But how preposterous! Of course I wasn’t going to marry him. First and foremost because I didn’t want to.
I pushed open the back door and set the bucket of water on the floor before entering the bedroom.
Breathing heavily, I closed the door and pressed against it—and found Hazel and Johnnie on their pallet, talking about the little orphan, Oliver Twist, who was somehow now living on the streets of San Francisco in their make-believe world, with an orange kitten following behind him.
I was in bed for over an hour before I heard Sam come into the kitchen. It was dark, and I had extinguished the lantern long ago, so I lay in the inky blackness with my thoughts. I’d asked Hazel if she wanted to sleep in the bed with me, but she insisted that Johnnie needed her on the pallet next to him.
Noise from the gambling hall seeped in, but I could still hear Sam making his pallet on the kitchen floor.
I turned onto my side, knowing I should go to sleep, not wanting to return to 1929 yet. One of the gifts of time-crossing was that when I wanted to fall asleep, I simply closed my eyes and made the choice. I never suffered from insomnia, and I didn’t have dreams.
Father’s words played in my mind and mingled with thoughts of the woman in the shed. I didn’t want Sam to have feelings for me,but I also didn’t want him to entertain another woman. I wanted to believe he was different from the other men in Sydney Town.
Eventually, Sam settled, and it was quiet again except for the sounds from next door.
I should have been enjoying the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable. But wondering who was in the shed with Sam was all I could think about. Was it Sadie or one of the women who had come to Bess’s funeral? Was it a different night worker?
Disappointment filled my stomach at the thought. I was tempted to confront Sam and have him explain, but I had no right. It would be better to go to sleep.
Yet I’d still have to face him in the morning when I came back here.
Groaning, I turned to my other side, intent upon going to sleep, when a new noise made me sit up straight in bed.
Someone was tearing the canvas in the wall by my bed.
I screamed when I saw the knife blade sticking through the fabric and scrambled out of the bed, falling on the floor beside Hazel and Johnnie.
The bedroom door flew open, and Sam appeared, wearing only his trousers, as a man ripped the rest of the canvas and attempted to enter the bedroom.
Hazel and Johnnie had woken up, and Hazel pressed into me as I gathered her and Johnnie into my arms. There was no way to get out of the room, so I huddled against the canvas wall with the bed between us and the intruder.
It was dark, though my eyes were adjusted enough to see Sam dive across the room toward the man.
I tried not to scream or draw attention as I watched. Hazel cried, and Johnnie pressed his face into my shoulder.
Sam took the man off guard and was able to tackle him to the ground. The man grunted, and the knife flew out of his hand, landing on the mattress where I’d just been lying.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Sam ground out as he pinned the man to the floor.
The man bucked and tried to push Sam off, but he was no match for Sam’s strength and size.
“You’re drunk, Bill,” Sam said, his knee driving into Bill’s gut. “And probably the most foolish man in San Francisco.” Anger seethed out of him. “You’ll pay for this mistake. Mark my words.”
Bill began to cry as the fight left him.
Sam’s anger turned to disgust as he took his knee off Bill’s gut and pushed away from him to stand. “Get out of my establishment, and if I see you anywhere close to this place or Miss Adams ever again, you’ll regret the day you were born.”
“I wasn’t here for Miss Adams,” he sobbed. “I’m looking for Rosie.”
Sam straightened, his face turning to stone.
Bill stumbled through the hole he’d created in the canvas and disappeared into the night, his sobs following him.
Sam turned, fear in his gaze as he surveyed me and the children. “Are you hurt?”
I shook my head, tears filling my eyes. “I—I was just scared.” My voice broke as my emotions took over. I’d never been more afraid in my life.
Sam came around the bed, breathing hard, and knelt beside us.
