Author's note: Thanks to Avis Minter for expressing a wish about Lucas' peculiar sleeping arrangement at the end of this chapter!
—--
Grace smiled softly as she felt Lucas inhaling deeply, leaning into her. She could feel he was relaxed and she lovingly sneaked her fingertips under his coat sleeve, caressing his warm skin.
It was impossible not to love him.
She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"How did your meeting with the prime minister go?", she asked, enjoying the feeling of his arms around her waist.
Lucas opened his eyes, watching the view in front of him. Beautiful nature and strands of Grace's hair softly blowing in the wind took his breath away.
It was perfect.
"It was good", Lucas said, leaning his cheek on her temple "He just asked my help about finding someone for the Governor's Board of Health who would also have a position at the Capitol City Hospital."
"Hm…Do you have any ideas whom could you call?", asked Grace, her fingers still caressing his forearm.
Lucas shook his head.
"No idea. But I will think about it, consult with my staff, see what do they think", he said, a soft sigh escaping him as he enjoyed her gentle caress. It relaxed him so much.
"And what is the position at the Hospital?", she asked.
"Child surgeon", replied Lucas.
Grace creased her eyebrows, trying go remember does Lillian know somebody who could do it, considering that she recently finished her studies to become a nurse.
But then a thought popped in her mind, causing her mouth to open a bit, her eyes widening.
"Lucas… I may have an idea", she turned her head slightly to her left to look up at him, still leaning on his shoulder. She smiled as she spoke "What about Carson?"
Lucas' opened his mouth a bit in surprise, his eyes sparkling.
"I can't believe it that I didn't remember him!", he mumbled, a smile curling up his lips to a point where his dimples showed up in all their glory "Sweetheart, that's a wonderful idea!"
Grace smiled happily.
Lucas could feel his heart being completely full. It was completely natural to just be with her, talking about everyday's life, hearing her opinion about the current situation concerning his job, working in the kitchen with her, like they did at Minnie's today and having lunch together.
It felt like home.
It felt like family.
He leaned down and caught her rosy lips in a long, gentle kiss. She sighed into their kiss, her palm reaching to the back of his head, gently pulling him closer. Her other palm was still in his sleeve, working magic on his skin.
Lucas pulled back slightly and looked at Grace. Her lips were rosy and a bit swollen from his kisses, her eyes sparkled like stars, her hair softly tousled and her cheeks and tip of her nose slightly red from the cold winter air.
She was beautiful.
"Come on", he kissed the icy tip of her cute nose "You're freezing. I left the heat on in the car".
He moved like he will pull back from her, but she stopped him by holding onto his forearms.
"I told you it was impossible to be cold around you", she said softly as she slowly turned in his embrace.
Lucas' eyes darkened at her words and he cupped her cheeks to warm them before leaning down and kissing her passionately, making her whimper in delight.
She placed one hand on his cheek, the other one on his chest, feeling his heartbeat racing. Her heart soared at the feeling of it under her fingers and she kissed him lovingly, breathing him in.
As their lips parted, she leaned her forehead on his, breathing heavily.
"God, I love you. So much", she whispered, her entire being tingling from his love.
Lucas' heart swelled at her loving words, his entire body yearning for her.
"Je t'aime aussi, ma cherié" ("I love you too, my darling"), he whispered, his hands sneaking down her back and to her waist and he pulled her closer to him, diving in for another kiss, his heart singing to hers.
She welcomed his passion matching it with her own as she pulled on his lower lip, soft whimpers of pleasure escaping her as his breath mingled with hers. Lucas sighed into her teasing of his lower lip only to let out a growl as Grace deepened their kiss, her tongue caressing his mouth lovingly.
He pulled her closer to him, his entire body pulsing with love, passion and desire for her.
She pressed into him, her lips devouring him, driving him mad.
Don't lose control, Lucas. Don't do it.
Somehow he managed to pull back and they both gasped for breath. Grace tried to move away from Lucas, but swayed on her feet, her knees buckling under her. He quickly caught her before she could fall and held her close to him.
