"Abigail…" Henry caught up to her while she was walking on the street.
"Hi Henry." She replied brightly.
"I have more information on Lucas Bouchard." He said, sounding grave.
"Oh, what information?" She asked, stopping in her tracks, forcing Henry to stop too.
"His name is Roger Segal. He came to America for business and married his wife for the purpose of acquiring citizenship there. Once that was done, he established a textile business that did not run quite well. In order to recover, he got into bad company and started dealing in drugs. He has been jailed for that but word is that he still deals in drugs and goes around investing in running businesses to make white money out of his otherwise illegally begotten wealth." Henry said and handed over a police report to Abigail which stated the same.
"If he was jailed, why did Bill not get any information on him from any police department?" Abigail asked.
"He may have asked them for information on Lucas Bouchard and not Roger Segal." Henry replied.
"Oh my!" She said and started walking fast towards Bill's office, Henry following close behind. "We need to inform Bill." She said and Henry agreed.
"Bill!" Abigail called as she entered his office.
"Abigail…Henry…" He called as he saw them both enter.
"We have information on Lucas Bouchard…" Abigail started.
THAT AFTERNOON
"You must be relieved that Bouchard has been arrested" Elizabeth said to Abigail. The two of them were sitting on the bench outside Abigail's Café.
"I am. God knows what else he would have done." Abigail replied and then suddenly took a sharp breath. "What if he would have brought drugs to our little town here? Oh God, I hate to think the outcome of that!"
"Well, you got him at the right time. That is what matters." Elizabeth said.
"It was Henry's doing. He dug up all the information on Bouchard." Abigail said and Elizabeth nodded.
"Hi ladies…" Fiona, the switchboard operator called to Elizabeth and Abigail as she approached them. "All well?" She asked.
"Hi Fiona!" Elizabeth replied and Abigail nodded in acknowledgment.
"Good call on Bouchard, Madam Mayor." Fiona stated.
"The credit goes to Henry Gowen." Abigail replied.
"Speaking of Henry Gowen…" Fiona said as she watched Henry pass across the street, on his way to the saloon. "What is the deal with him?"
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.
"I mean, is he single? Is he seeing someone?" Fiona asked.
"Are you not a little too young for him?" Abigail quipped in.
"Number one, age is not a factor for me and number two, he is very attractive for even someone as young as me. Oh, and number three, I ask not for myself but for my aunt in New Orleans. Her name is Wendy Smith. She is a perfect match for him." Fiona said and watched Henry walk in passing.
"Well then, I wish you all the best with that!" Abigail said, however, Elizabeth did not miss the slight disappointment in her voice. She looked up at Henry who was now almost walking into the saloon. He was joined by Bill at the door.
AT THE SALOON
"Hello Henry." Bill called as he stopped near the door, forcing Henry to stop too.
"Evening, Bill." Henry replied.
"Thank you for the information on Bouchard. That helped a lot." Bill said.
"Oh no worries at all. Anything I can do to help." He said and smiled.
"Oh, one more thing. I saw you walk out of Abigail's last night. I have been watching you around her and while things seem pretty cozy, I feel the need to remind you that what you are doing is not appropriate, considering your history with her." Bill said and Henry's teeth clenched as he stiffened, visibly.
"You do not need to remind me of anything. I know my history with her." Henry defended.
"All I am saying is that you should stay within your limits." Bill said sternly.
"And what limits are those, may I ask and who put them there? Abigail did not tell me anything about those limits…" Henry asked, approaching Bill defiantly.
While Abigail could not hear them talk, she sensed that there was a showdown between Bill and Henry. She stood up from the bench and walked up to the end of her porch. Elizabeth and Fiona were too busy chatting away to notice the tension.
"You have no right over Abigail." Bill said calmly but dangerously.
"She is not a commodity that anyone could have a right over!" Henry raised his voice slightly.
"Stay away from her..." Bill hissed.
"Who are you to tell me that?" Henry replied, tilting his head to one side.
"I care for her, Henry. And if you so much as hurt her hair, I will see to it that you are back in prison." Bill threatened.
"I think she is perfectly capable of protecting herself." Henry replied, looking Bill right in the eye.
Some people walked out of the saloon and noted the tension between them. They slowed down to check if all was well. Bill took a step back. Abigail was watching, her one hand to the pole that she was holding on to like her dear life, subconsciously. She was worried.
"Henry, before taking a step towards her, think about your past with her and her family. You killed her husband and her son! Do you really think you can make that right, let alone being in any relationship with her? If you really care for her…" Bill said and approached him again, "…you will take a hard look at yourself and figure out whether she sees her love in you or the face of her husband and child's killer. If you care for her even with the smallest fiber of your being, you will refrain from hurting her again. I expect that you will do the right thing when it comes to her." Bill said and walked away.
Something inside of Henry that was so up and beat crashed and he felt it in his heart. He had a little ray of hope and sunshine in his life with her presence. But he may gotten ahead of himself. After all, how could someone as nasty and evil as him deserve someone like Abigail? How did he even remotely think that Abigail would fall for him? She deserves someone who looks out for her always, not someone who gave her the biggest sorrow in the world. Bill was right, would she see him as a love interest or as a murderer? Is she just being a nice person that she is by making his rehabilitated life comfortable? Was that all that it was? Did he misread her intentions? How did he do that? He prided himself in reading into people's thoughts through their actions or even their eyes. How could he misread Abigail's eyes? His inside, his emotions, all in turmoil. The once broad shouldered man was now hunched. His heart broke, so hard that he felt it physically. He had never felt such pain. He turned around, almost faltering in his steps. Seeing that, a very worried Abigail took a step forward to run to him but she stopped as he turned and looked at her. She raised her hand slightly to ask if he was OK and he waved at her, stopping her from going to him. He gave her a sad smile and walked away. Unknown to Abigail, Henry had decided the fate of their newly blossomed relationship or so he thought.
Once again he gave up on life, a little more than usual.
