Mr. Voss cornered me himself when my father left me in charge of the store. He knows that we are friends and is not persuaded that I do not know where you are. Rest assured that I will not tell him, but be careful, my dearest friend. It seems like he will not stop until he has found you.
We had better not exchange any letters for a while still, but know that you are always in my heart and prayers.
Yours affectionately, Donna.
The letter hung limply in Rosaline's hand. All the blood had drained from her face. If Mr. Voss had suspicions about Donna, how long would it be until he found out where she was? He couldn’t force her to go back against her will, but she was certain that he would do everything in his power to make her life as difficult as possible.
“Lord, what am I going to do?” she prayed. “I’ll have to tell Thomas the truth soon. Please don’t let him be angry with me.”
Chapter Thirteen
Thomas hammered nails into the tin of the stable roof. In the past week, he had managed to sell some of the cattle and raise the money for the repairs that needed to be done on the ranch. It was going to be a tough time until the next calving season.
Selling more of the herd was out of the question. They had reached the absolute minimum and were down to their prized breeders. The late afternoon sun was beating down on his neck as his thoughts wandered to Rosaline and the night before.
Just two nights ago it had seemed like they had made so much progress in their friendship, but last night after her trip into town she had looked worried and fidgety, excusing herself straight after dinner and disappearing into her room.
Buena insisted that nothing had happened, and that Rosaline was simply tired from all her chores. Was it because Buena was leaving and she couldn’t see a way to cope? He hoped she wasn’t about to leave.
His own thoughts startled him and he hit his thumb with his hammer. Cursing under his breath he sat back and examined the thumb, there was no blood, but it was going to be swollen for a week. Why would it bother him if she did want to leave? It was a marriage of convenience after all.
Thomas watched the sun go down in the distance. He’d done all that he could do for the day. He was making progress as far as the repairs were concerned. The past couldn’t be changed, but he could try as hard as possible to repair the damage, no matter how long it took.
It was bothering him that Rosaline had not come to his study after dinner. It had only happened once, but he had been hoping that she would repeat the gesture. He’d even left the study door open to show her that she was welcome.
It was probably for the best. He needed a carer for his son, not a companion for himself.
He sighed. Gathering up his tools he made his way down the ladder. Tomorrow was another day, and he was nearly done with all the repairs. Just one more day.
***
Thomas ran towards the house as it crumbled before his eyes. The faster he ran, the faster the house crumbled. He stopped running and looked back to see the pieces of his broken guitar being picked up by a woman wearing a white dress. Her back was turned to him and nothing came out of his mouth when he tried to call out to her.
Lightning struck outside the window, and Thomas woke up with a start. Gasping for breath he looked around the dark room. There was a storm raging outside.
He lay back on the pillows and covered his face with his hands. It was the same dream, night after night. He’d thought it would stop if he married Rosaline, yet the woman still had her back turned towards him and his voice was still gone.
She was here looking after his son, so why was he still having the same nightmare. Could it be possible that he’d made a mistake and Rosaline was not the one who was supposed to care for Robbie?
He sat up and lit the lamp beside his bed. He retrieved the leatherbound book he’d been writing in before he fell asleep and began to scribble across the page.
***
Thomas opened his eyes. The storm that had been raging outside had long since ceased and the sun was almost up. He got out of bed, washed his face and dressed for the day ahead.
There were just a few more repairs that still needed to be done, he reassured himself. After today he could focus all of his energy on ways to repay the gambling debts he had accumulated.
He quietly made his way down the hall, not wanting to disturb the others if they weren't already up. He knew that Rosaline had taken to sleeping in the nursery now that Buena had gone back home, so he walked as quietly as he could past the closed door.
Making his way out the back door, he stepped out into the yard. The ground was muddy and full of puddles from the storm. Looking up he paused and took a step back. The earliest rays of the sun were more than enough to show him what was there.
Thomas could not believe the carnage that he saw laying before him. The wash house had more windows broken than the ones he had intended to repair. A tree had blown over and knocked down the fencing around one of the nearby corrals, and cattle were grazing in the yard where they shouldn’t have been.
Hurrying around the house he cursed under his breath when he reached the chicken coop. The wooden structure that housed the hens was blown onto its side and broken eggs were scattered about. He did a quick count to see that all the hens and roosters were accounted for. Thankfully it looked like none of them had been harmed.
His relief was short-lived as his anger grew and took its place. The coop had been the only thing on the ranch that hadn’t needed repairs. He would never financially recover from any of this, he thought angrily as he walked back to the house. When would God be done punishing him?
Entering the kitchen he found Rosaline carrying Robbie on her hip. “Good morning. I hope you slept well through the storm?” she asked pleasantly.
