CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Finally, the knock on the front door Elizabeth had been waiting for all day.

She opened the door, and Nathan stood there before her, in his blue plaid shirt with a blue pullover sweater she had not seen before. Blue was definitely his color, but so were red, and purple, and…let's face it, the man could wear any color and look striking.

Elizabeth also happened to be wearing blue, and the couple matched perfectly.

Nathan stepped inside and wrapped his arms around her, and all the cares of the day melted away for both of them.

"Where's Allie?"

"She's at Opal's. I thought it might be better if we had some privacy. My child doesn't mean to, but she takes in more than she sometimes should, and sometimes it sort of slips out when it shouldn't."

She laughed, "Let me get Little Jack. I put him down for a bit, so he wouldn't be cranky."

As she came back down the stairs, Nathan walked over to take Little Jack from her arms. Nathan kissed him, and Little Jack threw his arms around his neck, clearly thrilled to be seeing him.

"Let me grab a sweater for me, too. It does tend to get a bit chilly at the pond. I'll take a coat for Little Jack to put over his sweater, just in case. Oh, and should I grab a blanket?"

"Perfect, I was so excited to see you, Elizabeth, I forgot to grab one at my house."

They started on their walk, with Nathan carrying Little Jack, and holding Elizabeth's hand with his free one. Neither one of them spoke. Neither felt the need to do so. They were together, and that was all that mattered.

As they reached the pond and looked out over the water, Nathan reached down to help Elizabeth spread out the blanket with his free hand. He placed Little Jack in the middle and then helped Elizabeth to sit down on it. He stretched out on the other side of Little Jack, and Elizabeth could tell he didn't particularly want to talk about whatever this was.

"Nathan, I'm so happy we're doing this! I missed you all day!"

"That's nice to know because truth be told, I missed you all day. Surely you had a better day today since it was Cedric free…"

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" Elizabeth said through narrowed eyes.

"I bet you looked adorable up on that desk! For some odd reason, that picture has been in my head all day long!" his grin was as broad as Elizabeth had ever seen it.

"If you don't stop, I'm…"

"Just what are you going to do?"

"This…" and she reached over her son to kiss Nathan lightly on the lips.

"Now that's very nice! But you're definitely on the wrong track if you think that's going to stop me from being bad. That kiss is a total encouragement, Mrs. Thornton! A huge encouragement!"

"You be good, remember there's always Detention!"

"Oh, I plan to lay awake at night thinking of ways I can get IN Detention!"

"You are truly incorrigible! Nathan Grant! Whatever am I going to do with you?"

"Oh, I can…"

"Shhh!" and she brought her finger to his mouth.

But they couldn't help laughing with each other, each in their own special flirting way.

Finally, Nathan reached behind Little Jack and grabbed her hand.

"Nathan, I'm here, what did you want to tell me?" she asked gently.

Raising his eyebrows, he sighed, "I want you to know that Monday when I spoke to Lucas about Packer Johnston, I was cautious not to accuse him of anything. I want you to know I would never do that. It turns out that Lucas didn't know Packer, at least not directly."

"What do you mean, Nathan?" asked Elizabeth with wide eyes.

"Lucas had once been in love with his daughter, Sophie. After they broke up, Lucas started receiving threatening notes. Someone even left a dead raven at his door."

"How horrible. So, we were right, Packer Johnston was here to kill Lucas."

"Yes, he was."

"Nathan, you saved Lucas's life. Again! Does he realize that?"

"He does. But this is the important thing I want you to know. Because I don't want anything hidden between us. I spoke with Lucas alone before I questioned him. I told him I appreciated all the wonderful things he had done for you and Hope Valley. I also told him I couldn't speak for you, but I knew you wanted to keep his friendship. I asked him if we two men could put the past behind us and start over as friends."

"Oh, Nathan, that was such a wonderful thing for you to do. What did he say?"

Nathan laughed a little, "He said since I had saved his life twice already, that he thought we could manage that if I gave him a little time to get over his bruised ego."

"Elizabeth," he continued, "I've been dreading this conversation in a way, but I just wanted you to know everything when you talk to Lucas. I don't want the conversation between the two of you to be any more difficult than it has to be."

He placed Little Jack on his lap and scooted over close to her, playing with Little Jack, who was intent on all the faces Nathan was making for him.

"You amaze me, Nathan Grant. Always thinking of others. If truth be told, I've been putting off talking to Lucas, not because I have feelings for him, but because I just don't want to hurt him, or anyone, for that matter."

"And I was so afraid it was going to be so awkward. But thanks to you, my Knight in Shining Armor, it won't be." And she kissed him passionately. Well, as passionately as one can kiss with their toddler on Nathan's lap. She bent to kiss Little Jack's head too.

