Rosemary opened the door of Abigail's Café, expecting to see Abigail behind the front counter as usual. Instead, Bill was there. "Good morning Rosemary." He said.

"Good morning. Aren't you supposed to be campaigning?" She asked.

"I can campaign from here." He said with a smile.

"I'm looking for Abigail."

"She's in a room above the saloon."

"Why?" Rosemary furrowed her brow thoughtfully.

"Because Clara and Jesse live above the Café now." Bill said pointedly.

"Oh." Rosemary smiled sheepishly. "I forgot. Thanks!" And then she was gone.

Bill shrugged. "Avery for Mayor?" He asked, handing out a few muffins to a waiting customer.

Rosemary hurried towards the saloon. "Lucas, which room is…" she began loudly, but her voice dropped off when she saw Abigail standing right there. "I came for our interview," she said, hurrying over to her friend.

"Rosemary, are you sure this is what people want to hear about?" Abigail questioned.

"Of course! You're a special part of this town and you've been gone for a long time. Of course people want to hear all about you." Rosemary said with a flourish of her pencil and paper.

"I just don't see what's so interesting." Abigail protested slightly.

"Nonsense. Just answer my questions." Rosemary guided her friend to a table. "Sit." Abigail sat down, and Rosemary did too. "Why did you come back to Hope Valley after so long?"

"My aunt died, releasing me of her care." Abigail answered sadly.

"Oh my. Abigail, I'm so sorry." Rosemary frowned.

"It's okay." Abigail smiled weakly.

"And where might Cody be?" Rosemary asked. She didn't want to admit it, but she missed that young man and she was sure that he had changed a lot too.

"He's not with me." Abigail hedged a little. "He's staying with his sister right now."

"Oh." Rosemary looked down at her paper, then back at her friend. She could tell that something was up, but she didn't want to pry too much. "What do you plan to do in Hope Valley?"

Abigail smiled again. "I don't plan on staying long, but I'd like to take in some of the sights and just enjoy myself."

"Not staying long? But you just got here; why would you want to leave again?"

"We'll see what I decide."

Rosemary continued asking Abigail questions. She couldn't shake the feeling that her friend was hiding something, but she wanted to wait before asking more questions. When she was done, she bid her friend goodbye and went back to her office to start putting things out. She began typing away on her article about Abigail's return. It bothered her to see her friend hurting, so she made up her mind to ask Elizabeth to talk to Abigail later. Maybe that would help.

Nathan urged Newton, his horse, on. He had been doing some investigating around the new pipeline, but hadn't been able to come up with any evidence for Mike's claims. Now he was riding through the forest and hoping to be home before lunch. The cool wind whipped through the trees, and he was thankful that his uniform provided him with a little extra warmth. As he passed the old cabin, he thought he saw smoke coming out of the chimney. Intrigued, he rode past, then slowed Newton down and got off his horse. With his hand over his gun, just in case, he quietly crept towards the cabin. He went around the perimeter, and stood in front of the door. Bracing himself for possible danger, he kicked the door open and went in.

The young man inside jumped back, instinctively reaching for his knife laying beside him. His eyes looked fearful as he looked at Nathan.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked gruffly.

The young man stood up. "Trying to keep warm." He said honestly.

Nathan looked him over. "Put your knife down." He warned, keeping his voice steady. "I'm not here to hurt you." The young man obeyed. "What's your name?" Nathan asked.

"You don't remember me?" The young man asked. "Oh, you wouldn't." He added quickly.

Nathan stared at him. "I don't know who you are."

"Cody Stanton; Abigail's son."

Elizabeth sat in the back part of Abigail's Café. Abigail had given her and Rosemary each a cup of tea, and then she had sat down too. They were getting together to talk about all the things that had happened in Abigail's absence – and what was going to happen in her presence. School was just out, and Robert and Allie had volunteered to watch Little Jack. She smiled at her friend. "So, what brings you back to Hope Valley?"

"Sadly, my aunt died, so I don't need to care for her anymore. After the funeral, I wasn't sure where I could go. Coming back seemed like the logical choice." Abigail admitted.

"I'm sorry. When is Cody coming home?" Elizabeth took a sip of tea, and Rosemary followed suit.

"He's…not." Abigail's face fell.

"Did something happen?" Rosemary asked gently.

Abigail sighed. "He felt that I wasn't taking enough care of him while taking care of my aunt, so he asked to go to his sister's after a year. I said no, and we had a big fight. He left anyways. After my aunt died, I went to the children's aunt to see if he was there. She said that he had left, and I figured that this would be where he would come." Her voice shook a little as she continued. "I need to talk to him so badly."

Rosemary and Elizabeth shared a glance, and Elizabeth reached out a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Cody's not here," she said softly. "At least not yet."

"I was afraid of that." Abigail was quiet for a moment, but then she smiled again. "But, Elizabeth, tell me all about Nathan."

Elizabeth smiled and she opened her mouth. Just as she was about to say something, Rosemary interrupted. "Oh Abigail!" She began. "It's just the sweetest thing. You should see them together. Can you believe that it took her three years to finally choose the right man? Thank goodness she did!" She looked from Elizabeth to Abigail excitedly, and caught their big smiles. "Oh, I guess it is Elizabeth's story."

Elizabeth chuckled. "I guess it is."

Rosemary sat back. "Do tell then."

"Well, Rosemary is right. It did take me three years to figure things out, but I finally did. And Nathan was wonderfully patient with me, even though I hurt both him and Allie. In the end, I realized that I needed to separate Jack and Nathan. Once I could do that, I could appreciate Nathan for who he is. And I appreciate him very much."

