Chapter 11: Plans & Discoveries

Cat used the towel to wipe her unconscious friend's face. She had managed to clean most of the dirt and grime from the wound on Abigail's forehead but the cut was deep and may need stitching. She had some medicinal laudanum to use in case Abigail woke up and was not able to relax.

She was concerned that Abigail had not awoken yet. With three children, she had her fair share of experience with bruises, cuts, scrapes and various knots of different sizes. Cat realized that she needed to try to wake Abigail – since she had been out for a couple hours now.

She gently touched her friend's shoulder. "Abigail," she said softly, "I need you to wake up." Abigail frowned in her sleep and moaned. Cat's face showed her deep worry for her friend and she gently wiped Abigail's forehead with the warm cloth, "Please, Abigail, wake up. You're needed."

I need you, Cat said to herself. She still felt so terribly guilty about the way she had

reacted when Gowen had said those awful things about Noah Stanton. Instinctively, she knew Gowen was not to be trusted. But she remembered her brief (but scary) stay in jail and her dealings with Charles Spurlock. The thought of having any more problems descend on her and her family from that corner scared her into staying away from her friend.

And she felt ashamed.

Abigail had always stood by her when there were problems. She had never judged Cat for her choices, including the one to stay silent about her husband's gambling problem and her problem with Spurlock. Whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on, Abigail had been the one to whom she had turned.

Abigail was the strongest of them all, with perhaps the exception of Florence Blakely, who never let anyone think for her and always said what was on her mind. Even if she was a bit blunt about it. Cat would never forget the time that the women volunteered to go into the mine.

Abigail Stanton was right at the head of the line, determination written all over her face, underneath the accumulated dirt and grime of a hard day's work in the mine. She had quickly earned the respect of all the miners and even the grudging respect of the shift supervisor. She worked hard and never took anything that she hadn't earned.

Her fabulous cooking had won the hearts of men, women, and children all over Coal Valley. And her deep compassion and loyalty had made her friends with almost all the women in the town – except for perhaps the mayor's wife and her cronies. Those women…Cat shook her head…nosy busybodies and gossips. They had never lent a hand to help anyone except themselves.

"Cat…" a faint voice broke into her thoughts, "…where am I?"

Abigail was awake. And from the drawn and tight look on her face, she was in

considerable pain.

"You're back at the café," Cat told her, sitting down in a chair next to the bed.

"Whose cafe? There's...there's a cafe? Who runs it? How…how…did I…get here?" Every word was clearly an effort for her to speak.

"Constable Thornton and Inspector Avery found you." Cat told her, "They found you and brought you back here. And this is your cafe, Abigail. Yours."

"I don't…don't…remember," Abigail said weakly, starting to panic a little.

Cat leaned over and touched her shoulder, "It's all-right, Abigail, that's normal after a blow to the head. That may last awhile – you remember when Peter fell and had that big bump on his head… he couldn't remember what day it was."

"Peter…" Abigail frowned thoughtfully, "the name….familiar…."

Cat frowned, "Abigail, what do you remember?"

"I remember…Noah..." she said softly, "And I remember you….Cat, right?"

Cat nodded. "Do you remember anything else?" she asked softly

"Flashes…"Abigail's voice trailed off.

"Don't strain yourself," Cat reassured her, "it's common for some loss of memory after a blow to the head."

"A blow…to the head?" Abigail asked, "What…what happened to me?"

Cat wasn't sure how much she should say, since she didn't want to upset Abigail in her condition.

So she settled for some half-truths.

"I'm not quite sure what happened to you," she said slowly, "I do know that Constable Thornton and Inspector Avery brought you here. You were unconscious and weren't responding. Oh, Abigail, I've been so worried and I am so sorry…about everything."

"I'm…not..sure you should be apologizing…" Abigail said, "we've always been friends."

Cat realized that Abigail probably did not remember what happened the previous day or so. Whether the memory loss was permanent or temporary, she didn't know.

"Abigail," she said firmly but gently, "I need you to stay awake a little longer. Don't

push yourself to try to remember. Give it time."

"What have I missed?" Abigail was confused and worried, "Where's Noah? Where's

Peter?"

