Chapter Two

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King,
Let ev'ry heart, prepare Him room
And Heaven and Nature sing
And Heaven and Nature sing
And Heaven and Heaven and Nature sing."

      As the old carol filled the rafters, Reverend Adams gazed out over his wild and wooly flock standing shoulder to shoulder in the little sanctuary. Never had there been so many people attending a service at one time. Perhaps some might credit this unexpected turnout to the constant rumbling of the earth in the past eleven days but the minister chose to believe their devotion had more to do with gratitude than fear. Despite the constant rattling, not one precious life had been lost or one building destroyed. Other places in the territory had not been so fortunate.

      As the joyful singing continued, Lottie Hatfield fixed her eyes on the couple before her and found another reason to be grateful. Katie and Joshua couldn't possibly have stood any closer together as they shared a hymnal. The woman paused a moment to listen to them. Their voices melded together in a very pleasant harmony and, as she watched, she saw the two sneak loving glances at each other from behind the pages.

      Lottie was still musing on the couple's future when the carol ended and the congregation slipped out of the pews. Aaron stood behind his friend, concerned that she hadn't made a move for the aisle.

      "Lottie, are you feeling all right?"

      She smiled up at him. "Sorry, Aaron, just day dreamin'."

      He glanced over at Joshua who was helping Katie on with her cloak. "It seems our hurricane has been calmed at last," he smiled.

      "It's about time," Lottie laughed softly. "Merry Christmas, Aaron."

      "Merry Christmas, Lottie."

      The worshippers poured out into the square and into a light snow flurry. Parents hurried their children into sleighs for a cozy ride home. The bachelors and the brides sang carols as they strolled over to the dormitory to continue their own Christmas celebrations with dinner, music, presents and parlor games for the remainder of the day. Barnabus and Biddie gave everyone a warm hug and a handshake before leaving to share a quiet holiday at home. Aaron, Clancey, Lottie, Katie and the Pruitts were headed for the Bolt cabin for their own family gathering.

      As they congregated in the square, Jeremy turned to the others. "Is everyone ready for Christmas dinner?"

      Candy's eyes sparkled, "More than ready!"

      "We're ready for presents!" Molly remarked as Chris nodded in agreement.

      Jason stooped down catching Molly up on his shoulder. She giggled wildly as the tall logger rose to lead the charge.

      "Onward!"

      Katie hung back from the others pulling Joshua with her.

      "Josh, I have to run over to the store for a minute. There's a telegrapher in Oroville who said he might have news about Lucy's daughter. He promised to send word after ten this morning."

      "On Christmas Day?"

      "I told him it was urgent. I'll only be a minute…" His frown made her add. "It really is important, Josh."

      "All right," he relented, "but I'm coming with you. I know how long your 'minutes' can be."

      He urged the others to start over to the cabin without them then took Kate's gloved hand in his. As the two walked off, Candy turned to Jeremy triumphantly.

      "Well, Mr. There's-Nothing-Between-Them-So-Don't-Get-Your-Hopes-Up Bolt! What do you have to say now?"

      He put his arm around his girl and shrugged. "When you're right, you're right."

      Ever since the night of the quake, his normally introspective brother had been acting downright adolescent. Joshua would start singing at the drop of a hat, spent more time in front of the mirror than usual, and polished anything and everything in his wardrobe whether it needed it or not. This uncharacteristic silliness was unsettling to the youngest Bolt. Jeremy tried to get Jason to talk to Joshua about it just the other day but received no help at all. Jason only suggested that he remember the time when he and Candy first fell in love. Jeremy grinned.

      "But I fell in love with Candy Pruitt. Joshua is in love with Katie...OUR Katie. Don't you think we should have the doc check him out?"

      As he watched his brother strolling away with the former wild child of Bridal Veil, he couldn't deny that the two shared something very special between them. How long it would last was anyone's guess but, for the moment, romance was in the air.

