From the moment the foundation was laid for the news office, Katie was out overseeing every aspect of its construction. She could often be spotted sawing away on planks, pounding nails or planing off beams when the carpenters took a breather. The men laughed at her determination but designated her their number one assistant. The women folk passing by would either smile or shake their heads at her unladylike participation.

      Four evenings a week, Kate taught a class in journalism to prospective reporters. Her students consisted of four elderly widows, two mill hands, three brides, and two eager adolescents. Any other editor might take one look at this rag-tag future staff and go screaming off into the night, but Kate was convinced that her volunteers were loaded with talent. All they needed was a little training in the basics to get them to shine.

      An unusually rainy period in late July slowed down construction a bit so Katie wrote away in Aaron's shed during the day. The old shed was fine when the weather was sunny, but hours spent planning the layout of the paper under a leaky roof gave Kate a terrible cold. To add to her headaches, her students frequently veered their instructor away from the lessons she had planned to engage in lively discussions over ethics and the future content of the paper. Seattle had its share of conservatives and free thinkers and Katie was convinced that the most vocal members of these two groups were in her class.

      One soggy night when a particularly animated class was over, the reporter entered Lottie's as though a benevolent angel was dragging her. Lottie was serving Josh and Swede at the bar and listening to them argue over the benefits of short-handled versus long-handled axes when she saw Katie standing at the door.

      Lottie set down her towel and glass. "What in the world happened to you?"

      The poor girl looked awful. The rain had dampened her clothes and matted her hair against her head. Her eyes were glazed and her nose was red.

      Joshua glanced over at her just as she covered a terrific sneeze. "Look what the cat dragged in," he laughed.

      Lottie swiped at him as she moved around the bar. "You drink up and keep quiet. Can't you see she's sick?"

      "Yes, ma'am," Joshua said humbly, but couldn't repress a smile.

      Lottie took Katie's notebook from her, placing her hand against her forehead. "No fever but that doesn't mean it's not on its way."

      She led Kate to the back room and opened the door. "Come right in here, honey. You need to get warm. Sit over there."

      The girl plopped wearily into an over-stuffed chair near the lighted stove. "Oh Lottie, what a week this has been!"

      The woman shook her head, "you look like a drowned kitten! Take those wet shoes off and sit closer to the fire. I'm going to make you some tea. Now, you stay right in that chair and don't you dare move."

      "I don't think I could if I tried."

      The young woman closed her eyes once Lottie had left. She didn't even have the strength to untie her shoes. Slowly, she removed her hairpins and let the entire damp mess of hair fall past her shoulders. The girl sighed as she listened to the crackle of the burning logs. Its warmth and the sound of the muffled, friendly voices in the next room made her smile. Coming home was never so nice in Chicago. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

      "Come in, Lottie," she invited with her eyes still closed.

      "I'm not Lottie, but I have your tea."

      Kate opened her eyes and waved in the messenger. "Hey, Josh."

      The young man handed her a steaming cup, which she accepted gratefully. He untied her shoes for her and slipped them off, placing them close to the stove to dry.

      "I heard about your journalism class. It sounds like you've got," he searched for a tactful way to say it, "...a real motivated bunch of students."

      Kate chuckled, "That's one way to put it."

      "Tired?"

      "Exhausted but," she smiled proudly, "we're making progress. Our first edition will be..." Kate couldn't squelch the next sneeze, "first class!"

      Josh shook his head giving her his handkerchief.

      "If you live long enough to see it."

      "Oh I'll live, I have to."

      The young man hadn't come in just to give her the tea.

      "Cricket, how would you like a little break from all of this responsibility for a few hours?"

      The glimmer in his eye told her that Joshua had planned something special.

      "What do you have in mind?"

      "If it isn't raining and you feel up to it, meet me in front of my cabin at six tomorrow morning. Try not to let anyone see you. I've been waiting to show you something and I'd say now is the perfect time."

      Katie was intrigued. "Are Candy and Jeremy coming with us?"

      "No. Do you want them to?"

      "I guess not. Let me warn you though, if this has anything to do with tossing me in the creek, I've been building up my muscles by working on that office. If you try it you might be sorry."

      Josh laughed. "Never even thought about it. We'll only be gone for an hour at the most. If you can sneak out successfully no one will ever know we've disappeared."

      "All right, I'm game. Tomorrow morning at six."

      "Good, you won't regret it. Oh," Joshua pulled a letter from his jacket pocket as he stood to leave. "Lottie said to give you this." He tossed the letter to her from the door.

      "And Cricket,"

      "Yes?"

      "Try to do something about the way you look, will you?" he teased.

      Kate fired a shoe at him as he disappeared behind the door. She didn't know what he had planned but Joshua seldom came up with surprises so Kate was more than curious to know what it might be.

      The girl looked down at the letter in her lap. It was from Dan.

      Kate had been so busy lately she hadn't given Chicago or San Francisco much thought. The sight of Dan Sullivan's handwriting on the envelope brought back those memories. She opened the envelope and read the brief letter inside.

      Kate sighed. It was a relief to know that it was politics and not her lack of ability that had forced her from the Tribune. She was thankful to Dan for the answers he gave her and she wished she could tell him so.

      Dan's image appeared before her as she stared into the fire. How she missed his charming ways and that Irish smile of his. Katie would have joined him in a second if she hadn't just been given her heart's desire on a silver platter. San Francisco wouldn't put her name on a byline, but Seattle proudly claimed her as their editor. If recognition was what she wanted then home was where she belonged.

      When she had dried out a little, Kate headed up to her room and wrote back to her friend. She thanked him for discovering why she'd been fired and filled him in on what had happened to her in the two months she'd been gone. Katie considered telling him that she would never return to work in San Francisco but for some reason, she couldn't make that promise. She closed her letter cordially and that was that. Although she cared for him deeply, Dan was the big city and Katie was the mountain. Unless one of them changed, a romance seemed impossible.