Overall, I thought this was a great prologue. It was generally well-written, and I found it quite reverent, with a lovely sort of theme developing.
It held my interest well, which is a grand accomplishment, as I am far from keen on the Western genre, and it's pretty much the only one I read nothing in.
I really like the character of the narrator, and thought that their voice gave the prologue a very appealing and authentic feel.
Suggestions for improvement:
I thought the second sentence, second paragraph, was too loaded. It was run-on and all the adjectives made it a bit too heavy, although the image you were creating was very good. I especially liked the vision of 'a hypnotic shade of burnt peach'.
I would suggest breaking the sentence up after that bit - putting the simile about the shadows as its own sentence.
Furthermore, I thought the image of 'brilliant' parchment was a bit off - I find it a touch difficult to try and think of parchment as brilliant - I think you were referring to the brilliance of the light on it, but the plain meaning of 'great' is more common, and this made it slightly confusing.
Also, I think pencil 'lines' would make more sense than 'marks'.
I rubbed the velvety neck absently. - her
"Some people think they’ll find that home in a certain place or with a particular person,” Nanny would say quietly,
I think the dialogue would read more comfortably if she said 'some people think that they'll'.
IMO, you should use a a different tag than 'quietly' here, because it's one you've used already, recently, and the only one so far - the repetition was a little jarring. I think something like 'softly' would suit it better anyway.
'...although she did interject...'
I don't think the word 'interjerct' fits well here. It seems to stick out like a sore thumb, as it doesn't sound right to me.
Sometimes it was about my father growing up. But mostly she talked about her life as a young girl growing up on the old farm in Lebanon, Indiana.
I think 'father's youth' might fit better, and it would also eliminate the double use of 'growing up'.
And I was always there in time to set the table and help her if I could.
Seemed a bit odd to start-off this sentence with 'and' here. I'd suggest starting it with 'I made sure I was always...' but it's up to you.
And the ranch
I think the 'and' is unnecessary here.
It was also a house that glowed...
I think just saying 'It glowed...' would suffice, as we are well aware what you are talking about - there's no need to repeat yourself.
Both of them were there for different reasons. But each came away with a single golden impression that would remain with them for the rest of their days.
I think these sentences would sound better joined together. Otherwise, I'd suggest 'Yet' would be a better choice than 'But' to start the second sentence with.
I don't think the next 'and' sounds right either - I think something like 'what's more', or 'moreso', 'along with that' would be a lot more fitting.
So she...
I think Therefore/Thus/Hence would work better here.
cups of Earl Grey hot tea.
The ordering here seems mixed up. 'hot Earl Grey tea' would make more sense - as the adjective applies to the whole 'Earl Grey tea' as Earl Grey's specifying the type of tea. However, you don't really need to say 'hot' anyway, as it seems obvious that it would be in the context.
Finishing note:
I look forward to reading the first chapter! (e:bigsmile)
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