Captain William and his family gave Joshua a warm welcome as they helped Clancey and Lottie move him inside.

     "Where did Katie run off to?" Judith asked her daughter as they walked behind Joshua.

     "She and Dan were to have lunch, mother." Pamela whispered back.

     "Oh, that’s right." She bustled off again to have Minnie take away two of the place settings.

    If Joshua had not been preoccupied with thoughts of Kate and the man he now knew as "Dan", he would have enjoyed himself thoroughly. Everyone made it his or her duty to see that he was well cared for. Lottie shook her head and smiled at the treatment Joshua was getting. She knew he would be in for a hard winter’s worth of work when he returned to Seattle so she said nothing.

     When the door opened and Kate and Dan entered the parlor later that afternoon, Joshua had been set up like a sultan among silken pillows with a bowl of fruit at his side.

    Katie laughed at the sight. "Well, look at you."

    Joshua rose quickly, "Hello."

    "Josh, this is my friend and former partner, Dan Sullivan. Dan, this is Joshua Bolt." The two men shook hands as Mrs. Wilkerson breezed back into the parlor.

    "Oh, you’ve returned, how wonderful. Dan, you’ll stay for supper won’t you?"

    Dan smiled. "I’m afraid not, ma’am. I have work to do tonight."
"Well, perhaps tomorrow evening then. Stay and chat for awhile. Our guests will be leaving next week, I’m told."

    "That soon?" Kate asked.

    Joshua watched her reaction closely. Would she be sailing with them or had this Dan person convinced her to stay?

     An awkward silence overcame the three. Kate attempted to draw the men into conversation as she sat down and they joined her. "So, Josh, did Dr. Wright give you any instructions before she released you?"

    Joshua shrugged, "Only that I should do more resting than moving for a while."

     "I bet that didn’t make you very happy," she quipped.

     "It’s only for a couple of weeks and I’m the quiet Bolt brother, remember?"

     Kate sensed his coolness. He was being a real pill and she couldn’t understand why. Joshua didn’t even know Dan. She turned to the reporter who wore an amused expression.

     "Dan, why don’t you tell us about this new assignment of yours?"

     "I’d be glad to."

     Dan gave Kate and Joshua a detailed account of the living conditions of the Chinese in San Francisco. He was preparing an expose in response to the recent crimes that continued to plague the immigrant community. Kate grew more and more interested with every account. Soon she was sharing her own stories of the recent trouble at the Bolt camp. Within minutes both Dan and Kate had fished out notepads and were quickly jotting down thoughts as they shared.

    Joshua watched and listened to the two reporters with reluctant fascination. They had completely forgotten that anyone else was in the room. Dan and Katie were conversing with an ease he had never seen in a man and woman before. This was a mutual exchange of information between two people who obviously respected each other as equals. Kate was holding her own in their discussion and even offered insights about the social system that Dan had not realized. This didn’t seem to bother Dan at all. In fact, he praised and thanked her for sharing with him. It suddenly occurred to Joshua that this was the kind of respect Kate had been seeking from him for months. Dan Sullivan knew how to give Katie this respect and he did it well. As they talked on, Joshua recalled the times he had spent with Kate. He had honestly admired her abilities, but at the same time, saw each of her achievements as a challenge to his male pride. He had thought that he loved her. He was even ready to ask her for permission to court her. Now he realized just how little he knew about Kate Macready or what she needed in a relationship.

    Joshua came to the conclusion that Kate and Dan were made for each other. He would have to let her go. The thought pained him deeply but if this was truly what she wanted, well, he’d just have to say good-bye to another woman he had loved.

    Dan rose, "Thank-you for the interview, Miss Macready."

     "And thank-you for yours," she laughed.

    "Mr. Bolt, it was a pleasure meeting you." Dan shook Joshua’s hand.

    "Mr. Sullivan."

    "I have to get back to the news office before it closes."

    Kate stood quietly, fighting the feelings within her. This was probably the last she would see of Dan for a very long time and she didn’t want to say good-bye. To stay, however, would be a mistake. They made great colleagues, but as husband and wife, life would be a disaster. It would be impossible to work with Dan day after day without their relationship leading to marriage eventually. Saying good-bye now was right no matter how difficult it was.

     Dan turned to Kate, took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. "Miss Macready..."

    He stopped, not wanting to say farewell any more than she did. Instead, he looked at Joshua.

     "Mr. Bolt, would you do me a great favor?"

"If I can."

     "Will you and your brothers take good care of her?"