Cat was momentarily relieved that she seemed to remember who Peter and Noah were. But she was horrified to realize that Abigail didn't seem to remember that Noah and Peter were gone.

A gentle knock sounded at the door.

Cat smiled at Abigail, not letting the worry cross her face. "I'll be back in just a

moment," she told, "try to rest and, please, don't push yourself."

Abigail smiled weakly. "I will. Could you please tell Noah not to worry himself about

me. I'll be all-right."

Cat smiled shakily and quickly stepped outside the room.

It was Constable Thornton and Inspector Avery with more hot water.

"How is she?" Jack asked, concern on his face.

"Well," Cat replied, "I don't think there are any internal injuries, as far as I can tell. But I'm not a physician so my knowledge is really limited."

Bill looked at her face keenly, "But?"

Cat looked distressed, "You both know she took a hard blow to the head. It's looking like she has a severe concussion. Sometimes when that happens there can be a temporary loss in memory."

"You mean, she doesn't remember what happened to her?" Jack asked.

"Not just that," Cat said slowly, "but she doesn't remember the meeting with Gowen and the townsfolk a few nights ago."

Jack looked stunned.

After a long moment of silence, Bill spoke, "A few years ago, an acquaintance of mine had a riding accident and hit his head. A similar thing happened to him – there was about a week's loss of memory. It eventually returned – but it took time." He looked closely at Cat again, "Tell me – how bad is it?"

She looked helplessly at both of them. "She still thinks Noah and Peter are still alive."

Both Bill and Jack looked somewhat taken aback.

"I should have never gotten her involved in this," Jack muttered.

"It's not your fault," Avery responded, "Abigail's a strong willed woman. If something didn't seem right to her, she would have investigated it, regardless."

"What are we supposed to do?" Jack asked, "The trial's supposed to start tomorrow night. If she can't remember, that's going to be a problem. She's in no condition to take the witness stand."

Bill's jaw was set, "Let me handle that. I'll talk to Judge Black and tell him about the circumstances."

He turned to Cat, "Can I see her?"

She frowned thoughtfully, "That might not be wise at this point. If she thinks Noah and Peter are still alive, she won't know who you are. It might upset her or confuse her even more."

"I understand your concern," he replied, "The constable can accompany me. She may, at least, recognize him."

Cat scanned his face quickly. She had been hearing rumors about town that the handsome Inspector had taken a liking to her friend. Florence told her that she had spotted them taking a basket to Mrs. Weaver and Abigail had looked very animated and interested in Bill. Just as importantly, he had seemed interested with her.

And, Florence had added, he had shown courtesy to several of the townsfolk.

In addition, there was something in his eyes when he said Abigail's name... a type of warm and affection. True concern. The concern a good friend would show for another – or perhaps something more?

As if making a decision, she nodded at him and opened the door, "Only stay a few

minutes," she told him, "she's not doing well and she needs rest and quiet."

Bill thanked her, "We won't be long."

He slowly opened the door and stepped inside with Jack.

Abigail felt terrible. Her head was splitting, her stomach was both aching from lack of food and from something else – had she gotten sick? - and she kept thinking that there was something she needed to remember but couldn't. Something big. And the harder she tried to remember (despite Cat's sound advice), the more she couldn't remember. The pain seemed to be blocking everything that was important.

"Hello, Abigail," a different voice spoke her name.

She looked up and a tall blonde man stood there with a Mountie dressed in red serge.

"I'm sorry," she said apologetically, "Do I know you?"

Both of the men looked at one another with concerned expressions.

"I have to apologize," Abigail said politely, "I'm not at my best, as you can see, and my memory is a little…well, let's just say it's hazy at the moment."

"No need to apologize," the Mountie said, "It's just good to see you safe again. I'm Jack Thornton, the constable here in Coal Valley. You know me from…well, I make

frequent stops at your café." He grinned, "The food's very good."

He turned to the man at his side, "This is Inspector Avery, a friend of mine from my

Academy days. He's an investigator with the Mounties."

"An investigator?" Abigail was surprised, "What brings you to Coal Valley?"

Even though she knew he thought she couldn't see, Constable Thornton looked

significantly at Avery. Avery gave him a quick nod.

