Recap: Words from the Heart - Season 4 - Episode 1

It’s a beautiful day in Hope Valley, and Elizabeth and Jack enjoy a romantic boat ride on the lake. Meanwhile, at the Café, Abigail faces petty complaints from Hope Valley citizens, covering subjects that range from noisy chickens to stinky burning grass. Back in the kitchen, she vents to Bill, who tells her there is a chance she may have to stay on as substitute mayor longer than expected if Henry doesn’t get cleared of his criminal charges. Their conversation is interrupted when a representative from the Pacific Railroad stops by wanting to talk to Abigail. Introducing himself as Ray Wyatt, the man states he is interested in running a railroad through Hope Valley.

Later, Elizabeth has a tough day at school. She introduces a new student to the classmates, Cyrus, whose father works for the railroad. She explains that they should expect more students to join their classroom if Hope Valley builds a railroad through town. When she notices how stand-offish the students are to Cyrus, Jack offers up a suggestion: start a baseball league to encourage teamwork. Elizabeth agrees and two baseball teams are formed, with Jack and Elizabeth as head coaches.

That evening, Abigail hosts her first town hall as Mayor and the the citizens of Hope Valley listen to a presentation made by Ray Wyatt, hoping to convince the audience to jump on board with his plans. Afterwards, some residents voice their concerns with the railroad coming to town. Henry later compliments Abigail with how well she conducted herself in the meeting. However, she is also met by an angry farmer named Jed, who is worried that with the railroad coming through, he’ll lose his property and livelihood. Abigail assures him that things will all work out and nobody will take advantage of him. Jack offers to take Jed to look at some new property outside of town he can lease instead.

Lee invites Murphy over to the house after the meeting so they can work on a bid for the railroad. Rosemary calls him “honey bunny,” leaving Lee a bit embarrassed, since this is the second time she has called him that in front of a colleague. He retaliates by calling her “squidget,” much to her dismay. A frustrated Rosemary tells Lee she will just take her homemade dessert next door to hand over to Elizabeth and Jack, since all they have is cherry cobbler. Curious to know how she knows this information, Lee accuses of her listening through their very thin walls. When Rosemary shows up next door with her chocolate cake, both Jack and Elizabeth are eager to have their snooping neighbor leave.

Later, Jed and Jack take a look at the property being offered to Jed, but it is just dry dirt and rocks. A frustrated Jed points out that he is a farmer and this is not the kind of land he can make a living on. Jed does not want to move, and neither does his daughter.

Superintendent Collins pays Jack a visit to deliver some good news. He wants to present Jack with the Commissioner’s Medal for all of his hard work on rounding up the Tolliver gang and rescuing the settlers from the flood. Jack will be expected to give a speech in front of his colleagues when he receives the award.

Elizabeth attempts to bond with Cyrus while coaching her baseball team. She finds out that Cyrus wears a knee brace as a result of falling off a horse, so she offers him an assistant coach position that he reluctantly accepts. Unbeknownst to Cyrus, Elizabeth met his father earlier, where he said that Cyrus no longer needs the brace on his knee. What he really needs is confidence. Elizabeth is sure that this important position on the team will give him the boost he is looking for.

Both Elizabeth and Jack are training their teams and learning each of the players’ strengths and weaknesses. Jack originally puts Cody in as pitcher, but quickly notices another standout player, Anna. She has strong throw, and Jack and offers her the position of pitcher. A disappointed Cody immediately wants to go home, but after he gets a pep talk from Cyrus, he decides to stick around.

Later on, Cyrus confides in Abigail about his insecurities about his knee brace. She encourages him to believe in himself and watch what happens. He agrees.

Bill is approached by Ray, who tells him he is impressed with his extensive resume. Ray lets Bill know that the National Pacific Railroad wants him to head up security if the town agrees to their contract. Bill agrees to mull over the offer.

Rosemary takes it upon herself to revise the speech Jack will give when receiving his medal. Jack points out how long the speech is, but politely tells her he will consider her revised draft.

Finally, game day arrives! Jack and Elizabeth’s teams square off against each other, with Bill serving as umpire. When one of Elizabeth’s players sprains her wrist, Cyrus steps up to the plate and offers to go to bat. After two swings and two misses, Cyrus surprises the crowd and hits a home run! Due to how late the game is going, Bill calls it an even tie and both teams celebrate their victory.

Rosemary and Lee go for an evening walk after the game and in conversation, agree no more embarrassing nicknames in front of others. In fact, they both decide to just call each other “sweethearts.”

Later on that night, Henry surprises Ray by saying he can assure him that Hope Valley will sign the National Pacific Railroad contract he need that he needs in order to move forward with construction of tracks through the town.

Jack receives his medal and delivers his speech in front of the town. Taking Elizabeth’s advice, he speaks from the heart and makes it personal. He cites that wearing his uniform isn’t only a job, it is his calling and his destiny, and he receives a standing ovation.