CHAPTER 3

With Bobby resting comfortably, Lucas and MaKayla sat down on the floor, close to the fire. They were covered in mud and wet from head to toe. But at least they could both finally relax a little. Lucas looked over at Dr. Donovan with an appraising eye. She had long honey brown hair with blonde streaks that hung down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were hazel with a hint of green and blue. She had a beautiful smile, with pink supple lips. She was a pretty woman by anyone's standards but not classically beautiful. She was tall for a woman, Lucas thought perhaps 5'8 or 9 with curves in all the right places and she was not wearing a corset. What captivated Lucas most were her eyes, something about them. When she looked at him his heart felt lighter. What was it that he saw there, joy, compassion? He didn't know.

Lucas spoke first, "So Dr. Donovan what brings you to Canada? I hear a beautiful Londoner accent. Where are you originally from?" He asked.

She smiled laughingly, "Don't let my accent fool you. I was born in Toronto; my brother was born in Britain and my sister in America. My father is a diplomat, so we traveled a lot. Although I mostly grew up in southwest London, Belgravia, thus the British accent. If I had to pick a place to call home I would pick Belgravia."

Lucas smiled. He knew the area well. He also knew that her family had money as that was a very posh area of London.

"What brought you to Alberta?" he asked.

She looked down for a moment, then captured his eyes once again, "a lot of reasons but mostly I'm here for my father. He was transferred here two years ago, although my father is originally from Capital City. In January my mother passed away from influenza. I thought my father would return to England after her death, but he insisted there is much to do so he stayed. I thought I could use a break from London, so I joined him. And you, Mr. Bouchard, where are you from?" Lucas could tell she was leaving out a lot, but this was certainly not the time to pry.

"I'm sorry about your mother, I'm sure that was difficult. As for me I was born in Montreal, but I have spent a good deal of time in London. My parents own a townhome in Chelsea, although they only spend about a month there every year. I also went to university in London. Although I have no real place that I consider home. My parents traveled a lot too and I continued to do the same until recently."

"Until recently?" MaKayla asked questioningly.

Lucas held her gaze not sure how much to disclose but decided to go with the truth more or less. "Five years ago, I found myself in a little town in the western part of Alberta, it was a refuge for me. Things happened and I decided to stay, that was until I threw my hat into the ring to run for governor of Alberta. It is not a path I ever saw myself on, I despise politics and politicians. But due to circumstances I find myself in the exact position I detest, that of being a politician." He let out a soft chuckle that held no mirth.

MaKayla gazed at the man before her, she had heard all day about how handsome he was, and now that she had laid eyes on him for herself, she had to agree. His onyx hair kept falling into his eyes, giving him a boyish look. She usually did not like beards but she thought his gave him a distinguish look. His smile though genuine did not reach his eyes. His eyes, were hazel, like hers but tended more toward brown then green or blue. His eyes she thought also showed deep despair. MaKayla had seen many men with a similar look, the look of lost hope. But what MaKayla found most appealing about him was his voice, it had such a velvety quality to it and when he whispered, it made her go a little weak in the knees. In looking at this man who had helped her save a little boy's life today, she decided to be honest with him.

"Lucas, I have a confession to make," she looked at him with apprehension as his eyes reflected the same emotion back to her. "I go to Ashford Hills on the 3rd Saturday of every month to work in the clinic there. Before leaving for the clinic this morning, my father asked if I was going to attend your rally since I would be there. As I explained to him, I too despise politics and politicians for reasons that may be very different than yours. None the less I do not involve myself in such things. Once I arrived at the clinic, all of my patients were singing your praises and told me I should go hear you speak." She told him with an amused tone.

She smiled at him now, "You have quite the fan club in Ashford Hills and when word gets out of how you helped with Bobby, I'm sure every citizen in town will vote for you. If Mrs. Thompson hadn't come in with Bobby, I might have attended your speech." She looked at him sheepishly now.

"I admit my patients had me intrigued about you. Also, my father told me this morning that you went to Cambridge and graduated in 1910; my brother also graduated from Cambridge in 1910. Perhaps you two knew each other?"

Lucas looked at her a bit surprised, but then he genuinely broke out into soft laughter. "A fan club you say and I never had to speak a word. What is your brother's name?" He asked curiously.