She hid her face in his neck, her gasps for air hitting his skin, making him wish she could always stay here, in his arms.
He tried to calm his own breathing down, his palm caressing her long soft hair. He could feel her starting to calm down, only an occasional tremor that rushed through her showing him the effect he had on her.
And his love for her grew just a bit more.
He gently kissed her hair, holding her in his arms.
She pulled away slightly and looked at him, her lips curling up in a happy smile.
"I told you what your French does to me. What are you trying to do, make me fall and break my legs?", she quipped, her voice laced through with passion.
Lucas smiled back at her.
"I wouldn't let you fall, ever. I'll always catch you", his eyes were dark and sparkling, making her breath hitch. He gently kissed her forehead and took her hand "Come on. Lets get you out of this cold."
She accepted his hand and they went back to the car.
As Lucas adjusted the heat in the car, Grace took their lunch out from the basket, along with thermos.
"What's in there? Tea?", he asked as he helped her by taking two cups from the basket and holding them out for her.
Grace shook her head, her lips softly curling up.
"Oh, no. Something way more better", and with those words, she opened the thermos and poured the beverage in one cup.
Lucas couldn't help but smile.
Hot chocolate.
He looked at her, his smile growing bigger.
"Really?", he teased her gently.
Grace creased her eyebrows, pretending to be offended.
"What? I like it. If you don't, good, there'll be more for me", she winked at him.
Lucas laughed and watched her lovingly as she took a sip of her hot chocolate, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the taste.
He took out the rest of the food and distributed it on two plates, letting Grace enjoy her warm beverage.
They ate in comfortable silence and once they finished, Lucas looked at her.
"Are you up for a short walk before we go back?"
Grace nodded.
"That sounds divine. And I can finally tell you what I found out these past few days", she said, a soft smile on her face as she left the car.
Lucas waited for her with a smile of his own and outstretched hand.
Grace happily laced her fingers with his and then slowly started to walk.
"Well, for starters, I can tell you that you don't have to worry about tonight. I was in the Mercantile catching up with Ned when Florence came carrying flyers with your photo and welcome back message", she spoke as they roamed between the trees "Florence said that it will be good to see you again and that Hope Valley owes you a lot. Ned said that he is really looking forward to seeing you and that he is glad they kept in touch with you", she hesitated a bit, afraid that she will open an old wound, but knew she had to tell him "Florence said that she still can't believe what Elizabeth did to you and that she could at least tell you earlier and not wait until you had to board the train", she grew silent, looking up at him.
Lucas brought her hand to his lips and lovingly kissed her knuckles. Their eyes met and she let out a breath of relief.
He was alright.
Grace watched as her feet pushed the remnants of snow under her boots.
"That's when Florence suggested that they could invite you for dinner so you know you still have friends here", said Grace.
Lucas softly smiled.
"That's good to hear", he silently said "I know that people think highly of Elizabeth here and…", he spoke, but stopped as Grace snorted. His lips curled up in a lazy smile "What?"
"Oh, you'd lose that bet, my love!", she smirked "There are actually quite a few people who speak more highly of you than of her", said Grace.
As the wind picked up they went back to the car. Lucas adjusted the heating while Grace searched for something in their lunch basket.
She took out some blueberry cookies and offered him one, then held the other one with her lips while she put the rest of them back in the basket.
Lucas smiled at that sight.
She was truly adorable.
Unaware of his thoughts, Grace took a bite and after swallowing it, she continued with a smile:
"Hickham said that you always gave a chance to everybody. He said you entrusted him to manage Queen of Hearts in your absence. He didn't want to go into what happened between you and Elizabeth, but he said that you don't deserve to be judged so harshly without you even being here to defend yourself and tell your side of the story."
Grace watched Lucas' face for any sign of pain or stress, but nothing of that kind was there.
"I told him that he should tell you that when he sees you, that you would appreciate it", Grace said, her palm gently rubbing his upper arm.
Lucas slowly nodded.
"I do", he whispered.
Grace gave him a sad smile.
"I know. It just surprises you, doesn't it? To hear that many people are actually supporting you, right?", at his slight nod, Grace raised her eyebrows "For me, the biggest surprise was Lee."
