A/N: This story is for the Lucabeth fans. If you are Team Nathan, this will likely disappoint or even anger you, so I discourage you from proceeding. If, however, your curiosity must be satisfied, I ask please that any criticisms be polite and impersonal. As for you Lucabeth fans, I don't write this story to be cruel to the other side. It is just an imagined scenario, and what might happen in such a situation.
Heart of a Governor
Chapter 1
It had been three months since Governor Lucas Bouchard had left Hope Valley to take up his official residency in the Governor's Mansion in Capital City, when he was gently jostled awake in the middle of the night by his new Chief of Staff, Henry Gowen.
"Lucas," Henry said as he shook his shoulder. "Lucas, wake up."
Lucas opened his eyes, disoriented for a moment until he saw Henry face, drawn and tense in the glow of the bedside lamp.
"What?" he asked, suddenly wide awake, his heart pounding rapidly. "What's happened?"
"I just got a call from Bill. Nathan Grant was killed tonight."
"What?" Lucas repeated in shock. But his next thought came from a place of sickening fear: "Elizabeth?"
"She's fine. Everyone else is fine, although Nathan managed to kill the man who shot him. Bill said it happened very fast. Nathan and a few other Mounties were ambushed about five miles south of Hope Valley by a gang of bootleggers coming up from the US. The Mounties had been on their trail for three days. The rest of the gang got away."
Lucas pulled back the bedding and sat on the edge of his bed, his hands traveling heavily over his face and up through his hair, his mind awhirl. But then his thoughts suddenly clicked into place, and all he knew was that he needed to be there.
"Make the arrangements for my trip to Hope Valley."
Henry nodded, having fully expected this. He left Lucas alone then, and the governor's eyes went to the phone by his bed. Part of him longed to hear Elizabeth's voice, if only for reassurance that she really was all right. And while he was relieved that she was safe physically, he knew she must be devastated inside. This would be her worst nightmare coming true—again.
It was incomprehensible to Lucas how she must be coping. He could see her in his mind's eye trying to be strong for little Jack, for Nathan's adopted daughter, Allie. He shuddered thinking of the spunky young lady and the loss she must be experiencing. The entire town would feel the blow of this loss, and Lucas wished he had an airplane to get there faster than the twenty-two hour train ride ahead of him. He didn't know exactly what help he could be, but he still felt like he was a part of the town, part of its citizenry that he loved and missed so deeply; thus, his intense desire to share in their grief with them.
But despite the continued calls in Parliament for him to step down, he was still the Governor, still had responsibilities. It would take several hours to temporarily tie up loose ends, to reschedule important meetings, to release a statement explaining why he was leaving Capital City once more for the distant frontier town of Hope Valley. He knew this would embolden his detractors to broach the subject of impeachment again, and it would likely stir the political pot with newspaper editorials once more questioning his priorities. Frankly, as the morning wore on and he became increasingly eager to leave, Lucas was having a difficult time giving a damn.
He made the time to call Lee for an update of the news of the town. A few months before, Lee had come with him to help organize the designation of the failed Hope Valley resort property as a national park. Without his wife and infant daughter, Lee had lasted in Capital City a week, and with great apology, begged off to return to his family and businesses back home. Lucas had no malice toward him because of it; in actuality, he envied the man, and let him go with sincere gratitude and a warm handshake.
Florence answered at the Hope Valley switchboard. Lucas could just imagine her there in Yost's Mercantile and his heart squeezed with homesickness.
"Florence, it's Lucas. Would you connect me to Lee's house please?"
"Oh, Lucas," she said tearfully. "Things are so terrible right now. Poor Elizabeth! Poor Allie! Such an unimaginable loss."
"Yes, I've heard the sad news," he said patiently.
"Those terrible bootleggers! The nerve of them, trying to smuggle alcohol back over the border. Can't you use your power as Governor and do something about this, before more of our fine young men are killed?" Then she dissolved into sobs.