"Andrew Donovan." She told him.

"Sometimes the world can be very small." He told her. I did know an Andrew Donovan at Cambridge, he was good friends with my best friend, Matthew Aucoin. I didn't know Andrew well, but I liked him." He told her.

"Matthew was a good friend of Andrew's; I had met Matthew several times and liked him very much. I was very sorry to hear of his passing." She told him as she saw his eyes cloud over with the mention of Matthew's passing.

Lucas cleared his throat, "What is Andrew doing these days? Is he here in Canada as well? He asked wanting to change the subject away from Matthew's death.

"No, Andrew is in the RAF. He is currently in Iraq. Father would like him to resign and come home but so far, no luck in convincing him of that." She said sadly. "In my next letter I will certainly tell him that you and I crossed paths."

Lucas looked over at the fire that was dying down, "I better get some more wood for the fire." He got up and went outside. As Lucas stood out on the porch, he looked at all the puddles and the mini river that was flowing to the already overburdened road. The air smelled fresh and clean, after being in the city for the past two weeks he did miss the smells of the countryside that the rain brought out. He also found himself intrigued by the young doctor; he could tell she was a good woman. It was so nice to talk to people about more than just politics. He looked at his watch, it was now almost 6:30 p.m. with the darkness he doubted that anyone would come looking for him tonight. Although Edwin can be very tenacious when he wanted to be, he was pretty sure they were stuck there till morning.

As he stepped back into the cabin, Bobby was awake and throwing up in the bucket. Lucas put the wood down and turned to MaKayla, "Can I help with anything?"

"No, she said quietly, "he is sick to his stomach from the chloroform. It should pass quickly." Lucas looked at the poor boy, he was having a rough day. He went over and added logs to the fire and once again they had a roaring fire keeping them warm.

When he had finished stoking the fire, he walked over to MaKayla and Bobby, "How is he doing?" He asked concerned.

"Actually, pretty good, his fever is down somewhat, vitals still strong and his pain has lessened." She told him.

"Bobby how would you like it if I told you a story." The boy looked up at him with eagerness in his pain filled eyes.

"I like it when my Papa reads me a story. But we don't have any books here." He said sadly.

Lucas laughed, "no worries, I have lots of stories in my head. Would you like to hear a story about Robin Hood?" Lucas said looking at the little boy hoping he'd say yes. Robin Hood was his personal favorite fictional character and a story he loved to tell. Luckily Bobby happily nodded his head yes.

Bobby had long ago fallen back to sleep but Lucas continued his tale as he saw that MaKayla was enjoying it. Since Bobby was sleeping Lucas added more parts for Maid Marion as he thought the good doctor might enjoy that. It was getting late and they were both exhausted, so he drew his tale to a close.

They decided that they should take turns sleeping so someone was awake in case Bobby needed something or his condition changed, plus they needed to keep the fire going. Lucas told MaKayla to rest first. He gave her his jacket to use as a pillow. Despite how uncomfortable the floor was Lucas could hear her quiet rhythmic breathing telling him she was asleep.

The quiet of the darkness let his mind wander. Surprisingly it did not turn to Elizabeth but rather to his best friend Matthew. It had been so long since he had thought of him. Matthew, his brother, not by blood but of the heart. They had attended prep school together, two lonely boys whose parents loved them but yet had no time for them. They became inseparable. Once they left prep school, they both went to Cambridge. Since both of their father's owned their own businesses, following in their father's footsteps seemed what both would do someday. That is until fate stepped in and took them both on a path they had never imagined.

Lucas had suffered from nightmares regarding Matthew's death for years, the nightmares had lessened as the years past and then finally stopped altogether after he and Elizabeth had begun courting. Matthew now seemed like a distance memory, which pained his heart as well. He never shared anything about Matthew with Elizabeth or anyone else for that matter. It just never seemed like the right time, especially after everything that happened with Jeanette in Hope Valley soon after he had arrived in the frontier town.

But now, he met someone that had known him, not well perhaps but could bring up his face and maybe even smile at the thought of him. That brought a smile to Lucas's lips. Despite his exhaustion, Lucas was actually afraid to sleep as he was worried that all these memories of Matthew would cause the nightmares to start all over again.

