August 1916
The next morning, Abigail woke up in her own bedroom above the cafe. She was more than happy about the night before, remembering the wonderful time she spent with Henry. A part of her felt she would never stop smiling though another part of her felt extremely melancholy knowing she had to leave Hope Valley again.
She got up out of her bed to get dressed and pack the rest of her things before going to wake up Becky and Cody. Once she knew they were fully awake, she went downstairs to make them breakfast, but was surprised to see that a group of her Hope Valley friends had already cooked and planned a spontaneous surprise going away breakfast party for her and the kids. Lee, Bill, Molly, Florence, Dottie, Elizabeth, Minnie, and Rosemary were all in attendance as well as a few of Cody's friends and Florence's daughter, Deborah, for Becky, and Abigail was very grateful. Once Becky and Cody joined them downstairs, they all ate and talked about what life is like in Fulton Hills.
Abigail looked around at everyone and thought about how lucky she was to be this loved and she knew, for certain, that she could not stay in Fulton Hills forever. This was also her family and she would miss them too much if she moved away.
After they had finished eating and talking, it was time for the Stantons to head out to the stagecoach. Many others from around town came out to say goodbye to them and Abigail gave many of them hugs and assured them they would be back as soon as it was possible. Some people gave their well wishes to her mother and she began to feel the need to cry. But she held it together with a smile on her face.
Soon, she found herself looking around for Henry. He promised he would come say goodbye. But he was nowhere in the crowd. A part of her was worried. The other part of her was upset and disappointed. But she had no time to think on it longer as, soon, the stagecoach arrived and they had to get on it. Even as they closed the door, she looked out into the crowd to see if she could see him, but he was nowhere to be found. She felt a pain in her chest move into her stomach and she forced a smile to wave goodbye to the people of Hope Valley as the stagecoach pulled away.
A part of her tried to see the positive in not being able to say goodbye to him. Perhaps it was for the best considering the way they left things the night before was perfect and maybe it was better that way. But the other part of her wondered why he didn't show. She began to overthink, wondering if perhaps he was still too afraid to let the people in town see how much they meant to each other, even with a simple goodbye. Perhaps she was just sex to him. Maybe she pushed him too much again to show his feelings. These thoughts clouded her brain the whole journey back to Fulton Hills.
Henry had intended to go see them off. He woke up on time, he was dressed on time, he started to leave the house on time. But before he could even make it outside of his bedroom that morning…the thought of saying goodbye to her again made his heart beat faster than he ever thought possible. He didn't eat breakfast and the hunger pains he felt in his stomach turned into a severe chest pain. The most intense and painful chest pain he'd ever felt. He soon felt dizzy and placed his hand on the nightstand between his bed and the bedroom door to try and maintain his balance. He gulped, feeling a wave of heat throughout his entire body before his vision blurred and he collapsed onto the floor beside his bed, unconscious.
October 1916
Henry spent over a month trying to write to Abigail in an apology letter. But he didn't want her to know what happened the day she left. He didn't want her to worry. But he also didn't want to lie. He tried multiple times to come up with a good one or a good excuse as to why he didn't make it to the stagecoach that morning, but never did. Abigail hadn't wrote to him either. Her schedule in Fulton Hills grew to be more busy. Her mother was getting better, but could no longer walk on her own. Sick of her bedroom, Vivian asked her doctor if she could finally move down to the living room to be around the family more since they knew she was not contagious. He gave the family his approval and Abigail and her father moved a small cot into the living room for her.
Becky had gone back to school and Cody was still doing lessons by mail from Elizabeth. Abigail would help him when he needed and would return to her housework and even began to help her father with the farmwork as well. They had begun to struggle with money a bit, so she made sure to get the eggs from the hens every morning and the milk from the cows to sell in the town market every week. She missed Hope Valley and wanted to go back, but kept her promise to her father and stayed. Her brothers were all too busy with work and their own families to visit Fulton Hills themselves and Abigail's stress started to affect her own health a bit. It was nothing too bad. Just a loss of sleep and an occasional headache from time to time but she pushed through.
Halfway through the month of October, Vivian finally received a wheelchair from her doctor and she was able to move around the house herself. When she felt up to it, she would help Cody with his homework so Abigail could focus on the chores.
"Hey, Mom?" Cody called to Abigail one night while she was cooking dinner.
"Yes, Cody, dear?"
