Chapter 1 News from Hope Valley

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Lucas called out as he finished the sentence he was writing, and then looked up to find his assistant with the mail.
"I will open the business mail, but there is an envelope that looks to be personal, so I wanted to deliver those straight to you. When we meet in the morning, I will have reviewed the rest, and we can go through it as necessary. There is tea on the way. I will stoke the fire if you would like to take it in the sitting area." He set the envelope in his in-box and waited for a reply.

"Yes, thank you, Marcus; I think I will get up and stretch my legs a bit and then take tea by the fire. I do need to finish my correspondence, but first, a respite is definitely in order. It has been a long day." Just then the tea service arrived and was set out for him.
"Well, if that will be all Sir, I will leave you to your tea."

"It's Lucas, at least while we are alone," he told his assistant who was some years older.

"Yes, Sir, Lucas, Sir." He then nodded and left the room quietly shutting the door behind him.

Lucas smiled, rose from his chair and reached for the envelope. His heart skipped a beat as he realized who had sent it…. Elizabeth. He no longer felt the glimmer of hope that he had those first months when he received word from her. Nor the sadness that came the next many months. But seeing her seal still did not pass without a momentary pang of long-ago feelings that he had had to tuck away.

Theirs was a great love that he had thought would be with them forever. For that matter, so had Elizabeth. They were soulmates or so it seemed. But as fate would have it, circumstances would unfold that sent them on different paths. It had begun with some innocent questions from Jack Jr. about his daddy. They knew that someday these would come up, but not quite so soon. They were well into planning their wedding when the questions triggered grief, over Jack, to resurface in Elizabeth. She had kept it pretty much to herself, and then a couple of trusted friends, as she processed her feelings. Then the water diversion crisis hit Hope Valley and Lucas had become focused on catching the perpetrators which had eventually ended in his need to leave to seek the legislative seat for the region to defeat Balfour. They had been just three weeks away from their wedding day when Elizabeth had shocked him at the train station. She had planned to go with him to the convention but within minutes of boarding the train she had told him that she couldn't go. He quickly realized that there was more than that. That her heart was no longer all with him and that she was tied to Hope Valley while he was destined to go to slay dragons to save their town. He had taken the high road and acted as if he had sensed something wrong but hadn't wanted to bring it up. He did so to take the burden of the breakup upon himself. After all, he loved her and all he had ever wanted was her happiness… even if that was not with him.

He didn't want to think about the dark days and months that followed. He let the campaign consume him in order to keep out the gloom that threatened. He had to focus solely on his mission. And then the night of the victory, he was shot and lay in a hospital bed for over a month recuperating. He had all that time to suffer through the heartache wondering how it all had gotten away. The "brass ring" as Carson had one time put it.

Bill had arrived within a couple days of his hospitalization. Elizabeth and Nathan had both wanted to come with him, but it was decided that Elizabeth needed to stay with Little Jack in Hope Valley and they needed Nathan in town for protection from Lucas' enemies. Elizabeth had sent him a long letter which she had Bill deliver. He had read the letter perhaps a dozen times before he left the hospital. And several more over the two and a half years since their parting. He was at peace now; knowing in his heart that while they might have been happy had they stayed together, perhaps there might have been another set of circumstances down the road that would highlight the fact that despite the love, they were not perfectly suited. She was meant for their Hope Valley life. She had more than once seriously worried that she and Jack Jr would not be enough for him. And he had assured her otherwise. "You are my adventure, you are my passion he had told her," and he had meant it. But he was fated for a bigger stage, forced there by circumstances beyond his desire or control. He was anointed as the one person that could save Hope Valley from the scheme concocted by Montague and Balfour to divert their water. A scheme that had already disseminated nearby communities.

He had taken his seat in the legislature when the session began just a few weeks after leaving the hospital. It was 1921 and a new Premier was elected; he needed to fill a cabinet seat for the Ministry of Economic Development. Lucas, to his surprise, was earmarked for the position. The new Premier brought a new Party to power and Lucas fit their platform. So, within months, he had another new position to contend with. But he quickly saw all the good he could do as Minister instead of a district Legislator and settled in quickly. An acquaintance of his in Buxton had filled his legislative seat. Lucas had to travel to hear the concerns of communities across the Province. He had made three trips to Hope Valley. The first was just before he had become minister. He was greeted to accolades by the residents and while there was a touch of awkwardness with some that first time, they had all embraced him with open arms. He was especially happy to see Jack Jr who was now a full six months older but had not skipped a beat in his joy at seeing his buddy. He had run to Lucas, and he had swung the boy up into his arms, with a little effort mind you. The boy was growing so fast.
"Buddy, I missed you," Jack said. "You won and mama says you are very busy."
"Yes, Jack I am very busy, but I will come to see you whenever I can. And I will continue to write you in between, okay?"
The boy nodded and hugged Lucas tightly around the neck.

"Jack, give your buddy some space to breathe," Elizabeth said.

Lucas, heart lurched in his chest, "Elizabeth it is good to see you," he said while trying keep his voice calm and level. This was the first time he had seen her since the night at the train station. He had received her letter and he had finally spoken to her on the phone just before he joined the legislative session. They had both gotten to a point where they accepted that they would always love one another and would remain friends.

While in Hope Valley that first trip, he had spent most of his time at the Queen of Hearts, meeting with Mike who was running the Hotel. He planned to offer him a minority partnership in the business soon and was having a lawyer draw up the paperwork. He also spent time with Lee, who was now Mayor, about town business.

After that first trip, he made two other business trips to Hope Valley; the last one had been just after the New Year (1923). Mike had now been his partner for over a year, he had bought in with some savings and was working off the remainder. Lucas had been more than generous with the deal. Mike and Mei were married and expecting their first child in the late Spring. Lucas was happy for them; they would be excellent parents. Mike was beside himself with anticipation.

Jack Jr was growing like a weed. He was in 2nd grade now at the Jack Thornton School. They continued to be pen pals and wrote every three or four months. His mother or Allie helped him of course, but he was getting more proficient with each little letter. Always filled with what he was doing and learning. Generally, he would include a picture that he had drawn.

Elizabeth would always drop him at least a line to catch him up on news. He spoke with Lee on the phone from time to time mostly about business activities, so between the two he was kept abreast of town happenings.

Allie was set to graduate in June; she had been helping with Jack's care as much as she could. Now that he was in school, she could walk him there and back home and take care of him until Elizabeth returned home as well. She often babysat at other times as well.

Elizabeth remained unmarried but had started to accept dates with Nathan for a little over a year. They had been close friends for several years now, from back while Lucas and Elizabeth were courting and engaged but had more recently decided to test the waters in a more romantic relationship. He knew of this firsthand, as Nathan had come to see him while in Edmonton on police business. He had told Lucas that his feelings for Elizabeth had rekindled and he wanted to let him know that he was going to pursue a relationship with her if she was amenable. It was an awkward conversation, but they muddled through it. Lucas wasn't sure what Nathan expected him to say or do, but he did appreciate that he had heard this from him and not through the gossip mill. When he had visited earlier this year, they were still dating but he heard no discussion of marriage plans. He was pleased to see that Elizabeth seemed happy and he hoped that she had found what she was looking for. He, on the other hand, had not even begun to entertain the idea of finding someone.