The train blasted steam as if impatient for the last travelers to board. Wearing Luke's hat and her father's coat, Laurel walked up the boarding steps head down and straight into Robert's back, nearly tumbling off the steps. Her father caught her from behind.
Adam chuckled. So much for remaining inconspicuous. He boarded last and hoped he could find a place beside Laurel. She'll probably sit with her father and brother, and that Robert is everywhere she is, he thought irritably.
He wasn't even sure why he cared. She was just a plain-speaking Wisconsin farm girl—certainly not his type. He'd always been attracted to the more stylish, fashionable woman—educated and well-traveled, the kind who elevated the prestige of any escort. This was the first time Laurel had ever left Wisconsin. She certainly had no knowledge of fashion. Her long hair needed taming, and he'd never seen her wear anything but homemade cotton dresses and wool coats. Still, he couldn't free his mind of her. The dresses hung appealingly on her tall slender frame, and her auburn hair, although unruly, had a special allure. More than once he'd wanted to reach out and touch the soft curls.
I need to keep clear of her. I'll be leaving in a few weeks. This story ought to land me a juicy assignment overseas.
Luke had grabbed a seat beside Robert and was already involved in a discussion about hunting in the Alaskan wilderness. Will and Laurel sat facing them, Laurel next to the window. Adam had his sights on a seat toward the back when Will stopped him. “Adam, why don't you sit here by me?”
Adam sat across the aisle. The bench felt hard and cold. This might be an opportunity to gather more information for his story. He leaned his arms on his thighs. “So, I suppose you're eager to get to Palmer.”
“Sure am. How about you?”
“Me? I suppose. It'll be good to finally see this great valley I've been hearing about. I've been to Alaska but never the Matanuska Valley.”
“What do you have planned next?”
“I'll get my story written and head back to Chicago. Hopefully I'll be sent to Europe.”
The train nudged ahead, then jerked. After a couple more bumps and shudders, they rolled forward. For a short while they followed Resurrection Bay, then began their ascent into the mountains.
“Wow, look how high up we are already,” Luke said, peering out the window and down a sheer drop falling away several hundred feet.
Laurel glanced down at the rock face and sat back in her seat. “I'll be glad when we're out of these mountains.”
“It's spectacular,” Adam said.
Will glanced at the view, then turned to Adam. “I've never known a reporter before. Do you like the work?”
“Yeah. I travel and get to meet interesting people. Once I interviewed President Roosevelt.”
“Really? What is he like?”
“Not a bad sort—pleasant, down-to-earth. They throw first-class parties at the White House.”
“You've been, huh?”
Adam could feel his cheeks flush, and an embarrassed grin creased his face. “Well, that's what I hear,” he admitted.
“Oh. You had me going there for a minute,” Will said with a chuckle.
“I plan on going some day. My career is beginning to take off.”
“And what do you want to do with your career?”
“I figure I'll be a reporter, but I'd like to get work overseas, preferably Europe.”
“Things are in an uproar over there, aren't they?”
Adam threw an arm over the back of his seat. “Yeah, there's a lot going on. That's why they need good reporters—people who'll dig until they get the whole story. I'd like to get an interview with Adolf Hitler. He's the one who's really shaking things up right now.”
Laurel leaned toward the aisle. “I heard he's an awful man. Why would you want to spend a minute with him?”
“Awful, maybe, but interesting for sure.”
Laurel said nothing more and sat back, bundling into her coat. She returned to gazing out the window.
Will yawned. He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. “Think I'll get a little shut-eye while I can.”
“Sounds good to me,” Adam said, sliding to the seat next to the window. Frustrated, he folded his arms over his chest and stared out at a wall of snow alongside the tracks. He not only hadn't gotten anything new or remarkable for his story, but he'd sounded like a guy with a pipe dream in front of Laurel.
Light snow fell as they moved inland. The train rumbled over trestles traversing deep gorges, some with waterfalls streaming down mountainsides. They steamed across open meadows buried in white, made their way around large looping trestles, and traveled through several tunnels. Patches of huge spruce and hemlock, some draped in green moss, dotted the landscape. Mountains tall and rugged appeared like frozen giants, one range upon another.
Adam saw a bear lumber up a rocky bank and disappear into undergrowth. Adam went to work taking photographs and writing down everything he saw. Nothing was unimportant. It was all magnificent.
More than once, he caught Laurel watching him. What was she thinking? Why did he care? He kept his camera clicking—hiding in the work he loved and annoyed for allowing himself to care about anything else.
Chapter Eleven
THE TRAIN MOVED OUT OF THE MOUNTAINS, LEAVING STEEP RAVINES AND cliffs behind. It wound along an inlet where sleet-gray mud flats lay, left by a retreating tide. Rivulets of water trickled over the ooze, and small birds flitted across the mire, picking up tidbits left by the sea.
Laurel thought it ugly and turned her eyes to the heavy forest crowding the tracks on the other side of the train. Her empty stomach grumbled, and she hoped the rumors of a meal in Anchorage were true. She glanced at Luke and Robert who were dozing and wondered how they could sleep through such an important time in their lives. She studied Adam. He looked animated, taking in the scenery and occasionally holding his camera up to the window to click a photograph. He also jotted down notes.
He caught Laurel's eye and winked. “Remarkable, isn't it?”
“Uh-huh,” she said, embarrassed at having been caught staring at him. “Do you know how far it is to Anchorage?”
“I was told Potter would be next. After that, it's Anchorage. We're nearly there.”