"You have a letter in the mail." Cody told her as he got his mail from Elizabeth for his new homework. "It's from Mr. Gowen."
"Thank you, sweetheart. You can bring it in here and leave it on the table, please."
"Yes, ma'am." Cody said, bringing the envelope into the kitchen and setting it on the table for her. He returned to the living room, sitting on the couch across from his grandmother's bed to start his new assignments.
Abigail turned the temperature of the stove down and sat at the kitchen table, opening the letter from Henry to read it. Her butterflies fluttered at the anticipation of wondering what he had written.
Abigail,
Please accept my apology for not being able to make it to see you off when you left Hope Valley. I have no excuse to give, but I just beg that you can find a way to forgive me. Even if I do not deserve it. I hope you made it to Fulton Hills safely and I hope your mother is doing well. Did Becky make it back to school okay? How is the farm doing? I hope Cody is enjoying his baseball bat. I have been worried about you. I know that I haven't written to you in so long, but I admit that I expected to hear from you once you arrived. I understand if perhaps you were angry with me and that is why you did not write. The more time that passed, the more worried I became and that is why I decided to write you now. Take your time on getting back to me. Just checking in on you.
Henry
Abigail softly sighed as she folded the paper back up and returned it to the inside of the envelope. A part of her was proud of him for admitting, honestly, that he had no excuse for missing their goodbye. She stood up to stir the stew she was making once more before she got a piece of parchment and a pen and she began to write back to him.
Dear Henry,
I will admit that I was hurt when you did not come to say goodbye, but I am already beginning to forgive you. Perhaps by the time you get this letter, I will have already done so. I also must apologize for not writing to tell you that we made it back safely. I have been so busy here and Cody is having a hard time with some of his schoolwork. It would be easier if Elizabeth were here. Daddy suggests that we enroll him in the school in town, but I am not sure how Cody will take that. I am afraid he might get the wrong impression and think it means that we are living here permanently. I don't know what to do. To answer your question, yes, Becky made it back to school okay and she is doing well. I told her headmaster about the alcohol incident this summer just so there are no secrets and thankfully, he understood and let it go. The farm is doing alright. I am worried about Daddy. He is not as strong as he used to be and gets tired faster. Sometimes I wish we could hire someone to help him. Mom is doing well. She cannot stand, but she no longer feels ill and she has a wheelchair to use when she feels strong enough to move about the house. I have faith that she will be alright. How are things at home? How are you? I miss our talks and night fishing. I hardly get a good night's rest anymore and I find myself thinking of your soft bed at times. I could really use one of my own out here. Thank you for reaching out. It is good to hear from you.
Love, Abigail
Henry was in his office at home as he read the letter, holding it in his left hand while Faith Carter took his blood pressure from his right arm. After collapsing at home the day that Abigail left, he had not shown up for work. Henry's strength and energy had been too low to even stand that morning. When he had woken up, moments after being unconscious, he mustered up enough energy to sit up and lean his back against the side of his bed.
It was the lunch hour at Gowen Petroleum when Michael Hickam began to really worry about the boss and he let Carson know that he was worried. Carson went to Henry's place to check on him when he found that the front door was unlocked and he walked around the house until he found Henry leaning against the bed, his eyes barely staying open. The doctor tended to him immediately and found that Henry's blood pressure was getting worse. Carson ordered Henry to get it taken every day for the next few months until they could find the correct medicine to help him. Reluctant at first, Henry insisted that he was fine, but he remembered what Abigail made him promise and decided to put in an effort to take care of himself while she was gone, so he agreed.
"One-sixty three over one hundred and six." Faith said as she finished checking his blood pressure. "It's not the worst you've ever had, but it is still not very good, Henry." She told him. "Your heart rate seems to be okay today though." She placed her equipment back into her bag. "Are you doing your breathing exercises when you are stressed?" She asked him.
"Do I have to answer that?" He smiled at her with a chuckle.
"Henry." Faith tilted her head to the side a bit disappointedly. "We are trying to prevent you from having a heart attack or a stroke. You need to take this seriously."
"I know. I am." He told her. "I do them sometimes."
"Well, you need to be doing them ALL the time until Dr. Shepherd can get you on the correct medication."
"Yeah, I get it." He told her kindly. "Thank you….I will promise to start to do them more."
"Good." The nurse picked up her medical bag. "Or else Carson says you will be placed on bed rest. And we both know that you really won't want that."
