the land for themselves is not the problem. The problem is, they’d never in a million years agree to me going out there to claim it. That’s the reason I wanted
to know if you have to keep this conversation a secret.”
The lawyer’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be thinking of going to a wild place
like Michigan on your own!”
“No.” She shook her head. “I know I could never work eighty acres by
myself. I’d have to get a partner or a hired man. I figure I can get a room in the
town, in that Fae’s Landing place, and my partner can live on the farm. The will
doesn’t say I have to live there; all it says is that I have to try to put in a crop.
Try. I don’t even have to actually grow anything.”
“How old are you, Miss Killion?”
“Near on eighteen.”
He puckered his lips and leaned back. “Well, there are no legal obstacles to you holding property in your own name, as long as you are not married. And if
neither of your brothers contests your claim, you certainly could inherit that land. But a young woman like you can’t just go off without a husband.”
“Well, I don’t have one of those, do I? I’ll just have to figure out something
else.” She thanked the lawyer and rose.
He came around the desk and reached the door in time to open it for her.
Turning to face her, he stared into her eyes. She saw sadness in his, but when he
spoke his voice was dry and matter-of-fact. “I’m very sorry about your father and your situation. But that’s just the way the world is.”
Chapter Two
A blur of lacy snowflakes greeted Olivia when she left Mr. Carmichael’s
office. She put her head back and opened her mouth to capture some of them, like she used to do when she was a little girl. Snow on her face was one thing she loved about winter; another was the crisp air, free of the hot weather stench
of horse manure and outhouses. She heard the faint tinkle of bells and saw a woman come out of Killion’s General with a basket on her arm. Good, she thought. Avis has opened the store and won’t be in the kitchen to ask me where
I’ve been.
Before turning homeward Olivia paused at the corner to look up and down
Main Street, at the town she was so anxious to leave. She was mostly oblivious
to its shortcomings, having almost nothing to compare it with. Every year on the
Saturday before Easter their father used to rent a buggy and take them for a drive
to Hillsong – the only other town Olivia had ever visited. Two things always made Hillsong seem like paradise to Olivia. The first was a library – two whole
rooms lined with books up to the ceiling. Olivia loved to climb the tall ladders
and browse through the volumes. If only she could breathe in all that knowledge.
All those stories.
Her father always left her there for a few hours, while he and his sons tended
to “men’s business.” Olivia would still be high up on one of the rolling ladders
when her brothers came bursting in to get her. They could never resist pushing
the ladder back and forth between them, Olivia laughing and shrieking, until the
librarian chased them out.
The second marvel of Hillsong was an ice cream parlor that stayed open as
long as the ice was holding. They had fancy chairs with hearts carved into the backs and served dishes of vanilla ice cream topped with wild berries and
whipped cream. They even gave each customer a thin slice of bread to wipe their
hands with.
