"Henry" Abigail called and walked into Lee's office, expecting to find him there. As suspected Henry was there.
"Abigail. Hi." Henry turned around and gave Abigail a light smile.
"Hi. Do you have a minute?" Abigail asked as she approached him. He walked towards her.
"Sure." He answered, concerned.
"This new Saloon owner…Lucas Brouchard…" Abigail started.
"Hmmm…" Henry replied.
"Bill seems to think he is not what he seems to be. While I do not see anything wrong with him, I am a little skeptical as Bill seems to have a different view and if there's anything suspicious about Lucas, I would be interested to know" Abigail explained.
"I understand", Henry agreed.
"Is there a way you can help find out who this guy is? Bill has looked for information on him but hasn't found anything. He seems mysterious." Abigail requested and Henry nodded.
"I will have a word with people I know in Cape Fullerton. However, I may need a photo of his." Henry replied.
"Why?" Abigail asked, surprised.
"Lucas Brouchard may be a fake name." Henry reasoned and Abigail agreed.
"I will work on that photo…" Abigail said, walking away. "Thanks Henry" Abigail finished and Henry nodded ever so slightly. Henry watched as she was leaving. She turned behind to look instinctively, catching Henry looking at her. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he pretended to be looking for some papers around. She also looked awkwardly at him.
"Ummm…I will see you around." She said and waved at him. He motioned to her acknowledging the wave. She walked out, her heart racing. She wanted to say something but she wasn't sure what. Then she walked in again, involuntarily, like her body was independent of her brain.
"Henry" She called.
"Abigail" He responded, immediately.
"I was thinking if…" She struggled to speak.
"If?" He egged on.
"Would you like to join me for dinner tomorrow night?" she asked.
"Tomorrow?" He asked, genuinely surprised.
"Oh, unless you have something else planned, which is perfectly fine." She replied, very quickly. She half wished he said he couldn't make it as she felt very awkward now and kicked herself for being very forward.
"Not really. I would be happy to join you. Thank you." Henry said.
"OK. So I will see you then." Abigail said and quickly walked out, her hands clasped in front of her. Henry watched the door close with a thud and furrowed his brows and decided to not give it much thought.
NEXT EVENING AT ABIGAIL'S CAFÉ
"Mom, can I sleep at Richard's today?" Cody asked as she was putting the beef in her oven to bake.
"Oh? Of course sweetheart. Why don't you pack your bag and I will whip you a quick dinner before you go." Abigail replied and Cody ran upstairs. Abigail wiped her hands on her apron and set up the table for Henry and herself.
"Abigail..." Elizabeth walked in with little Jack in her arms.
"Hi! Are you OK?" Abigail asked as she took Jack from Elizabeth's arm.
"Yeah, I am a little hungry and I didn't have time to cook today. Do you have something that does not require preparation?" She asked desperately.
"Yes, I have some vegetable soup and garlic bread. Have a seat!" Abigail motioned her to sit and went into the kitchen to heat some soup.
"That would be lovely! Let me take Jack off of you." Elizabeth said as she followed Abigail into the kitchen. "Oh, the aroma…superb! What is in the oven? That smells amazing!" She exclaimed.
"Oh, that's some beef I have put in to bake. Would you like some? It may take a little long for it to be ready though." Abigail said nonchalantly.
"Oh, I don't think I can wait. I am too hungry. What's the occasion?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, I have invited Henry for dinner." Abigail said, trying not to make a deal of it.
"Henry?" Elizabeth asked, surprised.
"Yes. He is helping me on some Hope Valley business and I thought I could show my appreciation by making him a meal." Abigail explained, a little nervously.
"Oh!" Elizabeth said, very suspicious, as she sat down with Jack on her arms. She saw the table setting. "This looks like a formal dinner. You have your best crockery out on the table." Elizabeth observed, loudly.
"Yeah, he deserves it. He has been through a lot." Abigail tried to give a sane reason.
"Right…" Elizabeth nodded, not sure if she believed Abigail. However, her thoughts were short-lived as her mouth watered as soon as Abigail set down the soup and bread. Abigail offered to hold Jack as Elizabeth gulped down the soup as quickly as she could. "You really are the best cook!" She said in-between the soup and bread. Abigail looked at her amusedly as she had never seen Elizabeth that hungry.
Suddenly Henry walked inside the café. Abigail and Elizabeth both turned to look at him. He stopped in his tracks. "Sorry, am I too early?" he said as he began to retreat.
"No no, you aren't. Please come in." Abigail insisted as she approached him quickly.
