When Kate awoke early the next morning, her first thought was of the conversation she'd had with Aaron. The shame she felt for even imagining the mill owner could have any real affection for her overwhelmed her. Suddenly Seattle seemed a lot smaller than she had ever known it to be. Where could she go and not see Aaron? What could she do to keep herself from wondering just how many of the four hundred residents knew of her embarrassing mistake? In Chicago, all she had to do to be alone was take a walk down a crowded city street. Anonymity gave her all the privacy she could ever want. But here in this tiny town it would be impossible to disappear. Kate realized Aaron was too much of a gentleman to tell anyone about the talk they'd had, but that thought couldn't keep her from wishing that she could just find a place to hibernate for the rest of the summer.

        Katie crawled out from under the covers and moved toward the wardrobe. She needed to return Sally's dress after church. Church. Kate just couldn't convince herself to attend services that morning. The sight of Aaron Stempel in his Sunday best would be too difficult to handle just yet.

       Kate decided to don her brown work dress and take a walk to the jail cell to talk to Hobbs and his buddies, if they were still there. As she slipped the dress over her head she felt something fall out of the pocket. A letter addressed to her from Chicago lay on the rug at her feet. It was the same letter Ben had given her the day before.

       Katie opened the envelope and sat on the bed to read what she assumed to be the deadline for her article on the Brides. It was not.

       Kate's eyes read and reread the words before her. There must be something she'd missed. This had to be a joke: Financial problems? The Tribune had never been so successful. What had happened? What could she have done to make them want to fire her? This letter had taken weeks to get to her. Kurtz must have decided to let her go the day she asked him for permission to go to Seattle. That was the reason he never gave her a deadline.

       As Kate listened to the church bells calling Seattle to worship, sorrow filled her heart. Usually she found great solace in her faith but as she stood at her window, Kate knew she needed more than comfort; she wanted an explanation. Kurtz would never give her a straight answer, but maybe there was something Dan could do.

       Ben Perkins seldom locked the door to his store on a Sunday morning. Katie entered the store, moved to the telegraph and deftly tapped out a message to the news office in San Francisco. She briefly told Dan what had happened and asked if he could provide her with details. Katie felt a little better after sharing the burden of her news with Dan. When the message had been acknowledged, she left a thank-you note for Ben along with money to cover the cost of her message.

       The reporter returned to Lottie's feeling as though she had been cut adrift. Her past in Chicago was lost to her. All the dreams she had cultivated of being an important part of the Tribune staff were nothing but dust. Even life in Seattle was tinged with disappointment because of her misplaced affections for Aaron Stempel. How she wished her Papa was still alive. He was the only person who seemed to understand her better than she understood herself. No one had ever come along to take his place and Kate felt incredibly lonely.

       Later that morning people streamed out of the church, down the steps and out into the square. The Bolt family along with Candy, Christopher, Molly, Lottie, Biddie and Clancey huddled together for a few minutes before scattering in all directions. At the appointed time, Candy ran up the stairs to Katie's room and knocked on the door. Kate answered it promptly.

       "Are you feeling all right, Katie?" Candy asked.

       "Yes, I'm just a little tired," the girl lied. "Yesterday was pretty eventful."

       "Are you rested?" the red head's eyes sparkled.

       Kate could tell something was up. "Well, I suppose so."

       "Good!" Candy brushed by Kate, grabbed her bonnet and a shawl. On her way out she took the surprised girl by the hand. "You're being kidnapped, so come quietly now and ask no questions."

       The entire group was waiting for her in front of Lottie's perched on a large wagon filled with hay. Katie smiled for the first time that day. Hay rides and a picnic had been a Sunday tradition for the Macready and Bolt families years ago. They would sing, play games, fish, swim, hike, talk and eat from early afternoon long into the lingering summer twilight.

       Jason held the reins and Lottie sat beside him. Clancey and the young people had positioned themselves in the midst of the hay in the back of the wagon. Jeremy and Joshua held their guitars by their sides. Molly and Christopher Pruitt were busily burying themselves and Biddie under a mound of hay.

