1897 – Iowa
My dear Beth, Though Uppsala, Iowa, takes its name from a city in my native Sweden, life here is different from what I have known. With my parents’ blessing, I have taken employment in the home of Mr. Bridger, a dairy farmer, caring for his ill mother and two young, orphaned nieces. It is most unlike me to leave home, even in a temporary manner. But the need is great and Hattie Bridger and the children are so endearing. As for Dirk Bridger, he is an unhappy man, but also loyal, hardworking, and honorable. And, I should add, quite handsome. My younger sisters were smitten the instant they saw him. Young flirts! And with beauty to match. I, on the other hand, am considered to have common sense to attend my common looks. But, friend Beth, I am afraid my heart betrays my wisdom—for I, too, long to be seen as beautiful. Not just by anyone. By Dirk Bridger.
Your friend, Inga Linberg
In rural Iowa, life is both the planter and uprooter of dreams. As love, long delayed, springs to life in the heart of a young Swedish immigrant, one man struggles with his withered ambitions—and new blessings that could take their place if he would but allow them room.