Chapter 11
Lucas stared at the ceiling.
He had talked to Carson long into the night, answering the doctor's questions and watching him take notes. Seeing the concern in his eyes was a comfort as he knew the man not only was worried about him as a patient but also as his friend. Now, a new day dawned and brought its own evils with it.
Elizabeth would be by soon. Lucas knew she had probably spent her evening pondering all that he had told her yesterday and he was troubled by that fact. He had known her late husband and through circumstances out of his control, that information had been kept from her.
How was she today after processing the truth? And how would it affect their relationship and upcoming nuptials? Lucas would find out soon enough.
###
As he made his way to the office, Nathan saw Faith headed to the infirmary and intercepted her. "Good morning, Faith," he said as he stopped her on the walkway.
"Good morning," was her brief reply, a little nervous to run into him after their previous conversation. Faith was drawn to him and hoped he was feeling the same way, but after her last relationship, the thought of beginning a new one brought apprehension.
"I... uh... hope Lucas is feeling better. I know you can't discuss him with me."
"Just headed there to see how he is this morning." Faith tried looking everywhere except at Nathan's face. Once they made eye contact, she couldn't tear her gaze away from his piercing eyes.
"Faith... I was hoping we could try again. For dinner. This evening." His words were a bit stilted which was understandable after what happened a couple of days ago.
"I would love to. And hopefully, nothing occurs to prevent it this time." Wow, that sounded stiff, Faith thought as she mentally shook her head. "That sounds great, Nathan," she added gently with a smile.
"I'll see you about 7. Have a wonderful day." Nathan touched her upper arm softly before walking away, Faith feeling his warm hand through her sleeve. Smiling brightly, she continued on her way to work, happily awaiting the evening.
###
Elizabeth rushed through her morning toilette, anxious to be on her way to town. She had already gotten Jack ready, and he was playing sweetly with his toys, looking up now and then to watch his mother run from one thing to another.
"You in a hurry today, Mama?" His words stopped her in her tracks as she looked down at him and smiled.
"I guess I am in a bit of a hurry, and you are being such a good boy this morning."
"Where's my buddy? I miss him." Elizabeth hadn't taken the time to talk to her son about Lucas and felt ashamed of herself. Kneeling down, she took his small hand in hers.
"Lucas hasn't been feeling very well, so he hasn't come over. I am going to see him this morning and I hope he is much better today." Jack jumped up and ran upstairs without saying a word, puzzling Elizabeth, but he soon came back down and handed her a paper.
"Auntie Rosie told me he was sick and helped me make him a card. Would you give it to him for me, Mama? I might have misspelled some words." Glancing at the sweet picture on the front, she smiled and grabbed up her son for a hug.
"Of course, I will. He will love it. Are you ready to go?" At his fierce nod, Elizabeth went to get her bag and they hustled out the door. After speaking briefly to her friend and kissing Jack's cheek, Elizabeth headed to town at a fast pace.
###
After checking on his patient, Carson walked outside and briefly stopped to enjoy the sunshine after Faith arrived. He and Lucas had talked until the early hours of today and Carson was astonished at how well his friend was handling everything he was going through. He seemed to be most concerned about how Elizabeth was taking it all, Carson seeing the deep love that Lucas had for her.
Walking over to the jail, he was glad to see that Nathan was sitting inside. Knocking on the door facing not to startle the Mountie, Carson entered. "Do you have a minute, Nathan?"
Smiling as he gestured to an empty chair, Nathan spoke. "Of course. Please have a seat."
"I'm here on an errand from my patient."
"Lucas? Is he alright?"
"He is doing quite well. And anything I tell you, I have his permission to say. He actually wanted to come himself, but I thought it was better if I talked to you."
Shuffling around in his chair, Nathan's frown lines showed. "You're worrying me, Carson. What's going on?"
"I know you are aware of his amnesia, and I assume you know that his memories have returned." At Nathan's nod, Carson continued. "There is something in his past that you need to know about. It seems Lucas lost 4 very important years in his life when he had his accident. He hasn't always been a business owner."
The doctor's words were making Nathan anxious. "Please don't tell me he was a criminal. That would devastate Elizabeth."
A nervous laugh followed his statement. "No, quite the opposite. I guess there is no other way to say this except to blurt it out. Lucas was a Mountie."
Jumping to his feet, Nathan's chair fell over with a loud crash. "He was a what?!" he shouted, then shook his head in disbelief, growing silent as he processed before speaking again. "Are you sure, Carson? Maybe his mind isn't as whole as you think, and he is confused. Maybe he is making it up."
"I think you should sit back down." Carson waited as Nathan righted his chair and sat. "Your reaction is exactly why I wanted to be the one to tell you. And there's more."
"I can hardly wait." The words were sarcastic, and Carson ignored them.
"Nathan, I have examined him thoroughly and spent many hours talking to him last night. He is quite sane. And there is no way he has invented this story. Lucas was indeed a Mountie. He had an accident that caused amnesia and until two days ago, he remembered nothing of his service." Carson paused to let the words sink in.
A nod followed his statement and Carson could see that Nathan was more composed. "You said there's more."
"Uh... yes. It seems that Lucas knew Jack Thornton." Nathan's eyes grew wide at this announcement and once more he shook his head.
"Does Elizabeth know all of this?" Nathan finally replied after pondering the news for a moment. He couldn't imagine how she must be taking it.
"Yes. He told her before he told me. She took it quite well, considering."
"I hope you realize that I will check out his story. It's my job..."
"I guessed as much," Carson said as he stood. "I will let you get to your work... but... I also wanted to tell you that I am happy for you and Faith."
"Faith and I are only friends. At least for now. But thank you." It was good to know that Carson was okay with the situation should they become more than that.
"It was good to see you, Nathan."
After their goodbyes, Nathan quickly grabbed the receiver. He had to find out the truth about Lucas as soon as possible, for Elizabeth's sake.
###
As Elizabeth entered, Faith smiled at her. "He's waiting for you. I think he is ready to go home."
"Thanks, Faith," she replied with a smile before entering Lucas' room to find him pacing. "Hello, Lucas," she said softly, bringing his eyes to hers.
"Good morning, Elizabeth," he responded as she came near and kissed his cheek. "I hope you slept well."
"Actually, I slept like a baby," she said, her smile growing bright. "Lucas, I have something to show you..."
"Before that, I need to speak to you. With everything that has come out about my past, I don't want you to think... that is, you aren't under any obligation..."
"What is it, Lucas?" The hurt in his eyes was painful to see.
"I know all of this came out of left field..." taking a deep breath, he slowly let it out. "And it is a lot to process. But I need to know... Elizabeth...
"Do you still want to marry me?"
