Nathan opened the door to the cafe just as Fiona was about to come out. He held the door for her with a little nod. "Good morning, Fiona."

"Hi, Nathan," Fiona replied, looking a little more agitated than normal. She gave him a quick smile and said her goodbyes. Nathan looked after her for a minute, then walked into the cafe to find Elizabeth at one table and the children at another. He looked between them for a moment, a smile forming on his face. He gave Allie a kiss on the head, ruffled Jack's hair affectionately, then took a seat across from Elizabeth.

"Allie wanted to sit with Jack by herself?" he asked, hanging his hat on the chair next to him.

Elizabeth smiled. "Fiona and I were talking, so Allie wanted to give us some space."

"I saw her," Nathan said, frowning. "She looked upset."

Elizabeth raised her brows. "That was nothing. You should have seen her before she and I talked. I've never seen her so ruffled."

"Did something happen?" Nathan asked as Clara came over to fill his coffee cup. He smiled his gratitude and took a sip.

He could tell Elizabeth was trying not to smile, but she was failing. A little laugh escaped her lips. "She and Lucas might have had an interesting encounter earlier this morning." Her eyes twinkled. "She fell on him."

Brows wrinkling in confusion, Nathan paused. "She fell on him? How did she manage that?"

"She didn't say. She just said she somehow knocked him over and then fell on top of him. Mike found them like that." She chuckled. "I can just imagine how he must have reacted." The amused smile she wore made Nathan smile. He loved that smile of hers.

"So she's flustered because of that." Nathan mused over that little bit of information. "Does that mean Fiona is attracted to Lucas?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I do believe she is. And I can almost guarantee you Lucas feels the same way about her."

That made Nathan sit up straight. "Really? Why do you say that?"

"Fiona said he hasn't been as smooth and polished as he normally is, and it's only around her. That tells me he likes her a lot. He's just probably not ready to admit it. I'm betting he's not used to feeling flustered."

"You can say that again," Nathan muttered. He'd always wondered how Lucas managed to walk through life so seemingly calm, cool, and collected. If he was honest with himself, hearing that Lucas's perfect veneer was slipping was refreshing.

Elizabeth smiled sweetly. "Have you thought about trying to mend fences with Lucas? I still think you two could be good friends."

Nathan smirked. "And I still doubt that. Besides, even you haven't been talking to him lately."

"I know," Elizabeth said with a sigh. "And I probably should."

Nathan pushed down his immediate reply and took a deep breath. "Haven't you two talked at all about how your novel is coming along?"

"Not really," Elizabeth admitted. "I don't have to get all the chapters in for another month, and besides briefly asking how the writing is going, Lucas hasn't talked to me about it."

"Hmm," Nathan said, swirling his coffee around gently. He thought for a moment, then decided to plunge ahead. "Elizabeth, as much as I don't like the idea, maybe you should sit down to talk with Lucas, just to clear the air. He has done a lot for you, and it would be a shame for your friendship to go to waste."

Elizabeth's brows shot up. "Who are you and what have you done with Nathan Grant?"

Nathan smiled, completely understanding her reaction. "I'm not jealous of Lucas any more, Elizabeth. I may not particularly like him, but I am okay with the thought of you being friends. I know you have a true heart." He took her hand. "So if you need to talk, you should talk."

Elizabeth studied him for a moment, considering his words. "Alright, I'll talk to him." She looked directly into his eyes. "But I want you to be there as well."

"Me?" Nathan asked, surprised. He frowned. "Whatever for?"

"You've been important in encouraging my writing too," she said. "And if we're talking about my book, you should both be there. The two men who have inspired my writing."

"Speaking of your writing," Nathan said, a thought occurring to him. "You've never let me read your chapters."

"You never asked," Elizabeth said simply, taking a sip of her coffee.

Nathan smiled. "I'm asking now."

"In that case, of course you may." Elizabeth grinned. "If you come by the house for dinner tonight with Allie, I'll give you a copy."

Laughing, Nathan squeezed her hand. "Is that a dinner invitation?"

Elizabeth winked. "Nothing gets by you."

"I would love that," Nathan said. "Can I bring anything?"

Nose wrinkling, Elizabeth shook her head. "I've got it covered. But thank you."

