Sarah's Bible sat beside it. Evelyn saw this Bible and Sarah carried it from Missouri. You still miss her? It was not a question. Everyday Evelyn looked down at her hands.
Then I hope you never feel you have to stop. Elias had expected jealousy or discomfort. Instead, he heard kindness. Most people don't know what to say when I mention her. Maybe they think love is a room with only one chair.
Evelyn looked toward Lily. I don't think it works that way. I have always thought grief works more like a family table than a locked room. Loving someone new does not require clearing away the chair of the person you lost. Elias remembered that sentence for a long time.
Spring came slowly to the mountains. Snow withdrew from the lower valleys. Wild flowers appeared beside the tracks. And the railroad pushed farther west. Elias and Evelyn fell into a rhythm neither had planned.
She handled contracts, land agreements, and investors. Amay handled engines, crews, and mechanical problems. They argued often. Evelyn wanted faster progress. Elias refused to rush men across unsafe ground.
He won some arguments. She won others. Neither seemed offended by losing. One evening in June, they stood on a newly completed trestle above a narrow gorge. The sun was low behind the mountains.
Elias rested both hands on you signed the contract. Bas that was thanks enough. No. He looked at her. You came to my door when I was ashamed to answer it.
Evelyn's expression softened. I came because you saved my mother. At first, she smiled. At first, for several seconds, neither spoke. Elias looked down at his work boots.
Your father must wonder why you spend so much time out here. He knows, and he is hoping I recover. He has introduced me to bankers, politicians, and one English gentleman who owns more silverware than scents. Sounds impressive. He was unbearable.
That sounds expensive, she laughed. Then the sound moved across the gorge. Elias looked at her and felt something frighteningly close to happiness. Evelyn, I'm a mechanic. Yes, I still get grease under my nails before breakfast.
I've noticed I'm not the kind of man your family imagined for you. She stepped closer. My family imagined a name beside mine. I imagined a life. Elias did not move.
Evelyn lifted one hand and touched his cheek. Those are not the same thing. The kiss was gentle. It did not feel like the beginning of a scandal. It felt like two lonely people finally admitting they had been walking toward each other for months.