     Joshua glanced at Kate in surprise. "You’re coming home?"

     "Yes," she nodded, "I’m coming home."

     Dan picked up his battered old hat from off the table. "You’re going to knock them dead with that new paper of yours, Macready. Just you wait and see."

     Tears welled up in Kate’s eyes. "Good-bye Dan. Take care of yourself." With one last look she hurried up the stairs.

     Dan held his hat in hand as he watched her disappear. "I asked her to marry me today," he declared softly.

     "You did?"

     "She turned me down." Dan moved to the front door and Joshua followed. "She said something about resenting me if I went off reporting and she had to stay home with the children. Children!"

     "I take it you don’t see yourself as a family man."

     "Never really thought about it." He looked at Joshua with a glint in his eye. "Are you a family man, Mr. Bolt?"

     "Someday, I hope, with the right woman."

     Dan smiled, " I envy you." He glanced up the stairs. "She is one incredible lady and any man who could win her heart would never regret the effort." He studied Joshua one last time with his reporter’s sense for the truth. "She’s chosen life in Seattle over the life I could offer her here in the city. It was a big decision for her, Bolt. You mean an awful lot to her. When you get her back up to Seattle, do me a favor. Don’t try to change her. She’s changed enough as it is."

     "I promise." Joshua had one last question that was troubling him. "Are you going to see her off when we leave?"

     "No, there’s no need. We said our good-byes in the park." Dan smiled, tipped his hat and walked out to his carriage in the deepening fog.

     So that’s what that kiss was all about. Joshua felt a sudden surge of relief as the last of his jealousy drained away. He returned to his place on the sofa to think over all he had learned that day. Men and women could be more than just husband and wife. They could truly be partners as well as lovers. In fact, it’s the way it had to be, especially for any man who intended to marry Kate Macready.

    That evening at supper, Katie quietly announced to the rest of her friends that she would be sailing back to Seattle when Clancey’s ship was ready. Lottie and Clancey were overjoyed. She was a part of their hearts and belonged in Seattle with those who had grown to love her.

     The news put them all in a holiday mood. Judith Wilkerson led everyone to the piano. The little group sang every song they could recall then made up a few of their own. Pamela and Kate laughed until they were sure their sides would split when Clancey, Donald, Capt. William and Joshua tried to impress them with their harmonious rendition of the very appropriate, "I’ll Take You Home Again…Kaitlyn."

     When the evening came to a close, Joshua caught up with Katie in the hall before she went into her room. "Katie," he called.

     She stopped at her door, feeling that strange nervousness she’d felt around him before.

     "I’m glad you decided to come home."

     "So am I."

     "Can I ask you why you want to come back?"

     Kate’s heart pounded, "I have to tell Seattle how that fire really got started. I want to regain everyone’s trust and start up the Inquirer again."

     "What if they won’t trust you?" he challenged.

     She looked up at Joshua with the old conviction in her eyes that he hadn’t seen in weeks. "I’m done with running away, Josh. Betterment League or no Betterment League, I’m staying in Seattle and help build our parents’ dream for the future."

     Joshua smiled. His girl was back and she was wiser and stronger because of the pain she’d traveled through and the decisions she had made.

    He started to embrace her when he heard Pamela and Donald ascending the stairs. Joshua had so much he wanted to tell her but he’d have to find a time when they were sure they could be alone.

    The Wilkerson’s determined to give their guests the time of their lives until they had to return to Seattle. For the next five days, Kate and Joshua accompanied the Cutlers to plays, concerts and socials where they were introduced to several of the couple’s friends. The two were accepted warmly at all of these occasions. Katie became known as a reliable source of exciting and entertaining stories while Joshua was admired for his quiet manner and polite attention to the other young businessmen.

    Joshua knew that Seattle would grow to be like San Francisco in his lifetime. Someday Seattle’s streets would be made of cobblestone; the buildings of brick and gas light would illumine its corners. Joshua also knew that in the near future, God willing, he and his brothers would experience the grace and gentility of the privileged life he was enjoying here in the Wilkerson home. His children would live a far different life than he and his brothers had known. How could he teach them the lessons he had gained through years of struggle? His wife would have to have shared in that struggle too. She’d also have to be comfortable living a life of plenty.

    As he watched her move merrily through the crowds of young ladies at these parties, he realized that Katie was the only woman he’d ever known and loved who shared his dreams for the future and the values of his past so completely.

    He had to find out how she felt about him. He had to know whether or not Kaitlyn Macready would consider building a life and a family with him.