       "Shake a leg you two, the brides will be at the lake before we get out of town." Jason called.

        Candy scrambled into the back with Jeremy's help. Clancey and Josh both extended a hand to Katie. She never hesitated. The pain of the morning was shelved as she plopped into the soft hay between them.

       "Is everybody in?" Lottie yelled back.

       "We're all in!" Jeremy answered.

       "Then let's go."

       It was a magical afternoon! Candy, Biddie and Lottie had packed enough food for half of Seattle. Everyone ate until they couldn't take another bite. The little girls took off to the woods for a game of hide and seek. Clancey and Lottie strolled along the lakeside enjoying the summer afternoon and each other's company. Biddie and Candy visited with Annie and Mary Ellen who sat on the next hill. Jason went on a long walk with one of the brides. Jeremy and Josh gathered all the boys and men together to form two baseball teams. Kate was just about to wangle her way into the game when Helen and Maude sat themselves on either side of her and began an informal interrogation ...uh...conversation.

       "Miss Macready, we've been hoping to chat with you about your participation in the Betterment League." Helen began.

       "Yes, we would have liked to explain the League to you when you first arrived, but that proved to be difficult. It seems you were leaving town quite often, sometimes before dawn..."Maude continued. Her words were laced with a subtext that Kate understood immediately.

       "How thoughtful of you to notice."

       Katie reached into the picnic basket and pulled out three apples. She took a big bite out of the largest one and set the other two before her.

        "Yes, I've had plenty of business to take care of for this newspaper. It was difficult traveling around the territory like that, but it was all worth it."

       "Oh, really? How so?" Helen asked.

       "Well, you ladies know, I'm sure, that there is no better way to improve the condition of the community than to have a quality newspaper filled with valuable information and practical wisdom to enlighten its members. Don't you agree?"

       Maude nodded sagely. "Quite true; however, the information and the wisdom must come from those of the highest moral character. Don't you agree?"

       Katie took another bite. She picked up the other apples and offered them to the women, who accepted them cautiously.

        "Ladies, I am certain that the Betterment League will be on the job when our papers are distributed. If ever you doubt the accuracy of our facts or the validity of our wisdom, please, feel free to discuss it with me. As for my moral character," Kate took one last bite of her apple. "I will leave that up to your own expert interpretation."

       The women nibbled daintily on their fruit. "We appreciate your openness, Miss Macready. We will be watching your progress in Seattle with great interest we assure you. Good day, Miss Macready. Come, Maude."

       Katie grinned from ear to ear as the women left. Candy had seen the Betterment League speaking with her and thought she might need help recovering from the experience.

       "Are you all right?" Candy asked sotto voce as she sat beside her on the blanket.

        "Of course. They're just doing their civic duty as they see it. I may be mistaken but they are Seattle's feminine version of vigilantes, aren't they?"

       "I'd say so." Candy smiled. "Holler if they bother you too much. Jason has a way with them."

       The reporter chuckled, "Now that would be interesting to see! I hope I don't disappoint them too much while I'm here."

       "By the way," Candy asked, "how long will you be here?"

       Kate had been deciding on the answer to this question all day. Dan had suggested she stay in Seattle a year. He would join her then, and the two of them would return to San Francisco to work for the Register. It sounded like a good plan to her. A year would give her time to get the paper going, and find out whether Seattle was still home for her or not.

       "I'll be here at least a year, God willing."

        "What about Chicago?"

       Katie tossed her apple core away.

        "Chicago is part of my past now, Candy. What we're doing with this paper is important." She smiled. "Besides, I want to be the one to report on your wedding. You will be getting married within the year won't you?"

       Candy was about to answer when Swede drove a high fly ball right in their direction. Jeremy was playing center field. He came barreling down on the two girls, backward with his eyes on the skies.

       "I got it! I got it!"

        Candy and Kate scooted to the side just as Jeremy landed between them holding the ball in his leather glove.