Prohibition had come to the United States, and so with it the rise of bootleggers and rumrunners smuggling alcohol from Canada into the US. Though other areas in the province had localized prohibition, Hope Valley had never opted to prohibit the sale of alcohol—one of the reasons Lucas had decided to buy The Queen of Hearts there years before. Still, the Mounties had their hands full lately, helping local dry counties keep alcohol out and wet counties prevent bootleggers from crossing into the US with their smuggled merchandise as they worked with the US police.
"I just called Commissioner Perry to ask him to send additional Mounties and police to the area," Lucas advised. Telling Florence was probably the most efficient way to disseminate this information, he thought, and hopefully help to calm the fears of the townspeople. Bill had heard the same news from Henry right before Lucas had called for Lee.
"Bless you, Lucas. I'll transfer you to Lee now."
He thanked her, and after a few rings, Lee's somber voice answered.
"Lee, please hold for Governor Bouchard," said Florence, and after Lucas greeted him, the click on the line signaled the operator had hung up.
"Lucas," Lee said. "I suppose Bill called you about—about Nathan."
"Yes. I can't tell you how sorry I was to hear it. How is…everyone?"
"Understandably shaken. Rosemary and I are worried about Elizabeth though. She's barely spoken since she got the news, and I haven't even seen her cry yet."
Lucas felt his heart drop into his stomach, his eyes stinging at the thought of her anguish. "She's likely in shock," he managed weakly. "And how is Allie?"
"Understandably hysterical. She hasn't left Elizabeth's side. Bill had the sad task of informing Nathan's parents, and they're on their way here. Rosemary is next door, while I'm here watching Jack and Goldie." He paused, giving a tired and forlorn sigh. "It was a long night, and the food is starting to pile up here from the well-meaning ladies of the town."
"I'm coming as soon as I can get out there," announced Lucas. "Nathan was a fine man, a brave Mountie; I'd like to pay my respects. Despite our past tension where Elizabeth was concerned, I held no malice toward him; indeed, I came to consider him a friend. But I worry some will think I've come out there to reclaim Elizabeth, when that's not the case at all. Do you think I-I should stay away?" His voice shook a little in a rare show of vulnerability.
"Your true friends know your heart, Lucas. No need to explain to us. We welcome your presence—I'm sure Elizabeth will too. She still cares about you, you know."
"And I her," he said, though his feelings for her would always go beyond mere caring.
"It will be good for her to have her close friends around her at a time like this. It's all just so tragic, so terribly sad."
Lucas swallowed hard over the lump in his throat.
"Well, I'll uh, leave it up to you whether you let anyone know I'm coming. If it seems too…difficult, too awkward, I'll just make an appearance at the funeral and leave right afterwards."
"I honestly don't know how it will be, Lucas, but I for one will be happy to see you, my friend. Safe travels."
"Thanks, Lee. My best to Rosemary and Goldie, and well, to everyone there. Good-bye."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Henry and two armed bodyguards traveled with Lucas in a private train car. Gone were the days of being without protection, given the recent incident with Jeanette (who still sat in jail, awaiting trial), and the anger and suspicion directed at Lucas for his supposed part in it. His past life in New Orleans and around the globe was now fodder for the papers and scandal sheets, every report purposely blown out of proportion or filled with downright lies in order to sell papers, and he'd received many death threats because of it. The pressure of it all was weighing on him, and were he not headed to Hope Valley under such unhappy circumstances, he might have felt relief to be getting away.
He slept in the bedroom section of the luxurious Pullman car for several hours, the rhythm of the train lulling his mind and body to a deep sleep. When he awakened, he offered the use of it to Henry, but he'd refused, having slept on the couch in the parlor.
Throughout the long journey, Lucas couldn't focus enough to read the book he'd brought, and the endless official paperwork that needed his signature remained locked in his suitcase. Henry wasn't much of a small talker, and sat reading his own book—the new Hemingway novel—and for that Lucas was grateful.
For his part, Lucas stared out the window as the train passed beautiful mountains, forests, lakes, towns, large cities. As night fell, he looked out into the darkness as the full moon seemed to race with them down the tracks. All the while he relived the events of his last year as governor, and the three years before that, when he'd come to Hope Valley and fallen in love with Elizabeth.
