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“I hope you’ll like the house we picked out for you,” Lucille Johnson said as Emma’s father drove them away from the Cheyenne train depot.

She looked over her shoulder at the trio in the back of the carriage and smiled.

“When you wired that you wanted something really nice, we had our doubts, but Rich and I prayed about it and learned about the Wellington house being for sale. Do you remember it, Emma?”

“No, not really.” Emma adjusted her coat and pulled the lapels together to ward off the chilly breeze.

“Temperatures dropped just yesterday. We’d had some nice spring days until then,” her father said with a smile. “Havin’ lived in Texas these last few years, you’re probably missing the heat.”

“It is a lot colder than I anticipated.” Emma turned to Rosie. “Are you doing all right?”

“I’m fine. I like the cold.”

Emma looked to her left, where Colton was squeezed in beside them. He gave a nod. “It is different to be sure. I don’t mind the temperatures, but that wind is getting stronger as we go.”

“Wind blows all the time around here. When it’s not blowin’, we’re wonderin’ what’s wrong.”

“Papa isn’t joking. Out on the ranch, you learn to steady yourself and lean into the wind.” Emma smiled at memories of gusts knocking her over as a child.

“Getting back to the Wellington house,” her stepmother said, “it’s brick, but they painted it.”

“First with a white wash, but against the brick it looked kind of pink, so they added in some sort of brown. Now it looks kind of like a pale, buttery tan,” Emma’s father added. “Real nice.”

As they made their way past the main part of downtown Cheyenne, Rosie was all agog and chatty. “This is bigger than I thought it’d be. Not as big as Dallas, but nice. I like Cheyenne.”

“The new depot is impressive,” Colton said. “I read about it in one of the railroad magazines.”

“It was quite the feat.” Emma’s father glanced over his shoulder at his passengers. “They brought in red-and-buff-colored rock from Colorado to build it. Never seen anything like it.”

Emma had also been impressed by the depot the previous fall when she’d arrived for her father’s wedding to Lucille. They’d had a double ceremony with Lucille’s daughter, Charlotte, and their neighbor Micah Hamilton.

Her father turned the carriage down Seventeenth and headed east. Emma hoped they’d reach the house soon. She was starting to shiver.

“Do you remember Mr. and Mrs. Vogel? He’s our police chief now,” Lucille explained. “Mrs. Vogel used to teach your Sunday school class.”

Emma easily remembered the time she’d been caught stealing liquor, and Edward Vogel had been the officer she had been given over to. “Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”

“Your house is just across the street from theirs. It’s a beautiful neighborhood. Folks have worked hard to plant trees and flowering shrubs. It’s already starting to bloom, what with all the warm weather we just had.”

Emma wished they were having warm weather now. She couldn’t hide her shivering, causing Rosie to lean closer and put her arms around Emma’s shoulders.

“You’re so cold, Emma.”

Emma laughed, and it came out in a halted sort of gasping. “I’d forgotten just how cold it could be. When I came here for the wedding, it was still quite nice.”

“Move in closer, Colton,” Rosie ordered. “Help me get Emma warm.”

Emma wanted to laugh all the more. They were already squeezed in tight. “I’ll be fine once we’re inside.”

“Well, the house is just up the way.” Emma’s father quickened the horses’ steps, and in a few minutes, he was pulling into a short, U-shaped drive. “It’s not millionaire’s row, but it’s a whole lot nicer than some of the houses they slapped together.”

Emma had to admit the Italianate-style house was all she could hope for—at least on the outside. There was a certain charm to it that was most welcoming with its small porch to the right of the front door and arched bay windows to the left.

Colton helped her down and held on to her for a moment to make certain she was able to stand. She smiled up at him in thanks, then stepped aside so he could help Rosie.

“The inside is quite lovely, and we’ve already managed to furnish it with things the previous owners left, as well as a few things we gathered from our ranch and the Hamiltons’ old place.

You should find it fairly well ordered and warm.

We lit a fire in the front room before we came to pick you up. ”

Lucille led the way up the short brick walk between two tall pines. Emma tried to take it all in, but uppermost on her mind was getting out of the chilly air. She could further investigate the outside of the house when it was warmer.

Once inside, Emma was immediately taken in by the woodwork. Beautiful maple framed the entryway door and those leading to the rooms at the right and left. The wood staircase immediately drew her gaze upstairs, and past this was a long hall to the back of the house.