Over at the store, Kate perched herself on Ben's tall stool and tapped out a message to the telegrapher in Oroville. While she worked, Joshua stood idly by inspecting the goods Ben Perkins had set out for sale. One of the items that caught his eye was a large, pink felt hat loaded down with gray and yellow ostrich feathers, netting and false pearls. The whole thing looked as though two-year-old Ben Junior had designed it. Joshua held the hat behind him and sauntered over to Kate who was waiting for a reply.

      "Katie, how would you like your Christmas present?"

      "Now?" she looked up. "Weren't we going to wait 'til after dinner?"

      "Well, it's a little personal. I didn't think you'd want everyone around when you put it on."

      "Personal?" Kate smiled nervously. "It's something I wear? Joshua, what is it?"

      He swung his arm around and plopped the chapeau on top of her head then moved her to the mirror. The brim fell way down over her eyes so Josh tilted it back so she could see her reflection.

      "What do you think?" he asked.

      "Oh, Mr. Bolt, it's lovely." She raved in her best society voice. Then she peered at herself more closely. "I look just like one of Biddie's chickens."

      Joshua threw back his head and roared with laughter. Right after the quake, the Websters took Jason's advice and hurried home to check on the condition of their home. They were relieved to see that their cabin was completely intact; however, a strange cackle led them out toward the back of their property. The couple owned three laying hens and a rooster that they housed in a large coop at the side of the barn. When the couple came to check on them they discovered that every feather on their largest hen was sticking straight out of the poor fowl's body. When Christopher Pruitt heard about it he decided he could make a few cents off the strange occurrence. The young Barnum set up camp in front of the hutch where Biddie had the distraught hen in quarantine. The boy charged his schoolmates, one logger and a certain newspaperwoman a penny to see the humiliated bird. When Candy heard about all of this, she promptly put an end to Seattle's first freak show. Christopher had to be satisfied with selling pencil sketches of the "puffy chicken" to the curious.

      "If this is my present," Kate said, turning to Joshua, "you're not going to like mine. It's much too practical. I could try to make a matching hat for you."

      "The only present I want from you is this." Joshua wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.

      "Boy, you're easy to please." Katie grinned.

      "I have simple tastes."

      Joshua was about to kiss her again when the telegraph came to life. Katie rushed around the counter to take the message. Joshua studied her face for a clue as she quickly scribbled the message.

      "Well?"

      "It's from Oroville, and…." She continued to write.

      "And?" Joshua asked impatiently. "Good news or bad?"

      Kate waved at him to hush as she concentrated on transcribing the last few words. She looked up and grinned.

      "Good news! Very good news!"

      "Myrtle is alive and kicking," Josh guessed.

      "Yep, she and Amos were in Canada when it happened. They couldn't get home right away and that's why Lucy hasn't heard from them."

      Kate folded the telegram, slid it into an envelope and sealed it shut. "I'm going to run this up to the Dale's. I'll meet you at your cabin, all right?"

      "With or without that?" Joshua asked pointing to her head. Kate swiped the hat off with a laugh.

      "You know, it's not quite my style but I think Biddie's puffy chicken could use a friend."

      As she raced around the counter, Kate knocked a folder filled to the floor. A blizzard of telegrams blanketed the floor.  "Oh, my!"

      Joshua pushed her toward the door. "You go give Lucy the good news and I'll pick this up."

      "Thanks, Josh. I won't be long."

      "Go!" he smiled.

      The door thumped shut behind her and he began to collect the scattered paper left in the wake of the hurricane. As Joshua replaced the notes in the folder, he noticed that the majority of them were addressed to K. Macready, Editor. They were invitations from other editors in the Territory to come to their towns and see the quake damage first hand. These men were anxious to meet the new Seattle editor and discuss business. None of them gave any evidence that they knew K. Macready was female. Josh noticed the dates on each message. Katie had held on to this news for a week without mentioning anything about them.

      The logger returned the file with a troubled expression. Why hadn't Katie told him of these invitations? Was she trying to keep them secret? Joshua dug his hand deep into his coat pocket and grasped the small box that lay within. Katie's Christmas present was to be the engagement ring he'd bought for her in Port Angeles, but now warning lights flashed everywhere. He and Kate were going to have to straighten out a few things before they made any permanent decisions about their future.