Hiding a smile, Nathan threw her a look. "Are you saying you don't like my cooking, Mrs. Thornton?"

"I'm just saying I love cooking for you, Constable. Your cooking has nothing to do with it," Elizabeth said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh yes it does," Allie said, appearing next to them. "Uncle Nathan really isn't that great of a cook."

"Hey now!" Nathan protested. "We've been getting along just fine with my cooking."

"I doubt that," Bill said dryly as he came out from the kitchen, placing two plates in front of Nathan and Elizabeth and overhearing the last part of their conversation. "I've seen you cook, Nathan. It wasn't pretty."

"Wait a minute!" Nathan said, eyeing the three in front of him. "Three against one doesn't seem fair."

"Just stating the facts, Nathan," Bill said, a smirk on his face. "I'm a judge; I know facts." He nodded. "Let me know if you all need anything else." He headed back for the kitchen.

"Uncle Nathan, can we go fishing again soon?" Allie asked. "Jack wants to go."

Nathan looked over at Jack, who was happily occupied with a blueberry muffin. "Of course," he said. "How about after church tomorrow?" He looked at Elizabeth. "If that's alright with you, of course."

Elizabeth smiled. "That's perfect. I can work on my story while you're at the pond."

"Tomorrow it is," Nathan told Allie, who rewarded him with an excited hug before skipping back to her table.

Elizabeth tilted her head, looking at Nathan. "You still didn't answer."

"Answer what?" Nathan asked, momentarily confused.

"About meeting with Lucas."

"Oh, right," Nathan said, squirming a little at the thought.

Elizabeth smiled at him. "It would mean the world to me if you were there too."

His heart skidded, and he gave her a tender smile in return. "How can I say no to that?"

Elizabeth walked with Laura past the saloon, holding little Jack. She glanced at the doors, debating whether or not to talk with Lucas now or later. She was still shocked that Nathan of all people was encouraging her to keep talking with him. And she knew that he was right. She had always considered Lucas a good friend, and it would be against her nature to give up on their friendship just because things were a little strained between them.

"Laura, would you mind walking Jack back to the house? I'll be along shortly," she said.

"Sure, Mrs. Thornton," Laura said easily, taking Jack from her. "See you in a little bit."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and opened the door to the saloon. She scanned the room until her eyes landed on Lucas standing behind the bar, chatting with Gustav. With a determined lift of her chin, she made her way to the bar.

Lucas glanced at her, and his eyes widened briefly. "Elizabeth! I didn't expect to see you here. How can I help you?"

"Hi, Lucas," Elizabeth said, smiling at the formality in his tone. "I just wanted to talk for a minute."

"Okay," he said, leaning against the bar. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Getting back to friendship," Elizabeth said, deciding to be blunt. "I miss being friends."

Lucas looked at her for a moment before responding. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it too," he said finally. "And I think we're far enough removed from my attempts at courting you to leave behind the awkwardness."

Elizabeth felt a flash of remorse fill her again. "I really am sorry for how I handled things, Lucas. I should have tried to be more upfront…"

"No, don't apologize," he said, holding up a hand. "I was pushy. You did try to keep things as friends between us." He gave her half a smile. "Besides, the better man clearly won your heart."

"The better man for me, you mean," Elizabeth corrected him. "You are the better man for someone else." Her eyes took on a little sparkle. "Someone else who might rattle you a little bit."

Lucas blinked, his cool mask slipping for a moment. "I don't know what you mean," he said, trying to sound breezy.

"Uh huh," Elizabeth said, raising a brow. "I think you know exactly what I mean."

Color filled Lucas's cheeks, and he looked down. Elizabeth's mouth dropped. "Are you blushing?" She laughed. "Lucas Bouchard, you are capable of being ruffled!"

"Shh," he whispered, glancing around. "We don't want people to get that impression of me!"

"Oh don't we?" Elizabeth asked, still laughing. "It's nice to know this side of you exists. Fiona's a lucky girl."

"Uh...Fiona?" Lucas asked, pulling on his collar and clearing his throat.

Elizabeth simply smiled, deciding to put him out of his misery. "When you're ready, you'll accept it," she said. "Now, I was wondering if you would like to have lunch sometime this week with me and Nathan to talk about my novel."

