Chapter 13 - A Heart of Encouragement

The air had begun to cool as Elizabeth and Lucas walked leisurely down the boardwalk in the center of Hope Valley. It was the perfect ending to an evening out, and there was still Little Jack waiting at Rosemary's to look forward to. Patrons were coming and going from the Queen of Hearts, and a few children ran past the couple as the sun set, the soft pink-orange glow playing against their joyful faces. As the drumming of their shoes and the music of their laughter faded away, only the sound of the cicadas chirping remained.

The stillness of the evening was an event that Elizabeth had known for years. It was one of the constants of Hope Valley that never changed. She looked up at the sky, velveteen and twinkling with a blanket of stars. For a moment she thought that she could hear each of those pins of light like a pin drop. Her hand tightened around Lucas's arm as they passed by the salon.

She glanced over to see Lucas watching her. His eyes smiled gently - how did they always do that, she wondered? It was as if he delighted at the mere sight of her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she said softly, returning his smile.

He nodded. "I've seen many beautiful things this evening," he replied. "Though none of them are more beautiful than you."

Her smile widened and she looked away with a laugh.

"Stop that," she chuckled.

"Stop what?" His frown was exaggerated, though is gaze remained playful.

"Complimenting me so much!" Elizabeth's continued laugh shook her shoulders. "It's not necessary."

"Necessary?" Lucas got that mischievous look in his eye. "Elizabeth, it is absolutely necessary to let you know how beautiful you are, because it's true. And it's not just your looks that I'm talking about. You are a kind, caring, amazing person who treated me to an incredible evening. I think sometimes you need to be reminded of that."

She leaned into him, resting her head gently against his shoulder for a moment.

"I suppose there's no stopping you," she muttered, her smile remaining in place.

"Nope. No stopping. I'm a romantic at heart, as judged by the name of my saloon."

"Ah, yes," Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "The saloon that's now plastered with election posters. What do you think of all our handsome candidates, by the way? Lee looked exceptionally dashing."

Lucas glanced down at her. "You're being serious?"

"Completely!"

"Even when he wore the same jacket as Bill?"

"That wasn't his fault! You can't hold that against Lee. If he'd known, it never would have happened. Rosemary would have been beside herself." The two of them laughed as they stepped off the boardwalk and onto the packed dirt of the main street. Another couple walked past, sharing a brief greeting. "I never imagined you'd be the kind of man concerned about two candidates wearing the same outfit."

"When it comes to elections," Lucas explained, "all you have is an impression. Nobody wants to fumble their chance to be memorable."

"I'd say that we've known Bill and Lee for so long, any first impression they have on us is long gone," Elizabeth mused. She remembered all those years ago, when she first met Lee, back before he won Rosemary's heart. He was simply a businessman back then, looking to make his mark. In the end he got a lot more than he bargained for. He and Rosemary were practically inseparable. Elizabeth wondered how things would change for them if Lee actually won the mayoral position. Would Lee have to give up his lumber company to new management? Would Rosemary have to give up running The Valley Voice?

That last one caused Elizabeth to shake her head. There was nothing that would take Rosemary away from being Editor in Chief. She'd worked too hard and wanted it too much to let it go.

Perhaps there would be another arrangement to avoid bias in the press. Maybe a new up and coming reporter from Hope Valley would agree to write the political columns.

There were already a handful of potential candidates in her classroom alone, not to mention that Elizabeth herself had entertained the notion of writing a few articles for the paper over the last couple weeks.

Lucas steered the two of them down one of the connecting streets, taking a route lit by the glow of a few house lamps.

"Maybe we do know them too well," he said, agreeing with her earlier sentiment. He sighed. "Fashion doesn't seem so important when you look at it like that, does it?"

"I'm more concerned with the direction they're going to take our town," said Elizabeth. "Are they going to expand our school? Build up our roads?"

"Invest in the library?" Lucas added.

"I've already got you for that," she playfully replied. "I think the town is genuinely concerned. Of course, there's Hope Valley's usual playfulness. Lee getting flustered in the middle of the street is evidence of that! But, I can't help but keep thinking...where are we going? Where is this town that I've called my home for so many years headed? Are we going to like it? Hate it?"

"It will take a lot for me to hate it," Lucas clarified. "All I need is you and Little Jack, and I'm home."

It was a wonderful sentiment, but Elizabeth couldn't stop herself from taking a deep breath. "If only it were that simple. Nothing seems simple lately. So much is going on, between the oil pipeline, and our election. Then there's Nathan and Faith -"

"What?" She had his attention completely. "What's going on with Nathan and Faith?"

She stopped them, tugging his arm. "Wait, are you telling me that Lucas Bouchard, the self-professed hopeless romantic of Hope Valley, didn't notice that Nathan and Faith clearly have secret feelings for one another?"

Lucas opened his mouth to reply, paused, and got that inward look that said he was reconsidering what he was about to say.

"I suppose I was too busy paying attention to my gorgeous date to notice," he said.

Elizabeth pressed her lips together. "A smooth save," she muttered. "It's true, though. They've been skirting around the issue. I thought everyone had noticed."

"Well, it's like you said. So much is going on. I wonder if Nathan is glad that the election is taking everyone's attention. He's the kind of man who crumbles when someone's watching him."

"Are you saying that to tease?" Elizabeth asked, fishing for a side of Lucas that only she saw.

