When Kate and the Cutlers arrived at the Wilkerson’s, Dan was making his way up the front steps. He heard the carriage approach and waited for them. "There’s my girl!" He swung open the door and helped Kate down.

    "Good morning, Dan." Kate smiled up at him. That grin of his was irresistible.

    "Are you ready for our lunch?" he asked.

    "Not quite yet. I’d like to pay my respects to the Wilkersons first. I’ve been gone for a few days and I don’t want to seem like an ungrateful guest."

    They found Judith bustling about the house preparing another room for Joshua. She stopped long enough to welcome the young people and then was off again dragging Pamela along with her. Donald went to the parlor to visit with his father-in-law. This left Kate and Dan alone in the front room.

     "So the famous Joshua Bolt is arriving," he teased. "I’d like to stick around and meet him. Is he anything like his brother, Jason?"

     "In some ways," Kate smiled.

     "Katie, would you mind if we walked to lunch?"

     "Sure, I’d like that. We need to discuss a few things don’t we?"

     Her directness surprised him. "Yes, I think so." He opened the front door and the two strolled toward the park. "So what’s on your mind, Katie?" Dan asked.

     "I’ve made a decision about my future."

     "And what might that be?"

    They walked side by side, neither one looking at the other. Kate couldn’t find the words to tell him what she knew in her heart was the right decision for her. Dan sensed her reluctance.

     "I want you to stay here, you know."

     She nodded, saying softly, "Yes, I know."

     "I want you to do more than stay and work for the Register." He stopped and faced her taking a deep breath. "I want you to marry me, Kate."

     "Oh, Dan, I wish you hadn’t said that."

     "Why?"

     "Because I’m returning to Seattle and the paper."

     The young man paused for only a moment then asked. "And why would you rather do that than marry me, Katie?"

     "I’ve thought a lot about this while I was in Seattle and the entire time I’ve been here in San Francisco, Dan."

     "And?"

     "We are so much alike it’s scary. We think alike, we’re impulsive, we thrive on action and we both like to be in charge of our circumstances."

     "So? From what I’ve seen of married people, being alike is an advantage, Katie." She didn’t know how to answer him and Dan pressed on with his dreams for them. "Just think of all we could accomplish together."

     "Like what?"

     Dan’s eyes reflected his excitement. "Headliner stories! The kind of writing we did before you went north. I haven’t been able to think of much else since the day you left. When Pamela told me you were here, I’d hoped that you’d come back for good."

    "I thought I had until I took the time to think everything through. Dan, all I’ve been doing is running away from trouble like a frightened rabbit." She looked into his eyes and searched for words to make him understand what she herself was beginning to see. "I can’t marry anybody until I’m able to face reality, and fight my own battles."

     "I’ve never known a better fighter than Kate Macready."

     "In some things, yes, but I need to go home and face up to something that I did there, Dan. It’s not going to be easy but I have to."

     They both stood silently awhile. Kate smiled at a thought.

     "What is it?" Dan asked.

     "Could you imagine the two of us with children?"

     "Children?" Dan repeated blankly.

     Kate laughed. "That’s what you call those little critters that come along after you’ve been married for awhile. Can you imagine what it would be like for us to have children? You would be running off to cover stories and I would be changing diapers and resenting you for leaving me at home when I’d want to be on assignment with you. "

    "Strap the kid over your back like the Indians and we’ll be off."

    Kate shook her head, "Can’t do that. Children need a home, and a routine. Having two parents who chase down back alleys after gangsters, doesn’t give a child a sense of security."

     His eyebrows lifted at the un-Kate like words coming from his former partner.

     "How do you know what children need?"

     "Because I had that kind of security on Bridal Veil Mountain and I loved every second of it. I want it back, Dan, and if ever I marry and have children, it’s what I want for them too."

     "So, you’re going to settle down in Seattle and marry a mill worker or a logger." He took her palm in his and pretended to tell her fortune. "Ah, yes, what’s this I see? In less than a year you will be banished from your beloved newspaper and bored to tears by the stories your lord and master brings home of the number, size and shape of the trees he’s chopped that day."

    He covered her hand with his. "Now that’s a pretty picture don’t you think?"

    Kate withdrew her hand, "Who says I have to marry at all? I know I’m different and if there’s no man in Seattle willing to marry someone like me, then so be it. I’m not returning to Seattle to get married, Dan, I’m going home to finish what I started. The town hired me to be their editor and I ran off. I need to get back and start all over again if they’ll have me."

    Dan smiled, "Not going back to marry, huh? Crawling into bed with the dailies every night is not much comfort, my love. I know, believe me."

     Kate deflected the direction of the conversation. "Dan Sullivan, you won’t be alone for long, not once you give up your dreams of us. Do you realize how many women envied my relationship with you? They will all swoon with anticipation when they realize that I am no longer in the picture."

     Dan shook his head, "Those women…"

     "Hey, I know them and they are very nice! If you take your time and look carefully, you’ll find one who will make you the perfect wife and partner."

     "I’ve already found her, and she’s said no, so I suppose I’ll have to settle for second best someday."

     Kate sighed, "When that day comes, my friend, and you look into her eyes, you won’t even remember my name."

    He disagreed. "I could never forget your name no matter who I meet in the future."

    Kate whispered softly, "Let me go back to Seattle without regrets, Dan. Please."

    "I’m trying, Kate. It’ll take time before all the plans I had for us fade away."

     He shoved his hands in his pockets and the two continued walking. Kate didn’t know what to say so she just walked beside him silently. Finally, Dan stopped. "You do belong in Seattle, but I could never be content in a place where the headline news is an announcement of the birth of a litter of puppies."

     Kate grinned, feeling the tension of the moment passing away. "But you should have seen those puppies!"

     Dan once again took her hand in his as the tree they stood beneath released its faded leaves around them.

     "If you find you ever need me, just send a wire and I’ll be in Seattle in a flash."

    Kate nodded, "I’ll do that."

     Dan stared at her as if to imprint her face in his memory. "May I have a good-bye kiss, Miss Macready?"

     Kate blushed, "Right here in the park?"

     "Right here in front of everyone," he gestured. Kate nodded and received his tender embrace.

     As they kissed, a carriage containing Joshua, Lottie and Clancey rumbled past. Joshua had spotted Kate and the stranger as the carriage drew closer. He was just about to call to her when he saw them kiss. Stunned, Joshua sat back against the leather cushion. Lottie and Clancey were teasing back and forth in their old happy way and missed the sight completely.

     Joshua never said a word. No one had ever mentioned another man in Kate’s life. When she’d said good-bye to him just hours before, Joshua thought she wanted to hear him express his love for her. But now...