The scenes flashed through his mind like a moving picture show. The first time he'd seen her, that day when he'd taken over the Queen of Hearts. He'd felt like someone had reached inside his chest and switched on a light. Everything in his life suddenly became brighter, sharper, more…real.
The look on her face when she'd found he'd bought her a library.
The time he'd taken her to see Virginia Woolf, how he couldn't believe that she'd actually agreed. Then, he'd pulled out all the stops to wine and dine her, had bluffed through his knowledge of the author in a juvenile attempt to impress her. How she'd forgiven him for that, and even appeared flattered by his prevarication. How the color of her dress had competed with the blush on her lovely cheeks.
Their picnic that had ended in a downpour, the sound of their breathing in the cramped space of his car competing with the loud pelting of the rain on the roof. How he'd almost kissed her.
The first time he'd let her go…
The first time he'd kissed her on the bridge, when his heart had filled up like a hot air balloon, lifting him high above the trees and into the clouds. Because at long last, she'd chosen him.
That night he'd spent in her house, kissing her while little Jack slept between them, feeling like he'd found a home for the first time in his life as he'd carried her boy up the stairs.
The many kisses filled with passion and longing and beauty and rightness. The feel of her soft skin beneath his hands, the promise of her yielding lips beneath his mouth.
How he'd loved her son and seen a future where the boy might one day call him Dad, might one day protect his little sister or brother.
When she'd told him she loved him, thinking he was asleep on her settee, how, despite how his pulse had pounded in his brain, he'd lain still because he'd known she wasn't ready yet to say it when he was awake. His patience had nearly reached its limits that night, but it had paid off when he'd been able to confidently say the words himself, knowing that she'd felt the same.
And yes, sometimes he went over the top with his big gestures, but he craved the look of surprised wonder on her face like an addict craved opium. There just wasn't anything, big or small, that he wouldn't have done to see her smile. His love for her had been too expansive to contain—it needed a release or he felt like he might explode with it.
And then there had been the time when she'd said yes…to everything.
But then she'd left him at the train station…
As long as he lived, Lucas knew he would never fully recover from that moment, how even being shot hadn't come near the pain of losing Elizabeth Thornton.
Becoming governor hadn't been in his plans, hadn't been what he'd wanted, but he'd looked into the faces of the people of Hope Valley, seen their longing for a white knight to save them. How could he refuse them? But he would have, if only Elizabeth had told him she couldn't be there for him. He would have found them another hero and gladly begun his married life in the quiet mundaneness of Hope Valley.
For the four months of his recovery from the shooting, he'd had hope that maybe she'd change her mind and realize that life was too short, that they could work things out, that she'd made a mistake and still loved him after all. She stayed off and on in Capital City, stayed by his bedside, read to him, talked of gossip from home, of nothing deep or serious. They were friends, and she cared about him; that's what three years and a broken engagement had amounted to.
He'd acted like he was okay, that he was dealing with the sudden loss of his entire world. But he had put on a brave face for her, even though it killed him to have her so close but unable to touch her, or kiss her, or tell her how much he was still in love with her.
He tried to comfort himself with the truth he'd told her at the train station, that it had seemed that he was losing her long before that fateful night. He'd known she'd seemed preoccupied, but he'd completely misread the situation. He'd trusted in their love, that they could get through anything, that, after they were married and things settled down after the election, they'd have time to work on their relationship. But it seemed she had lost faith in what they'd built, lost faith in him as a prospective husband.
He couldn't believe the life he had wanted with her could have so easily slipped through his fingers. He'd blamed himself. He'd blamed her. He'd blamed the injustice of the universe. But God help him, he still loved her, and that was the biggest injustice of them all.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Henry drove their rented car through Hope Valley in the late afternoon. The two bodyguards, Hays and Addisson, rode in the back while Lucas sat beside Henry in the passenger seat. Lucas took a deep breath of the familiar mountain air, happier than he'd imagined that he was back, even under the circumstances. There was definitely a pall that hung over the town, all the businesses closed save The Queen of Hearts. Henry pulled up in front of his old establishment, and tiredly disembarked from the car, his security detail close behind.
