Page 73 of A Rugged Beauty
Gone.
Abigail’s eyes skipped past Maddie to Hollis, who was kneeling next to Mr. Fordham, who'd risen up on one elbow.
"Does he know?" Abigail whispered.
"I just told him."
Hollis’s mouth was grim as he spoke to Mr. Fordham. He would have another loss to write in his logbook. He'd gotten the awful news, and he'd gone right to work. He hadn’t said one word of comfort to her.
I have nothing to give you.
He'd said the words two days ago. She'd known what they'd meant, but somewhere deep inside, she'd held onto a thread of hope. One so thin and frayed that it snapped now, and she felt herself sink into a mire of emptiness.
Hollis had told her, repeatedly, that he didn't want a second wife. He didn't want her.
Abigail was the one who had chosen to hope, to believe that she might be enough to change his mind.
There was loss all around her. So much loss.
And what was waiting for her in Oregon? More uncertainty. Perhaps things had changed too much between her and her brother since he'd left four years ago.
Would she never find the peace she craved?
"Abigail?"
She heard Maddie's voice as if from far away, but suddenly, everything was too much. Too much grief, too much pain.
Too hot.
"I need to sit down." She said the words. Or tried to. The pail slipped from suddenly nerveless fingers as her legs grew weak.
"Abigail!”
She felt Maddie's arm—strong for such a slight woman—grab her waist, felt the scratch of grass as she was lowered to the ground.
"Hollis!"
Abigail had lost her sight—no, her eyes had simply closed. She forced them open, saw a hand, felt a cool touch on her forehead. She focused on the sky, with high, wispy clouds skittering to the south.
"She's burning up."
Her eyes had slid closed again. Was that Maddie speaking?
"Open your eyes."DefinitelyHollis's voice, the command deep and gravelly. She didn't dare disobey.
Tears slipped from her eyes as she opened them to meet his intent stare. His cool hand rested on the skin of her jaw and cheek.
“My head hurts,” she whispered.
Was she the only one burning up?
"I'm sorry.” Sorry she couldn't be enough for him to love. Sorry for everything he'd lost. Sorry for the little boy who'd grieved so fiercely.
"Don't drift off," he ordered. "Stay awake."
But this time, she couldn't make her body listen.
She slipped into darkness.
