Chapter 24

Elizabeth walked into Lucas's house, surprised to see it so sparsely decorated. Nothing grand or ornate in sight. This surprised her, she laughed softly at how so much of Lucas's life was a surprise to her. She walked down the hall and turned into the first bedroom on the right as MaKayla had told her.

"Lucas?" she said quietly as she peeked into the room.

"Elizabeth, welcome, have a seat." He told her.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

He looked better than he did the night in the saloon but he was obviously still not well. The dark circles under his eyes, his pale skin color told her of the trauma he had suffered yet again. She also knew she was partially if not mostly to blame for all the things he had endured these past nine months.

"According to MaKayla, I'm doing fine. Although it's still quite painful." He told her honestly.

She cast her gaze downward, hoping to find the strength to say the right thing. "Lucas, I honestly don't know where to begin." She said as she raised her head to look him in the eye. "First, thank you for the agents you had assigned to protect Jack and me. I had no idea about you having once been a government agent. I think we were all pretty shocked about that." She gave a small laugh. "I understand why you never told me. I guess you already had the big stage and really did want a simpler life." She said with sadness.

"Elizabeth, I meant every word I have ever said to you about only needing you and Jack. My time with the CSIS was exciting but when I left, I had had enough. I never needed a grander or a bigger stage." He said quietly.

"I know that now. I should have taken you at your word." She said with deep regret. "I'm so sorry for the way I have been treating you. I'm sorry for blindsiding you with how I broke our engagement. I'm sorry that I let everyone think you broke our engagement to pursue the governorship. I'm sorry for assuming what you wanted. I'm sorry for thinking I wanted Nathan instead of you. I'm sorry I talked to everyone else instead of you about the doubts I was having. You deserved so much better than what I gave you." She said all in a rush.

Lucas looked at her for a long moment. "Elizabeth, I just want to know why. Why did you do all those things?" He asked woefully.

She looked down again as she played with her hands. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "Because I was scared. As the wedding drew closer, you wanted me to move out of the rowhouse and Jack started asking more questions about his father. I started to doubt that you would be truly happy in Hope Valley. I thought that you would want a grander stage. That you would eventually want all the things that Hope Valley is not. Leaving Hope Valley for me meant leaving Jack behind. You put me on a pedestal and I doubted that I could live up to what you wanted and needed from me or what I thought you wanted. As she gazed into his eyes, she could see the hurt that she had caused. But she knew that she somehow had to make him understand.

"I convinced myself along with help from Rosemary that Nathan was who I was indeed in love with. He was a Mountie; he wanted a simple life. He posed no threat to my memories of Jack. In fact, through him I could live out the kind of life I would have had with Jack. With that realization, I don't know, I started to doubt everything I knew about you. Everything I knew about us. Everything I thought I wanted." She said as her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"After I broke our engagement, I turned into a version of myself that even I didn't recognize. I wasn't there for you after your first shooting, I left you alone. Even though I knew that abandonment was the one thing that you truly feared. I wanted you out of Hope Valley so I didn't have to see the pain I had caused you. I wanted to pursue Nathan without guilt or doubt. I am so very sorry for believing Jeanette and not you. I have been so incredibly cruel to you, Lucas." She told him as she wiped away a small tear that had fallen down her cheek.

"What do you want now? Is it me? Nathan? Just tell me?" He asked with curiosity.

"If I told you I wanted to try again, that I still love you, what would you say?" She asked with deep emotion.

"Are you asking me to try again, or do you just want to know if I'm still in love you?" He asked quietly.

Elizabeth sighed, "Both." She said calmly as she gazed into his beautiful sorrowful eyes.

Lucas took a moment as he thought of how best to say what he needed. "I will always love you, Elizabeth. I thought you were my lifetime, my soulmate. I sincerely believe we could have been very happy together… if it was what you truly had wanted. But I also believe, even though it has been six years…" he paused to regain his composure.

"You haven't put Jack in the past yet. I realized that the day you told me that you didn't want to move out of the rowhouse you shared with him. I think that is when my heart began to break. You think I put you on a pedestal? Isn't that what you have done with Jack? He was a man, Elizabeth, same as me. He had faults, but in your mind, you've made him into someone that no earthly man can touch." He told her fervently as he gazed into her eyes.

"But back then I was willing to play second fiddle to Jack Thornton's memory, just to be in your life. But now, I've seen and felt what it is like to be first in someone's heart. I want that. For the first time in my life, I'm going to put my wants and needs first. So, in answer to your question. No, I don't want to try again but I will always care for you. I will always cherish the time we spent together. I love your son like my own flesh and blood, and I hope that you will still let me be a part of his life when I can. I hope with everything in me that we can be friends, some day." He paused hoping she would say something.

