Andre looked surprised.
“For supper?”
“Yes.”
“With you?”
“With me.”
He smiled awkwardly.
“We don’t have fancy clothes.”
Evelyn laughed.
“Neither do I, if you look closely enough.”
Andre glanced at her expensive coat.
She noticed and laughed again.
“Well, perhaps this coat is a little better than most.”
He joined her.
“But I promise you,” she continued, “a meal tastes just as good without anyone wearing a fine suit.”
Andre agreed.
Before he left, Evelyn placed a small envelope in his hand.
He looked at it suspiciously.
“What’s this?”
“An invitation.”
He opened it.
Inside was a simple handwritten note asking him and Willa to join her for supper.
Andre smiled.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I did.”
She looked amused.
“But I thought your sister might enjoy receiving a proper invitation.”
He laughed.
“She will.”
As Andre rode home, he felt lighter than he had in weeks.
The county notice still waited in the wooden box.
The roof still needed repairs.
The money was still short.
Yet something about the afternoon had reminded him that the world contained possibilities he had almost stopped considering.
When he reached home, Willa was sweeping the kitchen floor.
She immediately noticed the envelope.
“What’s that?”
Andre handed it to her.
She read the invitation carefully.
Then she looked up.
“She’s inviting us to supper?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Both of us?”
“Both.”
Willa pressed the paper against her chest.
“I’ve never had a proper invitation.”
Andre smiled.
“Now you have.”
She hurried toward the bedroom.
“I’m going to wash my dress!”
Andre laughed.
“Tomorrow, Willa.”
“But it has to dry!”
He watched her disappear through the doorway, shaking his head affectionately.
Then he turned toward the kitchen table.
The wooden box sat in its usual place.
For a moment, his smile faded.
He opened it and looked at the county notice.
The payment was still due.
He had only a few days left to find the money.
Andre sat down slowly.
There were moments when hope made the weight of responsibility easier.
There were also moments when hope made him more aware of everything he feared losing.
He thought about asking Mr.
Sullivan for additional work.
Perhaps a rancher needed help repairing fences.
Perhaps the railway station could use someone to unload freight.
He would keep trying.
He had promised Willa.
The following evening, Andre and Willa arrived at the boardinghouse just after sunset.
Willa wore her clean blue dress, and Andre had polished his shoes as well as he could.
Evelyn greeted them at the door.
She smiled when she saw Willa’s carefully tied ribbons.
“You look lovely.”
Willa blushed.
“Thank you.”
“And you, Andre, look very handsome.”
He laughed quietly.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
They ate in a small private dining room overlooking the railway yard.
There was roast chicken, potatoes, fresh bread, vegetables, and warm apple pie.
Willa looked at the food with wide eyes.
Andre gently reminded her to take only what she wanted.
Evelyn noticed.
“There’s plenty, dear.”
Willa smiled.
“I know.
It’s just all so nice.”
Evelyn passed her the bread.
“Then enjoy it.”
The meal unfolded slowly.
They talked about the ranches, the school, their favorite books, and the strange ways people sometimes found themselves in unfamiliar places.
Evelyn told Willa stories about growing up on a farm.
She described carrying water in heavy buckets, watching her father plow the fields, and helping her mother collect eggs on freezing mornings.
Willa listened eagerly.
“Did you have a bicycle?”
“No.”
“Did you ride horses?”
“When I was younger, yes.”
“Were you good?”
Evelyn laughed.
“Better at staying on than getting off.”
Andre smiled.
He realized how easily they were speaking together.
There were no servants standing beside the table, no formal speeches, and no uncomfortable silence.
For one evening, three people from very different lives shared an ordinary meal.
After supper, Willa became interested in a shelf of books near the sitting room.
Evelyn encouraged her to look through them.
Andre watched his sister settle into a chair with a book on her lap.
Then Evelyn invited him to sit near the window.
“I’ve been thinking about what you told me yesterday,” she said.
Andre turned toward her.
“About the town?”
“About the town.
And about you.”
He waited.
Evelyn folded her hands.
“My company owns several grain warehouses throughout the West.
We also manage shipping arrangements for ranchers and farmers who need to move their goods to market.”
Andre nodded.
“I know.”
“I’ve spoken to my manager about the warehouse here.”
He looked surprised.
“Already?”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“When something needs attention, I prefer not to put it aside.”
Andre thought of the crowded platform and the sacks of grain left beneath canvas during harvest.
“What did he say?”
“That the town may benefit from a larger storage building and better arrangements for small farmers.”
Andre felt a spark of excitement.
“That would help.”
“I believe so.”
She leaned forward slightly.
“But I also believe decisions about this place should involve people who actually live here.”
Andre nodded.
“That seems fair.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Which brings me to something else.”
He waited.
“I’d like to offer you an apprenticeship with my local grain and transport office.”
Andre stared at her.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
He looked toward Willa, who was quietly reading across the room.
“I don’t know enough.”
“Then you can learn.”
“I haven’t finished all my schooling.”
“That doesn’t mean you cannot continue.”
He shook his head.
“I have to work.
I can’t go away and leave Willa.”
Evelyn nodded.
“I know.”
Andre looked at her.
“The position would be here,” she explained.
“You’d begin by helping with records, shipments, and warehouse work.
You would study with an experienced manager while earning a regular wage.”
Andre was silent.
She continued.
“You already understand horses, roads, ranch work, and the problems people face when supplies are delayed.
Those are valuable things to know.”
He glanced down at his hands.
For years, he had believed that education belonged to people with enough money to stop working.
The thought that he might learn while earning a living seemed almost impossible.
“Would I still be able to help at the stable?”