Henry sighed as the blonde left his house and he looked down at the letter in his hand. He debated for a while on telling Abigail that he was getting worse, but he knew how stressed out she seemed in her last letter and decided not to.
Dear Abigail,
I am glad to hear that your mother is getting better. If you need anything, I am more than happy to help. Perhaps you should sit down with Cody and ask him what he feels would help him with his schoolwork. He is a smart boy, maybe he will know that going to school there temporarily is what he needs. It is good to hear that Becky's school took the news of this past summer's events so well. It was very smart of you to decide not to keep it a secret. I have found, in my experience, that secrets like that come back to haunt us. Have you found anyone nearby that would be willing to work at the farm with your dad for at least just a small payment? Maybe even one or two days a week? I really wish I could help you out more. Once things start to look back up with the oil company, I won't mind wiring you some payments again. You shouldn't have to go through all that stress, Abigail. The town really misses you though there has been some word of finding a new mayor soon. There is going to be a vote next week. I will be voting 'No,' of course. Everyone misses you, but I think they are all getting sick of Bill's very outdated way of thinking as acting mayor. I am so sorry to hear that you are having a hard time sleeping. If I could send my bed to you, I would. Perhaps the next time you are home, you can stay at my place and catch up on your sleep. Hope you feel better soon.
From, Henry
They continued to write to each other for months, Henry still keeping the secret that his blood pressure was worse and Abigail only writing when she had enough free time to. Soon, Carson got Henry on a medication that worked well for him and Henry changed his diet a bit. After watching what he ate and taking the pills, he started to feel better and continued to do his breathing exercises even after he was given the prescription. He tried to think of ways to tell Abigail, but did not want her to worry as November came and Cody's 14th birthday approached them.
Abigail's letters slowed again, but she told Henry that she would try to make it home for either Christmas or New Year's. Sadly…she never came for either.
May 1917
Just over five months had passed and Henry's oil company had grown to be even busier. He had a few more hires as well and struggled, at times, to pay them all. He would pay them out of his pocket when he had the liberty to, but otherwise, just did his best to keep the company afloat for a while longer. His doubts in himself started to crawl back to him, though he knew they had never fully left anyway. He wanted to write to Abigail about it all, but did not want to burden her with his problems. Her letters only came about three times a month now instead of thrice every two weeks and he knew that bothering her would be a bad idea.
However, he wrote to Christopher a bit more and let him know what was going on. Christopher and Lee's niece, Rachel, had gotten engaged to be married and sent Henry two photographs of them together. Henry made a mental note to send one of them to Abigail in his next letter since she had wanted to know what he looked like now. He went on to continue reading his letter from Christopher, which stated that he, Rachel, and his mother Beatrice would be visiting Hope Valley in the next week and they were excited to see him.
"Hello, Lucas." Henry said to the saloon owner as he stepped over toward the bar, the night before Christopher was supposed to arrive.
"Hey, partner. Do you have those payroll papers that I've been asking for?" Lucas asked Henry. He had gone about a week or so, nagging Gowen about seeing the books.
"No. Not yet." Henry said before quickly changing the subject. "Listen, my son is coming into town tomorrow and they are going to need two rooms to stay in. Can you help me out?"
"Can you pay?" Lucas wondered.
"Yeah. I'll take care of it. Do you have two rooms open or no?" Henry asked impatiently.
"Yes….I will make a note of it before tomorrow." The taller man answered with a bit of irritation in his tone.
"Thanks." Henry said before heading for the exit of the saloon.
He was surprised to see three ladies whom he'd never seen before entering the saloon as he was leaving. Looking back at them, he made note of the dresses they wore, which were very low cut in front and sleeveless. Henry told himself that if Florence Blakeley or Molly Sullivan saw them, they would begin to gossip immediately. He watched them approach Lucas to ask for a manager in the hopes for a room for each of them.
One of them looked at Henry with a soft smirk and she winked at him before one of the men working for the railroad company caught her eye and she walked over to him, immediately striking up a conversation. It didn't take long for Henry to realize who those ladies were….WHAT they were. He had enough experience with women like them in the past to know. His mind instantly flashed to Abigail's smile and he cleared his throat before leaving the saloon.
The next day, in the afternoon, he went to the center of town to greet Christopher, Rachel, and Beatrice as they arrived on the stagecoach. Lee and Rosemary were there as well, waiting with him to greet their niece.
