~The Journey to a Lifetime~

Chapter 1

Elizabeth woke up free, light, and truly happier than she had been in a very long time. As she sat up in her bed, with the beautiful sun beaming through her window, she began to think back to her evening with Lucas. Elizabeth kicked herself at the thought of how she waited so long to sort out her feelings for both Nathan and Lucas. Lucas was the one. Her lifetime and next great love. A part of her always knew that. When she was with Lucas, she felt the most like herself. Elizabeth Thatcher, the schoolteacher, and author and not Elizabeth Thornton, the young, widowed mother. Elizabeth hated what she put Nathan through, she wished her happiness with Lucas wasn't hurting him. More than anything else, she wished she hadn't strung Nathan along for as long as she had. Nathan truly was a good man; any woman would be lucky to share their life with him. For Elizabeth, her heart was with Lucas, and it had been for a very long time.

Elizabeth made her way towards her son's room to find him standing up in his crib eager to start the day. Elizabeth walked over to him smiling "Good morning my little man, are you ready to start the day" Jack smiled at his mom, jumping up and down

"Mama up! I Ready!" Elizabeth lifted him and hugged him tightly, kissing the top of her sweet little boy's head. Jack snuggled right up to his mom content with being wrapped in her love. Elizabeth made her way downstairs carrying Jack and they began their morning routine.

A little while later, Elizabeth and Jack both had their breakfast and were dressed for the day. While Jack played contently with his new train set and blocks, Elizabeth sat by the window writing away in her journal. She looked out the window smiling at the thought of Lucas, she couldn't wait to see him again. When she would, Elizabeth had no idea but the mere thought of running into him caused her stomach to flare with butterflies. A knock on the door pulled Elizabeth away from her thoughts. Elizabeth got up and placed her journal on her desk before opening the door.

On the other side of the door stood Robert smiling wide "Good morning Mrs. Thornton" Elizabeth smiled at the young man

"Good morning, Robert, come on in" Robert made his way inside taking off his jacket and placing his bag on the chair that sat by the dining table.

Elizabeth kissed her little boy and wished him a good day before collecting her basket and heading out towards the school. Elizabeth walked towards the town hoping to get a glimpse of Lucas on her way to school. As she walked at a quick pace, she heard Rosemary calling her from behind. Elizabeth turned around and waited for her friend to catch up. When Elizabeth got home last night from the private reading she planned for Lucas, Rosemary had stayed later than usual at Elizabeth's getting the entire run down, from Elizabeth realizing she was in love with Lucas to the very end of their evening at the library. Rosemary was thrilled for her best friend and even told her she knew it would be Lucas she'd choose in the end but didn't want to say anything so that Elizabeth could come to that realization on her own. Elizabeth smiled to herself as she thought about how lucky she was to have a best friend like Rosemary.

Rosemary finally caught up to Elizabeth and linked arms with her as they continued to walk towards town. "You left in a hurry, is it to sneak a peek of a certain businessman on your way to school?" Rosemary asked inquisitively as she raised one of her eyebrows and gave Elizabeth a cheeky smile. Elizabeth tried to act as though it was a far fetch theory but once Rosemary gave her a knowing look, Elizabeth gave up and sighed "maybe, I am."

Rosemary laughed, "isn't falling in love just marvelous" Elizabeth shook her head and laughed at her dramatic friend. Rosemary's laughter turned into a soft smile, Elizabeth stopped walking and turned to look at Rosemary.

"Rosemary, is everything alright?" Elizabeth asked concerned about her friend. Rosemary's smile grew a bit wider "I am just so happy to see you smiling again and in love." Elizabeth felt her love for her best friend grow even bigger, she hugged Rosemary as tight as she could "I love you Rosemary and I am so sorry I ever questioned and doubted your loyalty. I hate that I took my frustrations out on you"

Rosemary waved away Elizabeth's apology and shook her head "You don't need to apologize to me Elizabeth, you've done that already and we have moved past it ages ago. I don't want you to feel bad about that for one second more. I will always be here for you no matter what. I love you too"

Elizabeth smiled at Rosemary "I hope you know that I will always be here for you too no matter what!"

They both linked arms again and proceeded to walk towards town lost in conversation about Lee's decision to run for mayor and Rosemary's newspaper. Elizabeth was happy for her friends and was excited to watch them both fulfill new dreams and goals in the little town they called home.

As Rosemary and Elizabeth got closer to the Saloon, Elizabeth's eyes began searching for the man who made her heart race. Elizabeth found herself feeling a little disappointed that he wasn't outside waiting to see her. She turned to Rosemary who knew they would be parting ways from here without a word from Elizabeth "Alright, I will see you later, have a wonderful day Elizabeth" Rosemary said as she continued walking. Elizabeth smiled and watched her friend for a few seconds before she turned and walked into the saloon.

Elizabeth was disappointed again when she had not seen him, Gustave was coming out from the kitchen when he noticed Elizabeth.

He smiled at her and said "Bonjour Elizabeth, Lucas has left for the day an hour ago, he said he had business at the oil derrick to attend to"

Elizabeth frowned realizing she wouldn't get to see Lucas before school. "Thank you, Gustave, have a wonderful day," Elizabeth said before turning on her heel and walking out of the saloon in the direction towards the schoolhouse.

Lucas POV….

