She put her hand on his shoulder and pressed her lips together, saying nothing. "We all learn hard lessons in this life."

"He wants me to sign on for another four years. He said things are getting better...."

The hair rose on the back of Marta's neck. She lifted her hands and stepped back. "You didn't sign anything, did you?"

"I said I'd think about it."

"Think about it? You know the man is a cheat and a liar!" Bernhard looked between them. Hildemara started to cry.

"I won't sign." Niclas lifted Hildemara from her high chair.

"It's good you didn't tell him that. He'd have put our two cows on leads and carted away all our chickens!"

Niclas sat again, bouncing Hildemara on his lap and trying to soothe her. He raised bleak eyes to Marta. "Quiet down. You're scaring her."

"She's not half as scared as I am you'll keep us here another four years!"

"I've got to figure out what we're going to do."

She put her hands on her hips. "We'll sell what belongs to us and go back to Montreal. That's what we'll do!"

He raised his head, eyes darkening. "We're not going back to Montreal. That much I do know! There's no work for me there. And I'm not living off my wife!"

"Winnipeg, then. It's another railroad hub. There'll be work for you there. I'll wire Carleen and offer her the boardinghouse for a fair price. If she can't buy it, I'll put it on the market. As soon as I get the money, I'll buy another boardinghouse."

"No, you won't! You can't run a boardinghouse with two children and another baby on the way."

"Watch me!"

He stood and thrust Hildemara into her arms. "You'll take care of our children and whatever house we find to rent. That's what you'll do! I'll get a job. I'll support my family!"

Marta turned away, afraid she'd remind him he'd done a lousy job so far. "How long before Madson wants an answer?"

Niclas let out his breath. "He said he'd be back in ten days."

"That gives us ten days to build enough crates for two hundred chickens. We'll take the cow and calf to Mr. Helgerson. He'll pay a fair price and add our calf to his herd and have one of his men take care of the cow until Madson comes back."

"I don't think Mr. Ingersoll will take two hundred chickens."

"I don't plan to sell them in Brandon. We'll load the wagon and take them to Winnipeg. We'll get a better price in city markets."

"We can't take the wagon, Marta. It doesn't belong to us. Neither do the horses."

"We're not stealing them, Niclas. We're borrowing them. Or do you expect us to walk back to Winnipeg, dragging our trunks behind us? Once we're there, we'll send word to Mr. Madson and he can send one of his other serfs to fetch them."

Marta thanked God she had gone to Brandon with Niclas the last time. Knowing the contract was coming to a close, she had told Mr. Ingersoll he needed to settle the account with her. He hadn't been happy about it, but she had cash enough to pay rent and buy what they would need to set up housekeeping in Winnipeg.

Dear Rosie,Niclas found work at the locomotive works. His old supervisor, Rob MacPherson, transferred to Winnipeg. When he saw Niclas had applied, he hired him. And just in time. Our third child, Clotilde Anna, arrived a month after Niclas went back to work. She is as robust as Bernhard, and every bit as loud in her demands. Think of it, Rosie-two miracles in the very same month! We have finally seen an end to this awful war, and we have been blessed with little Clotilde.Hildemara Rose has none of the sibling jealousy you talk about with your children. She adores her brother and sister, so much so she will give up anything if one of the others wants it, whether it's a toy or food off her plate. They take advantage and she lets them. I will have to teach her otherwise.Carleen and Nally Kildare bought my boardinghouse in Montreal. They couldn't afford the full price, but they managed to get a loan from the Bank of Montreal. I don't intend to touch the money unless Niclas loses his job again. God forbid that happens! I mentioned buying this house once, but he was adamant we should wait and see how things go. As far as I can see, things are going very well.

Rumors abounded as soldiers returned home from Europe. The locomotive works let some foreign workers go in order to rehire those who had served overseas. When she asked, Niclas said his job was secure as long as MacPherson was supervisor. Other than that, Niclas didn't talk about much of anything. He came home from work each day and sat in the parlor, head back, eyes closed. He roused enough to play with Bernhard and Clotilde. Hildemara always stood back, waiting her turn.

After dinner, Niclas read Bible stories to the children before Marta settled them in bed. Then he would fall silent again, sitting in his chair, gazing out the window. He always seemed worn down when he came home from work. She wondered how he could be so tired all the time when he no longer had to get up before dawn and work until dusk. Surely working at a drafting desk was preferable to the backbreaking work of plowing forty acres.

Marta waited until they were alone in bed, the lamp extinguished, before she asked. "Will you stay angry with me forever, Niclas?"

He turned to her in the darkness. "Why would I be angry?"

"Because I insisted you work for the railroad." She knew he had loved working the land. He loved seeing the wheat and barley grow. He had felt such pride in the crops he brought in. Would he become like Papa, blaming her for making him give up an impossible dream and eventually taking out his discontent on her and their children?

"I took the work available."

"But you're miserable." Her voice broke.

He drew her into his arms. "A husband tries his best to make his wife happy."

When he kissed her, she wanted to weep. She had seen little joy in him since they had moved to Winnipeg, and guilt tore at her. What if he tired of her? What if he began to see her as Papa always had: a homely, ill-tempered, selfish, and worthless girl? "How can a wife be happy when her husband is miserable?"

