After friendly morning greetings, Lucas asked Bill and Nathan to take a seat. He had important news to share with them.

Taking a deep breath, he faced both men straight on. "I shared something significant about my past before Hope Valley with Elizabeth yesterday. You are very good friends to both Elizabeth and me. It is important, before we go any further in our plans with Walden, that I share the same information with you."

Lucas had their attention, and both had quizzical looks on their faces. "You are both great friends, and I trust you with my life. More importantly, I trust you with Elizabeth and Jack's life. What I am about to share goes no further than this room, please. I'm asking for your word you will honor my request."

Neither man blinked and faithfully replied, "You have my word." Then Bill added, "Out with it, Lucas, you're burning daylight." Lucas chuckled at Bill's impatience to hear what he had to say.

"There's a good reason my friend, Janette, confided in me regarding Walden and other Louisiana illegal activities. Her late husband, Maurice, was my best friend. He was also my partner. We were undercover FBI agents assigned to the illegal gambling rings in New Orleans."

Nathan's jaw dropped, and Bill was giving Lucas the same suspicious eye he watched him with when he first arrived in Hope Valley. Bill was the first to speak. "Well, that explains why I could never find out much about you after you arrived. The FBI covered your tracks well." Lucas nodded his head in acknowledgment.

Looking at Nathan, Lucas raised an eyebrow to prompt him to share his thoughts. Nathan shook his head as if to clear his mind and said, "Somehow, this doesn't really surprise me."

"That's pretty much what Elizabeth said when I told her yesterday."

"How well did she take the news?" Nathan asked.

"Hmm, both bad and good, I suppose is fair to say," Lucas replied.

"And…" Bill said sharply.

"Elizabeth and I are in a good place, Bill. I was one hundred percent honest with her. I know you are being protective, but I will not share the intimate and personal details of our conversation with anyone."

Bill nodded in understanding and said, "You said you were FBI before you came to Hope Valley." His words sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Yes, before I came here, I had left the FBI. I wanted a fresh start after Maurice died in the line of duty. My only connection to those days is Janette and Maurice's family."

Glancing out Bill's window, Lucas could see Elizabeth and Janette. "Here comes Elizabeth. I'd like to table the rest of this discussion for now if you don't mind."

Bill shook his head in the affirmative. "Who is that with her?" Bill was curious who the stunning beauty was with Elizabeth. What surprised Bill more was how quickly the town's feisty redhead took over his thoughts.

Lucas smiled at Bill and said, "I'll introduce you in a moment."

Elizabeth walked in and warmly greeted Bill and Nathan. Bill gave her a big hug, and said, "Happy Birthday, Elizabeth."

Nathan cheekily smiled and wished her the same. "Thank you both," she replied.

Lucas walked over to Janette and escorted her forward to introduce her. "Bill, Nathan, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to my dear friend, Janette Aucoin. Janette, this is Bill Avery, Hope Valley's judge, and Constable Nathan Grant."

Janette extended her hand. "Gentlemen, it is a pleasure to meet you both."

"Ma'am," Nathan responded with a nod of his head.

"Mrs. Aucoin, the pleasure is all mine," replied Bill. Nathan and Lucas looked at each other and rolled their eyes at Bill. Elizabeth snickered quietly. However, despite Bill's interest in the newcomer, Molly's face continued flashing across his mind.

"Janette arrived this morning in Hope Valley. I couldn't reach her because she left New Orleans over a month ago to head here with a stop or two along the way investigating Walden."

Janette said, "Let's all take a seat and share what we know or suspect about Walden."

"Lucas, after you called me in the spring about Walden returning I started digging deeper into his shady dealings. Learning from the information you shared, I knew the types of transactions to start looking for. I didn't like what I was seeing. Like many others, he started to invest his time in bigger cities, and I traced him to San Francisco."

Lucas could tell by the look on her face he wasn't going to like what she shared. Janette looked him straight in the eyes, and said, "While I have not found any ties between them in New Orleans, I did discover that multiple of Walden's shady deals led directly back to Amos…"

Lucas shot out of his chair, pacing, and started mumbling to himself, with a few curse words thrown in. Elizabeth walked over to Lucas and grabbed his hands offering her support. She knew exactly why he had started coming unglued.

Nathan interjected quickly, "Amos? The Amos Dixon we arrested?"

"Yes." Lucas sat back down, resting his elbows on his knees, and held his head in his hands. "This can't be happening here again."

"There's more, Lucas," Janette continued. "With Dixon's deep pockets he was able to get his sentence reduced to time already served. He's been out of jail for the past six months."

"Lucas, you need to tell Bill and Nathan everything about Dixon," Elizabeth whispered. He turned his head to look at her. Despair and the heavy weight of responsibility were written all over his face. "I know you don't want anyone to go through this again but you need to extend your faith and trust to everyone in this room."

