The restaurant's cook came out of the kitchen and approached the woman waiting at a table in the corner. "Hey Elena."

Elena pasted on a wide smile. "Hello Charity, how are you?"

"Pretty good. Can I sit?"

"Sure." Elena's eyebrows rose as her friend sat with a wide smile on her face. "Okay what's going on? What piece of gossip have you heard around town that you are dying to spread?"

"Have you heard that Luke and Meghan are having problems?"

Elena remembered seeing Luke in the bordello drinking the night away and nodded. "I thought something was wrong. What do you know?"

"Well it seems that Mr. Saunders hasn't been going straight home at night. He's been spending an awful lot of time in the saloon."

"Are you sure?"

Charity nodded quickly. "Charlie mentioned that Meghan must be very understanding since it seems they've been out all night on a couple of occasions. If you ask me, I don't understand it. You would think he'd want to spend as much time with her and the twins." Charity sighed loudly. "Imagine that, giving birth on Valentine's Day."

"Yeah it's so sweet, I wanna retch from it." Elena muttered.

The cook chuckled softly. "How was the dance?"

"I didn't go." Elena replied quickly.

"Oh yeah why not?"

"I had other plans." She wasn't about to tell her what had happened at the creek with Luke. "So you really didn't go either?"

"Nope." Charity said quietly. "I uhh . . . met with someone."

"Really?" Elena leaned into the table. "So what happened? Details please."

"It was nothing. A small misunderstanding."

"What do you mean?"

Charity leaned in so as not to be overheard, it was one thing to spread gossip about others but she guarded her own private life. "I got a secret admirer's card and it told me to meet him on Valentine's day. When I went it was Cody. But he seemed surprise to find me there. He had got a card, too, and thought he was meeting Jacy."

"You got a card from the Cupid Caper?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I got one too, and it seems that Luke did as well."

"You met Luke on Valentine's Day?"

"Yep, but he was expecting Meghan, and he went crazy when he saw me. He accused me of all sorts of things."

"Now that is strange."

"Do you think someone set us up?"

Charity shrugged then her mouth dropped open in sudden realization. "I've got it! Oh wait, but why would she set me and Cody up to meet?"

"Who?"

"Meghan."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Forget it, that makes no sense, why would she set me and Luke up to meet at the creek?"

"Well from what I heard, Ian was seen going into the hotel alone on Valentines day then was seen coming out with a young lady whose coat matches the one Meghan Saunders wears."

Elena gasped. "Are you sure?"

"Yep. I saw them leaving together when I was leaving to go meet my Cupid."

"Well that would explain the problems then, maybe Luke caught them together."

"I think it's disgraceful." Charity replied loudly enough so that several people in the restaurant heard. "Imagine a married woman like that meeting her lover secretly in the hotel on the very night she was to give birth."

Elena chuckled softly, that was certainly one way of getting the gossip out. It wasn't too hard to figure out who she was talking about. "You are terrible Charity."

"Well I do try. So this means you can have a chance with Luke."

"Maybe. He's still mad at me, but I'll just have to wait him out." Of course that would mean giving up Ian. That thought made her heart drop, and she had to give herself a mental shake. He was a man and men were a dime a dozen. Ian had done what he had promised her he would do, now it was up to Elena to play her cards right. If Charity were to be believed, Luke was floundering, his world had been turned upside down. She had to figure out a way to use that to her advantage, and she didn't doubt for one second that she would. She looked around the restaurant and saw a man she didn't recognize. "Who is that?"

Charity followed her gaze and smiled widely. "New fella in town, Jake Fresno."

Elena smiled saucily. "I sure hope he comes on over to the chateau. I'd like a turn with him."

The cook frowned at the plain speaking of her friend. "You are one of a kind Elena."