"Amie likes horses. A Lot." Lucas texted Beth. "So the petting zoo is a go."

Elizabeth received at least a daily text from Lucas regarding his daughter's party.

For the past two weeks, every day. Now, the party was getting close and she found herself looking forward to those short conversations. That scared her alot. She didn't trust herself with him and she didn't trust him enough yet, or know him well enough to think it would be wise to put herself out there.

She found the email with the petting zoo vendor she had contacted and confirmed that they would be available on Amie's birthday. Then she took Nora to the bookstore. It had become the thing they did multiple times a week and it was super enjoyable Mommy/Daughter time.

"Book, Mama?"

"Yes, honeybun. Books!"

"Yay!"

Her phone rang through her bluetooth so she clicked the button on her steering wheel. "Hello?"

"Hi, Elizabeth. This is Lucas."

"Hi."

"Am I calling at a bad time?"

"I'm just driving to the bookstore."

"Oh, I'm there now. Maybe we can chat when you get here?"

Her cheeks heated and she paused, thankful he couldn't see her reaction.

"Hello? Elizabeth?"

"I'm here. Um, what did you want to talk about?"

"Amie's party and then maybe if I can pick your brain about something."

"I guess that would be fine."

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

She pulled into the parking lot, took a few deep breaths and then got out to get Nora out of her car seat.

"Choos, Mama?"

"Yep, I got your juice."

"Appoo."

"Yes, apple."

When she walked in, her eyes found him immediately, like they were not attached to her brain at all. He wasn't hard to pick out. She could see him clearly over the top of the shelves.

He looked up and smiled. She couldn't help but give him a small smile in return.

He noticed the adorable kiddo in Beth's arms and couldn't help but smile. He walked over and she immediately buried her head into Beth's shoulder.

"Hi, cutie. Hi, Elizabeth."

"Hi."

Beth put Nora down and she ran over to the lower bookshelves in the kids area, pulling out a book with bears on the front.

"She's so beautiful, Elizabeth."

"Thank you."

"So Amie mentioned having a face painter at her party. Is that a possibility? I know its short notice."

"I can try." The party was one week away so it was a long shot but she could make some calls.

"Great. Thank you."

She nodded and again, her eyes searched his out, wanting to see those orbs of his. She wasn't disappointed.

"So, can we maybe get some coffee sometime?" she blurted. Apparently her mouth operated separately from her brain as well.

He raised his eyebrows but immediately agreed. "Sure. That would be nice."

She blushed deeply and looked away, strangely not sorry for asking him out.

"Um, so after class again?"

"Yeah that sounds good." He caught her eye again. "May I ask…"

"Okay."

"Is this a date, or just two friends going to coffee?"

"Honestly, Lucas, a date scares me. My mouth just said the words and I'm not sure why. Can we just see where friendship goes?" He smirked.

"Of course."

She appreciated that he didn't push the subject. It helped her trust him for sure.

"So how are your kids doing with sleeping in their rooms?" she asked, as they started walking over by Nora.

"Amie has slept in her room the last week consistently. Ace's dreams scare him so he has been in my room in his sleeping bag."

"Any luck getting him into a therapist?"

"Truthfully, I'm wondering if he would even talk to someone he doesn't know. Wouldn't talking about his past just bring it up and make it harder to deal with?"

"Personally, I went to a therapist when my aunt passed away and talking about losing her helped me a lot. It was uncomfortable at first, but after the first couple sessions, I felt so much better."

"That's good to know. Thank you for your input."

"You're welcome."

"Mama!" Nora yelled, running over with her arms full of books. "Wook!"

"Wow, sweetie. That's a lot of books."

"Want, pease!"

"You can have two," she told her, holding up two fingers.

"Noooooooooooo!" Nora yelled, laying down on the floor and kicking her legs, big fake tears rolling down her cheeks.

Elizabeth picked her up and put the books on the shelf nearby. "Nora Thatcher, you know better than to throw a fit, don't you?"

"Nooooo!" she yelled, still sobbing.

"No books today if you keep yelling."

She took in a quick breath and sighed. "Pease, Mama!"

"Say you're sorry for throwing a fit, please."

"I sowee."

Nora hugged her, well acquainted with what she needed to do after apologizing.

Elizabeth was so embarrassed at this point that her daughter had thrown a fit, she was close to tears herself.

Lucas felt bad for Elizabeth but she was handling things well. He didn't know how to reason with a child as young as Nora so he wouldn't offer any advice.

"Pease, Mama? Book?"

"No more fits. We can have two books today. That's all."

"Two, Mama."

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth told Lucas. "So embarrassing."

He put his hand on her arm and squeezed for a brief second. "Don't be sorry. Kids are unpredictable sometimes and you handled that very well."

"I wonder if I made the right choice sometimes," she mumbled, wiping a tear that had snuck out.