"I cannot believe Rachel is old enough to be engaged now." Lee told Rosemary.
"Oh, I am so excited to design her dress. I see her in an elegant brocade dress with a lace train and light veil. Oh, she is going to look exquisite!" Rosemary told her husband before looking at Henry. "Aren't you excited to be a father of the groom?"
"Hm? Oh…Yeah." Henry replied, having not really thought about it until now. "Should be good."
"Good? It's going to be great!" The actress corrected him.
Just then…the three women who had arrived in town the night before exited the saloon, walking by the stagecoach stop and eyeing Henry, almost seductively. As soon as they were out of earshot, Rosemary spoke again.
"Who on earth are they?"
"Ladies of the night." Henry answered her question nonchalantly though he knew that it was not a nonchalant-worthy reply. This was the first time the small town of Hope Valley had prostitutes present and Henry already knew that so much gossip was about to unfold with their being here.
"Oh….My. In Hope Valley?" Rosemary asked, having known a few prostitutes in the city when she was acting. "We are never going to hear the end of this from Florence or Molly."
"Now, Henry, how do you know for sure that is what they are?" Lee asked the former convict with his hands in his pockets.
"I just do." Henry answered without another word. He looked after the three ladies halfway down the street again and they all looked at him over their shoulders before he tipped his bowler hat to them.
Lee and Rosemary exchanged looks before they all heard the stagecoach approaching from around the corner. "Oh, look! They are here!" Rosemary said happily with a hand on her husband's arm.
The horses pulled the stagecoach around and stopped as the driver commanded them to. Christopher was outside of the stagecoach, riding on the back of the carriage and he hopped off as soon as it came to a halt.
"Hi, Dad." He smiled at Henry, grabbing some of the suitcases off the back of the coach.
"Hi, son." Henry greeted him as he and Lee went to help him with the bags.
"Why didn't you ride inside?" Lee asked Christopher.
"There wasn't any room." Henry's son told them.
"Wasn't any room?" Rosemary repeated what he said. "For three people in a carriage made for four?"
Just then, the stagecoach door opened and Rachel, followed by Beatrice, stepped down out of it. "We weren't the only ones who needed a ride." Rachel said before hugging her aunt and uncle.
"Mr. Coulter!" Cody Stanton rushed off the stagecoach, running to Lee and giving him a hug after Rachel had, even hugging Rosemary as well.
"Cody? What are you doing here?" Rosemary asked him as the boy squeezed her.
"Hi, Mr. Gowen." The blonde 14 year old said as he went to the owner of the oil company. "Can I have a hug?" He asked Henry.
"Uhhh…Sure." Henry said, taken aback by both, Cody's presence AND his desire to hug him. The young teen smiled a bit and gave Henry a light hug. It took the gray haired man a moment to put his arms around Abigail's son, but he soon did. "You got taller." He told Cody. "Is your mother here?"
Cody broke the hug and smiled. "Yeah." He turned around to face the carriage, stepping closer to it. "You need any help, Mom?"
The next thing they saw caused everyone present to allow their jaws to drop in both shock and confusion.
The mayor of Hope Valley stepped out of the stagecoach, taking Cody's hand with her right one as he offered it to her to help her down the steps. In her left hand, she held, what Dr. Shepherd and Nurse Carter would have identified as, a four month old baby.
"Cody?" Some of the girls from his class at school were walking by and they made sure it was truly him and Abigail before they yelled to the other kids nearby. "Everyone! Cody and Mayor Stanton are back!"
As the word quickly got around to those on Main Street, the crowd by the stagecoach quickly grew and the amount of wide open jaws and looks of confusion only metastasized at the sight of their mayor with a baby.
"Hello, everyone." Abigail smiled at them all, her eyes stopping at Henry for a moment before Elizabeth joined the crowd with Little Jack on her hip and her eyes moved to her best friend. "This is Josephine Stanton." The mayor told the crowd. "My new adoptive baby."
The crowd let out, what could only be described as, a collective sigh of realization as they all smiled and started to congratulate her and even Cody on being a big brother now.
The stagecoach pulled away once their belongings were all off the back of it and Henry didn't move as citizens of Hope Valley gently pushed by him to get a closer look at the baby and he froze, so many questions running through his head that he hadn't realized he didn't even properly greet Rachel or Beatrice. The crowd became too much for him and he stepped out of it, heading for his office at Gowen Petroleum to get away.