       "Hooray!" Candy yelled along with everyone on Jeremy's team.

        The young athlete threw himself back against the ground pulling his girl down beside him. He gave her a big victory kiss.

       "Jeremy!" Candy blushed and Katie laughed.

       A crowd of Jeremy's teammates descended upon their hero and carted him off to parade him around the picnic grounds.

       Molly, and her friends, Elizabeth and Marsha ran up to Katie and whispered in her ear.

       "Where?" Kate asked.

       "Over there behind the rock. That tall one."

        The three friends pointed frantically to the east.

       "All right girls, don't panic!"

       Kate took off with them as quickly as she could without making a scene. Soon all four of them stood at the base of a tall pine tilting their heads back searching its branches.

       "She's right up there, Katie." Marsha pointed straight up and to the left. "See her?"

       "Goldie's never climbed that far. I don't think she can get down."

        Elizabeth wrung her hands together.

       Kate sized up the situation and shook her head. "Incredible."

       She turned to the distraught trio. "Why didn't you ask Jason to help you?"

       Molly grinned, "We were going to but he's over by the lake, kissing Miss Lenore."

       "Oh," Kate stifled a laugh. "All right, I'll try, but you all have to swear that you won't tell anybody about this. Promise?"

       Now that she would be a resident of Seattle for awhile, Kate was determined to live down her reputation as "Hurricane Kate". Of course, it would be difficult if cats like Goldie insisted on challenging her tree climbing ability.

       The girls promised on their honor to keep her secret. They had to, Goldie's life was at stake.

       Kate took one last look around to be sure no one was watching then started her ascent.

       "Higher, higher!" The girls chanted softly on the ground.

       Kate halted her climb to wave at them to stop.

       Katie lost sight of the animal. "Where is she?"

       Molly spotted the yellow and white bundle. "Up a few more branches and to your right."

       "Dang blasted kitten," Kate mumbled as she searched for sturdy branches to place her feet. "You'd better not make this a habit."

       Kate scooted over a few limbs and caught sight of the fur ball calmly licking her paw.

       "Here, Goldie, you little pest." Kate insulted the animal with a gentle smile. The cat took one look at her before returning to its bath. Kate made a grab for her but missed. The kitten just moved up a branch. The reporter followed. This time she used bribery. Christopher had handed her his cookie before he ran off to join Jeremy's baseball team. Kate had placed it in her pocket for safekeeping. She broke off a piece of it and waved it before the runaway.

       "Hungry?" The kitten showed interest and moved toward Kate cautiously. When she was within reach, Kate nabbed her. A joyful cheer went up from the young ladies below.

       "She got her! I told you she would!" Molly boasted.

       "Careful, Miss Macready." Elizabeth warned. "Don't drop, Goldie!"

       "Thank-you, Elizabeth," Kate murmured. "I'll be careful."

       Now that she had the miscreant in hand, Kate scrambled down as quickly as she could. The editor took comfort in the idea that this would be a completely covert rescue. No one would ever know she was still the reigning female tree-climbing champion in Seattle.

       Kate was within inches of clearing the lowest branches and jumping to the ground when she heard a familiar voice remark loudly.

       "Hey, I heard that hurricane ripped through here. Are you kids all right?"

       Kate closed her eyes in resignation as familiar laughter filled the air. Caught again!

       Josh stood below with the girls, Candy, Biddie, Jeremy, Helen and Maude. Everyone but Helen and Maude were amazed and amused at Katie's daring rescue. The Betterment League was flabbergasted.

       Kate descended the rest of the way groaning within. She handed Marsha the kitten barely resisting the impulse to shake it silly.

       Josh and Jeremy applauded their friend's performance but Helen and Maude turned up their noses and departed without a word.

       Katie whispered to Candy as she watched the Betterment League disappear behind the large rock. "I thought all of my toughest challenges were over when I left the big city. It seems like they've just begun."

       Little did she know how prophetic her words would become in the very near future.

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