The first floor would be divided into three spaces. The front half of the building was the shop. The back half was to be partitioned to form a sizable storeroom and their kitchen-parlor, with a lean-to outside the back door. The upstairs would be two bedrooms and a small sitting area.

Papa was about to leave to meet the afternoon freight train; he was expecting a load of furniture and fitments from Chicago. The goods he ordered were shipped first to Tracy in Minnesota, then came to LaForge on the railroad line between Tracy and Pierre. Papa sent in the orders by mail, and it usually took around three weeks for the goods to arrive.

Hanna stopped him and pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“The storeroom,” she said. “I was thinking . . . you’re going to be in the shop most of the time, and I’m the one who’ll be in and out of the storeroom. I have a few ideas to make things more sensible for me to work there.”

She had done a rough sketch of the space and written a list as well. It was a real room, much more than a closet. There was a countertop along two walls, with drawers, cupboards, and shelves below and above. The list contained several items, like wall hooks and baskets and pasteboard boxes for more storage.

Her sketch showed a nicely organized storeroom. But in Hanna’s mind, it would eventually become something more: a workroom, where she could sew dresses.

Papa tapped on the sketch. “Cookstove here?”

“Yes.” She had drawn the cookstove in the center of the partition wall. The front of the stove, with two burners and the oven, would be in the kitchen, while the rear with its warming shelf was in the workroom. “It’ll warm both spaces in the winter, so there won’t be any need for a heater in the storeroom. That’ll save on coal.”

“Good,” he said. “Show this to Charlie.” He handed the paper back to her and left for the depot.

Hanna wanted to do a little hop-skip of satisfaction. True enough, the back of the cookstove would heat the storeroom. What she hadn’t mentioned was that it could also be used to heat a flatiron—a necessity for dressmaking.

She talked to Mr. Hart about a few more details. Could the cupboards go all the way to the ceiling? Dusting the tops of cupboards was such a bother. And could he put a foldout ironing board into the wall? And no cupboards or shelves under the countertop where it passed beneath the window. That would be like a little desk—she’d have a chair there for sitting.

And sewing, where the light’s best.