She gave him a sad soft smile, as another tear fell from her eye. "I know you're right. I need to take the time to finally put Jack to rest, if that is even possible. I have no right to ask you to wait and hope that someday I'd be ready to be a wife to you. Because I honestly don't know if I will ever be ready. Despite everything that has happened, I want you to know I truly did love you. I think we could have been happy together as well. I just don't have the courage to let Jack go. She looked down again as the emotion overtook her.

"And now, you're in love with MaKayla, aren't you?" As she raised her gaze to meet his again. "After you were shot by Kingston, at one-point MaKayla thought that she had lost you and the raw emotion emanating from her was utterly heartbreaking. But she didn't crack Lucas, if she had, you probably wouldn't have made it. She pressed on and did everything in her power to save you. She has a strength that I currently don't possess. I thought I had it once, but it seems to have died with Jack." She told him with deep regret.

"You're a wonderful man and you deserve someone like MaKayla who will put you first. She demonstrated that by leaving her life in Capital City, her job, to be here with you. But even more than that, she really knows you. She knows the depth of your soul. I've been watching the two of you. She has taken the time to know who the man she loves is and what he needs. I'm happy for you Lucas. I truly am. I wish you and MaKayla all the best if that is where your heart is leading you. Which I absolutely believe it is." She said with affection.

"I would love for you to continue to be a part of Jack's life. He misses you terribly. He wants you to be his Papa more than anything. And I stole that from both of you. I know it will take time, but I too want to be friends with you, with both of you." She said sincerely as she wiped the tears from her cheeks that she could no longer stop.

"Thank you, Elizabeth, I think this is the best thing for both of us. We were a wonderful dream that was not meant to be a reality." He said with resolve. "But Elizabeth, when it comes to Jack, even if you and I aren't meant to be husband and wife. I would absolutely love to be his Papa if you would let me. I feel like I already am. Don't answer me now. You think about it." He told her with sincerity.

He smiled at her. "Will you do me one favor though." He asked her.

"If I can, what is it?" She asked curiously.

"Let MaKayla remove Jack's tonsils. I can tell you from first-hand experience, she is an excellent surgeon." He said with a cocky grin.

Elizabeth laughed. "I guess if anyone would know, it's you. Thank you for being kind enough to see me today. For letting me talk, for listening, and for loving me. I owe you a debt I don't think I will ever be able to repay." She smiled gently at him.

"I love you Lucas and I always will. I hope that you will be well soon." She stood and walked closer to the bed. "MaKayla is indeed very lucky to be the lady of your heart." She leaned down and gave him one last gentle kiss. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and turned to walk out the door.

Lucas watched her go. She had once been his everything but she was not meant to be his lifetime after all. He would never regret their time together, it had made him a better man, he thought. But as he told Elizabeth, he wanted a love that loved him the same in return. No more feeling like he wasn't enough. He wanted it all, a loving wife, children, a home. He had the answers he needed. He knew for certain where his heart belonged and with whom it belonged.

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Elizabeth walked out on to the porch and looked at the woman who had replaced her in Lucas's heart. "MaKayla?"

MaKayla turned to look at her. "How was your visit?" She asked with a smile.

"We had the talk we should have had a long time ago. I know that you encouraged Lucas to see me. Thank you. I have to say I admire your strength. You have suffered loss as well and yet you found the courage to move on with your life. I hope that I will find that courage someday as well. I do have two questions for you though if you will permit me." She said shyly.

"Of course, what can I help you with?" MaKayla asked.

Elizabeth took a seat in the rocking chair again. She hesitated momentary but then turned her gazed to look MaKayla in the eyes. "Lucas has been in Jack's life since he was an infant. He's always wanted Lucas to be his Papa and I have taken that from him. From both of them actually. There are so many things that I have done recently that I cannot change and deeply regret… but maybe I can give my son and Lucas something back that they both desperately want. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind…" she trailed off as MaKayla spoke up.

"Elizabeth, Jack is a wonderful little boy. I'm in no way threatened by his or your presence in Lucas's life. I sincerely only want Lucas to be happy. A cliché to be sure but that is the truth of it for me. And if Lucas and I are headed towards a more permanent relationship someday, and the three of you decide that you want Lucas to be Jack's Papa, then I'm perfectly content with that. Lucas loves that little boy and I know Jack is the child of his heart." She smiled at her.

Elizabeth looked at her with amazement. This was indeed the woman that Lucas needed in his life. Unlike her, MaKayla was able to look past what was and embrace what could be. She nodded and gave her an appreciative smile.

"And your second question?" MaKayla asked.

"Would you still be willing to remove Jack's tonsils?" She asked tentatively.

