Dorothy on a Ranch

Dorothy is leaving behind everything familiar. Her beloved Aunt Betty is heading home, and Dorothy must choose: return to the comfortable life she's always known, or press forward into the Colorado mountains toward a summer at a ranch she's never seen. The choice hangs heavy in her heart as she boards Mr. Dan Ford's private railway car, the "Erminie," bound for adventure. Set in the early American West, this sequel to "The Desert Bride" follows Dorothy and her friend Alfaretta as they trade the adobe homes of southern California for ranch life among cowboys and wide-open skies. The journey itself becomes a character: private rail cars, strange new companions, and the bittersweet weight of growing up. Raymond captures something true about that liminal moment between childhood and independence, when leaving the people we love most feels like both triumph and betrayal. Warm, episodic, and steeped in the romanticized optimism of its era, the novel offers period charm and gentle lessons about loyalty, courage, and finding one's place in the world. It's a sweet snapshot of early twentieth-century girls' fiction, perfect for readers who enjoy nostalgic adventures and stories of young people learning to spread their wings.