Joshua had been right, Katie had no reason to worry. Barnabus questioned her carefully over every detail concerning the fire but never once made her feel uncomfortable or defensive during the process. After the judge dismissed her, Kate took her seat among those that had crowded into Lottie's. She removed her notepad and began recording everything that happened for a front-page story.

     When the jury filed out to Lottie's back room for deliberation later that afternoon, the spectators rose to stretch their legs. Jason and Aaron spoke with the judge. Barnabus received praise from Biddie and the brides while Kate went out to hunt up some of her former reporters and journalism students to see if they'd be willing to start work on the paper in the near future.

     It took the jury twenty minutes to come to their decision. The crowd was called back in and when everyone was settled the foreman gave the verdict. Claude Web, Lex and Jess Hobbs each received five years in prison for arson, the Hobbs were also given ten years for the attempted murder of Swede and Corky, and Claude received an extra year for assaulting Aaron Stempel. Because of the details Kate provided in her testimony, Judge Cody reduced Jess Hobbs' sentence by two years because he had smothered the flames on Kate's clothing thereby preventing further injury to her.

     The prisoners were removed to the new jailhouse and court was adjourned.

     Jason moved over to Barnabus to shake his hand. "I hope you aren't too discouraged that your clients were convicted, Lawyer Webster."

     "Not at all Mr. Bolt." Barnabus smiled, placing his papers into his satchel. "I'm certain justice was done. That's what really matters."

     "Do you have any prospects for another case in the near future?"

     Barnabus watched Biddie speaking excitedly with Candy nearby. "Only one, I'll be applying for a license and forming a partnership with Miss Cloom."

     Jason laughed heartily, "Here's hoping your association will be a long and joyous one "

     "Thank-you, Mr. Bolt." Barnabus strolled over to Biddie, put his arm around her and walked her outside.

     Candy sighed after them. Jason turned to her and saw a tear glistening at the corner of her eye.

     "What's the matter, Candy?'

     The girl wiped the telltale drop away with a smile. "Oh, nothing. They're just so happy and I'm so happy for them."

     "It won't be long before you and Jeremy are married too."

     She beamed up at her soon-to-be brother-in-law. "Not long at all."

     Jeremy came up to her just then, "not long for what?"

     "Marriages seem to be the fashion," she answered. "Biddie and Barnabus', ours and...."

     "And?" the Bolts asked surprised.

     "Well..." Candy nodded toward the bar where Joshua and Katie stood side-by-side talking over the trial with Lottie. "I think you might be losing more than one brother next year, Jason."

      Jeremy groaned, "Candy Pruitt, you're at it again."

     "At what again?" she frowned.

     "Matchmaking."

     "I'm not doing anything of the sort. Just look at them."

     The men did.

     "Looks like Josh and Kate to me." Jeremy peered at them comically. "What do you say, Jason?"

     "That is definitely Josh and Kate. I'd say they're only enjoying one of their truces. It shouldn't last long though, they've almost hit the three day limit."

     Jeremy laughed. "Did Clancey tell you about the mast incident? Boy, that must have been something to see. He said he'd seldom seen Josh so angry."

     Candy sighed in exasperation. "All right you two, go ahead and laugh, but when Kate becomes our sister-in-law, don't forget I told you so."

     "We won't forget." Jeremy gave his girl a squeeze.

     Days later, the Seattle hotel/dormitory was ready to be possessed by the brides. The members of the town council stood before the ribbon that was strung across the porch posts. Jason handed the scissors to Candy. With one snip the young woman officially opened the building to its excited residents. Josh flung open the front door and twenty-five brides streamed into the front parlor then up the stairs to claim their rooms. Kate was swept up into the excitement as she watched each girl hang her 'frisco gown in her very own wardrobe and place her few belongings in the dressers the town carpenters had constructed.

     Christopher Pruitt was overjoyed to learn that he would have his own room at the end of the hall next to the one his sisters would occupy. The Bolt brothers had taken pains to furnish his room with all the masculine touches a ten-year-old boy would appreciate.

     The brides settled into their rooms quickly, then filed into the new kitchen. They wanted to thank the men who had provided them with such a stylish and comfortable new home with a special dinner. The Bolts and their men enjoyed a wonderful meal with the grateful ladies.

      The talk around the table that night was centered on Biddie and Barnabus' wedding, which was now only two weeks away. All the brides had joined together to help get the old Brown place ready for the couple to enjoy. Candy swore she and the girls had worn a permanent rut in the road from the square to the large cabin on the outskirts of town. It would be close, but everything Biddie would need to begin housekeeping would be in place when the time came.

