On Her Way Home Read Free Page A

but the only applicant’s Leif had so far were a sloppy drunk and a schoolboy. Anyone qualified for farming and ranching was working his own land and everyone else was mining copper to the east. The surprise the boss came home with a year ago wasn’t exactly making ranch life any easier either. How he planned on riding herd and tending a child, Leif would sure like to know.

Chapter Four
     
    The air was cooler now, offering a measure of relief to Jo as she departed from the train after her long journey. The ride had been tedious at times, but she would have memories of the amazing panoramas for the rest of her life. Gazing at the bright orange sky splashed with pinks and fiery reds as the sun slipped silently behind the hills at the back of the train had engrained itself on her soul. The faster the train went, the more life slowed. The bustling cities filled with growing skyscrapers, jarring headlines, and a new and noisy generation gave way to pure creation, to untainted nature and foliage so pretty it made her heart twist.
    Bags in hand and full of hope, Jo stepped off the train in Montana. This part of Montana wasn’t the flat dusty cattle land one conjured up in his mind. The uncluttered countryside had gradually forfeited to shrubs and trees the deeper west she rode. Finally, the train had sliced its way through showy rust-colored canyon walls to emerge alongside a swelling river and mountains thick with trees, where the earth was damp with a sweet fresh smell that Jo had unwittingly longed for.
    She thought back to the ad she had snatched from the depot wall one week ago. She hadn’t a clue what possessed her to take it and still didn’t know if she had the nerve to seek out Leif Hawkins. Ranching in these high mountains was hard work; that much she knew. Despite the suffragist movement sweeping the country and women’s recently acquired vote, Jo couldn’t deny that even she thought the idea of women working as ranch hands was a stretch. She took a deep breath. The fresh air filled her lungs, convincing her that this was where she was meant to be. It didn’t matter how she ended up in this part of the country or what she was going to do now that she was here; it only mattered that for the first time in a year she felt alive.
    With determination Jo hefted her bags and went round to the depot office. “Hello.” She greeted the attendant with a smiling face. “Is there a hotel in town, and can I make arrangements with them to have my trunks delivered there?”
    The friendly station manager nodded the affirmative with a smile and quickly made arrangements to have Jo’s luggage taken to the White Castle Hotel on Main Street. “Will you be riding in the baggage taxi with your luggage, Miss?”
    “How far is it, Mr.?” Jo paused not knowing his name.
    “Maxwell. Sam Maxwell is my name.”
    Jo extended her hand, “Pleased to meet you. I was thinking it might feel nice to stretch my legs a bit if the hotel isn’t too far.”
    “No, just head down the sidewalk here and turn at the next corner. The White Castle is almost at the end of the street, past the General Store on the left. It’s nice meeting you, Miss Swenson. I hope you enjoy your stay.”
    Jo thanked the helpful man, tipped the baggage handler, and started down the street in the direction Mr. Maxwell had pointed. It seemed as if Jo had arrived at the busiest time of day. She passed a mother and her four children hurrying down the sidewalk; two boys and two girls—a perfect set.
    The town was bigger than Jo expected. On the right side of the street, she saw the Imperial Theatre, Davis & Myers Electrical, Paulson’s Insurance, KD radio station, and a restaurant. On Jo’s side of the street, she passed Harpers’s Boot Works, a small county library, and Pacific Bank. Not only was the town more established than Jo had expected but it was sightly too. The well maintained wooden sidewalks were shaded by leafy trees, and bright flowers flowed from pots