Lucas looked to Janette for her consent and she nodded her approval. Straightening in his seat Lucas turned to Bill and Nathan. "Maurice's death was considered in the line of duty unofficially. As hard as we tried, we were never able to find evidence that Dixon was behind it. Janette and I searched for years, moving from place to place trying to find something, anything."

Nathan pulled a chair over to face him. "Lucas, I know how difficult it is to lose someone in the line of duty. I can only imagine how much heavier the burden feels when that someone is very close to you, like your partner. But Elizabeth is right, you need to trust us. That is the only way this will work. We have your back, Lucas. This whole town will stand beside you if it comes to it. To protect you and to protect Hope Valley. Now, I know you, and I have no doubt you have already been thinking. What do you have so far?"

"First thing we need is Walden to think he's outsmarted us, when in fact we are going to pull a con on him. I need to get him off my back while escalating his game. Bill, I need you to help me with some legal papers so that I sell Wyman the Queen of Hearts but not the Queen of Hearts Saloon."

"What do you have in mind?" Bill asked.

"The sale with be for another property I own here on Main Street. Walden will be so excited from his victory that he outsmarted me, he will overlook the wrong address and different business name on the deed of sale. When he figures out he's been conned I expect he'll go complaining straight to Dixon. It's time to smoke Dixon out into the open and show his hand."

"Where's the property?" asked Nathan.

Lucas snickered. "It's the little yellow building next to the Mountie Office." This news brought a round of laughter from everyone.

"Oh, Walden is going to be very unhappy when he finds out," Bill said through his hearty laughter. "Ok, so with the sale of the Queen of Hearts out of the way, what are our next steps? Is there anyone else we should include in our game plan?" Bill asked the room.

