerves and slow his heart rate.

"Calm down my son!" Jonathan put his hand on Lucas's shoulder.

"Jonathan is right Lucas! You can not let that man get to you!" William said. "We are all here for you!

"It's not me that I am worried about!" He said.

"Lucas let me find out as much as I can about Mr. Walden and his employer and then we will figure this out together!" Jonathan said.

"Together we will keep an eye on Elizabeth and Jack!" William said.

"Father if they bring that railroad here they will stir up all kinds of trouble for everyone!" Lucas said. "I am going to have to bring the railroad here myself or else they will do it anyway and everyone here will suffer!"

"We will support you in any way you need son!" William and Jonathan both nodded.

Lucas was not at all happy about the direction this had taken after he had calmed himself they all walked back out to the table together. Lucas sat down next to his lovely wife and Jack held out his arms and reached for Lucas. Lucas took him and held him close.

"Lucas what is going on?" Elizabeth asked full of concern.

"We will discuss this at home later in a more private place Elizabeth!" He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

They sat there eating their lunch mostly in silence; everyone still thinking about the unwanted interruption making the meal far less than enjoyable. They all headed to Elizabeth's rowhouse to help move some more of her things. Lucas, Elizabeth, and Jack stopped by Bill's office to invite him for thanksgiving.

"I heard you had some trouble today!" Bill said.

"Word does travel fast. We can discuss it tomorrow at Thanksgiving Bill!"

"Okay Lucas, you know this town will support you!"

"I know Bill, thank you!"

They stopped at the mercantile to get groceries for tonight and dinner tomorrow. After finishing, they went to Lee and Rosemary's to invite them to thanksgiving.

"Elizabeth, I heard about all the excitement! Are you okay?"

"I am for now Rosemary!"

"What is all of this about Elizabeth?"

"I'm not sure. We are going to talk about it some more this evening." Elizabeth told her.

"Do you think Walden is going to do something shady?" Rosemary asked.

"I don't trust him Rosemary! I know Lucas doesn't either. I have never seen Lucas so protective or forceful. I am worried about him!"

"Elizabeth, I would say he is more worried about you and Jack!"

Lucas and Lee agreed to save any conversation about Wyman Walden for Thanksgiving dinner and just sat on the floor playing with Jack. They stayed a bit then they loaded up some more of Elizabeth's things from the rowhouse and headed home for the evening.

Lucas escorted Elizabeth inside while carrying Jack. He set Jack down and carried in their belongings as well as the groceries. Jack went upstairs to get his toys and then brought them downstairs to the main room to play while his grandparents sat there watching him. Elizabeth and Julie put the groceries away and started unpacking her kitchen items.

"Julie, I will put your things in the guest room downstairs, since all the other rooms are taken. "Lucas said with a smile.

"Thank you Lucas." Julie said excited to finally be at his house.

"He is so charming Elizabeth! You chose well." Julie told her.

"And protective apparently?" Elizabeth said a little confused.

"I think it is sweet! It shows how much he loves you and Jack. Rightfully so I might add that Walden is no one to be trusted." Julie responded.

Lucas helped Elizabeth put her things away in their master bedroom. Then Elizabeth and Julie worked on dinner together. Tom stood guard out front of the house as it was his shift. Jonathan spent most of his time in Lucas's office on the phone finding out about Walden and his boss. Everyone else sat in the family room relaxing and playing with Jack.

When dinner was ready they all gathered around the table to eat. Helen said Grace and then the discussion began.

"Lucas, are you going to tell me about Walden?" Elizabeth finally asked.

"Yes! I turned down Walden's proposal to invest in the railroad with him and he made insinuating remarks that he was not pleased and we would see him again. He will be causing trouble. That I am certain!"

"Are we in danger?" She asked in a frightful tone.

"Elizabeth, I will in no way let anything happen to you or Jack. I promise with everything that I am! I don't want you or Jack to be alone though, until we get to the bottom of what Walden is up to!"

"Lucas you can't follow me around all the time!" She said with a look of adoration.

"Elizabeth if it means keeping you and Jack safe than that is exactly what I am going to do! That is not up for debate!" He said more seriously than she had ever seen him.

Elizabeth knew better than to approach that subject any more at the moment. She could see the passion in his eyes.

"Walden's boss's name is Albert Conklin and he employees people to do his dirty work for him. People like Walden!" Jonathan said. "He has a way of making people disappear when he doesn't get his way. He has yet to be connected to the crimes."

Lucas heart sank. He instantly felt sick and excused himself.

"Should we all be worried? Grace asked.

"I believe the situation is serious, but you women should let us men worry about it!" William told her. "Elizabeth go easy on him. Lucas is in a very dangerous predicament and you and Jack are everything to him. I think he has a lot of guilt about being in this situation."

"I know!' She excused herself and headed upstairs.

Elizabeth walked into the bedroom to find Lucas lying on the bed with his legs crossed and his arm draped over his forehead. "Darling do you want to talk about it?"

"Elizabeth I don't feel well at the moment."

She lay down beside him and placed her arm on his chest. "Lucas you don't have to carry this burden alone. We are all here for you! Both our families are here to help us through this as long as we need them to be!"

"I have created a mess Elizabeth! I am worried about you and Jack! I have waited forever to be married to you and now I am worried it can all be taken away because of my stupid decision to ever meet with Wyman Walden in the first place."

"Lucas this is not your fault and we will get through it together! You can't hold yourself responsible for whatever someone else chooses to do or not to do!"

"I love you my darling Elizabeth!"

"I love you too! Are you going to come back downstairs?"

"No, I think I am going to turn in early! Give Jack my love!" He said.

Elizabeth went back downstairs and filled everyone in on Lucas's thoughts. She said her good nights and put Jack to bed. She went to her room to take her place next to her adoring husband. She crawled under the covers and rested her head on his chest. She would never get tired of falling asleep to his steady heartbeat.