Last of all was Gloriana’s piece. She picked up the ornament and smiled. She had laughed that all she wanted for Christmas was time to read a book uninterrupted. On the ornament was her own rendition of several books. She’d made the pages out of newspaper, then covered them with starched cloth for the covers. On these she carefully penned the names of tomes she had received but never had time to read. She still had those books safely tucked in her hope chest.

“These are too marvelous. I love them,” Luke declared. “They show who each person in your family was or even is now.”

“Luke had glass ornaments that had been made for the queen of England,” JT said in awe. “They were all different colors and cost a lot of money.”

“They did indeed,” Luke declared, “but not one represented the love that are in these.” His gaze met Gloriana’s, and her heart skipped a beat.

She smiled and nodded. “It was our last Christmas all together.” She felt the weight of her loss once again. “JT never did get his dog.”

Chapter 12

“We have to get them to change the line. There is still time,” a man Theodore knew as Mr. Gillette declared. “We can offer so much more. We have direct access to the lake, and we will see that the city agrees to build magnificent facilities at the docks.”

Theodore nodded and made notes. He knew the desperation of the city of Superior, Wisconsin. They had long held the focus of shipping in the area. The railroad was imperative.

“We’ve already got people working against Duluth’s notion of building a canal into Superior Bay. We won’t allow for it. It would spell our utter doom.”

“And would probably alter our shipping area as well. Who knows what a canal would do to the natural breakwater?” another man said.

Theodore didn’t believe the man was worried about the breakwater so much as his profit margins. The canal, while worrisome, wasn’t nearly the problem the railroad had become. The future was dependent upon the railroad. Farmers would bring their grain crops to ship across the lake to buyers back east. Ore and wood would be a huge commodity as well. There would no doubt still be plenty of shipping work for both ports, but greed was a powerful master.

“I will be speaking directly with those men from the railroad who support your cause,” Theodore assured them. “None of them were originally supportive of a Duluth terminus. I have their ear, as they believe me to be the closest thing they have to speaking to Lucas Carson in Duluth.” He chuckled. “And they aren’t wrong. I’ve made myself indispensable for your sakes.”