"You hated the wheat farm, and I hate my job." He tilted her chin and cupped her cheek. "I promise I won't take you back there, but I don't know how long I can bear to stay here."

"You'll leave me someday."

"Never."

"Do you promise?"

He rolled her onto her back. "I promise." She remembered what Rosie had said about him and drew his head down.

A long time later, she lay facing him again. She combed her fingers through his hair. "What are we going to do?"

"Wait." He took her hand and kissed it. "God will show us away."

Niclas's hours were cut the next day.

Marta knew something had happened when Niclas came in the door. He didn't look tired this afternoon. His eyes glowed. "MacPherson is leaving."

Her heart sank. "Is he going back to Montreal?"

"He's going to California. He has a job lined up in Sacramento." He hung up his coat and hat. "He told me my hours are being cut again." Bernhard and Clotilde clamored for attention.

Marta shushed them and sent them in the parlor to play. Hildemara stood in the doorway, watching them with wide hazel eyes. "Go with Bernhard and Clotilde, Hildemara. Go on!"

"How can they cut your hours again?" He only made seventy-five dollars a month, barely enough to keep a roof over their heads and good food on the table.

"It could get worse."

She knew that meant he might lose his job after all. "I'll start looking for property. We can open another boardinghouse. We could manage it together."

"Railroad men are leaving. The company is giving away free tickets to California."

California? She tried to absorb the shock. "What would you do in California?" She tried to absorb the shock. "What would you do in California?"

"MacPherson said he will do what he can to help me find a job. If not, there's good land in California."

"You can't mean you want to go back to farming!"

"I miss the plowing and planting. I miss harvesting crops I've sown with my own hands. I miss wide-open spaces and fresh air."

She tried to remain calm. "I remember frigid winters. I remember thunderstorms and flashes of lightning that filled us both with fear because one strike could burn away a year's work in minutes!"

"The weather is temperate in California. There's no ice and snow in the Central Valley."

She started to shake. "Please tell me you didn't sign another contract."

"No, but I applied for tickets. It'll be a miracle if we get them. They're going to men who have worked for the company five years or more. But I had to try. There won't be any more in a week."

Even having been warned of what might come, Marta wasn't prepared when Niclas came home with train tickets to California. "This is the answer to my prayers," he told her, holding them up in his hand. She hadn't seen that look on his face since they left the wheat fields.

Marta remembered how much they had at the end of four years of farming. Nothing! She knew he wouldn't listen to that reasoning, and she searched for excuses to delay. "We could wait until after Christmas, at least."

He laughed. "We'll spend Christmas in California!"

Bursting into tears, she fled into the kitchen. She thought Niclas would follow, but he didn't. As she set the table, she heard him telling the children about California, the golden land of opportunity, the place where the sun was always shining. Even after she called everyone to dinner, he kept on about it. She picked at her food and tried not to glare at him and upset the children. Hildemara kept looking at her. "Eat!" she told her. Clotilde already looked like the older sister with her greater height and weight.

"When are we going, Papa?" Bernhard sounded like he'd been invited to a world's fair.

"The end of the week. We'll take only what we need." His eyes met Marta's. "We'll sell the furniture and buy what we need when we get to California."

"All of it?" she said faintly. "What about the new bedroom set we bought last year, and the couch, and-?"

"It would cost more to have them sent by freight than buying new when we get there."

She lost her appetite completely. Niclas took seconds. "They sayyou can pick oranges off the trees all year long."

Bernhard's eyes grew big. He'd had his first orange for Christmas last year. "As many as we want?"

"If we end up with an orange tree on our property."

"What property?" Marta said, steaming.

Niclas ruffled Bernhard's hair. "We don't have property, yet, Sohn Sohn. We'll have to spend time looking around first."

Marta cleared and washed the dishes while Niclas took the children into the parlor to read Bible stories.

"Off to bed." Marta shooed them up the stairs and got them ready for bed. Niclas came up and kissed them each good night. When he headed for their bedroom, she headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not tired yet." Her heart pounded fiercely.

He followed her downstairs and into the parlor. She wrapped her arms around herself and refused to look at him. She could feel him standing behind her, looking at her. She heard him sigh heavily.

"Talk to me, Marta."

"What is there to talk about? You've already made up your mind."

"What better gift can we give our children than the chance of a better life? Isn't that what you've always wanted? Isn't that why you left home as young as you did?"

"I left because I wanted to make my own choices!"

He put his hands at her waist. "You chose me."

For better or for worse, whether rich or poor...

Niclas drew her back against him. The feelings he stirred with a touch always defeated her. She wanted to resist, but found herself surrendering to him again. When she leaned into him, he turned her around and embraced her. When he raised his mouth from hers, she leaned her head against his chest. His heart beat hard and fast.

"Trust me."

Marta closed her eyes and said nothing.

"If you can't trust me, trust God. He opened the way."

Marta wished she could believe it.

Part Two

Hildemara Rose

15.

1921.

The passenger car bumped and jerked, moving slowly down the track. On her knees, Hildemara looked out the window at the passing houses as the train picked up speed. She slid down onto the seat again, feeling dizzy, her stomach queasy. Mama had made her eat breakfast even though her appetite had waned with excitement over the trip south in the United States of America. Now, she felt her full stomach rolling as the wheels clicked along the track.