"I'm here on some business," Inspector Avery said, "and visiting my old friend, Jack here. It's been years since we've seen one another. I thought it was time to renew old acquaintances."

Abigail had a feeling that there was a lot more to this story than they were telling.

What aren't they telling me? And why won't they tell me? Why do they both seem so familiar? Are we friends?

Jack unintentionally read her mind by answering her last question, "We've known each other awhile, Mrs. Stanton. I'm good friends with your dear friend, Elizabeth Thatcher."

Elizabeth! Abigail thought. Why does that name seem so familiar. The constable did say they were friends... maybe, just maybe, her memory was trying to restore itself, she thought hopefully.

"It's very kind of you to look in on me," she thanked them both, "I'm sure you must have many things to do."

"Not at the momen...ELIZABETH!" Jack looked flustered. "I should probably let her know what's going on. She may think I've forgotten about her."

"I highly doubt that," Bill smiled at his somewhat befuddled friend, "but you should go and tell her what's going on."

Jack didn't need any further encouragement and left the room as Cat entered.

"Where's the constable off in such a hurry?" She asked.

"To see Miss Thatcher, apparently." Bill grinned.

Cat smiled. Those two really were too sweet. She remembered those halcyon days, the freshness of new courtship, getting to know one another, the freshness of everything. She would give anything to have the feelings of those days back again.

Her smile faded as she turned back to check on Abigail, whose condition was deeply troubling her. She had faith that her memory would return in time but how frightening it must be for her dear friend to not know that the love of her life and her child were gone.

Cat sincerely hoped that Abigail would remember because she didn't know if she had the strength to tell her again that Noah and Peter would not be coming home. Hearing it once was hard enough, burying the bodies even harder – but having to go through it again, like it was the first time – that would be unbearable.

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Jack tried not to bound down the stairs; it wouldn't be dignified. But he wanted to see Elizabeth. Whenever he was around her, if he was going through a hard time, things were better. His life was better – he was better – with Elizabeth as a big part of it.

He couldn't wait to see her.

"Elizabeth?" He called when he couldn't see her right away.

"Yes, Jack?" She smiled. She had been straightening Abigail's cafe – the chairs had never been picked up and she had finished sweeping the shards of glass from the broken vase on the floor.

He helped her pick up the rest of the debris from the struggle.

"How is Abigail?" She asked anxiously.

"That's what I need to talk to you about." Jack said. "She's not well."

Elizabeth turned pale.

"Elizabeth," Jack put a hand on her sleeve, "she's going to be all-right. But she's going to need some help. And," he joked a little, "I know just how helpful you can be... even when it drives me a bit crazy."

"Jack!" She gave him a little swat on his arm. "What can I do?" She asked, more seriously.

"Abigail took a fairly serious blow to her head," Jack explained, "she has some form of memory loss."

Elizabeth gasped, "How bad is it?"

"Bad enough." Jack replied. "I'm not going to lie to you, Elizabeth. Her memory might not come back right away. I'm not going to say it won't come back but it may take time. A lot of time."

He cleared his throat and said, more gently, "Elizabeth – she doesn't even remember that Noah and Peter are dead."

"What are we going to do? How am I going to tell her?" Elizabeth asked, very worried for her friend.

"Right now, don't say anything. I think Cat is hoping that her memory will come back slowly – but we can't push her to remember. It may just be a temporary – so there's no need for us to worry quite yet." Jack tried to be as optimistic as he could, to avoid worrying Elizabeth.

"Of course. Is there anything we can do in the meantime? What about the cafe?"

Jack looked at her.

Elizabeth stared back at him, "You cannot be suggesting I cook! Jack...do you remember my biscuits...and my CAKE? That sad little thing you and Mr. Hamilton fought over?"

Jack rubbed his chin, "Good point."

Elizabeth glared at him.

"What? I was just agreeing with you! Your cooking, well..."

"Well what?" She started to come towards him, a small smile on her face.

Jack started to back away but realized that he was backing up into the kitchen and really had no place to flee.

"Um, well..."

Elizabeth started giggling, "There's no way out of this one, Jack."

Jack raised his eyes to the sky. How on earth did he always manage to put his foot in his mouth?