      All November, Katie worked double duty. During the day she helped Candy clean and polish, gather and sew for Biddie, then at night she headed for Aaron's shed to begin getting the articles she'd written about the trial ready to print. For some reason, Zac and Megan were too busy with their own projects to be of any help to her just then. Candy was busy helping Biddie and her former journalism students had become engaged in various other activities ever since the fire.

     Katie resigned herself to the idea that she would have to start from scratch. Well, she figured, this way if the paper was a flop, she had no one to blame but herself and if it were a success, she could take all the credit.

     It was a lonely November for the reporter. A spurt of good weather inspiredJason to herd his men back up the mountain to fill a few more contracts before the heavy snows set in. Katie missed Joshua terribly and often found herself doodling the words, Mrs. Joshua Bolt, or Mrs. K. Bolt, in her notepad when alone with her articles in Aaron's shed. Whenever anyone approached, she would crumple up the evidence of her love and toss it into the little stove Aaron had provided for her.

     She just had to get this paper out again. Married life was looking more and more appealing to the career-oriented young lady the longer her secret affection had time to simmer.

     "Christopher Andrew Pruitt, you come back and finish your breakfast," Candy ordered as her brother tried to make his escape through the front door. "We have got to get you dressed."

     Chris sighed, "All right, but Barnabus is coming this way."

     That news sent the ladies in the kitchen scattering. Candy and Lottie bundled Biddie up the stairs with Molly close behind.

     "Doesn't he know he can't see the bride until the ceremony?" Candy lamented. "Katie, would you get rid of him for us?"

     Kate sat at the table with her cup of tea and watched this frantic shuffling with amusement. She went to the door and opened it for the lone figure on the foggy porch. She allowed him to step into the warmth of the parlor.

     "Barnabus, you shouldn't be within ten yards of this place until the ceremony," Kate warned.

     "Why not?"

     "You just sent your bride and everyone else out of here like rockets. They mentioned something about bad luck?"

     "I forgot all about that." He called up the stairs, "sorry, Biddie."

      She called back, "That's all right, Barnabus."

      "I'll see you soon."

      "Yes, in one hour. How are you?"

      "I'm doing fine. The Bolts have been helping me out at our place. How are you?"

      "I'm fine but nervous."

      "I love you, Biddie."

      "I love you, too, Barnabus."

      The children giggled and Candy sighed, saying to Lottie. "Isn't that sweet?"

     "Out you go groom," Kate pushed Barnabus back toward the porch. "Now, did you want anything else before you head back to the Bolt cabin?'

     "Yes, I did. The Reverend says we'll need every chair Lottie owns to place around the walls of the church if everyone is going to have a place to sit."

     Lottie came down the stairs. "Why don't you and the Bolts head over to my place and collect whatever you need. You can each have a drink on the house, but just one. I'm going to stay here with the girls for awhile."

     "Thank-you, Lottie." Barnabus placed his hat back on his head. "It's a good thing we're promising to be married 'til death do us part. I could never go through this again."

      Lottie laughed and patted him on the back. "Go over and relax. We have plenty of time."

     When Barnabus disappeared, Kate closed the door and headed up to Biddie's room to watch the preparations. Biddie sat on her bed as Candy tightened each segment of brown hair around a clean white rag.

      "These curls are doing well," Candy assured her friend. "You are going to look wonderful, Biddie, wonderful!"

      As the hour passed by, it seemed to Kate that every woman in Seattle had found a reason to stop by to give Biddie their best wishes, a small gift and some friendly advice. The reporter's heart was warmed by the honest love these people had for each other. She wondered if she, being a relative outsider, would receive the same care on her wedding day.

      Soon it was time for Biddie to make her way to the church. Candy and Molly as bridesmaid and flower girl, led the procession down the stairs dressed in simple gowns of burgundy. Lottie walked behind Biddie who wore her beautiful ivory gown and a veil that covered her face and fell just past the middle of her back.

      A room full of happy brides and former brides waited for Biddie below. The ladies all fell silent as they saw her descend the stairs. Not one of them ever imagined how beautiful Elizabeth Charity Cloom would look on her wedding day. Love and the fulfillment of her most precious dream had made a princess out of the little New Bedford maiden.

     "Oh, Biddie," the ladies whispered.

     "Girls, I always thought that I'd be the last unmarried bride in Seattle. I'm so happy, I think I'll die."

     Suddenly, the room was saturated with loving comments and tender embraces.

     "You look beautiful Biddie!"

     "Barnabus is such a wonderful man!"

     "Best wishes, Biddie!"

     "You will be living so close to Horace and I, we'll be able to visit every day!"