“If you go to the right, you’ll be in the main living area,” Lucille explained.

“To the left is the dining room.” She pushed back the pocket doors to the large living room.

Emma was quite pleased with the furnishings and the warmth of the room.

Someone had set up a table and two chairs by one of the front windows.

A chess board had been placed atop the table with the pieces set for a game.

Beside that was a beautiful fireplace trimmed in white marble.

Thankfully, the fire was still burning. Emma hurried to warm herself while her father added another log to the fire.

“This is just lovely.” She gazed around the room at the sofa and chairs. There were lamps and tables positioned to give the best possible light and comfort.

The walls were void of paper and instead were painted in a pale wheat color. The draperies were a dark burgundy with buttery-beige sheers. On the floor was a beautiful Aubusson rug in shades of ecru and peach with hints of burgundy.

As the warmth began to thaw Emma’s frozen frame, she couldn’t help but sigh. “Thank you for finding this place. It seems to be everything I could want.”

Her father chuckled. “Well, you’ve only just seen the one room.”

Lucille nudged him and smiled before turning back to Emma and the others.

“There’s a large dining room table and chairs that were left here by the previous owners.

And upstairs are four bedrooms and a smaller room that looked to have been used for storage.

Your father made a good suggestion about how you might like to set it aside as an upstairs bathroom. ”

“That does sound nice,” Emma admitted.

“We found beds for three of the rooms, but the fourth is empty.” Lucille glanced over at Colton. “And we managed to get you a room at the Coopers’ boardinghouse just as you requested. It’s a very nice place for men only. Mrs. Cooper is a wonderful cook. I think you’ll like it.”

“I plan to take my meals with the ladies, but the place sounds sufficient.”

“We checked around for help you might hire, Emma,” Lucille continued.

“I figured you’d want to arrange that yourself, but I will say that there’s a woman in our congregation who is new to the area.

She came here to be with her son, who owned a tailoring shop.

He passed away shortly after her arrival, and she’s now looking to cook for someone.

She can help with cleaning as well, but her passion is the kitchen, and she’s quite good.

Your father and I have sampled her meals, and I’d hire her myself if I didn’t already have a cook. ”

Emma was so weary from the trip, she didn’t care if she had a cook or not. “Send her over tomorrow, if you like. For now, I’d just like to have a hot bath and rest.”

“Well, you’re in luck, then,” her father replied. “This house has water piped into it and a heater hooked up in the downstairs bathroom to make hot water for bathing. And of course, there’s electricity. You’re thoroughly up to date in this house.”

Emma let out a long breath. “Thank you for being so good to search for such things. I hadn’t considered the details of what we’d need.

I appreciate so much that we’ll have piped-in water and electricity.

After living with Clara and David and having neither, then moving to the city where they were available, I have to say I prefer the latter. ”

“You may prefer it less when you hear the price of the house,” her stepmother replied. “But I took you at your word that money was of no concern.”

“It’s not,” Colton interjected before Emma could speak. “If she didn’t have enough on her own, I’d be sure and cover the cost. After all, she is family and will be allowing Rosie to live with her.”

“Yes,” Emma agreed. “We’re all family.”

Emma’s father handed her the keys. “The bank has already given you access. They’re managing things for the Wellingtons, as they’ve already left for California. The bank president will expect you to come tomorrow and handle the paperwork and other particulars.”

Emma looked to Colton, who nodded. “We’ll see to it.”

A knock sounded at the door, and Emma’s father went immediately to see who had come. It turned out to be the man with their luggage.

“I’ll help your father,” Colton said, leaving the three women to themselves.

Emma stepped away from the fire, finally feeling warm enough to face the rest of the tour. “Why don’t you show Rosie and me to the bedrooms so we can figure out where each of us will stay?”

Lucille put her arm around Emma’s shoulders. “I will do that, and then what say your father and I go to the grocers and butcher shop and pick up some things for supper? Maybe for breakfast too.”

“I’d like that very much. I feel so tired that after I wash up, I’m going to take a nap. Dinner is the last thing on my mind, but I’m sure we’ll all be hungry.”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll cook us a meal. Something simple for tonight. Then we can help you make up lists of what you want, and we can go shopping tomorrow.”