Notes: Hello Hearties! It's been awhile, I know... I caught a bit of writer's block, it seems. Fortunately, it lifted late last week as the sunshine returned to my fair city and brought some inspiration with it! I hope you'll enjoy this. More chapters coming soon!

Chapter Forty

"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness,

not because they never found it,

but because they didn't stop to enjoy it."

~William Feather

Elizabeth opened her eyes and immediately smiled. She lay in her bed under the covers, warm and happy. She closed her eyes and replayed last night in her mind. As she enjoyed her memories of Jack singing and holding her, she became aware of noises floating up from downstairs. She knew it was Abigail preparing breakfast for her customers. She opened her eyes again and her gaze fell on the footboard of her bed where she'd left Jack's jacket when she took it off last night. She sat up and reached for the jacket. Pulling the jacket on over her nightgown, she stood and wrapped it around her tightly. She looked at herself in the mirror and her smile slowly faded. "I guess I have to give this back," she mumbled to herself.

Down the street, Bill arrived at the jailhouse and found Jack pouring himself a cup of coffee. Jack had his uniform on, but his red serge jacket was unbuttoned revealing his uniform collarless shirt. Rip lay on the floor next to the stove, sound asleep.

"Good morning, Jack!" Bill called loudly as he came through the door. "How was your night? Allen didn't cause you any trouble, did he?"

Jack shook his head. "No, he slept all night. Guess he wore himself out yesterday taking hostages and being charged by the preacher's horse."

Bill scoffed and walked back toward the cells. He looked into Allen's cell and saw that he was awake laying on the bed. "Allen! You hungry? Want some breakfast?" he asked.

Allen didn't reply.

"What? Cat got your tongue now?" Bill inquired. "Didn't you get enough sleep? Perhaps your conscience was bothering you."

Allen suddenly turned his head and faced Bill. "No! He did!" he answered loudly and angrily.

Bill's face clouded as he looked at Allen in confusion.

"He kept singing to his schoolteacher girlfriend! Didn't think he would ever shut up!" Allen complained.

Jack spun around and faced Bill, coffee splashing over the rim of his cup. His eyes widened momentarily, but he quickly regained his composure. He shrugged his shoulders and gave Bill a look of doubt as he shook his head. "Any word from the Depot as to when they may pick him up?" he asked Bill as he walked over and sat down at his desk, deftly changing the subject.

Bill looked back at Allen and then at Jack again, a quizzical look on his face before he answered. "Uh, yeah... actually, Ned Yost stopped me on my way over here. He said that a telegram arrived last night. As luck would have it, a unit was searching for him nearby and they should be here today or tomorrow to pick him up."

Jack nodded as he took another gulp of coffee before setting down his cup. "Good," he commented. "The sooner they can get him out of town, the better."

"I agree! Ready to get out of this stupid town!" Allen yelled from his cell. "Now, where's my breakfast?" he demanded.

Jack closed his eyes and exhaled with frustration.

Bill nodded and continued, ignoring Allen. "Hopefully, they'll be here today. In the meantime, I'll go get some breakfast from Abigail." He stood and started to move toward the door but stopped short. Turning back to Jack, he asked, "Unless you want to go sing a little wake up song to Elizabeth?"

Jack shook his head and practically leapt from his chair. He buttoned his jacket as he sprinted to the door. "I'll be back after my rounds," he called over his shoulder before he closed the door behind him, leaving Bill and his hearty laughter behind.

"You getting my breakfast or not?" Allen hollered over Bill's chuckling.

Bill swiveled around and saw Allen hanging through the cell bars. "Perhaps," he told Allen as he grabbed his hat from the rack and headed out of the jailhouse, still laughing lightly.

He whistled "Camptown Races" as crossed the street to Abigail's Cafe. He stopped briefly to help an older lady who dropped her basket in the street. He tipped his hat as she thanked him and quickly resumed his lively stroll to the cafe. Instead of heading to the cafe door, he made his way to the side kitchen door. He opened it, still whistling his happy tune, and entered the kitchen. When he spotted Abigail in the dining room, he walked toward her but stopped short. He noticed that Abigail had an angry expression on her face. Then, his eyes fell on the man sitting at the table next to which she was standing. He immediately disliked the way he was gazing at Abigail as she took his order. In fact, he found the man's entire demeanor disturbing.

He stood in the kitchen, observing Abigail's interaction with the troubling man as she took his breakfast order. It was clear that Abigail did not care for this man at all as she leaned away from him and narrowed her eyes when the man spoke to her. When she turned to walk away from his table, the man suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Bill started to move into the dining room, but quickly realized Abigail didn't need his assistance. She swung around and slapped the man's hand with the dish towel she was holding.

"Mr. Wiley, as I have told you before, keep your hands to yourself! Your attention is not welcome! If you continue to behave like this, then you will not be welcome here," she told him forcefully.

Wiley rubbed his slapped hand and frowned. "We'll see," he mumbled as Abigail walked away.

She swiveled around and rebuked him, "No, we will not. Next time, I may have to use my cast iron skillet." She turned on heel and headed back to the kitchen as other breakfast customers whispered about the scene they'd just witnessed. Wiley glared at Abigail as she walked away before grabbing his hat and heading for the door.

Abigail entered the kitchen and spotted Bill standing near the stove with an indiscernible expression on his face. "Oh, Bill! Good morning!" she greeted him.

He shook his head and a smile filled his face.

She looked up from the bread she was slicing and gave him a questioning look. "What?" she asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Bill's smile broke with a sputtering laugh. "You handled that dolt rather well," he shared.

"Oh, that," Abigail replied dismissively. "He is a cad, but I can handle him. Next time, I will have my skillet handy!"

Bill laughed. "Well, I'd expect nothing less, Abigail!" He glanced back at the dining room to the table that Wiley had vacated. "Who is he? I don't think I've seen him before?"

Abigail spoke as she continued gathering bread and pastries onto a couple of plates. "His name is Wiley. He's Henry Gowen's new assistant."

"Well, that explains his oafish behavior," Bill observed.

Abigail nodded. "Very likely. You should talk with Jack since he arrested him a couple of nights ago when got into some trouble at the saloon. I was hoping that the mine company would send him away. Unfortunately, it appears that Gowen is fighting for him, though." She shook her head in disgust.

"Which is why I'll be watching him very closely," Bill told her.

Abigail smiled at him before she headed back to the dining room carrying the baked goods. She stopped just before she entered the dinning room and turned around. "Help yourself to some coffee. I'll be right back," she assured Bill.

Bill watched her as she served breakfast to her customers. He smiled, admiring this strong woman he had grown to care about so much. He would definitely be checking up on Wiley to ensure he didn't bother Abigail again.