society. Feeling the sting of his rejection again, she returned the photographs to their nest and latched the lid.
She was adding the box to the trunk when her mother stormed into the room and stood over her, boiling like a swollen rain cloud.
“I’ve just spoken to your father.” Lightning flashed in Mother’s brown eyes. “Of all the foolish things you’ve ever done, daughter, this move would top them all.”
Susanna added her silk beret to the trunk.
Mother slammed the lid shut and pinned her with a stormy gaze. “You can’t go.”
Susanna swallowed hard. She had to maintain a sunny disposition so as not to intensify Mother’s storm. “Why not?” She’d managed to keep her voice just above a whisper.
“It’s not prudent for a young woman—a single woman—to travel west without her family.”
Her mother did enjoy rubbing in the fact that Susanna was yet unmarried. “I asked Father about making the trip, and he agreed.”
“That man is clay in your hands, and you know it. You could plead a case for letting you ride a bucking horse in a sticker patch, and your father would relent.” The vein in her mother’s neck pulsed. “Just because you get your way doesn’t make it a good decision.”
“I’m not getting on a bucking horse. I’m boarding a train with a respectable family who will accompany me to Denver.”
“And what will you—a single woman with no significant means—do in Denver?”
“Helen’s brother lives there.”
“And how do you expect that fact to be of help to you?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Granstadt will look after me, and I’ll have Helen to keep me company.” Susanna opened the trunk lid and met her mother’s steely gaze. “I’m sure Denver’s seams are bursting with confectionaries. I’ll have no trouble finding a job as soon as my feet hit the depot platform.”
“A respectable job?” Her mother ran her hand along the ruffle on the bedcover. “I’ve heard stories about the women out there.”
“I’m not one of those women .”
“Perhaps not, but neither are you the most discreet of young women.”
A shiver ran up Susanna’s spine. “What happened with Trenton … Mr. Van Der Veer was a simple misunderstanding.” One she could readily resolve, given the chance.
Her arms crossed, Mother raised an arched eyebrow.
“He got cold feet. It happens.” And all Susanna needed to do was warm them up.
Mother dipped her chin. “So, did Mr. Van Der Veer run on cold feet to New York, or is he in Denver?” Her eyes narrowed. “Is that why you’re so set on going there?”
“Why must you be so hurtful, Mother? You know I haven’t heard from Mr. Van Der Veer, and I don’t expect to.” Susanna quivered her lip as though she might cry. “I’m set on going because my best friend is moving to Denver, and I could use a change of scenery.”
And the prestigious photographer was working just behind Pikes Peak. A much shorter trip from Denver.
T renton chased the broom through the house, still swept up in the memories of Friday’s events. In record speed, he’d gone from reviewing applications for a portrait painter to being caught in a tongue-twisting misunderstanding. And the woman was now his employee.
He scooped a pile of dirt into a dustpan and carried it back outside where it belonged. Even if Jesse had been right about Trenton needing a change of scenery and a change of pace, things were happening too swiftly here for his comfort. The fast and furious way of the West wasn’t his way. Driving his wagon of supplies across New York City from one opera house to another and one political campaign office to another would feel like a summer picnic right now.
A small studio, open four or five days a week. Being his own boss. That was all he’d wanted when he rented the shop on First Street. He hadn’t considered employing anyone else.
He marched through the two-bedroom house, collecting the throw rugs as he went. He set the armful of rugs on the edge
She was adding the box to the trunk when her mother stormed into the room and stood over her, boiling like a swollen rain cloud.
“I’ve just spoken to your father.” Lightning flashed in Mother’s brown eyes. “Of all the foolish things you’ve ever done, daughter, this move would top them all.”
Susanna added her silk beret to the trunk.
Mother slammed the lid shut and pinned her with a stormy gaze. “You can’t go.”
Susanna swallowed hard. She had to maintain a sunny disposition so as not to intensify Mother’s storm. “Why not?” She’d managed to keep her voice just above a whisper.
“It’s not prudent for a young woman—a single woman—to travel west without her family.”
Her mother did enjoy rubbing in the fact that Susanna was yet unmarried. “I asked Father about making the trip, and he agreed.”
“That man is clay in your hands, and you know it. You could plead a case for letting you ride a bucking horse in a sticker patch, and your father would relent.” The vein in her mother’s neck pulsed. “Just because you get your way doesn’t make it a good decision.”
“I’m not getting on a bucking horse. I’m boarding a train with a respectable family who will accompany me to Denver.”
“And what will you—a single woman with no significant means—do in Denver?”
“Helen’s brother lives there.”
“And how do you expect that fact to be of help to you?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Granstadt will look after me, and I’ll have Helen to keep me company.” Susanna opened the trunk lid and met her mother’s steely gaze. “I’m sure Denver’s seams are bursting with confectionaries. I’ll have no trouble finding a job as soon as my feet hit the depot platform.”
“A respectable job?” Her mother ran her hand along the ruffle on the bedcover. “I’ve heard stories about the women out there.”
“I’m not one of those women .”
“Perhaps not, but neither are you the most discreet of young women.”
A shiver ran up Susanna’s spine. “What happened with Trenton … Mr. Van Der Veer was a simple misunderstanding.” One she could readily resolve, given the chance.
Her arms crossed, Mother raised an arched eyebrow.
“He got cold feet. It happens.” And all Susanna needed to do was warm them up.
Mother dipped her chin. “So, did Mr. Van Der Veer run on cold feet to New York, or is he in Denver?” Her eyes narrowed. “Is that why you’re so set on going there?”
“Why must you be so hurtful, Mother? You know I haven’t heard from Mr. Van Der Veer, and I don’t expect to.” Susanna quivered her lip as though she might cry. “I’m set on going because my best friend is moving to Denver, and I could use a change of scenery.”
And the prestigious photographer was working just behind Pikes Peak. A much shorter trip from Denver.
T renton chased the broom through the house, still swept up in the memories of Friday’s events. In record speed, he’d gone from reviewing applications for a portrait painter to being caught in a tongue-twisting misunderstanding. And the woman was now his employee.
He scooped a pile of dirt into a dustpan and carried it back outside where it belonged. Even if Jesse had been right about Trenton needing a change of scenery and a change of pace, things were happening too swiftly here for his comfort. The fast and furious way of the West wasn’t his way. Driving his wagon of supplies across New York City from one opera house to another and one political campaign office to another would feel like a summer picnic right now.
A small studio, open four or five days a week. Being his own boss. That was all he’d wanted when he rented the shop on First Street. He hadn’t considered employing anyone else.
He marched through the two-bedroom house, collecting the throw rugs as he went. He set the armful of rugs on the edge
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