Lottie hurried over to the Bolt cabin on Aaron’s arm later that morning. Jason, Josh and Judge Cody were in the midst of a serious conversation in front of the Bolt cabin. Lottie braced herself for more bad news. "What’s happened?"

     Jason smiled kindly, "Nothing, Lottie, the doctor is treating Cricket. He should be done soon."

     Lottie left Aaron and swept inside. Katie was lying face down on Jason’s bunk. Dr. Mohr was placing the last of the bandages over her burned shoulders and arms.

     "How is she, doctor?"

     "She’ll mend. Got some bad burns and a lulu of a shiner but nothing that won’t heal with time."

     "Lottie, I can still…" Kate’s voice was low and hoarse.

     The doctor cut her off. "You can hush, young lady, that’s what you can do. You’ve inhaled more than your share of smoke. I want you to give your voice a rest for a few days. Use it too soon and you might not get it back the way it was."

     Kate buried her face deep into Jason’s pillow too exhausted to argue.

     "Don’t worry, doctor. The boys and I will see that she stays quiet," Lottie promised.

     "Good." He closed up his bag. "Keep those bandages clean, Katie. Wouldn’t want an infection. You get some rest now, you too, Lottie. This whole town will be coming down with something after all this excitement."

     When the doctor left the room, Lottie crossed to an oak chest at the foot of the bunk bed and removed one of Jeremy’s shirts. "I don’t think Jeremy will mind donating this for awhile, do you?" she joked as she gingerly helped her into the clean work shirt. "The men are waiting to talk to you about what happened. Don’t you say a word. Just shake your head ‘yes’ or ‘no’, alright?"

     Katie longed to run into the night and as far away from this living nightmare as she possibly could; instead, she gave herself over to Lottie’s care. The woman helped her into Jason’s chair. It was then that Katie noticed the condition of her hair. The golden locks were scorched. The thick length of hair that had reached past her shoulder blades would have to be cut back to just below her ears to repair all the damage. Katie placed a hand on Lottie’s arm and motioned toward her hair.

     "I’ll cut it for you tomorrow, honey, don’t you worry. I hear short hair is the fashion in some fancy places in Europe."

     The men entered the cabin, greeting Katie with sympathetic looks. She turned the bruised left side of her face away from them as they pulled chairs around the table to talk.

     "Why don’t you tell us your story first, Aaron?" Jason began.

     "Well, I was reading. Someone called to Hobbs from outside so I went out to get rid of him. As soon as I turned the corner, I was hit on the head from behind. The next thing I remember is Katie yelling. That’s when I saw Jess, Lex and another man running from the office. I tried to get up but Lex saw me struggling, came over and hit me again."

     "So we have the Hobbses and an accomplice to thank for all of this." Jason said.

     Josh hadn’t taken his eyes from Katie. He might have lost her forever. His voice was filled with restrained fury. "I’ll gather the men together and we’ll search the hills for them. They can’t be far."

     "That’s not a bad idea, Joshua," Judge Cody agreed, "but I’d like to hear from Miss Macready before we head off after anyone just yet."

     The group turned toward the still figure.

     "The Doctor ordered her not to talk," Lottie said.

     Josh took her hand in his. "Cricket, we need to know what happened when those idiots came into the office. That black eye of yours, did they do it?"

     Katie nodded.

     "Who? Jess? Lex? The third man?"

     "Claude," she whispered. The men all repeated the name. They now knew who had freed the Hobbs’ from jail.

     Judge Cody continued, "Miss Macready, we want you to tell us exactly how that fire got started." He scanned the room. "Do you have paper and pen here, boys?"

     Josh went to a small desk and retrieved the items. Katie reluctantly took the pen in her trembling hand. She began to write, "I was at the worktable…."

     Suddenly, the smudged faces and frantic eyes of the brides appeared before her. Try as she might, she just couldn’t tell them what had happened. Jason was puzzled by her hesitation.

     "Katie, other than the burns and the bruises did these men …harm you…in any other way?" he asked softly.

     "Jason!" Lottie exclaimed under her breath.

     "I’m sorry, Lottie, but we have to know what all of the charges will be."

     Katie shook her head firmly. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief as Judge Cody returned to his original question. "How did the fire start, Katie?"

     The silence in the room was on the verge of being oppressive when the cabin door opened and Jeremy wearily made his way to the stove for a cup of coffee.

     "How’s it going out there, Jeremy?" Jason asked.

     "Ben and I are finding temporary homes for the brides until we can build a new dormitory. Almost everyone is taken care of but, Lottie, we’re going to need you to put up some of the girls at your place."

     Lottie nodded, "Of course. I’ll have to get paper in those frames, until Ben can order more windows."

     "Cricket, we were thinking you could move up to your parents’ cabin with Biddie later on today. Candy and the children will be staying in our parents’ cabin so the two of you won’t be lonely."

     Katie nodded absently.

     Jeremy stretched his weary arms toward the ceiling. "Oh, by the way everyone, Candy and I will be married in April."

     Joshua, Aaron, and Katie were hearing the news for the first time. The men congratulated him heartily. Katie moved toward him to give him a hug. Jeremy laughed at the way she looked in his shirt before putting his arms around her. Katie recoiled from his touch, leaning against the table, her face ashen.

     "Cricket, I’m sorry." Jeremy cried.

     "My fault, Jeremy," she whispered.

     Lottie stepped in. "Everyone out for now. Aaron, why don’t you take Judge Cody over to your place to rest?"

     Jason agreed, "Brothers, let’s get that search party together."

     An hour later, the Bolts had secured the services of every able-bodied man in Seattle. They all met in front of the church just after ten o’clock. The men determined to scour the hills until they found the fugitives.

     Before they rode off, Candy found Jeremy and handed him a pack filled with biscuits and jerky.

     "You look tired," he said pushing a strand of auburn hair away from her face.

     "So do you. Will you be gone long?"

     "If we haven’t found anything in ten days, we’ll come home and turn the search over to the marshal."

     "Oh," Candy fingered her engagement ring absently.

     Jeremy noticed and smiled. "Want to give it back?"

     Her green eyes flashed in amazement as she held the band tightly. "Not on your life, Mister Bolt. This fire doesn’t put a dent in our plans one bit."

     "It might. If we build the dormitory before the rains come, there won’t be time to work on our home before April."

     "Well then, we’ll just have to use your parents’ cabin as a honeymoon cottage for awhile."

     "It’s not the way we planned it."

     "No, but sometimes a change in plans can be just as wonderful."

     Jeremy’s heart filled with pride for his girl. There didn’t seem to be anything that could get keep her spirits down for long. How he managed to capture her heart and keep it after three years was a constant mystery to him. He kissed her softly.

     "Be careful, Jeremy," she whispered.

     "I will be. Don’t work you yourself into the ground while I’m gone."

     "I won’t."

     Candy watched Jeremy mount his horse and gallop off after his brothers.