Twilight was falling. Jeremy Bolt was washing up after a long day at the logging camp. His older brothers, Jason and Joshua, were settled in for the night, each of them reading near the fire in the tiny cabin the brothers shared. But Jeremy was anxious to be on his way to see Candy. It had been a long, hard week at the camp and it had been several days since he had last seen her. And there was something important he wanted to talk to her about.       Jason looked up from the book of Shakespeare he was reading and watched his younger brother. "You're quiet tonight, Jeremy." Jason said. "Something on your mind?"
      "Uh, no, not really, Jason." Jeremy said.
      "Anxious to see Candy, are you?" Jason said with a smile.
      "Well, yeah. It's been a few days." he said as he pulled on his coat. He walked to the sideboard and quietly opened one of the drawers. He quickly found what he was looking for and slipped it in his pocket, hoping his brothers hadn't noticed. He didn't want to tell them until he was sure.
      "Well, I'm gonna be on my way. Goodnight."
      "Goodnight, Jeremy." his brothers said in unison. As Jeremy closed the door behind him, his brothers looked at each other and smiled. They both had seen what Jeremy slipped into his pocket. It had been in that drawer for well over a year. But they understood why he hadn't said anything to them.
      As Jeremy walked toward the dormitory where Candy Pruitt was waiting, he looked up at the darkening Seattle sky, never tiring of the blanket of stars he saw almost every night. He thought about the girl he was going to see and how much he loved her, and her little brother and sister. He thought about the two other times he had walked this path with the same question on his mind. The first time she'd said yes. They'd been so happy! But then he'd talked to Lew. Lew had explained to him about his silent engagement with Abigail, and had convinced him that he should do the same with Candy. When he'd told Candy that he thought maybe they were rushing things, she'd started to cry, broken their engagement and ran off in tears. He'd felt horrible! But they'd made up, and decided together that maybe waiting a little while longer wasn't such a bad idea after all.
      Six months later, he had planned to ask her again. He'd even had an engagement ring for her, the same one he carried in his pocket now. Molly and Christopher had just arrived in Seattle for a visit. Then, Candy had received word of her mother's death. Knowing she needed him even more, he'd proposed. But she'd said no. She felt that Molly and Christopher needed time to adjust to things, and she wanted to make certain he had time to think about taking on a ready-made family. He'd tried to argue with her, but she'd been insistent. So, they'd agreed to wait.
      He was going to ask her again tonight. He was sure she'd say yes this time. She had to! After all, they'd been through so much together, and were both more than sure of their love for each other. He knew that as surely as he knew his name was Jeremy Bolt. And nobody would change his mind or cast any doubt about that this time. Enough time had passed for Molly and Christopher to adjust to their mother's death and their new life here in Seattle. Jeremy was certain there were no other obstacles in their way.
      He climbed the steps to the dormitory's porch and knocked. While he waited, he remembered how they had tried to build this building in the dead of night with one hundred brides sleeping on Captain Clancy's ship at the edge of town. Laughing to himself, he remembered the expression on Jason's face when Big Swede admitted the men had forgotten to build the dormitory. Why, they had known about the arrival of the brides for six months! How could they have forgotten?!
      But they had, and rather than telling the brides the truth, the men set out to build a home for them overnight. Come morning, he and Jason and Corky had taken the women on a very long, scenic tour of Bridal Veil Mountain, trying to buy more time. Of course, the men couldn't possibly finish the job by day's end. And Aaron Stempel hadn't left any room for them to hide the truth any longer. By the time they arrived back in town, Stempel had piled all of the women's belongings in front of the incomplete structure, announcing "Ladies, feast your eyes. This is it!"
      But the brides, led by his own Candy, surprised them all and had slept in that half-finished dormitory that night. They didn't leave, not that day, nor any day during that first year, although there had been some mighty close calls! The Bolt Brothers had kept their word to keep the brides in Seattle for one year and they never lost their mountain to Stempel. It was hard to believe that only two-and-a-half years had passed since that day--three years since he had first met Candy back in New Bedford. So much had changed, for him and for Seattle!