"Yeah, in fact I was just leaving." Elizabeth said as she began to walk out herself, smiling at Abigail.
"I will walk you out." Abigail said as she smiled at Henry, who nodded in acknowledgement. Abigail and Elizabeth walked out of the café while Henry walked into it.
Abigail handed over little Jack to Elizabeth.
"Abigail, something happening between you and Henry?" Elizabeth asked. Abigail sighed.
"No. not yet at least." Abigail clarified.
"That means there is a possibility that it may?" Elizabeth asked.
"I have not thought that far ahead. Right now, I just feel like I do not know him on a personal level and I cannot decide whether I like him or not." Abigail replied.
"You want to spend more time with him?" Elizabeth asked.
"I just want to get to know him. That is it." She replied.
"Well, in that case, I hope you know what you are getting into. We all know Henry's history." Elizabeth said.
"You know the Henry that embezzled the town's funds. I would like to get to know the Henry who brought Becky to Hope Valley despite the snow storm at Cape Fullerton and who returned me double my money despite the share market crashing down." Abigail insisted.
"OK, I have faith on your faith." Elizabeth said and smiled. Abigail smiled back at her and hugged her. She watched Elizabeth leave and went back in.
"Hi" she said to Henry as she entered the café. Henry smiled at her.
"I hope I did not interrupt anything." Henry asked as Abigail picked up after Elizabeth.
"No, not at all. Elizabeth needed a quick meal before she could put little Jack to sleep." Abigail said and smiled at Henry who helped her pick up the plate too. He followed her into the kitchen and put the plate on the counter near the sink. Abigail went over to the oven and opened the door to check on the beef, while Henry watched her. He noticed how beautiful she looked, despite her hair not being in a bun, spick and span. There was a sense of calm as he watched her go around the kitchen, whipping this and stirring that. He could watch her working the whole day. She walked over to the cabinet, trying to reach for the herbs on the top counter. She stood on her toes, her arm stretched but she could not reach the herbs. She turned around to scan the room for the wooden ladder, as she leaned on the counter on her back.
"Allow me." Henry said as he leaned over her to reach for the herbs, on his toes. He was dangerously close to her and he moved himself back but still very close to her. She smelled the spice of his aftershave. She never noticed how built he was until today. His arms were positioned on both her sides and they felt like arms of steel. He was now looking into her eyes and so was she. It was also her first time noticing his face properly…his rugged face, his little dimples, his silver grey hair and brown eyes. Her breath hitched as his eyes bore into hers. She was blinking as she didn't realise that she had a strand of hair lodged into her eye. He reached up and said "May I?" and he gently pulled the strand of hair off her eyes. She blinked a couple more times as her eyes began to water. He reached into his pocket for a handkerchief and handed it to her, which she graciously accepted. She reached to wipe her eye. He didn't move away even for a second and Abigail did not mind the proximity, until Cody called out to Abigail. Henry instantly moved away as Cody walked down the stairs.
"Hello Mr. Gowen" Cody called.
"Hi Cody. How are you?" Henry replied.
"Fine thank you." Cody said and stood by Abigail. "Is everything OK? Why are you crying?" He asked Abigail as he looked at Henry.
"Oh, I had something in my eye. Mr. Gowen helped me clear that." Abigail replied as she put down the handkerchief on the counter.
"OK. May I leave?" Cody asked, all too eager to go for his sleepover.
"Not yet, You can go after dinner." Abigail said and walked to the stove.
"May I have dinner at Richard's please? They must be waiting for me." Cody said.
"Sure you can. In fact…" Abigail said as she walked towards her oven. "I baked some banana bread. Why don't you take this with you and give it to Richard's mum? And do thank her for me" Abigail said and handed over a wrapped loaf of banana bread to Cody.
"Thanks mum. I love you." Cody said and kissed his mum. "Good evening Mr. Gowen." Cody smiled and said to Henry.
"And to you too Cody." Henry said as he and Abigail watched Cody leave. Abigail then turned to look at Henry. Her breath got hitched again as she saw his side chiseled face. He turned to look at her too.
"I will serve dinner." She said and walked into the kitchen. He followed.
"Can I be of any help?" he asked, his mouth breaking into one of his very rare smiles. She couldn't help but smile back at him.
"Of course, maybe you can lay out two plates for me here?" She asked and he obliged. He lay out the two plates while Abigail served the beef and the mashed potatoes. She then poured a sauce over it and decorated it with some steamed vegetables on the side. She smiled in triumph as she held both the plates up at Henry, before she glided into the café, setting both the plates down on the table. He followed her and sat on the table.
