The train pulling into the Minnesota station blew a loud, high whistle of warning. The sound and the slowing made Bridget stretch to look out the window. She was West now. West. The word sounded like wind and the warmth inside promises. Men in the West didn’t have to work in mines. They didn’t have to be carried home on stretchers. West was wonder. West was where she’d find her parents.
Craning her neck, she searched the line of women standing along the tracks. In their bonnets, she couldn’t see much of their hair and wasn’t sure of the colors. She squeezed the red wool tied around her waist and licked her lips.
She’d been licking since leaving Grandma Teegan, three days ago, and the skin around her lips was raw and stung when her tongue rubbed over the chafing. No matter. She licked aga