      The door opened and Candy stepped out onto the porch, smiling at him. Just as he never tired of looking at the Seattle sky, Jeremy would never tire of looking at Candy's pretty face, framed by her beautiful long auburn hair. And she was wearing his favorite dress, the red gingham with the white lace and little white bow at the neckline.
      "Hello," she said, as she took his arm.
      "Hello. Do you want to take a walk?" Jeremy smiled at her.
      "That would be nice."
      They started to walk through the woods toward the river, a path they had walked many times before. Candy slipped her hand down his arm until she was holding his hand. Somehow, holding his hand always made her feel safe and warm. They walked that way for several minutes, in the light of the full moon that had risen, not saying a word, just glad to be together, each thinking private thoughts that were mostly about each other.
      "How are things at the camp, Jeremy?" Candy asked.
      "Well, we've been really busy trying to meet that contract from J.D. Grisco. We were two days behind earlier this week, but we managed to catch up."
      "Oh, that's good. That you caught up, I mean."
      They walked along, hand-in-hand, in silence for several more minutes.
      Candy knew Jeremy very well and she sensed that something was on his mind. "Jeremy, is something wrong? You're awfully quiet." Candy said, with some concern in her voice.
      "No, no, nothing's wrong, Candy. I just... I just... uh... why don't we go over there and sit down?" pointing to a large boulder near the water's edge.
      "All right." Candy was certain now that he had something important on his mind.
      She sat down on the rock, which was big enough for both of them and looked up at Jeremy. "Aren't you going to sit down?" she asked.
      Instead of sitting next to her, he stood in front of her. She could see he was nervous. She hated to see him like this. He still stuttered sometimes when he got very nervous and she knew how much that bothered him. Just like her biting her nails, which she still did sometimes if she got very upset.
      "Candy, I... uh, Candy, I think its t-time we talked."
      "About what?" Candy asked, wondering again what could be making him so nervous. He was hardly ever like this with her.
      "Well, I think it's time we talk about us. About setting the date, I mean. Candy, I know we agreed to wait until Molly and Christopher had time to adjust to things."
      Candy simply nodded her head. Her heart began to beat faster as she waited for him to continue.
      "Well, it's b-been over a year, Candy, and I think they've had enough time. I think we've all had enough time." He was speaking in that soft voice he used only when he was very serious. The voice that melted her heart every time she heard it.
      He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "I love you and I love them. I want us to be a family, Candy, a real family. I want you to marry me."
      Candy looked at him and felt tears welling up in her eyes. She knew he was right. She loved him with all her heart and soul, and Molly and Christopher loved him, too. It was time.
      "Oh, Jeremy, are you sure? Are you really sure?" she asked him.
      "Candy, I've known that I wanted to marry you almost since the first time we talked on Clancy's ship. I've never been surer of anything in my life. I love you, Candy."
      "Oh..." she whispered as the tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. She stood up and put her arms around his neck and held him tight.
       "I hope that's a yes!" Jeremy said with a laugh in his voice as he held her just as tightly.
      "Oh, yes, Jeremy. It is most certainly a yes." Jeremy broke out in a smile that made his blue eyes sparkle more than the brightest star in the sky.
      They held each other that way for a moment, then he pulled back and kissed her, a warm, gentle kiss that could never have lasted long enough to suit either of them. Finally, he pulled away and reached into his pocket.
      "I've had this ever since... well, I was waiting for the right time to give it to you." He held a red velvet ring box in his hand and opened it for Candy to see the small diamond ring inside. Surprised, she let out a tiny gasp.
      "I know it's not much, but..."
      "Oh, Jeremy, it's just beautiful." Candy interrupted him with a quiver in her voice as she held up her left hand. "Would you?" she said.
      He took the ring from the box, placed it on her finger and raised her hand to his lips. He kissed the place where the engagement ring now rested.
      "Now, it's official." he said as he brought his lips to hers again.