Forney Hull is the love interest and later husband of Novalee Nation from Where the Heart Is?
His Story[]
He was first seen when Novalee visits the library and meet him who looks after his sister whose health has been ruined by alcoholism.
Novalee learns from Sister Husband that Forney dropped out of Bowdoin College in Maine and wanted to be a history teacher before he had to leave school.
One night in the Wal-Mart, Novalee wakes up from the pain of labor. When she falls to the floor in pain, she notices that she's in aisle 5 and drags herself to the next aisle.
Forney, who watched her go into the store at closing time, jumps through a plate-glass window and helps deliver her baby daughter.
Novalee wakes up in the hospital to find she is a media celebrity for giving birth in a Wal-Mart.
Novalee is shown to be enjoying her life at Sister Husband's house, sharing a friendship with Forney, working at Wal-Mart and having a pregnancy scare after sleeping with a young mechanic in town.
One night, while Novalee and Forney are getting Christmas trees, Forney remarks that Americus is 5 months old that day. Novalee panics over her unlucky number and races home to find out that Americus was kidnapped.
Sister Husband tells the police about the extremely religious couple from Midnight, Mississippi, who came to her house to give the "Wal-Mart Baby" the word of God. Novalee remembers that, in the hospital, she received a card from Midnight saying her baby was an abomination under God.
The police quickly apprehend a vehicle with Mississippi plates and Americus is found safe in Baby Jesus's place in a nativity scene outside a church.
Five years pass, and Novalee begins an award winning career as a photographer with the help of Moses. When a tornado blows through town, Sister Husband is killed and their home is destroyed.
After the funeral, one of Sister Husband's friends from Alcoholics Anonymous informs Novalee that she's the beneficiary of Sister's estate, worth around $41,000. Novalee proceeds to build a new home for herself and Americus on Sister's land.
When Forney’s sister passes away and he does not appear at the funeral, Novalee finds him in a hotel and comforts him.
After they sleep together, Forney says that he loves her and wants to get a factory job and stay with her.
Novalee lies and says that she does not love him which frees him to return to Bowdoin College in Maine.
On Americus's 5th birthday, Novalee is paranoid about her party, because of the unlucky 5. She picks up a newspaper and reads a story about a double amputee being robbed of his wheelchair.
The man proves to be Willy Jack, who lost his legs when he became an endless drunk after being sued for copyright infringement for "his" hit song. Novalee visits Willy in the hospital and tells him about what happened to her.
He admits that he lied to her when he told her that he didn't feel the baby's heart beat the day he left her behind.
Willy says he wishes he could go back and undo the lie, because of how one lie can change your whole life.
Willy explains people lie because they're "scared, crazy, or just mean". Novalee realizes that she made a similar mistake lying to Forney.
She drives Willy Jack home to Tennessee and then continues to Maine to find Forney at college.
Then, Novalee tells him she really does love him and they return to Oklahoma and marry. The final scene is of their wedding which takes place in a Walmart.