It was 4:30 in the morning when Lucas's alarm began ringing its annoying tune that pulled him out of his slumber so abruptly. Lucas groaned not ready to get up for the day, he turned to his left and hit the top of the alarm to silence it. The room was still dark, given how early it was, so Lucas turned on the lamp letting light into his room as he sat up and turned to the side of his bed facing the window. Lucas smiled to himself as his mind drifted to the day before. The memory of the night he ended things with Elizabeth and the heartbreak and pain he felt was a distant memory. Elizabeth had chosen him; she had fallen for him and was ready to move past her grief and look towards her future. A future she was ready to have him in. Lucas felt an inexplicable sensation fill his chest when he thought about Elizabeth and their newly solidified love. When they first began courting 6 months ago, Elizabeth was still working through a lot and had requested they go slow. Those 6 months built up the tension between them and by the time they shared their first kiss neither one of them could get enough as they erupted with passion, the tension that has been building up between them was finally released. Lucas chuckled as he thought back to the many kisses they shared on the bridge, in his car, at the library, and outside her door when he walked her home. Lucas couldn't wait to have Elizabeth in his arms again, to kiss her, and to feel the love she felt for him through the passion she began letting him see.

Lucas got out of bed feeling rejuvenated and ready to tackle the day. Grabbing his long sleeve shirt and the pair of pants that sat on the chair in his room, he went straight to the bathroom washing his face. After putting on his clothes he went outside feeling the cold air hit him aggressively. Lucas knew that once he started his run, the brisk weather would no longer affect him and so he stretched his legs and began his run. Lucas lived just outside of the town's view in a house on the other side of the bridge that became so important to him and Elizabeth. Lucas had bought the house a few months after they began their courtship in the summer. It was a big house but needed a lot of work. Lucas had envisioned this to be the home he and Elizabeth raised their future family and grew old in. He could picture having a dog, little Jack running wild with the said dog on the acre of land that surrounded the property. He knew he and Elizabeth were nowhere near planning for a future when he bought the house, but this was his dream, a dream he wasn't ready to show her just yet. The house was huge, it had 7 bedrooms and 3 different living rooms. The kitchen was small, but Lucas planned to break the wall that separated the kitchen and dining room and make that one big kitchen, using the study that was across from the dining room as the new dining room. Luckily, the wall that separated the two wasn't load-barring so it would be an easy task. The house sat on the lake with an incredible view. Lucas enjoyed the quietness of the property and would go for a run every morning taking in the surrounding view. After about 30 minutes, Lucas ran back to the house grabbing his towel and duffle bag. At the side of the house, he had set up a makeshift gym equipped with weights and a 100lbs heavy bag that he used for boxing. Lucas's favorite form of exercise was running and boxing. Growing up, Lucas moved around a lot and was smaller than all the other kids in every new school he attended. He was also very shy and into reading which didn't make him popular with the other kids. This of course led to being chased and beat by the bigger and older boys. Two things Lucas learned to do because of that were run fast and how to fight. The older he got, the bigger he got, and the bullying subsided. Lucas, however, continued to box and run because they gave him peace. After putting his gloves on and securing them, he began to hit the bag, getting lost in his form and the feeling it gave him. After about 25 minutes Lucas finished his workout drenched in sweat despite the cold sharp air. Removing his gloves, He grabbed his towel and began wiping away the sweat as he went back into the house and went to the bathroom. He washed clean and got ready for the day. Once he was all dressed, he walked into the kitchen making himself some tea before going out to the terrace to watch the sunrise. Lucas had a busy day planned. He wanted to check in on the Saloon to work on inventory and to look at his ledgers before heading to the oil derrick and meeting with Hickam. He wanted to see his plans for running the company as Henry had decided to leave town for a bit.

After finishing his tea, Lucas got in his car and drove to the saloon. The drive to the saloon from his house was only 3 minutes as the walk was only 10 minutes. A perfect location, he thought to himself.

It was 5:30 in the morning when Lucas let himself into the Saloon. The town was quiet as most people were probably still asleep or just getting up. Lucas looked around the saloon feeling grateful, this time yesterday he was planning to sell the Saloon and leave town. Lucas began taking inventory and stocking the bar. Once he was in his office, he sat at his desk to look at the ledgers for both the Saloon and Oil Derrick. The Oil Derrick was finally starting to turn a profit again; it wasn't a huge profit, but it was enough to keep them afloat. Lucas hoped that they would continue this upward trend even with Henry gone.

By 6:45, Lucas made his way to the oil Derrick to meet with Hickam and told Gustave he would be gone for the day focusing on the oil business. Lucas was determined to finish his meeting with Hickam by 8 so that he could see Elizabeth before she headed to school. The thought of seeing her gave him an extra jolt of energy.

Lucas and Hickam had a very productive meeting and Lucas was confident that Henry was right, Hickam was more than equipped to handle Gowen Petroleum. When he looked at his watch, he noticed it was 9 am and he had missed his chance to see Elizabeth before school. He sighed but quickly assured himself that he'd see her later that day. Lucas was cautious about going to see her at school, although they had finally opened to each other and were officially courting with no barriers between them, Lucas wanted to respect Allie and Nathan by not showcasing their happiness. He also wanted to wait for Elizabeth to set the pace. They hadn't talked about how fast or slow they wanted to go.

When Lucas got back into town, he went into the Saloon to grab his inventory list to head over to the Mercantile and put in his order. Once Lucas stepped out of the Saloon, he noticed a town's car parking across the street. Lucas waited to see who would be exciting the car. He hadn't seen any town cars in Hope Valley before, so it intrigued him to see the occupants in the car. Lucas's eyes grew wide as a man in a polished suit exited the vehicle and gave his hand to help a woman exit the car. Lucas knew exactly who they were and was shocked to see them both in Hope Valley.