Chapter 2: Coal Valley Before Dawn

April 1897

By the time they reached Union City to meet with Noah's friend, Peter had come down with an awful cough and they were taken to the Union City infirmary to get him back to health. A few more days passed and they were on their way to Coal Valley, where Patrick Sullivan, Noah's friend, had a temporary job lined up for Noah so they could save up some money and buy a plot of land nearby within the year. It all sounded perfect. Too good to be true. But Abigail knew that if they just kept their faith and continued to pray, that God would make this happen for them.

They were given a temporary home in one of the mining rowhouses near Patrick and his wife, Molly. Noah soon began to work as a miner, something Abigail was not too happy about after having seen her father work as a miner for nearly twenty years. But she agreed to endure it until the year was up and they could buy that land, which was surprisingly reasonably priced.

One morning, Abigail had routinely awoken around four thirty, which she had been used to on her parents' farm back home. She quietly stood from the bed and tip-toed through the bedroom to her dresser to choose her slip and dress for the day, deciding on her lavender dress that her grandmother handmade for her 17th birthday. Surprised, Abigail was, to see that the garment still fit her after 6 years and even after giving birth to Peter. She was always quite thin and even after gaining a bit of weight prior to the birth, she still was, which was a relief to her after she had witnessed a cousin of hers grow to be almost unrecognizable after her seventh child. Abigail loved children but told Noah that they would NOT be having that many children if it meant she might blow up like a hot air balloon. He agreed with a chuckle.

Once her dress was on and her hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, Abigail went to peek into Peter's bedroom. Seeing her small toddler fast asleep on his bed that was much too big for him made her smile and gently close the bedroom door again before she descended the stairs to look into the kitchen for some food to cook for breakfast. She looked inside the basket where she had been keeping the eggs given to them by Patrick and Molly and saw that it was empty.

With a soft sigh, the dirty-blonde haired woman placed the basket on her arm and headed for the front door of their rowhouse. She quietly opened it, stepping out onto the porch in the chilled air, the sky mixed with shades of orange, pink, and purple as the sun barely showed on the horizon so early in the morning.

Gently pulling the door shut, Abigail smiled to herself, taking in a deep breath of the morning dew, reveling in the peaceful atmosphere. She admired how quiet it could be here compared to at home where the roosters would crow and the cows would moo. The sounds of her brothers arguing or her mother shouting at them to wake up for morning chores was also something that she did not miss.

She felt alone in Coal Valley before Dawn and she loved it. Nobody else was awake at this time save for Ned Yost, whom she learned was an employee at the town's mercantile, soon to be buying it off to become the mercantile's new owner.

She enjoyed her undisturbed walk to the shop as her empty egg basket rocked back and forth on her right forearm, the light breeze in the air causing her to hug herself for warmth. By the time she reached the door to the mercantile, the sun was up a bit further than it had been when she left her rowhouse, making it a bit easier for her to see into the mercantile's window to see Ned behind the counter inside, already yawning as if he had worked a full day.

"Good morning, Mr. Yost." Abigail said with an upbeat tone as she entered the building, startling Ned to finish his yawn quicker.

"Mrs. Stanton," he began while his first customer of the day closed the door behind her. "Good morning. Please. Call me Ned. I feel old and like my father when you call me that."

Abigail softly chuckled. "Of course. My apologies….Ned."

"Up so soon?" He asked her, already knowing that he had seen her walk around town every morning this early since she and her family had arrived, yet he never announced himself to her as he was always too tired to.

"Ah, yes." She answered, going straight to where the eggs were kept. "I love the alone time." She admitted. "When did the hen lay these?" She asked while picking up a few eggs and examining them.

"Just picked them up from the Homestead outside of town twenty minutes ago." Ned told her.

"Fresh." Abigail smiled. "I could tell." She looked at him over her shoulder for a brief second before continuing to pick a few more eggs. "Do you keep track of people's accounts here?" She asked him. "I am afraid I forgot to bring some of Noah's cash to pay." She lied, knowing that Noah, having only worked in the mine for a week and a half, had not been given his pay yet.

"Yes, of course. I'll just put it under 'Stanton.'" Ned told her.

"Thank you." Abigail smiled to herself again at his reply and went elsewhere in the shop to find some bread or biscuits to bring home.

Ned began to do more of his duties behind the counter when Abigail heard a bell over the mercantile's front door go off, indicating that someone else had been awake at this hour and she wondered who.

