1930s: A drastic decision

As the days of Anna's vacation goes by, Anna is getting more and more frustrated. She regularly visits her sister, and tries to talk some sense into her, but Josephine is nothing if not as stubborn as her sister. She gladly let her help with the kids, and is happy when she trows a birthday party for little Arthur, but when they sit down to talk and Anna tries to persuade her to accept help, Josephine is relentless. "Unless you have a real paying job up your sleave, I do not want to hear about it!" Anna would be impressed if it wasn't that she was so worried about her sister and, almost more, Nash.

In him, she sees the signs she remembers from the soldiers of the war. Inexplicable fear at odd times, staring into empty space and seeing something no one else can see. It's happening more and more often, and now Nash is also starting to show signs of moodiness and gloom. She tries to speak to her sister about it. "And you think money he hasn't made honestly will help him with that? No, he just needs a purpose and a job." Or treatment, Anna thinks, but where would they afford that. Besides, maybe Josephine has a point.

When not trying to persuade her sister, Anna spends time getting to know Chestnut Ridge, and the more she sees, the more she is falling in love with the place. The people are friendly, there are horses everywhere, and the views are gorgeous. Anna's camera is in use all the time as she photographs the area. But what she sees is not just stunning views, but constant signs of poverty. Abandoned farms, sheds that should not even holding livestock working as homes, people in rags. The flour sack dresses that the girls and Josephine are wearing are seen everywhere here, from patterns found in cheap magazines.

On one of her tours around town, she decides to check out the competitions at the equestrian centre, and what she sees fires her up. First there is the competitions themselves. The thrill of the barrel runs, the skill of the horse jumpers - Anna is inspired and wishes she could ride like that. It makes her own experiments all those years ago seem so very insufficient. But as the competitions are over and Anna walks around the horses, her keen eye sees something else in the horse market. Horses that are too thin, too frail and who has clearly not been fed enough. People are selling their horses because they can no longer keep them in good health, and some of them are in horrible shape. Anna's heart bleeds for the majestic animals.

As she leaves, it's with a heavier heart than before and her trip takes her further to the edge of town, and there, like an apparition, she finds the answer to all her problems. A farmhouse with stables. It's run down, in horrible shape, with plaster falling off the walls and cracks in the windows, but it's for sale for next to nothing and Anna sees the potential, not the damage, especially in the stables that are in surprisingly good shape compared to the rest. This could work, this could really, really work! Without hesitation, Anna goes straight to action, contacting the bank and closing the deal before the day is over. She just bought a farm!

She waits until the morning before she convinces Josephine and Nash to come by, telling them nothing about what it is about until they are there. "Why are you showing us a farm?" Josephine asks. "Well you said that I should contact you if I had work for you. Now here is a lot of work!" She explains her idea, that Josephine and Nash will get the place in order for her, living in the house while she goes back to San Myshuno to arrange for a move. "There are three bedrooms upstairs, one for you, one for the boys and one for the girls. It's perfect." "But this isn't our home, it's yours, and I told you, I don't want charity!" "Charity? This isn't charity, it's hard work! The house today is almost falling apart! There is no electricity, no running water, and no kitchen. All of that needs fixing, and that's not talking about all the broken fencing around the place. I want all of that fixed before I return, so that I can then start to get the ranch working properly, by rescuing horses, getting them into shape and then selling them again." "You really bought a farm?" "A horse ranch. And yes, I did. Don't worry about furniture for the living spaces or my room, I will be sending them on from San Myshuno, so fix up the kitchen, the electricity, get the water working and of course, your own rooms. I will leave you a sum to work with. So is there anyone who wants to see the house?"

It's impossible for Josephine to say no, and Nash likes the project and is readily onboard. "How long will we stay?" he asks. "As long as you work here the house is yours as much as mine," Anna answers. The next day the move is arranged, their third in two years, but this time they are at least a little bit hopefull that it's for something better. But the start is just as tough as the only furniture they can bring are the beds for their youngest ones. The rest of the family starts out in sleeping bags on the floor. It's crowded and cramped, but this time temporary. As Anna returns, first to her rental, then to San Myshuno to arrange her own move and relocation, Josephine starts redecorating the house as Nash gets to work on the extensive fencing around the place, getting the paddocks ready for horses. Truth is, he is quite enjoying his work, and Thomas is keen to help. Nash even makes the bedside tables for his and Josephine's bedroom.

As Nash and Josephine takes on the ranch, Anna returns home to San Myshuno. Arranging a move like this takes time. She needs to raise more money to fix the ranch and buy the horses, pack up her belongings, decide what to sell and what to ship. And she needs to deal with Johnny. If there is anything left to deal with. Perhaps this will be the final straw? It certainly seemed that way before she left.

But Johnny is way ahead of her, and almost the moment she returns he's at her door. It's not that she doesn't want to tell him about the move, but there just isn't much talking done at all when they meet again:

So when she does tell him, in the midst of packing, he is all the more angry that she didn't tell him at once. This is not just another trip, another time for him to wait. She's relocating, permanently so, and Johnny is hurt. Anna has never been good at backing down, so when he yells, so does she. "Well if you loved me so much you would support me, marry me and just come with me" she yells. Johnny is taken aback. "Did you just propose to me?" Well she kind of just did, didn't she? Anna is just as surprised as Johnny, but she doesn't take it back.

Their ceremony is a small and simple one. Anna knows her mother will likely throw a fit at the idea that she did not return home, get married in a church with the entire family there, but she really doesn't want all that. They get married in Myshuno Meadows, by a beautiful fountain. Anna has borrowed her dress, and picked out some pearls she got a long time ago to go with it. Johnny is in a normal suit - he didn't even bother with a tie. But it's the wedding they both want, if a very unconventional such, especially for the time period.

Tonight they celebrate their marriage, and tomorrow they pack up the last of their belongings and go to live in Chestnut Ridge. Anna cannot wait until they can start buying horses.