     "Toss your bouquet to me, Biddie!" "Oh, this is terrible, I'm crying already!"

     Lottie stood above observing this exchange of sisterly support with a sigh. It seemed like only yesterday that these women were frightened girls with nothing to sustain them but faith in an uncertain future. How they had changed in three years! How they'd changed Seattle!

     There was a brisk knock on the door and Christopher opened it. Captain Roland Francis Clancey stepped over the threshold dressed in his finest pea coat and captain's cap.

      "Fair ladies, I'm told there is a bride here whom I have the honor of giving away."

      Biddie stepped forward, "That would be me, Captain."

      Clancey was taken aback, "Oh, Biddie darlin'. What a beautiful bride ye are. May I give ye a kiss before I hand ye over to that young man who's pacing a hole in the Reverend's study?"

      The bride lifted her veil gladly and received her kiss with a smile.

      For days Biddie had struggled with the decision of who would give her away. Jason had done the favor for so many of the girls that she worried he might be hurt if she didn't ask him; however, she and Clancey had shared so many adventures it only seemed natural that she walk down the aisle on his arm.

     When Candy realized what a problem this was for her friend, she went to Jason to explain the situation. The elder Bolt told Candy that he wasn't offended at all. In fact, he looked forward to being able to watch a bride—especially this bride—come down the aisle.

     The autumn sunshine burned through the fog to caress Biddie Cloom as she followed her friends into the little white sanctuary where her life was to be forever changed.

     When all the guests were seated, Christopher and Molly stepped down the aisle in time to the organ music played by Mrs. Essie Gustafson. Candy entered next, holding her white blossoms in trembling hands. She caught sight of Jeremy and gave him a small smile. He whispered his love to her as she took her place in front.

     Everyone stood as Biddie and Clancey entered. Barnabus took a deep breath as his bride stepped slowly toward him. He wondered how one small lady could make him feel like a quivering mass of flesh when the best prosecutors on the West Coast had failed to make him flinch. The groom turned to his best man for support. Joshua nodded to him with a steady look that inspired Barnabus to stand tall and strong as he took Biddie's hand in his own.

     The simple ceremony was traditional and touching. Biddie's voice was clear and true without the slightest tremble as she promised herself to Barnabus. It was Barnabus who stammered slightly, overcome, as he said later, by the level of love and trust she was offering him for the rest of her days.     

     When the "I do's" were said and the couple pronounced "husband and wife", a great cheer rocked the very foundations of the chapel. Everyone streamed out of the church and down the stairs in the hopes of being one of the first to congratulate the couple.

     A large crowd of visitors from nearby towns and settlements filled the square to celebrate this wedding. Telly, his wife, family and their friends were waiting for their favorite bride with Greek food and plenty of music. Many of the soldiers and officers from the fort were also in attendance much to the delight of the single ladies in town. Corky and Sam made certain they were placed on Biddie's dance card. The two men both felt a slight twinge of regret as they watched beautiful Biddie dancing the first dance with her husband but as they compared their thoughts at the refreshment table, they agreed that Biddie had chosen the right man after all.

      Four hours later, Biddie was certain she had danced with every man in the territory. When she ended up in Jason's arms at sunset, she relaxed a little.

      "How are you holding up, Mrs. Webster?" he asked her warmly.

      "Oh, Jason, I've been floating on a cloud all day. I am a little tired though. Oh dear..."

      "What is it, Biddie?"

      "I think my face has frozen into a permanent smile."

     Jason laughed. "It's a beautiful smile for a beautiful bride. Josh and I have your buckboard all hitched up and ready for you. All you have to do is find your groom and head for home."

      Biddie searched the crowd for her husband. "I don't see him, do you?"

      Jason had the advantage of being able to look over the heads of most of the wedding guests. "Yes. He's over by the dormitory talking to Aaron."

      "Thank-you Jason." She rose up on her toes to kiss the lumberman on the cheek. "Thank-you for everything."

      "Why, Biddie, you're a married woman!"

      The newlywed giggled. "I'm just shameless today! Don't tell my husband!"

     At the end of the dance, Jason led Biddie over to Barnabus where the couple were toasted and re-toasted until the sun dipped below the sea. Biddie hurried up to her room in the dormitory to get her bags and then came down the stairs for the very last time. The crowd tossed handfuls of rice at the couple as they stepped onto the porch. Biddie flung her bouquet right into Candy's outstretched hands. Barnabus lifted his wife into the buckboard then hopped in beside her, taking up the reins.

     "Take care of her, Barnabus!" Lottie called out giving each of them a good luck hug.