He kept a watchful eye on Bobby throughout the night, the boy awoke several times and Lucas quietly told him more stories which entertained the young boy. He enjoyed a good story as much as Jack had. Lucas had decided not to wake MaKayla and let her sleep as long as she needed. By 4 a.m. Lucas noticed that the boy was no longer feverish and at one point he had told Lucas how hungry he was. He considered all these to be good signs.

Finally, around 5:30 a.m. MaKayla started to stir, as she opened her eyes, she was taken aback by her surroundings.

"Good morning, Dr. Donovan," Lucas greeted her.

MaKayla sat up abruptly. As she cleared her thoughts, she realized it was not a dream, she was in a cabin with a handsome man and a sick boy.

"What time is?" she questioned him

"It's 5:30 a.m., the rain has stopped as you can see," pointing to the sun streaming through the window, "and Bobby's fever broke a few hours ago as well. Today looks like it is going to be a much better day." He told her with a dimpled grin.

MaKayla stood up and straighten out her skirt and pulled her hair into a ponytail. "Why didn't you wake me? I thought we were going to take turns watching over Bobby?" She asked somewhat annoyed at him.

"You were sleeping so peacefully; I didn't have the heart to wake you. Besides I haven't been sleeping all that well since I started this campaign. I thought it was best to let someone sleep who had no problem doing it." He told her with a chuckle in his voice.

She walked over to where Lucas was sitting next to Bobby and took a quick assessment of the boy's condition. Lucas seemed to be correct, the boy was cool to the touch and was sleeping peacefully.

"Why don't you try to get a little sleep now. I don't mind telling you, you look exhausted and if the voters had a look at you right now, they might be a little frightened." She giggled as she pointed to his hair.

"Ahh, you have seen my unruly mess as it appears before I've had a chance to tame it." He told her as he tried to smooth it into submission.

Despite his hair being a fright and the tiredness showing on his face, he was still an extremely handsome man, she thought.

"Since the rain has stopped," he told her. "I'm going to walk over to the cars and see if I can at least get one of them unstuck so we can get Bobby to the hospital. I expect that my campaign manager will be out looking for me. But you know, it makes a much better story if we can rescue ourselves." He said to her with a wink as he left the cabin.

An hour later Lucas returned to the cabin, covered with more mud, if that was even possible. He came through the door with a big smile on his face, "Milady, your carriage awaits," he said in his best British accent as he bowed and gestured out the door. MaKayla went over and looked out the door, there sat Lucas's car.

"How did you get it unstuck all by yourself?" She asked surprised.

"A gentleman never reveals his secrets." He laughed. "Let's just hope that we don't find ourselves stuck again but overall, the roads don't look too bad now. MaKayla packed up her medical supplies, took the blankets and Lucas carried Bobby to the car. MaKayla got in the back seat and Lucas gently laid Bobby's head on her lap. Although the roads were still pretty messy, they were passable. Fortunately, they encountered no other driving problems and arrived at the hospital an hour later.

Once they arrived, MaKayla got Bobby situated in a bed on the children's ward and went to call Mrs. Thompson. She was sure that the woman was sick with worry. Lucas stayed with Bobby while MaKayla took care of that task. Twenty minutes later, she arrived back to the ward and walked over to Bobby's bed, where she found Lucas fast asleep in the chair next to Bobby.

Bobby whispered to her, "I think Lucas was tired." They both giggled.

"I'm sure he is, but unfortunately, I need to wake him. He has some people he needs to call. Bobby, I spoke to your mother, she will be here later this afternoon. In the meantime, why don't you try to get some more sleep. They will bring you something to eat a little later. OK?" The little boy nodded.

MaKayla knelt down next to Lucas's chair, "Lucas, she said gently, not wanting to startle him, "you need to open your eyes." She gently tapped his knee. He started to stir and whispered, "Elizabeth." MaKayla looked at him with a sad expression, she thought that must be his ex- fiancée's name. "Lucas, it's MaKayla, wake up." Lucas opened his eyes and looked around.

He sat up straight in the chair. "Sorry, I guess I dozed off there for a minute." He said guiltily.

"No worries, you must be exhausted. I thought you would want to get to your hotel. Your campaign manager is probably frantic."

"Yes, I'm sure Edwin is beside himself with worry. Were you able to reach Bobby's mother?" He asked her.

