Dave nodded. “Those are all options, but if you want to get anywhere in this life, you have to take risks. If you want to live your dreams, you definitely have to take risks. Well, she wants to be free of this house and Papa and live in the West. That advertisement is probably her only chance to make that happen.”
Oscar frowned, crossing his arms over his chest and sitting back in his chair. “I don’t like the idea. I don’t think she should be so far away with only a stranger for company. And she’ll be doing the same thing! Watching and raising more boys!”
“I…” Ella spoke up, interrupting Oscar. “I think I want to do this, Dave. I think I should answer this ad.” She could suddenly see a bright future stretching out in front of her. She hadn’t felt that excited in some time.
They heard the sound of their father coming in the front door. She was suddenly a bit fearful and went through her chores in her mind to make sure she had gotten to them all. She got up quickly to take the ham and cheese biscuits from the warming cabinet and pulled out a cup to give her father his noontime coffee.
“I’ll go see to him,” Dave said, scooting out the door quickly. They could hear him greet their father in the hallway. “Papa! How was your day?”
They couldn’t hear their father’s reply.
Oscar got up and moved to stand next to Ella. She looked up at him.
“I will be the one who is blue when you leave, sister.” Oscar leaned to give her a kiss on the cheek. She felt a warm wash of love for him and put her arms around him for a hug.
Chapter Two
The train rumbled along at a fearful speed. Ella had never been on a train or in anything that moved faster than the horses she rode. She watched the scenery moving past with amazement, unable to focus on anything for very long before it was gone. Except for the mountains in the distance. She tried counting them at first but because tired and anxious from that so she stopped.
She was not alone in the car. There was a family across from her, three children and their mother. The grandmother and grandfather were apparently the older couple that had chosen the seats next to her on the red velvet-cushioned bench. The children were rowdy and talkative. Ella had already found out that their father was in the military, and they were going to meet him where he was stationed in Arizona. They were anxious to be there and bothered their mother fairly consistently about how long it would be until they got there.
Their mother was beginning to look a little haggard, although Ella thought she was doing a wonderful job with so many children under the age of ten. When the train moved into a tunnel that would go through a very long mountain, the children became anxious.
“Mama, how long is it going to be dark out there?”
“Are we in a mountain, mama? Is the mountain going to come down and trap us in here?”
“The mountain is going to collapse! We’re going to be trapped!”
“Now see, Robert, you’ve gone and frightened your little sister. No, Penny, the mountain isn’t going to collapse. We’re going to be fine. Everything will be fine. This is a strong tunnel. Don’t you worry now.”
“Excuse me.” Ella sat forward and said quietly. “I see your children are anxious. I would love to read to them to calm them down if you don’t object.”
“If you would like to, I would be very appreciative.” Their mother sounded extremely relieved. “I’m Rachel. These are my children, Joseph, Robert, and Penelope. They are, as you can see, very tired at the moment. A good story would do them some good. What do you have to read to them?”
Ella reached into her sewing bag, where she had tucked both of her newer books. She decided that Alice’s Adventures would be more appropriate for the small children than the Sherlock Holmes story. It was full of imagination and colorful characters. She had enjoyed it so much, she wanted to share it with them.
“Have you seen this book before?” The children had settled down and were watching what she was doing, curiously. All three shook their heads.
“What’s it about?” Robert asked. She grinned at him.
“It’s about a little girl who follows a white rabbit into the woods and then falls down a hole, and when she wakes up, she’s in a brand new place with talking animals and everything!”
“I want to hear it!” The little boy demanded.
She nodded. “And so you shall.”
She opened the book and read to them until they had to get off at their stop in Arizona. They stayed still and quiet the whole time, intrigued by the story. Their mother was even able to shut her eyes for a few minutes. Ella marveled at the way she seemed to sleep sitting up without her children even noticing.
She received three small hugs before the family departed and the mother and grandparents looked at her with grateful eyes, thanking her for keeping them entertained almost the entire way to their new home. She was left with a satisfying feeling of accomplishment.