     "I will," he promised. "We'll see you in two weeks."

     The entire town of Seattle waved to the couple until they were out of sight. Some of the younger loggers even chased the buggy half way to the Webster's home before turning back.

     "Well, they're married." Jason said to Candy and his brothers.

     "Yes, they are," Candy commented before shedding a few tears. Jeremy placed his arms around her.

     "Don't cry, Candy, don't cry. She'll be back soon."

     "But it will never be the same." Candy sobbed. "I know I'm being silly, but I can't help it. I miss her all ready."

      Jeremy walked his girl back to the dormitory comforting her softly the whole way.

      Jason and Joshua smiled at each other as they watched the couple. They both thought ahead to the day when all of this would be for Jeremy and Candy and they would be the ones repeating Candy's words: "It will never be the same."

      "Well, brother, I'm beat. Are you heading back to the cabin?" Jason asked.

      "Not just yet," Joshua hadn't seen Kate since Biddie tossed her bouquet but he had a pretty good idea where she was. "I think I'll help Ken put some of these tables back into Lottie's before the rain rolls in tonight."

      "Do you need help?

      "Naw, we can get it done quickly enough."

      "All right. See you later."

      Joshua did carry in Lottie's tables and assisted the Reverend in replacing all of the saloon chairs where they belonged. Once everyone had returned to his or her homes, Joshua hurried over to Aaron's shed. The lamplight shining through the window confirmed his suspicions.

     Kate was so engrossed in revising her account of Biddie's wedding that she didn't even hear Josh come in. The young man stood at the door a second to study her. The fire was about to go out in the tiny stove and it was cold enough for their breath to be seen in the dim light of the shed. Katie had wrapped herself in an old coat which covered her 'frisco gown. She'd pulled a shabby gray sailor's cap over her head hiding all but a few blonde curls.

      Kate had been busy. Stacks of paper were waiting to be fed into the press and a pan filled with neatly arranged type was already in place. The girl's fingers were covered in ink but she must have forgotten because she thoughtfully rubbed the end of her nose while re-reading her final draft.

      "How's it coming, editor?" he grinned.

      Kate jumped a mile. "Oh Josh. You scared the life out of me! Is everything over all ready?"

      "It is." He came closer and sat on the wooden table. "It's so cold in here. Why aren't you working in that nice warm dormitory room we built for you?"

      "This article is almost ready then I'm going to set the type. With this new press I can run three hundred copies tonight and have the paper ready to sell tomorrow morning. When my former staff and students see that I mean business, maybe they'll want to return to work for me, don't you think?"

     Josh couldn't help but smile. The smudge on her nose made Katie look more like a child playing in an inkwell than a serious businesswoman. He took out his handkerchief, licked a corner, turned her face toward him and smoothed away the mark.

      "I'm sure they will," he said fondly. "Listen, this is no place for you to be so late at night. Remember what happened last time?"

     "It's just for tonight, Josh. We finally have enough articles for a decent paper. I really do want to sell them tomorrow. It's only two pages but if I wait any longer..."

     Joshua sighed, "All right, you've convinced me. I won't carry you out of here if you'll let me help you."

     Kate laughed, "It's a deal. Here take that pan and the letters..."

     The two worked together for another four hours. Joshua not only set the print he also sketched out a fancy design for the front page to be used in future issues. The press whirred away without sticking once and by eleven o'clock the couple had created a paper they considered the rival of any big city edition.

     "Thank-you, Josh. I've never had so much fun putting a paper together. You wouldn't want to trade in your ax for a notepad would you?"

     "You're welcome and no thanks. Logging is my line of work."

     "Well, I tried." Kate laughed and stepped over to put out the fire in the stove.

      Joshua moved over to her, " Now, Miss Macready, you don't honestly think I'm going to consider a 'thank-you' fair payment for my time, do you?"

     Kate smiled up at him and asked in her best southern accent. "Why, Mr. Bolt, what ever can you mean?"

      Joshua took the poker from her hands and pulled her to himself.

      "Let me explain the terms of my contract."

      He placed his lips against hers and kissed her warmly. The kiss was growing in intensity when Katie pushed away with a gasp.

      "Josh, I think we'd better get ourselves home before someone comes looking for us."

      "You're right," he forced himself to say. He buttoned up her coat for her as he waited for his heart to beat more slowly, "Hey, how many editions did you say you wanted to print before we are riding off into the sunset like Biddie and Barnabus?"

     "Um...I want to...well, if I could get my staff back and well...a few months?"

     He kissed her on the end of the nose. "I can wait if you can. Come on I'll walk you home."