"Yes," she said with a laugh. She knew that request had really come from Lucas. "When do you want to do it? Tomorrow?" She asked.

"Tomorrow?" Elizabeth said surprised. "Hmm, sure that would be good." She told her.

"Ok, great, just give him a light supper and no eating after that. Be at the infirmary at noon. He will have to spend the night there but he can go home after that. Sound good?" She asked.

"Yes, see you tomorrow at noon. I appreciate this." Elizabeth said sincerely and left the porch.

MaKayla watched her go. Hoping this was a new beginning for all of them. She got up and walked into the house. She stopped in the kitchen and made Lucas a cup of tea and headed back to his room.

"I was waiting for you." He said with a smile.

"I brought you some tea. How did things go with Elizabeth?" She asked cautiously.

"Come here," he said. She walked closer to the bed and put the tea on the night stand. "Come lay beside me, please." He asked.

She did as he asked. As she laid her head on his chest and gently put her arm around his waist. She felt pure contentment as she laid in his arms.

"Elizabeth asked me if I wanted to try again…with her." He told her quietly. MaKayla felt her heart sink.

She lifted her head to look at him, holding his gaze. "Lucas, if Elizabeth is the woman that you love and want to be with, I will accept that and…." She trailed off as Lucas continued talking.

"Let me finish. Elizabeth and I were once a wonderful dream. Alexander Graham Bell once said when one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us. Elizabeth is so focused on the closed door, her life with Jack Thornton, that she could not truly see the open door for her and I. She wanted to; and she did try for a bit. I believe that now." He told her as he kept her gaze.

"But she is far from ready to leave that closed door behind. To be honest I think for her, perhaps there is only meant to be one true love in her life. I think she is coming to that realization for herself. But for me, I saw the open door and at first, I was hesitant and unsure. But the beauty I saw in that open door kept beckoning me in. The beauty I saw was you. Not your physical beauty but the beauty within your spirit. You are the one that my heart is reaching for, not Elizabeth. I love you MaKayla Donovan. You are the sole owner of my heart." He said in his deep velvety voice that she loved.

She gazed at him with a radiant smile, as tears gather in her eyes. "I love you too Lucas Bouchard now and for eternity." As she leaned in to kiss him, first gently then with great passion.

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The next day MaKayla removed Jack's tonsils. The operation went well. Jack was slightly sick after coming out of the anesthesia but so far, he was doing well. Faith would stay with Elizabeth and Jack for now so MaKayla could go check on her other patient.

"I'll be back around 5, if you need anything just call Lucas's house." MaKayla told Faith as she left the infirmary.

Once MaKayla was back at Lucas's house she found him pacing around his room. "Lucas Bouchard, what are you doing? Get back into bed. Now." She told him annoyed.

He looked at her sheepishly, "Sorry, I was worried about Jack. Did everything go OK?" He asked anxiously as he sat down on the bed.

"Yes, the operation went very well. He is resting comfortably right now. As you should be. I just came back here for an hour or so to check in on you and to bring you dinner before going back to the infirmary." She told him.

"Thank you. I appreciate you taking care of Jack." She sat down beside him.

"He will be just fine." As she laid a gentle hand on his thigh. "Now you need to lay back down and I will get your dinner. I leave you alone for a few hours and…" Lucas looked at her with an embarrassed grin.

"But you love me anyways." He said as he leaned over and moved the hair out of her eyes and kissed her sweetly on the lips.

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Hope Valley, Alberta Canada

Sunday, June 26,1921

It had been over three weeks since Lucas was shot. He was sitting out on the front porch waiting for Jack to arrive. He and Jack were going to spend the afternoon together. Jack had recovered nicely from his tonsillectomy and was ready for a playdate with his buddy.

"Hi Buddy," Jack said excitedly as he walked up the steps to Lucas's front porch. He came over and gave Lucas a hug.

Elizabeth told Jack, "Be gentle Jack, remember I told you that your buddy has an injury."

"Sorry Buddy, are you feeling better?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes, Jack. Every day I feel better and better. I'm happy that you came to spend some time with me. I was hoping we could play some checkers." Lucas said happily. Jack jumped up and down with joy.

"Lucas, I'll be back in an hour or so. All good?" She asked.

"Yes, we'll be fine, right buddy?" Lucas asked.

"Right buddy." Jack giggled

Lucas already had the checker board set up and they began their game. Elizabeth smiled back at them as she left to let them enjoy their time with each other.

Jack and Lucas had finished their first game of checkers which Jack had won, legitimately. Lucas couldn't believe he had actually lost to a five-year-old. What was happening to him? He needed to play a game of poker and soon, he thought.

