"It seems they call her Folsom Dubois."

"Are you sure about that? Not Roy?"

Sara showed Roy the writing on the card. "That's what it says; they named her Folsom Dubois."

Roy could not believe it. He slumped into his rocking chair and stared at the card. "But why on earth Folsom?"

"Well, it does sound a lot better than a girl named Roy, doesn't it?"

Roy chuckled and shook his head. I'll be, a little girl named after me. "Did they say anything else?"

"No, they wrote to say hello and tell you about their new daughter. By the date on the card, I suspect she's now about the same age as Billy."

"What's this Roy?"

Abe was about to reach out and grab the dusty holster and six-shooters on the hearth, but Roy roughly grabbed his wrist, stopping Abe before he could touch them.

"Please don't touch that. It's my pops."

Sara sensed an awkward moment occurred and witnessed an abrupt shift in Roy's demeanor. "Abe, take Billy outside and go play."

Realizing he spoke too harshly, Roy softened the tone of his voice. "Abe, can you and Billy give some hay to the girls and put them in the barn?"

"Sure thing Roy. Come on Billy, I'll show you around."

Roy sat back down in the rocker and sighed. Having the Johansson family invade his home broke down some invisible barriers Roy was not aware of. The emotions he kept hidden away suddenly felt heavy and burdensome. For some unknown reason, he began to tell Sara, the whole story about his family and the war. The familiarity and trust he felt with Sara gave him permission to reveal hidden thoughts. He poured out the details for Sara and hid nothing from her. Sara sat on the hearth listening and holding Roy's hand. It was a long story and one which Roy had never shared with anyone before.

Starting with his grandfather's arrival in the Arizona territory, Roy spelled out the details of each family member and how their short lives had ended, which eventually left Roy alone on this farm. As Roy covered the part about his own father and his tragic end, it was evident to Sara that Roy was struggling with forgotten feelings. Roy had never been this emotionally close to anyone ever before, and yet sharing the intimate details of his life with Sara was easy. When the story about Stanley became the centerpiece of Roy's history, it was apparent to Sara that Stanley was like a brother to Roy. Choking on his words, Roy relived Stanley's death once again.

As Roy unveiled the tragedy of the war, Stanley's death, and his incident in France with Michelle Dubois, he took his time to make sure he did not miss any details. To Sara, she could sense the profound respect of Roy, toward this woman. Although Roy hesitatingly explained Michelle's rape, he also had to expose his murderous actions against Sergeant Fassbender. Embarrassed, Roy wanted Sara to know who she was sitting with; a man not entirely proud of his actions.




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