Chapter 9:

When Abigail woke up the next morning, she felt like she had been dreaming. What had happened last night with Henry had completely disturbed her. She could not believe the sweet way he had acted with her at the end of the evening.

After Henry slipped away, she preferred not to linger. She did not want Theo to join her. She did not know why, but she suddenly had the urge to run away from him.

This morning she got ready and went downstairs to find Cody having breakfast.

"Hello sweetheart!"

Cody turned with a smile to his mom. He stood up and kissed her cheek.

"Hello Mom!"

"You got up early this morning."

Cody sat back in his seat while Abigail started making scrambled eggs.

"Yes, I can't wait to go to school this morning. I mean, more than usual."

"And what causes this sudden change?" Abigail asked, her eyebrows raised in astonishment.

"Robert has a new baseball glove!" Cody replied, bouncing in his chair.

Abigail smiled at her baby boy's excitement. She sat across from her son and asked him to finish his plate so he would not be late for school. With that, Cody complied, took his bag, kissed his mother, and left for another day of study with Mrs. Thornton.

The day passed very quickly. Abigail had had to deal with conflicts in the city relating to the mismanagement of the bank despite the latter's new investors. Some residents were unhappy with the placements that had been made and this needed to be addressed urgently.

Abigail was in her office toward the end of the day when she realized she had not seen Theo that day. She wondered what he was doing when he had only been here a few days.

Suddenly there was a knock on her office door, and it opened to reveal Theo himself.

"Theo!" Abigail exclaimed.

"You seem surprised to see me." joked the latter.

"I was just thinking about you."

Abigail got up, walked around her desk, and walked over to Theo.

"Ah. What were you thinking about?" Theo muttered, taking her in his arms.

"Just the fact I did not see you today. Where were you?" she whispered too.

"Just visiting the places near the town."

Abigail nodded puzzled but said nothing.

"Would you accept a date with me tonight?"

"An official date? "

"Yes, an official one."

Abigail smiled at him.

The door to the mayor's office opened again, revealing Bill.

Bill squinted at the couple in front of him but said nothing.

Theo separated from Abigail and walked towards the door in front of which Bill was standing.

"I'll pick you up at 8 o'clock." he smiled at Abigail. "Sheriff Avery." Theo nodded at Bill.

Theo slipped away and closed the door behind him.

"You wanted to ask me something Bill?" Abigail questioned, sitting back at her desk.

Bill walked over to the desk and stood in front of it.

"I met a man in town. He says his name is Michael Vance. He's your friend's investor for his exposure." Bill said.

Abigail frowned.

"He didn't tell you about it?" Bill asked puzzled.

"Yes, yes of course, he explained his project to me. It's just that I didn't know his investor was in town. I don't understand why he didn't tell me."

"Maybe he wants to talk to you about it tonight. »

"May be." Abigail answered confused.

"Anyway, do you intend to invest in this exhibition?"

"Yes, I think it could be a good investment for our city and it could bring us a little bit of recognition. Theo is an extraordinary painter. You will see." Abigail said, opening a folder that was on her desk.

"I trust you, Abigail. You know what you are doing. You should talk to his investor, though."

"Yes, of course, thank you Bill." Abigail smiled at her friend.

Bill pulled out the chair across from Abigail and sat down with a sigh.

"You seem preoccupied, Bill."

"I was offered to become a judge."

"That's what he told me. He is hesitant to accept."

Clara was stunned by her stepmother's revelations about Bill.

"But is he happy with this proposal?"

"I've no idea. I even thought it was a joke at first." Abigail shook her head. "In any case, it is sure that it disturbed him."

"It's understanding, especially since Bill was never a big fan of judges."

"In addition." Abigail confirmed.

Clara then eyed Abigail suspiciously.

"You look very elegant tonight."

Abigail smiled embarrassed.

"You go out?"

"Yes…" Abigail hesitated.

"With Mr. Richardson?" Clara insisted.

Abigail sighed.

"Abigail, I'm only worried about you..."

Abigail cut her off violently:

"Mind your own business."

Clara took a step back in shock. Abigail immediately regretted what she had said to Clara. She approached her daughter-in-law with tears in her eyes.

"Sorry, sorry Clara I'm really sorry, that's not what I meant. Forgive me I beg you."

Recovering from her shock Clara took Abigail's hands seeing the regret and tears in her eyes. She took her in her arms.

"I do not blame you. I just wanted to know if you were okay."

Abigail pulled away from Clara's embrace still with tears in her eyes.

"I don't know what I have right now. I feel strangely different."

"You are my only family Abigail, I need to know you well, you understand?"

Abigail nodded.

"I am sorry."

"Don't be. Mr. Richardson disturbs you a little bit."

"Yes."

The kitchen door opened to let Theo in. He had a bouquet of red roses in his hand. He smiled at Abigail who walked over to him smiling. When she was with him, she was 16 years old.

She clung to her past with him. She knew it was wrong. But she wanted to live what she had not had the right to live when Theo had disappeared. Her old wounds were reopening. She realized that they had never really been healed.

Clara watched the interaction between the two lovers, and she was struck by the physical attraction there was between them. She saw the man's gaze and Clara felt sorry for him. He was madly in love with Abigail, yet she did not even look at him like she could have looked at Frank. She was like in her own world, but she did not seem happy.

"Cody knows I'm going out tonight but keep an eye on him anyway please Clara.

"Yes of course Abigail."

Theo nodded at Clara, took Abigail by the arm, and led her outside with him.

Clara sighed, turned, and walked up the stairs to see Cody in his room.

"Where are you taking me?" Abigail asks curiously.

Theo directed her to his car and opened the door for her. Once Theo was seated, he looked at Abigail and said:

"You will see."

Note: Hello, hello! So, I hope you still like it. Thank you very much for the review I received on my previous chapter.

Regarding Bill's confession about being offered to be a judge, in the original episodes with Lori Loughlin, Abigail is the first-person Bill confides in. Abigail's reaction is super funny because she replies "Haha! That's funny" laughing. Then she realizes he's not kidding, and she says, "Oh, you're serious. »