Lucas said with certainty, "There's only one other man I need in order for us to move forward. Henry Gowan."

~~~ — ~~~ — ~~~

As her birthday was coming to a beautiful end and after sharing a very special celebration, just the three of them, Elizabeth reflected on their wonderful evening together. She, Jack, and Lucas had more fun together after enjoying cupcakes and had camped out on the living room floor, building forts with blankets and sheets, playing games, and singing a few camp songs. It wasn't long before Jack finally fell asleep laying on his tummy between his mama and buddy who were both lounging on the floor. Not wanting the night to end Lucas and Elizabeth, facing each other had talked and shared more kisses into the late evening hours.

Remembering Lucas's words about his lonely childhood made Elizabeth sad to think of any child craving his parents' love. Knowing the importance of her next question and wanting to give him a special moment to treasure to begin to fill the void from his childhood, Elizabeth asked, "Would you please carry Jack to bed, while I make up the couch for you?"

"I'd love to."

Rising, Lucas picked up the sweet little boy, his little buddy, and cuddle him against his chest. Jack stirred a little and Lucas comforted him, "Oh hey." As Jack settled again, cuddling against Lucas's chest with his head on his shoulder, he reached up, sweetly caressed Jack's hair, and kissed his forehead.

Gazing lovingly after her two boys, Elizabeth's thoughts were drawn to Lucas's memories of late nights in his bedroom. When she had commented, "You must have at least some of the same kind of memories," Lucas's response broke her heart… "Well, when it came to that kind of family time, once I went to bed for the night, I was expected to keep myself busy until the morning." Lucas had stared off distantly reliving his often-lonely childhood memories. "I would read until late."

Then she remembered his childhood dream Lucas shared with her a few weeks ago in front of the schoolhouse... "I wanted to live in one town, in one home, where my family and I could get to know everyone, and everyone could get to know us. I wanted to be here... with you."

Does Lucas have any memories of his parents carrying him to bed? Elizabeth wished she could give Lucas every happy childhood moment he had ever dreamed of. His haunted eyes often told her more than his words ever could how lonely his childhood days and nights had been. Her heart ached for him. Elizabeth couldn't bear to think about her Little Jack being so sad and lonely and her heart constricted in her chest. She wanted nothing more than to heal Lucas's broken memories from long ago.

He was hers now, this was where he belonged. That sad and lonely boy, her little Lucas, belonged to her now. He longed to belong, and she knew his longing finally had found its home in Hope Valley and with her and Jack.

She heard Lucas walking down the stairs and realized she had been so deep in thought she hadn't made up the couch for him. Elizabeth did not want their evening to end and yearned to reconnect to the intimacy of the evening when Lucas returned to her side. Sitting on the floor with their backs against the couch they quietly sat holding hands, adding frequent light caresses.

Quietly Elizabeth turned toward Lucas. "As I watched you carry Jack upstairs to bed my heart was so full to see you both together like that... my two boys." Lucas shyly smiled in response. Elizabeth reached up to comb her fingers through the wave in his hair. "We are so blessed to have you in our lives, Lucas. Nothing makes me happier than to see you share your loving heart with Jack, giving him the gift of your time and your heart... I know you had wanted nothing more than that for yourself growing up."

Lucas looked at Elizabeth for a long time. No words were spoken yet she could see so much through his expressively beautiful eyes. His heart was in his eyes, every expression emitting so many emotions. And lingering there, what he tried to keep hidden, was his loneliness as a child and the sadness that was its partner.

Lucas couldn't form the words to speak of the ghosts that haunted his childhood, but Elizabeth could sense their need to be released. His feelings were too much, too close to the surface after years of suppressing them and accepting them for what they had been. He had to look away, afraid he had already revealed too much of his hurt.

"Lucas." Elizabeth said quietly but firmly to get him to look up at her.

"Do you remember the day when I first offered you my hand to hold in public and you walked me home? Lucas, I don't want you to have any secret sorrows."

More quiet minutes passed and Elizabeth quietly encouraged him, "Lucas, tell me. Trust me."

"Elizabeth, until you and Jack, I've spent my life searching for where I longed to be. Never sure if I'd ever find it." Looking down at their clasped hands he quietly shared, "I don't know how to let go of something buried so deep. I don't know where those emotions will go if I let them out." He was fighting a battle to protect himself as he had for so many years. And fearful of what she might see if she really saw his secret sorrows.

On a deep breath, Elizabeth opened her heart to share a sacred moment with him. Lucas needed to hear and feel the significance of this moment in her life which has finally come full circle with their love story.

"After I lost Jack, it took me weeks to pull myself out of the house. I was so lost but found hope once I realized I was pregnant with little Jack. One of the hardest things I couldn't face alone was setting up the nursery without Jack by my side. But one night Abigail showed up with Rosemary, Florence, and Molly. They were all set to clean and decorate the nursery. I'll never forget the words the three widows shared with me that night, giving me encouragement in my heartache. Florence told me how she relied on God's word to heal and comfort her in the darkest moments, reaching for her bible and letting it fall open to any page. God's words were a healing presence in those moments for her.

Late that night I gave my suffering to God and I reached for Jack's bible. I've never shared with anyone the bible verse that spoke to me that night but I want to share it with you now, Lucas."

Elizabeth retrieved Jack's bible and settled beside Lucas again. She opened directly to the book of Psalms and searched for Psalm 68. Lucas could see there were verses underlined as she lovingly caressed the page.

Passing him the bible, she asked, "Lucas, would you read the underlined verses?"

Reverently Lucas focused on the words on the page. His hands trembled and his heart swelled as he lifted tear-filled eyes to Elizabeth's. Clearing his throat he softly read the sacred words from Psalm 68:5-6a, "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families…"

Elizabeth firmly grasped Lucas's hands. "Lucas, six months after I read these words you came to Hope Valley searching for your place where you longed to belong. And then God set His plan for our lifetime together in motion. Just like Little Jack has you now to be his father here on earth, God doesn't want you or you as a young boy to be lonely any longer."

Finally, a crack formed in the protective dam Lucas had built around his heart. "Elizabeth, I have finally found myself with you. I am a better man with you in my life. You quietly encourage me to be better and challenge me to think more openly when I am falling short. And because you believe in me I know I can do better every day. My childhood memories have made me into who I am today. I want to belong in a community where each individual matters and each thrives to live their best every day, side by side with their neighbors. I never had that growing up and it made for even lonelier days. But I wouldn't trade it for all the world. God gave me a compassionate and giving heart to help others where I can. And if I wished those childhood memories away, I would throw away one of my truly greatest gifts. I truly believe without the loneliness in my life I would not be what you and Jack need. You lost your husband and Jack is growing up without his father. I know what it is like to feel lonely in a room full of people. When I first learned about your late husband's death and that he never knew he would have a child, I knew then I wanted to do whatever I could to help little Jack feel a father's love if only I were to be lucky enough one day to stand in Jack Sr. place and raise his son for him. My little buddy will always have my love, my time and my support."

Reaching up, Lucas framed her face with both hands, gently caressing her jawline. "You fill me up, Elizabeth. Your love fills me up. And I will spend the rest of my life showing you and Jack every day that you are all that matters. I know now that was the journey God chose for me. Finding the lifetime that I have with you is my blessing and the Psalms bible verse shows us both how very right we are together. Elizabeth Thatcher Thorton, God made me with all of my flaws, sorrows and unique gifts for you and Jack. And I couldn't be happier to see what he has planned next for us together."

~~~ — ~~~ — ~~~

Earlier that evening, Bill Avery stood to leave the Mountie's office and head home. With a serious look on his face, Nathan asked Bill, "When do you think we should tell Elizabeth?"

Looking down at the ground, Bill let out a frustrated sigh. "Let her enjoy the rest of her birthday tonight with her family. This news can wait until morning."