"Elizabeth, if you'd like to go talk to Lucas now, I could take Little Jack, pick up Allie at Opal's, and you could meet us all at the Cafe for dinner when you're done. No, it will not be a date, Mrs. Thornton, just another family meal out," he grinned broadly.

She reached over and kissed him again, "That will be perfect."

"Elizabeth, I will always be open and direct with you, as much as is possible. I give you my word on that."

"And I with you, my Darling."

Elizabeth walked into the Queen of Hearts and noticed the crowd seemed lighter than usual. For that, she was grateful. It would have been better if this conversation could have taken place in private, but this was going to have to do.

She noticed Lucas pouring pints behind the bar when he suddenly looked up at her. Smiling weakly, he then turned to one of his waitresses, giving his task to her to finish. He walked toward Elizabeth, rather solemnly, but motioned for her to follow him into his office.

"Please sit," he said almost formally as he took his desk chair and motioned her to sit across from him.

"Lucas, I don't really know where to begin, except to say you have been a very dear friend to me. You've helped me in so many ways, the library, the trip to see Virginia Woolf, getting my book published, the dinners, and the flowers. I will always be grateful to you for making my life brighter. You have also made the lives of everyone in Hope Valley brighter. The library and books you so generously donated will inspire, teach, and give us joy for many years to come."

"Elizabeth, I now know you and Nathan are meant to be together." He drew in a deep breath. "But I can't help but wonder, did I ever really have a chance?"

"Lucas, you are a wonderful person, a gentleman. And any woman would be lucky to have you as a partner," started Elizabeth, but glancing up, she could see he wanted complete honesty, so she thought how to best re-phrase her next comment.

"Perhaps we were meant to be friends all along. Perhaps you tried just a little too hard with me. Honestly, I felt as though I was being pushed a bit, and although the attention was lovely and very romantic, I just wasn't quite ready. Does that make sense to you?" she searched his eyes for a response.

Lucas nodded slowly, still seeming a little perplexed.

"Lucas, when you fall in love, and I mean truly fall in love, everything will happen naturally. You won't have to try, it will just be there. You deserve someone to love you completely. And I believe with all my heart, that person is going to come into your life. When that happens, you both will be drawn equally to each other. I don't even think you'll have to wait five years for it to happen," she smiled supportively.

"Lucas, please also understand that I never meant to lead you or Nathan on or make either of you feel you were in a contest with each other. I truly was keeping you both at a distance, because that way, I didn't have to make a choice. I just wasn't ready for a new relationship."

"And now you are," he stated flatly.

"Yes, I am, and I pray you can be happy for us. I am deliriously so."

"I'm glad that you are Elizabeth. Nathan clearly is as well. You know, looking back, what was between us, you and me, was all a little one-sided, wasn't it?" he then leaned back and laughed. "You know, I haven't been turned down by a lady many times in my life. To be honest, you may be the first. I think I saw you as a conquest. Someone I wanted in my life. Someone I was going to have in my life. But I didn't listen to you, did I?"

"No, Lucas, I kept saying 'just friends.' But you kept creating romantic situations that were beautiful and lovely, just not what I needed at the time," Elizabeth admitted.

"Thank you for your honesty. It stings a bit, I'll admit, but the truth sometimes does that. My ego is still a little bruised, but it will recover. I will recover."

Elizabeth stood and reached her hand out to Lucas. "I hope we can remain friends. That's very important to me, Lucas."

"A true gentleman could be nothing less Elizabeth, and he took her hand, but instead of shaking it, kissed it gently.

"Thanks for being my friend, Elizabeth. It means a lot to me. Nathan is a very lucky man. And I'm beginning to see that you're a very lucky woman. Promise me that both of you will call on me if at any time you need it. For now, let me walk you out."

Lucas led Elizabeth to the door and spoke lowly so that the others couldn't hear, "I promise to be a true friend to both of you. And I wish you both the best of everything together."

She smiled and thanked Lucas. This time he took her extended hand and shook it firmly. She turned with a smile of relief on her face and joyous anticipation that she was meeting Nathan with nothing hanging between them.

As Elizabeth continued her walk to the Cafe, all she could think about was Nathan. Not only had he twice saved the life of this man he had considered to be a rival, but he had also offered himself in friendship to him. Not many men would be able to do that, but Nathan seemed to handle it all with ease. And the fact he had paved the way for her conversation with Lucas, warmed the core of her heart.

Elizabeth was finally at the Cafe, but she couldn't resist standing in the doorway for a moment watching Nathan hold her Son and Allie making him laugh and giggle.

She may have been standing in the Cafe doorway, and she may have been getting a bit ahead of herself, but in her heart, she knew that wherever the four of them were together, they would be home.