"This looks delicious." He commented as he set the napkin on his laps and picked up his fork to eat a carrot. Abigail smiled as she picked up her fork and watched him savour the first bite. He nodded and said "It is delicious. Thank you for this."
"You are most welcome." Abigail said.
"Mmm…before I forget…" Henry held up his finger and reached into his pocket for a piece of newspaper cutting. "I got this from a friend in Cape Fullerton when I asked him about Brouchard." He held out the cutting to Abigail who readily accepted it and looked at it carefully. "Just as I suspected, Lucas Brouchard is a fake name. His real name is Roger Segal, he is from France. He came to United States about 10 years ago, after he got married to an American, Beatrice Miller. He has been living in New Orleans for the past 5 years and he specializes in investments in frontier towns. While it does seem from this newspaper cutting that his record is clean as a businessman, I am afraid I share the same opinion as Bill. I feel there is something about this guy. I mean, why use a fake name? He must be hiding something. I am waiting for more information tomorrow after which we can then rope in Bill on this."
"Why Hope Valley? Why would he invest in a town like ours?" Abigail asked.
"Well, Hope Valley is a growing town. It could be a genuine investment…or he could be hiding something from us. We need to check him out before we do anything." Henry replied. Abigail nodded in agreement as she slowly put down the newspaper cutting, in deep thought. Henry watched her do so as he chewed slowly on his food. "Don't worry. If there is something he is hiding, we will find out about it. I am sure Bill will take care of that business sufficiently." Henry said. Abigail nodded and smiled at him.
"Thank you" Abigail said.
"That's alright." Henry said. "Also, I wanted to say something to you."
"Of course." Abigail said as she sat up right.
"I have been feeling some tension between us of late. And I just wanted to know if everything is fine."
"What…kind of tension…" Abigail asked as she cleared her throat.
"Well, I am not quite sure. But something seems to have changed. I find myself feeling different around you and you haven't been yourself either." Henry said. Abigail sipped some water from her glass. She was not expecting Henry to be this forward.
"What do you mean when you say you feel different around me?" she asked carefully.
"I can't exactly put my finger on it." He said and watched as she lowered her gaze. "Look, the last thing I want is things to be awkward with us. I respect you a lot. You are the only one ever to have given me a second chance at everything, you supported me when I was all lone. So if there is something you are worried about, you will need to come forward with it, especially if it concerns me. If I ever overstep or make you feel uncomfortable, I need you to tell me so that I can take a step back."
"No, not at all, Henry." Abigail said quickly. "I find myself feeling "different" too when I am around you. I have not given this any more thought than what I am saying to you and that is probably why I cannot figure this out myself. But I do feel that we need some time to think things through."
Henry nodded. She was amazed at how mature he was about thid. She presumed he knew what she was getting at.
"I hope you understand what I am saying." She asked gently.
"I do. And maybe we can leave it at that for now. What do you think?" Henry said.
"That sounds like the best thing to do...for now." She replied.
"OK, good. We are on the same page. And you can talk to me about anything, you know that." He said and Abigail nodded. She felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders. She felt much more comfortable around him. It then dawned on her that she may have taken a slight liking to Henry, and not the like that the residents of Hope Valley feel for him, something was "different" as he put it. And she needed to take a step back and think things through before she can act.
They sat and talked for a couple of hours before it was time for Henry to go home. Abigail walked Henry to the door.
"Thank you for dinner." Henry said, giving his signature small smile and intense look.
"You are more than welcome. I hope you enjoyed it the meal" Abigail said with a smile.
"Company was better." Henry replied and Abigail smiled.
"I will see you around." Abigail said.
"You will if you'd like that and if you are comfortable too." Henry replied and Abigail smiled lightly and nodded.
"Goodnight." Abigail said. Henry leaned in and noticed that Abigail did not move but leaned in too instead. He leaned back and smiled at her.
"I am glad you are comfortable enough. Goodnight Abigail and I will see you around" Henry said and began to leave. Abigail held on to him by his hand and pecked him on his cheek.
"I will definitely see you around". Abigail said and smiled shyly. He smiled back at her and nodded. He put on his hat. As he was walking across the road, he turned behind and saw that she was watching him walk away. He waved at her slightly and walked off in the direction of his house.
She sighed and walked in to the café. It took her some time to get a hold of her racing heart before she could clean up. Maybe she liked Henry a little more than usual, maybe she thought of him a little more than usual and maybe she would love to see him a little more than usual.