Lucas' eyebrows creased.
" What did he say?, he asked.
Grace took a deep breath in.
"He said that you saved Rosemary's life when she had high fever, that you gave all the ice you had in the saloon, drove them when she got in labour and stayed with him until Goldie was born. He told me that you asked him to be your best man and that he is not sure that he deserves that honour. He said that he never reached out to see how are you doing because of Rosemary's friendship with Elizabeth ", Grace talked slowly and gently, knowing that all this must be hard for Lucas.
Lucas rubbed his forehead before letting out a frustrated breath.
Grace shook her head.
"I commented that he behaved like that because of the peace at home. He wonders if that makes him a bad man. He told me he was really looking forward to see you and now he doesn't even know how to behave around you", Grace finished and her hand reached out to take Lucas' fingers.
He let her take his hand, his eyes downcast and he shook his head.
"Lee is a good man. He just… he doesn't seem to be able to stand up to Rosemary", he mumbled "I understand him, but back then it would mean a lot if he said at least something to me, you know, in private, over the phone, in a letter, whatever. But, he didn't."
Grace nodded, gently caressing his knuckles with her thumb.
"But, you know…he was with Rosemary and Elizabeth when he saw us on the Main Street once you arrived", she blushed, her smile growing as she remembered how Lucas kissed her "And he showed them that he was glad because of us."
Lucas looked up at her.
"How do you know that?", he asked, his lips curling up.
This lovely woman never ceases to amaze me and makes me fall in love with her over and over again.
Grace giggled.
"A little bird told me", she replied with a grin.
Lucas chuckled.
"A little bird?", he asked.
Grace nodded.
"Our host - Mrs. Yost", she quipped, making Lucas laugh hard. She giggled to her own unexpected rhyming, then creased her eyebrows "Or was it Molly?", she shook her head "Well, they jumped me up when I left you to get some rest and told me all about it", Grace ended the sentence quite dramatically.
This sent Lucas to absolute hysterics.
"Hey!", Grace tried to sound like she's scolding him, but couldn't help but laugh as well.
"Oh, my poor Grace, left all alone at mercy of FloMo force!", somehow, Lucas managed to mumble through laughter.
Grace giggled, her shoulders shaking from laughter.
"Oh, they are something alright!", she suddenly gasped "Lucas! Don't you dare to start laughing at dinner! You know I wouldn't be able to last long with you cracking up!", as those words left her lips, Lucas collapsed with his head on Grace's lap, laughing his heart out!
That was it for Grace - she bursted to laughter, running her fingers through his lovely hair.
Lucas covered his face with both hands, laughing so hard that his stomach muscles started to ache. By now Grace doubled over from laughter, leaning her head on his elbows, throwing her hands over his folded ones and just hanging there, unable to move from laughing!
Lucas bent his knees trying to help his stomach muscles to recover, but to no avail. Grace gasped for breath, giggling like there's no tomorrow and he bursted to fresh fits of laughter again!
Grace wiped tears that showed up from laughing and leaned in her seat, trying to catch a breath.
Her fingers absently went back into Lucas' hair and she gently caressed it, letting him laugh and relax as long as he had to.
Lucas wiped tears of laughter from his cheeks and as he put his hands down, he looked up at Grace's dear face.
He watched her with so much love that she nearly forgot to breathe.
She smiled at him, her fingertips gently massaging his temples, his head and made him feel relaxed like he hasn't been since … forever.
Lucas closed his eyes, let out a breath and whispered:
"I don't want to move".
Grace softly smiled.
"Then don't. We have time", she pulled her fingers through his hair in slow, lazy movements, making him let out a sigh and his breathing slowly started to become deeper.
Grace continued to weave her fingers gently through Lucas' hair, her eyes never leaving his handsome face.
She saw the moment when exhaustion took over and he fell into a peaceful sleep. She knew how hard he was working lately, how exhausted he actually was.
And to actually be able to help him relax and rest - well, that was a chance she won't miss.
"Sleep, my love", she whispered.