He shrugged. "I've shared more than a few drinks with Nathan lately. There are things that he hasn't come to terms with. You, for one. I know his pride was hurt when you turned him down."

"Of course," Elizabeth muttered. How could she forget the way that all his bravado was dashed in an instant - and by her, no less? There was no way that she could find to let him down easy. It had taken her a while to move on, and now, to hear that Nathan was still struggling, broke her heart. "How long do men usually hold onto things like this?" she asked.

"It depends on how much they put in." Lucas faced her. "The more you put yourself into something, the more it hurts when that something ends - or doesn't begin, in this case. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that Nathan said these things in confidence, but he's afraid of opening himself up again."

"To Faith."

It all made sense. No matter how much she could see in her mind that such a pairing would be good for the both of them, Elizabeth couldn't force it to happen. If she was Rosemary, perhaps…

A smile tugged at her lips. No, even Rosemary couldn't force love. She had tried all those years ago with Jack, and even then her charms didn't win him over. Some things simply took time to play out.

"I suppose we all need to be patient," she said, guiding them to walk once more.

Lucas hummed in agreement. "Patience isn't fun, but sometimes it pays off. It did for me." He laced his fingers between hers, sending a flutter through her chest. "Perhaps if Nathan is patient, it will pay off for him, too."

"I don't know if Nathan has a patient bone in his body."

Once again, Lucas hummed. "We could always arrange a little...encouragement. For the two of them."

This got Elizabeth to perk up. "Encouragement? Lucas, you already do so much, what with the oil company, and the saloon. You want to add more to that?"

"I think I can manage."

She sighed. Lucas was nothing if not ambitious. That was one of the things that attracted her to him in the first place.

"Fine. If I'm not going to talk you down... What kind of encouragement are you thinking?"

"Well, I'm only thinking that lately I've been getting advice from Gustave, you know, for someone to act as a sounding board."

Was she being told something secret? Elizabeth imagined the entire scene playing out in her imagination: the handsome saloon owner seeking romance advice from his incredibly French cook. She had to giggle at the thought.

"Gustave's been giving you advice?"

Lucas nodded. "Of course. And when I don't ask for it, he gives it to me anyway. He's led me in the right direction before. I bet we can take some of his advice and use it to nudge Nathan and Faith together."

It sounded exciting. A plot! Just the sort of thing that Elizabeth needed to get her mind off everything going on around her. She could usually depend on Lucas to provide such distractions.

"So, what do you think?" Lucas asked. "Do you trust the two of us to come up with something?"

"I'm sure we can," said Elizabeth. It would be nice to help mend some of the hurt that she inadvertently caused Nathan, and just like her, Elizabeth was sure that he could use some distraction. They were both parents, after all. "Let's start with everything Gustave told you."

Lucas's eyes narrowed mischievously. "You want me to show all of my cards just like that?"

Elizabeth leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his lips, disarming him in an instant. He melted towards her, their entwined hands relaxing.

"I would never expect that," she said when they parted. "Just a little, teeny tiny peek. Do you think you can do that?"

His smile warmed her heart. "Absolutely."

She leaned in to kiss him again. It felt so natural to be like this. So joyful. These were the moments where the two of them opened up to each other that Elizabeth cherished so much. "Alright. Tell me one thing that Gustave suggested to you. It can be uncompromising, if it needs to be!" she added. The point wasn't to embarrass him.

Lucas took the challenge. "Well," he began, "one of the things that he told me is that sometimes you need to create opportunities for two people to spend time together. So, I was thinking, what better way to do that than by throwing a party at the saloon?"

"A party?"

"Yes."

Elizabeth loved the idea, but she frowned. "For what reason? We can't just throw a party to get Nathan and Faith together. That's a little on the nose."

"Oh, of course. It would be a surprise party, for the town. In celebration of the upcoming election and our economic prospects. We'll invite Nathan and Faith, and anyone else who'd like to come. Once we're all together, we have a few drinks, some music and...see what happens."

Elizabeth's heart swelled with excitement. "That's perfect! We can get Rosemary to announce the party that day in her latest edition. Nathan and Faith won't suspect a thing."

Lucas nodded. "I like that idea. We could set up a few little romantic touches just for the two of them, like candles and flowers."

"Strategically placed," Elizabeth added.

"It'll be extra special. And if Nathan doesn't make a move, I'll have Gustave push him across the dance floor until he gets up the courage to talk with Faith."

The thought of this entire event sent a thrill through Elizabeth. This was just the sort of mix-up that Hope Valley needed to relax. At the same time she was sure that the mayoral candidates wouldn't be able to resist the chance to make speeches. It was a perfect blend of everyone coming together. With all of them working together, whether they knew it or not, they might have a real chance of helping two of their own - and a few others - out of their slumps.

"I love every bit of this!" she said. "When do you think we can make it happen?"

"As soon as possible," Lucas replied in true businessman fashion. "Maybe this weekend? I've got the time."

Elizabeth nodded, already mentally making a list of everything they'd need for the party. "That sounds wonderful. We'll make it the most romantic party that Hope Valley has ever seen."

Lucas leaned in for another kiss. "Second-best romantic party," he added. "The top spot belongs to a certain published author I know who threw her own special kind of candle-lit party just for me."

Elizabeth smiled as they shared one last kiss, her mind buzzing with ideas. This was going to be fun.