Read Online West For Love (A Mail Order Romance Novel) by Karolyn James, Claire Charlins - Free Book Online Page B

interrupted
only by the sporadic sounds of an animal outside, suddenly made Anna feel
lonely.
    She knew things would ease in time.
This was the exact reason why Thomas hadn’t sent money in his first letter to
her. He gave Anna the chance to truly consider what she wanted. And this was
what she wanted. She could feel it in her heart. She really hadn’t felt alive
in a long time. It could have just been the excitement of the change, but Anna
had faith in more.
    And that faith was then proven a
few seconds later when she felt Thomas’s hand touch her hand. His pinky finger
gently moved, wrapping around Anna’s pinky finger. He squeezed and that was all
the conversation they needed for the night.
    Anna closed her eyes and fell
asleep.
    When she woke, she felt confused.
It was still dark, but something felt very wrong. The first thing she noticed
was that Thomas no longer touched her hand. That was normal, right? He moved in
his sleep... nothing more.
    Anna couldn’t shake the feeling so
she lit a candle and the soft glow of light grew to illuminate the entire bed.
She saw Thomas’s side of the bed empty and her heart sank. She thought about
what Jo had said – how Jo feared Thomas would leave a note and disappear
someday. Anna moved the bed covers and looked for a note but there was none.
She got out of the bed, telling herself she needed to find Thomas. If he needed
proof of anything in life, Anna wanted to be that. If that meant tracking him
down in the middle of the night, she’d do it. If that meant doing it every night,
she’d do it.
    As Anna tip-toed, she tried to
ensure she didn’t make a sound. The last thing the house needed was for Thomas
Jr. or Jo to be woken up.
    Once in the main part of the house,
Anna held the candle out as she walked slowly. The dining room came into view
along with the figure of Thomas standing at the front window of the house. His
hands were in his pockets as he stared. The first sight of him scared Anna a
little, making her think of times when she and Abigail would trade scary
stories about spooks and specters living in their house or in the fields.
    “Thomas?” Anna whispered. “Are you
okay?”
    Thomas turned his head. “Did I wake
you?”
    “No. But I woke and you weren’t
there.”
    “First night...”
    That’s all he had to say. Anna got
it.
    It wasn’t Anna’s first night as
much as it was Thomas’s first night. Not that Anna had failed to think about
that but she suddenly felt foolish for worrying about herself so much. Just
what was it like for Thomas right then? To have another woman in a bed he once
shared with his wife? Was his wife in that same bed when she began to birth
Thomas Jr.? Or worse yet... was that the bed where she...
    “I’m sorry, my Anna,” Thomas said.
“I’ve ruined this for you.”
    “You haven’t,” Anna said.
    She walked to Thomas and placed her
candle on the table. She touched Thomas’s shoulder, casually, just to let him
know she was there.
    “That extra money you have still,”
Thomas said. “If you wanted a ticket home...”
    “I am home,” Anna said.
    Thomas turned his head again and
looked at Anna. “How can I feel such guilt yet be so lucky?”
    “You have every right to feel
anything you want to,” Anna said. “I just hope you know you can speak to me
about anything. I won’t judge you. I won’t take harm in it either.”
    “Thank you, my Anna,” Thomas said.
    “Do you do this often?”
    “Come out here at night?”
    Anna nodded.
    “I guess there’s no point in lying
to my bride-to-be,” Thomas said.
    It warmed Anna over, bringing a
little peace to the strange night.
    “Yes, I sometimes do,” Thomas said.
“When I have thoughts or dreams.”
    “I mentioned my sister,” Anna said.
“And what happened to her.”
    “I remember,” Thomas said.
    “I helped her. I had to watch her
go through it. There’s nothing I’m afraid of right here.”
    “How long would you stay without
being married?” Thomas