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“How do you know this?” Diego asked.
Rudy shrugged. “I remember last year’s celebration. It’s a small town, and not much happens here. Even an extra train is something special.”
Diego shook his head. “That probably won’t work. All those officials will recognize Isabella after a day of celebrations. You couldn’t just climb on and sit with them in your masks.”
“Well, there will be some freight cars attached to it. They use the opportunity to bring in shipments that would otherwise have to wait for the next train. It won’t be fixed only for passengers—at least it wasn’t last year,” Rudy said. “They’ll bring in supplies like every other train.”
“Then maybe we could find a way for you and Jorge to take Isabella out of here in one of the freight cars.”
“That was my thought,” Rudy said, looking from Jorge to Diego. “The train heads out just after all the speeches are done. If we can figure some way to grab her just before that, we can load up in one of the empty cars. The train will stop in San Marcial. We could have horses waiting for us there. I’ve got a cousin who will keep his mouth shut for a few dollars.”
Diego glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s nearly time for our shift to start. We can talk about this later. We’ve got a few weeks to figure out the particulars.”
Isabella felt more at home as the weeks went by. With her new outlook on life and the knowledge of her parents’ reason for coming here, she could honestly say that Silver Veil was becoming dear to her. Mama noticed it first and brought it up while they were helping with one of the many churchcommunity projects. She and Mama were once again sorting clothes to give to the poor.
“You seem far more at ease these days,” Mama said.
“I have to admit that I am. I think truly understanding how much this place means to you and Papi has given me a new heart. I suppose I have grown up.”
Mama gave her a smile. “I’m so happy you are here. I know losing your aunt and home in California has hurt you, but I’m so glad to have you back.”
Isabella pulled out a dress. “This one needs to be repaired. The underarm seams have ripped.” She put the dress in a separate pile and began checking another piece for any problems.
“You know Founder’s Day is coming up in April. It will be your father’s last, so he wants it to be special.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help, but you don’t know that it will be his last. He’s been battling his problems for a long time. He might get better.” Isabella realized she wanted that more than anything.
“No. We know it’s the end,” Mama said in a tone that brooked no argument.
A woman a little older than Isabella joined them. “I’ve come to help you.”
Isabella immediately recognized Mrs. Cameron, the pastor’s new wife, and moved to make room at their table.
“What can I do?” Mrs. Cameron asked.
“We’re going over each piece to see which ones need to be mended,” Mama explained. “Put them in this stack if they’re ready to go, and in the stack by Isabella if they aren’t.”
“Easy enough,” Mrs. Cameron replied. “Are we worrying about frayed collars and cuffs or just rips and tears?”
Mama smiled. “All of it. We want to make them as nice as possible before passing them on.”
“I’m so new to this.” Mrs. Cameron sounded a little nervous. “But I love helping people.”
Isabella smiled. “We’re glad to have you.”
“Tell us about yourself, Mrs. Cameron,” Mama said, putting a pile of clothes in front of her. Pastor Cameron had only recently taken a wife from back in his hometown of Duluth, Minnesota.
“Well, first of all, please call me Millie. My name is Mildred, but that’s still too formal for me.” Millie gave them a sweet smile. “Tom and I have been friends for a long time. We grew up together. We fell in love with other people, but after we married, we all became good friends. His wife, Glenda, and my husband, Arnold, knew each other from church. Anyway, we were all close. After Glenda died from a bout of pneumonia, my Arnold was killed in a logging accident. I wrote to tell Tom about it because he had moved here to escape his memories. We wrote back and forth for much of the past two years. Then he proposed last December when he came up to Duluth.”
“That was right after Christmas,” Mama said. “I remember he said he was going north to see family and take care of something important. When he returned, he announced that he’d proposed and would marry in March.”
Millie nodded, her blond curls bobbing up and down.
Mama continued inspecting a man’s shirt. “We were so glad for him to marry again. He was in mourning when we hired him on to replace the church’s first pastor. We felt so sorry for him, and it just seemed God wanted us to take him on. He’s been a great pastor.”
Isabella felt she must say something. “I think it’s wonderful that you two were longtime friends.”
“It was definitely an answer to prayer. We were both quite lonely.” Millie picked up a dress and started checking it over.“What about you two? How long have you lived in Silver Veil?”