"Ah, Ned." The unfamiliar voice near the door sounded and Abigail tried to see who it was from where she stood behind a ten foot tall shelf filled with groceries and ingredients to buy. "Did the post come for me yesterday?" The same voice asked Ned behind the counter.

Ned searched the mail boxes behind him. "No. I'm afraid not yet, Mr. Gowen."

"Hm…Alright. Thank you."

"May I ask what it is that you are so impatiently waiting for?" Ned asked politely.

"Just a telegram from my boss. Will you let me know straight away when it comes in?" Mr. Gowen replied in a soft, raspy tone that made Abigail believe he was whispering.

She stood up on her tip-toes to try and see him through an opening on the shelf in front of her but the basket hanging on her forearm bumped into a bag of flour and knocked it over, making a loud thud sound throughout the quiet shop.

"Are you alright back there?" Ned asked her.

"Yes. I'm alright. Just clumsy old me knocked some flour over. It's alright." She called out as she bent over to pick up the bag of flour, but just as her left hand reached out to take it, a larger, warmer hand beat her to it and grazed her fingers, lifting the flour and setting it back on the shelf for her.

Her eyes looked at the shined, seemingly expensive, black shoes in front of her and slid up the ankles that led to the feet that filled them. Her eyes moved up…and up….and up…until she stood again and saw the man whose voice sounded like a whisper. His shoulders were broad and his suit seemed quite tight on him which made her wonder how his muscles looked underneath it. She was speechless at first…the man's well-tailored suit and bowler hat only making her realize that he was a businessman who must have lots of money.

"Th-Thank you…Mr. Gowen?" She assumed his name based off of what Ned had called him.

"Henry." He softly smiled at her and offered her one of his hands.

"Henry." She smiled back at him and allowed him to take her right hand while the basket, heavier now, dangled between them.

Henry took Abigail's hand and, to her surprise, kissed the back of it when she had expected him to shake it. "No thanks was necessary." He smiled at her and released her hand from his. "Just hope you didn't crush your toes when that bag of flour fell."

"Oh…No, no. I am alright." She snapped out of whatever odd daze this new man had put her in with just a smile. "I am grateful for your concern though."

"I don't think I've yet had the pleasure to meet you." Henry grinned.

"Oh…No. I just moved here. I'm Abigail." She was about to open her mouth to say more, but he unintentionally interrupted.

"Abigail. That's a pretty name for an even prettier lady." Abigail was stunned at the sound of his voice. It was so raspy and not at all like anything she had heard before and she was ashamed to think to herself that it made him somewhat attractive in some way and she asked herself how a VOICE could be attractive. "How long have you been in town?" Henry asked her. "I haven't been here very long myself."

"Oh, uh…about one week." Abigail told him.

"That explains it." The man smiled more. "I have been gone on business for about a week. Only just returned last night." They began to walk together toward another section of the shop. "I was transferred to this town by my company less than a month ago."

"That must be hard. Having to leave your home for new work." Abigail assumed.

"Oh, it doesn't pay me no mind. I have never truly had a home. So traveling for work never bothers me." He picked up a box of fish bait where they were.

Abigail noticed and smiled a bit. "You go fishing?"

"I sure do. I was on my way there when I realized I forgot some bait."

"That must be why you're awake at this hour. Best time to fish is…"

"Before the sun hits the sky." Both Henry and Abigail said at the same time and they chuckled.

"Who taught you that?" Henry asked her.

"Oh, my older brothers and my father." She told him.

"Older brothers?" He emphasized the fact that she said brothers PLURAL.

"Yes. Five of them. I am the sixth child. My parents tried and tried until they could get a girl and well…here I am." She made Henry softly laugh.

"So you know a lot about fishing then?" He assumed.

"I suppose I know some." She said modestly.

"Would you care to join me at the creek this morning?"

"Oh, I-I'm not sure." Abigail bit her lip, having actually missed fishing quite a bit recently and Noah was too busy to go whilst Peter was still too young for her to take him with her. She thought about how both Noah and Peter were still going to be asleep for another two hours or so before Noah would have to wake up for work and she smiled to herself. "Alright. I can spare an hour or two."

Henry smiled at her before they both stopped at the counter so Ned could place their items on their accounts and they headed out to Henry's car, which only confirmed to Abigail that her suspicions of him having money were correct.

Henry opened the passenger door for Abigail and she got in before he got in the driver's seat and drove them to a spot to park near the woods where they could get out and walk the rest of the way to the creek with Henry's two fishing poles.