Abigail smiled. "That's wonderful. I'm so happy for you!"

"Me too." Elizabeth nodded.

"And me!" Rosemary chimed in. They all laughed.

"I am glad to be back." Abigail said when they got serious again.

"We're glad to have you." Elizabeth said sincerely.

Nathan stared at Cody. "What are you doing here?" He asked. "Didn't you leave three years ago with your mom?"

Cody winced. "I know. I came back here just a couple days ago because I didn't think she'd come back too."

"Did something happen?" Nathan sat down on the wooden floor.

"Kind of."

"Well, she's in town. Why don't you come back with me and you can talk to her then?" Nathan offered.

"No!" Cody moved back. "I can't do that. I need to leave again."

"Cody. What's wrong?"

"We had a big fight about two years ago. She was too busy caring for her aunt to care for me, so I left to go to my aunt's. But I didn't really like it there either, and I was afraid that she'd come and find me. So I left there a couple months ago and made my way slowly here. Nathan, I can't go back."

"Your mom loves you," Nathan began. "And I'm sure she wants to patch things up with you too."

Cody shook his head vehemently. "I can't, and she doesn't. She was so mad at me. I'll be fine, I'll just leave tomorrow."

"I need to go back to town to do my rounds, but I want you to at least stay until tomorrow, okay? You can come back with me if you want."

"No, I'll stay here. I have food."

"And you'll stay until tomorrow?"

"Only if you promise not to tell my mom that I'm here." Cody's eyes narrowed.

"I won't. I'll be back tomorrow morning." Nathan promised, extending his hand. Cody awkwardly shook it. "Think about what I've said." Nathan said, and then left the cabin. He headed back to town. Allie would probably be worried about him if he didn't hurry up. Hopefully Cody stuck by his promise. Nathan would talk to Elizabeth; she knew Cody much better than he did.

Later that evening, after supper, Rosemary and Lee sat in their living room. Rosemary was busy editing her typing, and Lee was looking at logging estimates. When he finished the page, he looked over at Rosemary. He could see that she was troubled about something, but he didn't know what it was. Surprisingly, she hadn't said anything about it either. He had his own problems. He needed to figure out how to get some campaigning done, and fast. "Sweetheart?" He began.

Rosemary looked up from her work. "Yes?"

"I need some help with my campaigning. Do you have any ideas?" He asked with a smile. If anyone had good, creative ideas about campaigning, it would be Rosemary, and that was one of the reasons that he loved her. She could take something ordinary and make it unique and beautiful.

"Hmm." She put her paper down to think. Her eyes lit up. "I could write an article about you, you could host a party of some sort, or make a fine speech, or support something…" her eyes lit up even more. "I have a fantastic idea! Why don't you host a huge bonfire! We could roast marshmallows, I could do a whole bunch of baking, and you could make a speech. I'd even write it for you! Oh that'd be wonderful, and it'd certainly get everyone talking about you."

Lee chuckled. "That might work. I mean, I am the head of the lumber business so I definitely have a lot of wood."

"Of course it'd work!" Rosemary interjected.

"Hmm. Okay. I like it. I'll see if I can get that ball rolling." Lee leaned back. "Not sure about the speech part, though."

"Nonsense. You have to have a speech."

"Then we shall have a speech."

"Good. I'll write it-"

"I'll write it for myself." Lee said firmly.

"Lee." Rosemary looked at him. "Are you sure? I could whip up something grand!" She fluttered her hands.

"I'm sure."

"Well, okay then." Rosemary looked back down at her paper and frowned as she read it over.

"Is there a problem with your article?" Lee asked gently.

"No, the article's fine. It's the person whom the article is about that's not." Rosemary sighed.

"It's not the article about me, is it?" Lee teased.

"No." She rolled her eyes, but her mood became serious again. "It's the article about Abigail." Lee didn't say anything as he waited for her to keep talking. "I'm worried." She admitted.

"About what? Aren't you happy that Abigail is back?"

"Yes, very much so!"

"Then what's the problem?"

"Well, first of all, she and Cody are at odds and she came back to find him. He's not here though, so I wonder what she's going to do. And this town has changed so much in her absence. She's not even Mayor anymore. I feel like we've all changed while she's been gone too. She doesn't even know Nathan or Lucas, or the Canfields. So much has happened, and I'm afraid that it's going to be hard for her to fit back in."

Lee was quiet for a moment, considering all that Rosemary had said. "Things have changed," he agreed. "And things will continue to change. It might be hard at first, but Hope Valley is Abigail's home. She can fit back in too." He paused. "But sweetheart, I can tell that that's not everything. Is there something else?" He pressed gently.

Rosemary looked at him, then away, then back at him. She lowered her voice. "This might sound silly, but Elizabeth and I have become so close in Abigail's absence. I'm not jealous, but I don't want our friendship to change either."

"Rosie." Lee sighed tenderly, and reached for her hand. "You and Elizabeth are wonderful friends, and you will always continue to be. Nothing can change that. All three of you can be friends now."

"I suppose so." Rosemary nodded slowly. She smiled at him. "At least I'll always have you."

"Last choice, am I?" Lee teased.

She hit him playfully. "First choice. And best." She grinned.

He leaned forward and kissed her. "Good. I'm glad to hear it."

"Now, let's work on your speech." She said excitedly.

"Speech? I told you I'm writing it."

"Well can't I at least help?"

"Nope." Lee stood up. "It's going to be a surprise."

"Lee!" She protested.

"Nope. Not this time Rosie. This is my speech. Are you coming upstairs?"

"In a minute." She promised with a smile.