I Am Not Yours

Forgiven

June 1915

Henry looked into the mayor's eyes, feeling her left hand squeeze his right hand whilst her free one remained on his cheek. Soon she released his hand and slid hers up his arm to hold his elbow as she waited for him to kiss her.

"I probably shouldn't, Abigail." He softly told her, his voice almost in a whisper.

"Why not?" She asked him.

"You are very vulnerable right now and I don't want to take advantage of that." He admitted with sincerity.

"It's not taking advantage. I asked." She informed him, her right thumb continuing to caress his cheek while her other hand moved from his right elbow toward the inside of his suit jacket to hold his ribs as if to pull him closer to her.

"Are you sure?" He kindly asked her.

"Yes, Henry." She slightly smiled at him, the tips of her fingers touching the hairs on the back of his neck.

The man's eyes fell to the woman's lips briefly before he closed them, tilting his head and allowing his lips to touch hers. Abigail gripped the fabric of Henry's shirt at his ribs as she kissed him softly but with more feeling than she'd care to admit. Her heart began to pound as she felt the rest of her body beginning to shake with every emotion she had bottled up inside. The stress of being mayor and running the cafe, the stress of being a mother, the stress of keeping hope for everyone else in the town, her sadness from the loss of Jack, her loneliness at the absence of Frank, and her confusion when it came to Henry. It was all so much at once and Henry's lips on hers always seemed to help her forget. Every kiss they had shared would make her mind go fuzzy and she would forget who she was for the time being. Something about him always drew her nearer. Her body would vibrate in his presence and her emptiness since Noah and Peter died would vanish. She loved it and hated it at the same time.

After the mining explosion, Abigail had wanted to leave town and start over somewhere where nobody knew her. She wanted to give up trying to be happy and wished she could become cold and empty the way Mrs. McCormick had without a care for herself or other people. But Elizabeth arriving and the fight against Henry for the rowhouses changed that. She stayed to fight Henry for her friends to keep their homes and rather than losing her passion and warmth...Henry, in some way, had forced her to keep it. And she stayed. And she learned that she loved to love and she loved to fight for what's right. In so many ways that she had thought impossible, Henry had taught her to never lose herself to her pain. Perhaps that is why he had become a sort of security blanket for her. Having him around would remind her of those passions that she had and that fire that she had within her.

"Take me to your room at the saloon." She told him once they had finally broken the kiss.

"Abigail-"

She stood up before he could protest, taking his hands to try and make him stand too. Looking up into her eyes, Henry couldn't resist her request and he stood as well just in time before the mayor turned around, pulling him toward the door with her. She took her summer jacket down off the hook beside the exit and handed it to Henry as if to tell him to help her put it on. She turned her back to him and he aided her in placing her arms into the sleeves before opening the back door out of the cafe for her.

They walked side by side toward the saloon without a single word to each other. Grateful that it was almost eleven at night, they were able to walk through the building without being seen downstairs whilst Tom, the saloon owner, was the only one present, cleaning up after closing. Henry allowed Abigail to go on ahead of him, ascending the stairs before him.

Once they reached the halls toward the rented rooms, Henry led her toward the left and all the way to the end where his room was. He took out his room key from his pocket and unlocked the door for her, letting her step inside first to see how empty the room really was. Aside from a trunk of his clothes in the corner of it, the room looked unoccupied yet small and cozy. Abigail noted how different it must feel for him to be here compared to his mansion and she secretly admired how clean he was able to keep such a small space.