"I get it, Elizabeth. I feel the same way sometimes. Am I enough for Amie and Ace? Do they need someone with more experience, a mom and a dad? Are my choices that I make for them the right ones? Its overwhelming. Sometimes I just want someone to talk to, you know?"

"Yes, I do know. You can talk to me."

"May I say something…blunt?"

"Sure." She chuckled and looked up at him. "I'm not sure how I'll respond but you can say what you want."

"You don't really seem comfortable with me…even as a friend. So are you sure that I can talk to you and you'll be receptive?"

"Trevor…did a number on me, Lucas. Its hard for me to trust people, men in particular."

She could see the next question on the tip of his tongue so she answered it so he wouldn't have to ask it.

"He wasn't physically abusive. He cheated, multiple times, with my best friend and others."

"What a loser," he muttered.

"Yeah well. Needless to say, getting into any kind of relationship isn't on the top of my list."

"We have quite a bit in common, Elizabeth."

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"Crystal cheated on me too. Finally when we made it official and broke up, she was pregnant and it wasn't mine even though she claimed it was. Paternity tests are a wonderful thing."

"She's a loser too," Elizabeth told him as she took the two books that Nora handed her. "These are the two you want, boo?"

She nodded and reached to be picked up. Elizabeth did so and turned to Lucas. "We are ready to check out. Do you want to go get coffee now?"

"I can't. I need to pick up the kids from Uncle Lee's house before he goes nuts." Lee was a good uncle but he only had so much patience.

"Alright. But two more days and its a date. After class. Er…a non date. Just friends."

She nodded and gave him a smile. It didn't feel awkward anymore. "See you then."

…..

"Misbehavior" was written on the board at their parenting class on Monday night. Elizabeth was paying close attention, even though she was sitting next to Lucas and he smelled very good.

"Who has run into this challenge in their life?" Molly asked. Every single person raised their hand.

"Who wants to share tips on what to do when a child is throwing a fit in a public place."

"Are you seriously in my head, Molly?" Elizabeth asked, much louder than intended.

"I'm not, but do you have something you want to share?"

"I just want tips on how to handle it. I doubt myself so much."

"You did great, Elizabeth."

"Thank you for saying that, Lucas."

"Would you like to share?" Molly asked Elizabeth again.

Elizabeth stood up and sighed. "I was in the bookstore with Nora, my daughter, and when I told her she could only have two books, instead of the five she brought me, she had a meltdown. I told her she wasn't going to get any books unless she said she was sorry and didn't throw any more fits."

"That sounds like a good way to handle such a young child. You didn't have to reason too much with her and did she apologize?" Molly asked.

"Yes."

"Then you were successful."

"Told you," Lucas whispered with a smirk.

"What if she had just kept screaming?"

"Take her out of the situation," a woman named Faith said from the back of the class. "Not only is it embarrassing to the parent but it can be disruptive, depending on where you are. If you take her out of the situation, it can distract her from the reason for her fit."

"That's a good tactic, Faith. Thank you," Molly told her.

The class continued and Beth got quite a few more tips and tricks and then it was time for their non-date.

There was only one coffee shop downtown Hope Valley so that's where they went. The Valley Cup was owned by an older gentleman, Henry.

"Evenin' folks," he said, nodding as they walked in.

"Evenin', Henry," Lucas said, surprising Elizabeth.

"You come here often?" she teased.

"That pick up line is so overused," he teased back.

"Pick up…no, no that's not what I meant."

"I was teasing," he assured her. "Really, I knew what you were asking. I come here every Monday night after class."

"Wow."

"The usual, Henry," Lucas said as he moved up to the counter. "And put Elizabeth's on my tab."

"I can pay for myself," she told him. "I insist."

Lucas saw an almost panicked look in her eyes and he realized that he had perhaps pushed a bit too much.

"Of course. She will pay for her own."

"Very well. Elizabeth, what can I get you?"

"May I have a decaf vanilla latte and a piece of carrot cake?"

"Coming right up."

After paying, they found a table by the window and sat down, waiting for their items.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I didn't mean anything by offering to pay."

"Please don't apologize. I'm much too sensitive. I'm hoping if we keep doing this, I will change a bit."

"Please know I don't want you to change because of me. I would like us to have fun getting to know each other as friends, but I want you to be yourself too."

"I'm so much work, Lucas. Maybe this was a mistake." He could see her doubting herself and he knew it probably stemmed from her idiot of an ex husband.

"Elizabeth, I want to be your friend. I hope I can help you see that you are enough."

How could he be so darn nice to her? Were there really men out there with so much patience and kindness? Did he really want to be her friend?

"You may regret saying that."

"Doubt it but I'm willing to find out."

She steeled her look and put her hand out. He shook it. "Friends."

"Friends."