Chapter 8
The old clock on the wall chimed 00.48 when Lucas finally closed the doors of his bedroom. Unbuttoning his vest he let out a deep breath.
What a day.
Lucas sat on the edge of his bed, pulling on his tie and unwrapping the knot, he took it off.
As his fingertips slowly worked on the buttons of his shirt Lucas stood up and walked slowly toward the bathroom.
A warm shower before sleep sounded heavenly.
—--
The clock on the wall chimed 04.16.
Grace tiptoed through the hallway, her feet covered only in socks. Slippers made way too much noise when one didn't want to be heard.
She entered the kitchen and opened the fridge.
Taking a bottle of milk she put it on the table and then went back to get a box with blueberry cookies.
"Can't sleep?", Lillian's voice was heard, causing Grace to gasp.
"Lillian! You startled me", she took out a cup and brought it to the table. Looking at her sister, she asked "You want some?"
"Sure", Lillian uncorked the bottle and poured milk in the cups. Grace broke her cookie in half and dipped it in milk. Taking a bite, she closed her eyes, reveling in taste on her palate.
"Mmmhhhm", she mumbled.
Lillian gently smiled, watching her little sister. Except for the sling nothing gave away the ordeal she went through yesterday.
"Were you not scared, Grace?", she asked silently.
Grace looked up.
"Scared?", she asked, her eyebrows slightly creased.
"When you saw that man with a gun", Lillian whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
Grace's eyes shone with understanding.
She reached across the table and took her sister's palm in her fingers, swallowing her tears.
"No", she whispered "it wasn't fear", she gulped "It was desperation. Something inside me just snapped, Lillian. Like something invisible pulled me forward. I didn't even know him and I couldn't let that man kill him", a small sob escaped her causing Lillian to push her chair toward Grace's and carefully put her arms around her.
Grace hugged her sister back and they stayed like that for a few minutes, Lillian gently caressing Grace's hair as she let her cry all the stress out.
When Grace finally calmed down, she slightly pulled back and silently mumbled "You must think I'm crazy. I know I do because I don't even know what I am crying for", she let out a short laugh.
"No, I don't think you're crazy. I know that you feel things more strongly and powerfully than many other people", she gently wiped tears from Grace's cheeks "If you felt something pulling you in his direction then there must be a reason for it."
"I never felt something like that before", Grace whispered, her bottom lip shivering "Well, sometimes I did with kids, like when we just meet them and it always turns out that there's more to them than meets the eye. It just never happened with adults".
"Well, maybe there is more to Lucas than meets the eye", Lillian offered "You'll just have to find out what it is".
Slightly nodding, Grace looked at the table then back at her sister.
"You know, he did tell me that something happened that changed everything, but didn't give me more details. And he did look sad…heartbroken, actually. I just… I didn't want to pry", finished Grace, a small sniff escaping her.
"You think it has to be with something at his old home? Where is he from again?", Lillian asked.
"I'm not sure. Guess we could ask once he gets here…which I still can't believe he will. He is an important man", Grace shook her head looking down.
"A man whose life you saved. It speaks a lot about his character that he didn't just thank you, shake your hand and disappear", Lillian said.
Grace fidgeted in her chair and mutely nodded.
Lillian got up.
"Come on, lets get a bit more beauty sleep before breakfast tasks call upon us", she winked at her sister "And your governor".
Grace gasped, playfully slapping her sister's upper arm.
"Lillian!"
"Oh, come on! Give the poor man some credit! You can't say he's not good looking, even if he was as drenched as a drowning cat… like someone else I may mention", Lillian laughed at the look of pure horror on her little sister's face.
Grace huffed, dragging her feet toward the stairs.
"I'm never going to live this down, won't I?", she whined.
"Oh, you can count on it!", Lillian laughed as they both went upstairs to get a bit more sleep.
—--
There. Bruschettes needed just a touch of oregano and were ready to go to the oven. Croissants were soft and fluffy as clouds and were already being distributed to the plates.
Satisfied with his work, Gustave opened the oven to slide the bruschettes in. He just started to pick them up when Mike's head turned up at the corner.
"Gustave, phone call for you", as the chef looked up, annoyed as ever to be interrupted in his job, Hickham quickly added "You can take it up in the office."
Gustave huffed and threw a tablecloth at Hickam.
"Four minutes. Then you turn off the oven and take them out. Don't burn them. Or yourself. Or the kitchen", rolling his eyes, he walked toward the office, leaving Hickham wondering what on Earth should he be doing now.
Gustave closed the doors and picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Gustave, I got Lucas from Capitol City on line for you", Fiona's voice was heard.
"Ah. Merci", Gustave replied and then smirking, he said "Bonjour, Monsieur Governor. Comment ça va?"
"Bonjour, Gustave. It's good to hear your voice", Lucas warmly smiled then turned serious "Fiona, hung up. Ten seconds are gone. I need to talk to my cousin about private matters", hearing a soft click indicating that the operator has indeed hung up, Lucas shook his head in disbelief.
"Touché, Lucas", Gustave grinned "So, what is this you want to talk to me about? The business is good, unless that clumsy Hickham doesn't burn my kitchen down as we speak. When can we expect Monsieur Governor to grace us with his regal presence?", quipped Gustave.
Lucas sighed "Gustave… I need your help."
The Frenchman turned serious.
"Mais, bien sûr. Anything, Lucas", he replied.
Lucas took a deep breath.
"Gustave, I want you to put the saloon up for sale. Ask Henry, maybe he would want to buy it", he said gravely.
"What… Je ne comprends pas, Lucas. Where will you work when you come back?"
"I'm not coming back. I want you to sell saloon and come here. You will be well situated, I promise", said Lucas.
"But…oh mon dieu, Lucas… what about Mrs….", Gustave stumbled over his words, but Lucas didn't allow him to finish.
"She decided not to go with me", he swallowed hard.
To say that Gustave was stunned wasn't quite right.
"But, she must pack her and petit garçon…", hearing Lucas letting out a strangled sound over the phone, he leaned his hand on the table and listened carefully.
—--
Hickham was proudly watching the bruschettes that were fresh out from the oven when he heard the doors to the office open and slammed closed.
Startled, he looked up to see Gustave storming out from the office.
"Gustave?", he quickly went after him, but the Frenchman didn't react.
Gustave didn't pay attention to people in the saloon as he quickly went to the cellar and came back with a wooden board in one and a hammer in the other hand.
As he walked between the tables, Lee called out asking him what's the matter.
Gustave just muttered in French and went outside.
Florence and Molly were just coming across the street when they saw Gustave hammering a wooden sign in front of the saloon.
A sign that read only two words.
FOR SALE.