When the three returned to Nobb Hill, Kate asked Pamela if she wouldn’t mind leaving her husband for an hour or so to take a drive with her to the news office. Pamela agreed quickly. She’d never seen the inside of the Register and was curious as to the kind of life her friend Katie had lived.

    As they traveled along, Pamela asked, "Why are we going to the Register?"

    "I have to know if I have a chance of working on a major newspaper again. I can’t decide to stay here until I know I can support myself."

    "What if Dan is there?"

    "I hope he’s not. I want to talk to the editor on my own."

     Kate was in luck. After receiving a warm welcome from her former colleagues, she learned that Dan was out on an assignment. Kate asked Pamela to wait for her in the outer office while she spoke to the editor behind closed doors.

     Pamela took a seat near the large front window. The nurse watched the bustle around her in amazement. Chaos seemed to reign in that room. Twelve reporters typed on these new inventions with their index fingers while managers ran about yelling orders and registering complaints across the hall. How could Katie work under such conditions? The smoke from the men’s cigars, the noise, the coarseness, the constant commotion were all too much for the cultured woman. Pamela shook her head. If this kind of life made Katie happy, then she would never be satisfied with life in Seattle.

     Kate emerged from the office some twenty minutes later with a smile playing across her lips.

     "What did he say?" Pamela asked.

     "He says I’m welcome back any time. It seems Dan has been pestering him for the past two days to get me on the staff."

     Pamela walked outdoors with her friend. "What did you tell him?"

    "I told him I’d let him know by the end of the week." Katie looked at her friend, "I hate to ask you for another favor, Pamela..."

     "Ask away."

     "I need some time alone to think things through. Josh will be out of the hospital in a few more days and Dan is planning to talk to me at the end of the week. Clancey is here to help Lottie with buying those supplies so I figure I can take a few days away from everyone. Is there any place in this town where I could be alone and safe while I think through some decisions?"

    Pamela smiled. "I know just the place."

    The women climbed back into the carriage, Pamela gave the driver an address and they were off. They rode through the town then to the north. When they reached a large brick building nestled in the hills by the coast they stopped.

    Kate could see nuns strolling through the gardens on the other side of the gate. "A convent?" Kate laughed.

    "And what better place to find answers? I went to school here and I know the sisters well. If you agree, I know they would put you up for a few days. Donald and I can come back later this evening with your things. What do you say?"

    Kate smiled, "It’s a great idea."

    Pamela led her friend to the front gate. An elderly nun greeted them warmly. Pamela hadn’t visited in many years and as she walked with Katie across the tile floors of the convent, several sisters welcomed her with open arms.

     Pamela spoke with the Reverend Mother and within the hour Kate was shown to a small guestroom right off the gardens. It was plain, quiet and perfect.

     "You know, Pamela, this place is so wonderful I might just choose to stay here."

    "You’d better not. I love these dear nuns and to ask them to take in a mast climbing, log rolling, fast talking reporter for the rest of their days is a little much," Pamela grinned.

    "I suppose you’re right."

    The young matron gave her friend a hug before she rode off. "I hope you find what you’re looking for, Katie."

    "I have a feeling I will, Pamela. Thank-you, I’ll see you on Saturday. Don’t forget me."

     Katie stood waving good-bye until the Wilkerson carriage was out of sight.

    Kate spent a wonderful evening with the Sisters of Charity. She wandered through the gardens, thinking, reading and writing. At dinnertime she joined the others for a simple meal of soup and bread. The Reverend Mother sat the lost lamb between Sister Rafaela and Sister Clara, two of the kindest and funniest nuns in the convent. The sisters entertained Kate with stories of convent life. Katie was fascinated by their tales and by the pure joy she saw revealed in their eyes. These women were at peace with who they were and the choices they had made in their lives. The reporter envied their certainty and determined to find out how it had all come about for them.

     When the nuns finished their meal they returned to chapel for evening hymns and prayer. Kate took this time to return to the gardens and her view of the Pacific Ocean, which was now covered over with the colors of a waning sunset.

    As Kate listened to the four-part harmony being raised in worship, she felt the presence of God more strongly than she had ever felt Him before. This awareness calmed her heart and gave her a renewed sense of humility and worth. Now was the time to pray and she did. She asked for guidance, for answers, for an understanding of her purpose in this world. When she had run dry of words, there were no ringing bells or voices from the clouds but, deep within her soul, as clearly as she heard the ocean’s song, she felt the thought, "Watch and see what I will do."

     Katie almost laughed at the freedom those words gave her. He would do what He wanted to do in her life if she would just watch to see where He was leading and then follow. Kate had always longed to know what the outcome of her decisions would be before she chose a certain path, but that knowledge had never been hers to have. Instead, Katie realized that God was giving her the promise of His constant care and the assurance of His ever-present council for each decision as it arose. When the time came to talk to Dan and Joshua, to decide to work on the Register or return to her work in Seattle, God would tell her what she should do.

    The next morning Katie threw out a fleece to see if she had really heard God’s voice the night before. She asked God to prove it was Him that she heard. It didn’t take long for the answer. As Kate joined the nuns at morning prayers, Sister Rafaela slipped an embroidered bookmark into the girl’s hands. On it was printed a verse from the old book of Proverbs, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."

    Goosebumps ran up and down the reporter’s arms and down her back. How quickly prayers were answered in this place, she thought, or maybe it was because, for the first time in a long time, she was listening.

    When it came time for her to leave the convent, the reporter had come to some very important realizations. Katie had developed a deep sense of duty to becoming the person she had been created to be. What Joshua or Dan felt for her or what she felt for them didn’t really matter; love would come in its proper time. She must concentrate on using her talents for the benefit of others. Kate decided that it was time to stop running away from people and responsibilities. There would also be no more life threatening stunts. Time was too short and life too precious to waste on trying to prove that she was as brave as she wanted to be.

    When Katie left the convent she knew where she had to go and what she had to do and with God’s help it would happen.