"You...and Nathan?" Lucas asked, brow wrinkling. "Why Nathan?"

"Because it is my mission to see you two become friends," Elizabeth said, head tilted. "I think you could be excellent friends."

Lucas made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a snort. "I doubt that."

"Funny," Elizabeth said, trying not to smile. "Nathan said the exact same thing."

"Perhaps the one and only thing we agree on," Lucas said. Elizabeth briefly wondered if he was refraining from rolling his eyes. "Besides, he would never agree to this any more than I would."

"Oh, he already said he would," Elizabeth said with a challenge in her voice. "The question is, are you willing to do the same?"

"I'm sorry, did I hear that right?" Lucas asked, looking a little stunned. "You're telling me Nathan agreed to a lunch where I would be present as well?"

"He did."

Lucas blinked for a few moments, not speaking. Then a determination filled his eyes, and he straightened. "Okay, I accept. If Nathan can do it, so can I."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Not everything needs to be a competition between you two, Lucas."

"Doesn't it?" he asked, a little smile on his lips. "Just let me know when and where, and I'll be there."

Elizabeth sat next to Nathan on the settee as Jack and Allie played on the floor after dinner. Jack had his blocks out and he and Allie were working on building a replica of Hope Valley.

Nathan looked at Elizabeth, then glanced at the papers in her hands. "Are those your chapters?" he asked, eyes soft.

Elizabeth nodded, then slowly handed them to Nathan. "I'll be interested to know what you think," she said, feeling a little shy. It was always hard to let someone else read her work, but she knew Nathan needed to see that side of her. She fiddled with the book in her hand, the collection of short stories that she'd written so long ago, then handed it to Nathan as well. "This was my first work," she said.

Nathan's eyes lit with recognition. "This is the book you had with you that day at the dock so long ago," he said.

"It is," Elizabeth replied. "I wanted you to see my first attempt at writing too."

Nathan opened the book, flipping through several pages. "Elizabeth, this looks great," he said. He stopped at one of the illustrations. "These pictures are beautiful."

"Jack illustrated it," she said softly. "He wanted to make my dream of writing come true, so he 'published' the book for me, complete with the drawings." She smiled. "It was a sweet gesture."

Nathan nodded, running a hand over the book. "I'll be very careful with it," he said. "Thank you for trusting this to me."

"Of course," Elizabeth said, smiling at him. She remembered her conversation with Lucas and took Nathan's hand. "Lucas agreed to lunch. How's Wednesday at noon?"

Nathan chuckled and shook his head. "I suppose that will work. How did you convince Lucas to attend? He couldn't have been happy that I was coming too."

"He wasn't," Elizabeth admitted. "But once he heard you had agreed, he was suddenly on board." She shook her head. "Apparently the competition between you two continues."

Nathan smiled sardonically. "Would you expect anything less?"

"No, not really," Elizabeth said. "But I still maintain one day you'll overcome it." She leaned against him, content to have said her piece. They sat for a few moments quietly, watching the children play.

Allie looked up and noticed them watching. "Would you two like to join us?" she asked with one of her exuberant smiles.

Elizabeth glanced at Nathan, who grinned. "Of course!" he said, placing the book and the chapters carefully on the table before sliding onto the floor next to Allie and Jack. Elizabeth joined them. Jack handed her a block and pointed to the spot he wanted it to go. They spent the next half hour working on the children's vision of the town. She sat back for a moment, watching Nathan with the children.

He was completely engaged with them, focused on helping them build and laughing and talking with them. Jack got up from his spot and toddled over to Nathan, plunking himself in Nathan's lap. Elizabeth watched as Nathan put one arm around Jack and with the other continued to help with the building.

She felt tears spring to her eyes watching the sweet scene in front of her. They looked like a family.

A rush of love overcame her, and she blinked rapidly to keep the tears from falling. Allie looked up, and her expression became concerned. "Are you alright, Mrs. Thornton?"

Nathan looked up and met her eyes. Elizabeth put an arm around Allie, pulling the girl close as she smiled at Nathan. "Yes, Allie. I'm more than alright. I'm happy."