Finally, he took a small notebook from his coat pocket and handed it to her.
On the first page, he had written:
I cannot hear you well enough to understand speech. Please write what you need to tell me. I will do the same.
Below that, in smaller handwriting, he added:
You have nothing to fear from me.
Rosalie read the sentence twice.
She had spent the morning expecting to be frightened.
She had not expected reassurance.
When they reached the ranch, darkness had already settled over the land.
Gideon’s home was a sturdy cabin built beside a stream, with a barn, a fenced pasture, and a woodshed stacked high with firewood. Smoke rose from the chimney. Warm yellow light shone through the windows.
Inside, Rosalie found a clean kitchen, a table set for two, fresh bread beneath a cloth, and a fire burning in the hearth.
There was a separate bedroom with a neatly made bed.
