Chapter 1

Pilar finished with the Posolè and started on making the tortillas. Her little restaurant was beginning to make a profit. Her tortillas were very popular since the men would come from the camp and the mill for lunch, and she would serve them at Lottie's. In the kitchen she made the tortillas much as her mother had made them many years ago. Before the disaster which led to her being orphaned and ending up with a strange woman who had 'bought' her from the local tribe in Texas. This woman had been a very evil woman and had harmed her and those around her just for pleasure. When Joshua Bolt had come to the farm, he had been enamored of her. Pilar thought she had put a spell on him because the way she treated him was very bad. She got to know Joshua a little because he started to talk to her, he needed to talk to someone, he told her he felt like he was losing himself and that he had no feeling of security in himself or his abilities. She had listened and prayed for him. She watched as he slowly slid into a state of despair. He no longer gave any thought to what his feelings were because they were so confused that he almost thought of killing himself. Talking to her helped him and when his brothers and family showed up suddenly, he had hope, only for her to dash his hopes quickly. But Pilar had given him a little locket that had a cross and the baby Jesus. She told him to keep it in his pocket and that it would help him to stay strong. She believed that it did. It had helped her on many an occasion as well.

When the time came, they were all rescued by the Bolt family and a group of Detectives from the Pinkertons. She felt that she needed to go with this family back to their home and was grateful when they said she could come with them. She wanted a new start and she had come to care for Joshua and wanted to be near him hoping that someday he would want to be with her. So, here she was a waitress, a cook and owning her own business in a young and vibrant new town/city called Seattle.

"Pilar!" Called Lottie from the kitchen door.
"We have an order for 5 tortillas with beans, rice and vegetables!" Lottie said as she passed by the door on her way to get drinks for her customers. Pilar set about making 5 tortillas and placing the food on a plate with the tortillas in a warmer. Biddie picked them up and took them over to the table that had ordered the meal.

"Here you go gentlemen! Enjoy your meal!" Biddie said as she placed the orders on the table. The men may have been rough and a little dirty, but they all were polite and said thank you. Over at the next table by the wall, Jason and Aaron were talking about expanding the mill and the logging operation. Although Jason and his brothers owned their logging operation it made sense for Aaron to work with them to satisfy all the customers in the area.

"Jason, I am just saying, if we can get the contract, that means both our employees will be working overtime. I don't think this will work? I can't afford to pay extra for the hours, and I am sure you can't as well!" said Aaron as he took a drink from his glass.

Jason looked at Aaron across from the table. HE took a drink as well. When he set the glass down, he said:

"Aaron, I have two brothers and together we can run three shifts, and no one gets over time, they all get paid, and there are safety precautions in place as well. I know that Harve is a good foreman what about Curly, couldn't he run a shift and you yourself?" Aaron looked at Jason as if he must be kidding. Curly was not reliable, and as for him running a shift, he had not done that since, well since he first started.

"Jason, I understand, but I don't think Curly is capable of running a shift and I haven't run the operation personally since about 10 years after I started this business!" Aaron put his glass down and looked at Jason. They both looked at each other when Pilar came over.

"Gentlemen, would you like to try my tasty new dessert tortilla's. I placed cinnamon and sugar wrapped in a tortilla. I would like to know how you like it?" Pilar said as she placed the dessert on the table for them. She was very grateful to both these men. Jason for allowing her to come to Seattle and Aaron for helping her get started.

"Thank you, Pilar, I will taste this one." Said Jason as he took one of the tortilla's and popped it into his mouth. "mmm, Aaron you should try this, it is good!" said Jason between bites. Aaron looked at Pilar and tried one as well. While he was eating it Pilar said:
"You know, when I was a young girl in my village in Mexico, whenever there was extra work that was needed, we would ask the help of our friends and neighbors. Sometimes they helped, sometimes they knew people who needed to work and had no work. I do not know who around here is like that, but it seems to me that you men would be able to find someone to help?

Aaron finished his tortilla and said:

"That is a good tortilla, Pilar." Aaron said and then it struck him about who they could help. And he said:

Jason, we have our Greek and Russian friends we can ask if they could work for us a while?"

Jason thought about it and said:

"Yes, we can also ask some of the trappers who might be in need of a little extra money? Aaron, that is a good idea!" Aaron smiled. Jason wasn't the only one who could 'think outside the box!'
"I have some family in California we can ask, my cousin Maria her brothers would be willing to help, but you would have to pay their way from San Francisco to Seattle!

Jason wasn't sure he wanted to go into that much debt and decided to aske the locals. But Aaron thought it might be a good idea to get some others out there as well. And asked Pilar how to get in touch with her cousin Maria.

"She is in Sacramento; my cousins usually work on the farms, but some have worked with lumbar before. I can send a telegraph and she will let me know if anyone can come up. We can find out how much it would cost for a train or by boat." Pilar said as she cleared the table.

Aaron said okay, but he was paying the usual wages for day work. There would be no overtime, since they would be running three crews and he would need four men, two supervisors as well as laborers.

"One more thing Pilar, Will these men be able to understand English?"

"Si, Senor Stemple, my cousin Paulo, and his brother Jose, have gone to the American schools since they were young, they understand English very well. They will be sure to have the other men understand also. I will go the store and let Senor Ben know to send the telegraph, we should know by tomorrow morning." Pilar said and left the table. Aaron and Jason left as well.