"Buddy, I have something to ask you." Jack said nervously.

"Sure buddy, you can ask me anything." Lucas told him with ease although nervous at what Jack's question might be.

"I know that you and Mama aren't going to get married any more. And that made me really sad because I really wanted you to live with us and be my Papa." He said sadly.

"Jack, come over here and sit on my lap for a minute." The little boy got up and Lucas lifted him onto his lap despite the pain it caused him. He looked the little boy in the eyes, "Jack, even though I'm not going to be your Papa, we can still be the best of friends and we can still have fun together." Lucas told him as he tousled the little boy's hair.

"I asked Mama and she said you could still be my Papa if you and me wanted it to be so." Do you buddy? Do you want to be my Papa?" The little boy asked excitedly. Lucas sat in stunned silence as a lump developed in his throat.

"Jack, you do know that I can't be in Hope Valley all the time, right? My new job means I have to go to Capital City a lot." Lucas said sadly.

"I know. But Mama said I could visit you there and you will come here. And we can talk on the telephone and write letters." He told him in his best grown up voice.

"It sounds like you have thought a lot about this." He told the little boy.

"Mama and I have been talking about it every day and she said it was OK to ask you today if I wanted to." Jack looked at Lucas with eager eyes.

"Jack Thorton Jr., I would love to be your Papa." The little boy hugged Lucas tightly. The action sent waves of pain through Lucas's body but he didn't care. He was now Jack's Papa.

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In town MaKayla was making her way up the steps to the Valley Voice office. "Good morning, she said as she entered the office. Lee and Rosemary looked over at her surprised to see her.

"Dr. Donovan, this is a surprise. What can we do for you?" Lee asked.

"Mr. Coulter, I was hoping you could give me directions to the land the government purchased to build the resort on." She said with a bright smile.

"Is Lucas thinking of something else for the land?" Rosemary asked.

"Possibly, but I need to get some information for him." MaKayla answered not wanting to give anything away especially to Rosemary.

"I'd be happy to drive you out there and answer any questions." Lee said

"That would be wonderful, Mr. Coulter." She told him.

"Please call me Lee." He told her.

"How is the governor doing? Is he on the mend?" Rosemary asked gently.

"He is getting better every day. Thank you for asking, Mrs. Coulter." MaKayla said kindly.

"Please call me Rosemary." She said with a smile. "May I call you MaKayla?" MaKayla nodded her consent.

"Do you think Lucas would see Lee and I if we stopped by his house? I know he is upset with me over the articles that I had written about Montague and the resort." She said honestly.

"I can't deny that Lucas was very hurt by your one-sided reporting, but he is also a very forgiving man. I'm sure he would welcome a visit with both you and Lee" Rosemary smiled at this comment, but noticed the intended slight.

"MaKayla if you're ready, we can go. Sweetheart I will see you later." Lee said as he kissed her and walked out the door with MaKayla.

The start of the land was 10 miles outside of Hope Valley and 10 miles outside of Benson Hills on the other side. It was also a reasonable walkable distance to some of the hot springs. As MaKayla walked around she marveled at the location.

"I think this would be absolutely perfect." She said out loud. "It is beautiful here."

"Perfect for what?" Lee asked curiously.

MaKayla smiled at his attempt to find out what Lucas was thinking about for the land. "Sorry Lee, I can't tell you. That would be up to Lucas. But I certainly hope if Lucas can make this happen it will be a project that you and Mayor Hickam will be willing to support. I really appreciate you taking the time to show me the land." She said, satisfied with what she saw.

Lee wondered what Lucas was up to now but he knew it would be a while before Lucas truly trusted him again to be in his confidence anytime soon, if ever.

"I don't know what idea Lucas has but I was thinking that maybe making the land into a National Park. There could be camping, wilderness trails. Would that fit with what Lucas is possibly thinking?" He asked.

'Hmm, maybe. I'm not sure." She said honestly. "All things to consider. Thank you again for the tour. I really appreciate it. This land is even better suited for the project than I originally thought." She said happily. "I need to get back to Lucas. He is having Jack over this afternoon for a game of checkers. He has missed that little boy so much." She said thoughtfully.

Lee smiled at that. "Elizabeth mentioned that she and Lucas talked and understand better what each one needs and wants. I was happy to hear that things are better between the two of them. They are both good people." Lee told her honestly.

Although Lee was happy that Elizabeth had found some common ground with Lucas again, he couldn't help but wonder if he would be able to renew his friendship with him after everything that had happened as well. He missed his friend. He was also happy to learn that Lucas had not given up on Hope Valley despite everything that had happened recently in the town. He was still trying to secure a future for the little town and its residents. His curiosity was peaked. He wondered what was Lucas up to now?