"Yes, I did, she will be here later this afternoon. And you need to get some rest." She chided him.

Lucas stood up and stretched, he knew his back would be aching all day from his activities of the last 24 hours. "Yes doc, I believe I will do just that. Also, please remember to have the bill for Bobby's hospital stay sent to me." He told her in no uncertain terms.

"Thank you, Lucas, I am sure that Mrs. Thompson will appreciate that. I can't thank you enough for all your help." She told him.

"It was my pleasure," he told her with a beaming smile as he turned to leave. Lucas stopped at the nurse's station and asked to use their phone. He needed to let Edwin know he was on his way to the hotel and would explain everything. He was not looking forward to that conversation.

As Lucas picked up the telephone, he heard his name being excitedly called from down the hall. He turned and there was Edwin running down the hall. "Lucas! Lucas! Are you alright? You are a mess."

"Edwin, I'm fine. How did you know I was here?" Lucas asked confused.

"I have a friend who is a nurse at this hospital and she called to let me know that you were here. I called the hospital last night checking if you had been admitted so my friend knew that something was wrong." He told him. "When you didn't show up at the rally yesterday afternoon, we didn't know what to think. Then we heard reports that the main road into Ashford Hills was a disaster and trees were down. When you hadn't shown up by 5:00 p.m. one of the residents showed us an alternate route back to Capital City. When we got to the hotel we spoke to Joshua and knew you were alone; we just didn't know what to think. We were in the process of getting a search party together when my friend called. Now, will you please tell me what happened?" Edwin asked exasperated.

Before he could say anything, MaKayla walked up to Lucas. "Lucas, is everything alright?" Lucas gave her a tired smile.

"Edwin, this is Dr. MaKayla Donovan, who I spent the night with." Edwin's face was incredulous.

"You spent the night with?" Edwin's jaw fell open in surprise. "Lucas you can't be serious?"

"MaKayla, while I use the facilities, could you please explain to my campaign manager the events of last night."

He gave her an appreciative smile and walked away. He was much too tired to deal with Edwin and all his questions right now. She watched as Lucas left, leaving her to deal with this irate man. Well, she guessed she owed him one for all his help.

Lucas was feeling slightly better after being able to splash cold water on his face and smooth down his hair. As he walked back to where he had left MaKayla and Edwin, he could see that Edwin was beaming. Lucas gave a soft chuckle as he approached the duo.

"Edwin, I assume that Dr. Donovan has explained everything that occurred yesterday to your satisfaction?" He said with raised eyebrows.

Edwin was still beaming, "Yes, this is wonderful."

"Wonderful? Edwin, a little boy could have died and…." Lucas trailed off as Edwin started in again.

"Yes, yes, I know but the fact that you and Dr. Donovan worked together to help him, this is wonderful press."

"Edwin, there is no need to publicize what happen. I need to go to the hotel and get a few hours' sleep, I'm exhausted." Lucas then turned his attention to MaKayla, "Dr. Donovan, thank you for taking the time to explain to Edwin what happened yesterday. I'm not sure what my schedule looks like going forward but I will either call or stop by later to check on how Bobby is doing." He gave her a weary smile.

"No thanks needed Mr. Bouchard; I sincerely appreciate all that you did yesterday to help out a sick little boy." MaKayla wasn't sure why Lucas was being so formal now, but she suspected it had something to do with his campaign manager. Lucas turned and walked away as Edwin grabbed her arm.

"Dr. Donovan, I would like to have a reporter speak to you. You know to explain why Lucas missed the rally yesterday. This would be wonderful publicity for his campaign. Do you think the boy's family would mind?" Edwin was rambling on as she started to tune him out.

She could see why Lucas wanted to get away from this very exuberant man. MaKayla was grateful for Lucas's help with Bobby so if their adventure helped out his campaign, she didn't mind speaking to the press about last night and didn't think the Thompson's would mind either. She would ask Mrs. Thompson once she arrived.

The next day Lucas stopped by the hospital to visit Bobby before heading to a rally in Alberta Falls. "Good morning, Bobby, how are you feeling today?"

Bobby looked up at his visitor, "Hi Lucas, did you come to tell me another story?" He asked hopefully.

Lucas smiled at the little boy, "not today, but I did bring you a present," as he took a baseball mitt out from inside his jacket and handed it to Bobby.