There was a surprised murmur from those few who had gathered there seeking the comfort of friends and a drink, and Mike Hickam stirred from behind the bar to greet Lucas and Henry. Bill sat at a table by himself, nursing a glass of scotch. He looked up blearily at the new arrivals, and Lucas had the surreal thought that he'd entered a world in the aftermath of a war.
"Lucas, Henry, I'm so glad you're here," said Mike. He glanced worriedly at Bill and lowered his voice. "There's a definite need for leadership around here."
Lucas sighed, shaking Mike's hand. "I didn't come to take over, Mike. I'm here to pay my respects. Are my rooms available? Henry and my guards will need rooms too."
"Your suite is always kept open, Governor." He moved to the check in desk and distributed room keys. His eyes widened at the big men accompanying him. "This is the first time I've seen you with guards. Is something going on?"
Lucas nodded. "Let's just say that I've made a few enemies in the aftermath of recent scandals."
Mike shook his head sadly. "What is this crazy world coming to?"
Henry took his key. "I'll have what Bill's having," he told Mike, and joined Bill at his table.
Lucas looked at his guards. "I'm among friends here, gentlemen. You two get some rest."
Hays and Addisson looked at one another. "But sir, it might not be as safe as you once thought."
"I'm fine. If something happens, I'll take full responsibility."
Reluctantly, they obeyed their boss's orders and headed up the stairs.
Lucas stopped and spoke to Bill on his way out. "Give me the lay of the land, Bill."
"I don't even know where to begin," he said, his voice slurred from the liquor. "Unfortunately, we've been here before." And then, to Lucas's horror, Bill put his face in his hands and wept. Henry immediately patted one of Bill's shoulders, and Lucas the other. Mike hurried over, helping to comfort their normally unflappable friend until he quieted.
Henry mouthed to Lucas that he'd stay with Bill, and Lucas, looking around the sadness that filled the saloon, said, "I'm going to take a walk."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Outside, Main Street was quiet, as if they'd rolled up the town and gone to sleep. The few people still out and about nodded and smiled wanly at him, or waved and said, "Governor Bouchard." Despite the negative press in the rest of the country, he still had admirers here, and the gratitude he felt for that came over him in a rush. He walked to the livery, said hello to his horse, Ishmael, that he still boarded there, wishing he'd brought an apple or two. He petted Elizabeth's horse, Seargent, and then saw that Nathan's was there too.
"Sorry, old boy," he said softly, gently rubbing the face of the Mountie's loyal animal. "I know you'll miss your master." He was glad to see that Newton hadn't seemed to suffer any apparent effects, yet, knowing the last time he'd had been traumatized when he and Nathan had been hit by a car, he kept his voice low and soothing.
Being around the horses had soothed Lucas too, and he left them, promising to return soon with plenty of carrots and apples. Out again in the coolness of the fall evening, he hesitated. He knew where he really wanted to go, but he didn't know if he'd be welcome or helpful. He thought of stopping at Lee and Rosemary's house first, but he found himself walking past it to climb the steps up to Elizabeth's familiar porch.
He hadn't been there since she'd left him at the station, and memories came flooding back, all of them bittersweet. Now that he was there, he wanted to run away again, back to Ishmael and a good hard ride, but there was no place he could go in Hope Valley that didn't carry memories of Elizabeth.
Suddenly, he realized that it had been a mistake coming here. He should have just called or sent a heartfelt letter of sympathy and a funeral wreath. She didn't love him anymore. She had Rosemary and Lee and the other widows in this tragic town who'd lost their true loves too. He could not be a comfort to her—she probably wouldn't even want to see him right now. He would attend the funeral, take her hand a moment, say he was sorry for her loss, and get on the next train back to Capital City and the duties he'd impulsively run away from to be here.
He had just turned around when the door opened, and there stood Rosemary, her face tired and pale. But when she saw who it was, she flew into his arms.
"Oh Lucas! Thank goodness you're here!"
A/N: So, is anywhere still here? I promise that I will proceed with this story respectfully. There will be no Nathan bashing or inappropriate behavior. This is a story of healing. Please (gently) let me know what you think.