"Wow! For me? Thanks!" Bobby and Lucas chatted a little longer. Just as Lucas was getting up to leave, MaKayla came over to Bobby's bed.

"Bobby, I see you have a visitor." MaKayla said looking over at Lucas who was looking rested and very handsome in his green suit.

"Look Dr. Donovan, Lucas brought me a new mitt. Isn't it nice? Do you think I'll be better soon so I can play baseball?" He asked excitedly.

MaKayla laughed at the little boy's excitement. "You will be up and around again before you know it." She then turned her attention to Lucas, "Mr. Bouchard it is nice to see you again." She said with an amused smile.

"It's Lucas." He said with a dimpled grin. "I just wanted to check on Bobby and make sure he was doing OK before I headed out to my next rally. It's the last week before the election and I wasn't sure when I would get another chance. Also, I saw the article in the paper this morning about our little adventure. I know Edwin pushed you and the Thompson's to talk about it and I'm sorry about that." He found it hard to take his gaze off of her. He had thought she was pretty when they had first met but he had been wrong, she was indeed beautiful. He chuckled as he thought that she had cleaned up nicely.

"We were happy to do it, the voters should know what a fine man you are." She told him with assuredness.

"Well, I guess I should be going. It was indeed a pleasure to meet you MaKayla." He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. He then turned to Bobby "Feel better soon," as he ruffled the little boy's blonde hair. He smiled back at the two of them and left.

Hope Valley, Alberta Canada

Tuesday, October 19,1920

Elizabeth sat at her desk to eat her lunch while the children were outside for recess. She took out The Valley Voice from her basket, that Robert had delivered to her before she left for school that morning. On the front page was a picture of a little boy in a hospital bed that looked very much like Jack. As she read the article she was overcome with emotion. Lucas had helped save a little boy's life. She wasn't surprised by Lucas's willingness to help of course, that is just who he was. But it was the first news she had heard of Lucas since he got on the train alone to Capital City. She had thought he might call or maybe he was waiting for her to call. Her emotions were all over the place where Lucas was concerned. She was brought out of her reverie by Nathan Grant as he entered the school house.

"Good afternoon, Elizabeth. Sorry I didn't mean to startle you."

"Nathan, hi. You didn't startle me. I was just reading this article about Lucas in The Valley Voice." She said somewhat stumbling over her words.

"Yes, I saw it. That was a Lucas thing to do. He never does anything small does he, the grander the better." He said with a smirk. "Anyway, the reason I stopped by was to let you know that I have to go to Union City today so Allie will be going home with Angela after school." Elizabeth gave him a perplexed looked.

"Nathan, Allie is a teenager not a young child," she told him, "I would have no need to know where Allie is spending the night." She told him fervently.

Nathan felt himself start to blush. He was just not good when speaking to a woman that he had feelings for.

"And as for Lucas, thank goodness he was there to help that doctor with the young boy. It may seem like grand gesture to you, but I am certain no such thought was in his head at the time," as she chastised the Mountie for his unkind words about Lucas.

Elizabeth gave Nathan a long look, she had feelings for him and that scared her. She shouldn't be thinking of another man but when she was honest with herself wasn't Nathan the real reason, she had ended things with Lucas? She originally was afraid of having her heart broken again if she gave it to another Mountie. A Mountie's work was dangerous and if her heart loved again with the intensity it had with Jack and something happened…. She stopped herself, was she in love with Nathan? Was he still interested in her? And what about Lucas?

She knew that Lucas loved her, yet she did not think she felt the same intense love for him, like she had felt for Jack. Although she had tried, she really did. She knew she had hurt Lucas terribly, caused him to feel a similar pain that she'd felt when she lost Jack. How could she have done that to him? Six years after Jack's death and she still had not been able to put the pieces of her life back together again in way that made sense to her. She had used Lucas to shield her heart and that was not fair to him. She handled everything so badly and she had no idea how to fix any of what she had done.

"Elizabeth, are you listening to me?" Nathan asked again louder bringing her out of her thoughts once again.

"Yes, sorry. You are going to Union City and Allie is staying with the Canfields. Have a safe trip, I will see you when you return." She said briskly.

Nathan looked at her confused. "Sure, see you when I get back." He turned in a huff and walked away.