The sun was rising over the sleepy town of Seattle. It was going to be a beautiful spring day. A wonderful day for a wedding!
      Candy opened her eyes slowly. She looked across the room and saw her wedding dress hanging from the door of the closet. She sat up and looked out the window. It was her wedding day! She was too excited to go back to sleep, but it was too early to get up yet. She smiled as she lay back down against the pillows.
      She began to think about her husband-to-be...

      She thought about the first time she had seen him and his brothers, back in New Bedford, when she was working as a fireman and they'd come in with their flyers about the town meeting to be held that night.
      Jeremy was so obviously different from his quick talking brothers with their razzle-dazzle. Later, at the meeting, while trying to decide whether she should go to Seattle or stay in New Bedford, she had looked up and caught Jeremy watching her. She decided to take a chance and go. It turned out to be the best decision of her life.
      Later, on that smelly old mule boat, uh... ship (heavens, would she never learn!), she and the rest of the brides had tried to force Jason to turn the ship around. But silver-tongued Jason had outwitted her and she was left holding a gun and near tears. Jeremy was the one who came over to her and gently took the gun away and led her to the table for dinner. And sat beside her. They didn't say much to each other that night. But then one day, a week or so into the voyage, he had come upon her doing laundry on the deck. She remembered how shy he was when she'd asked him to hand her a corset from the basket of laundry.

      "C-c-c-corset?" Jeremy asked, practically blushing.
      "Corset, yes. Don't you know what a corset is?" She reached down into the laundry basket and held up a corset for him to see. "Corset!" she exclaimed.
      He turned away, obviously embarrassed. She watched him for a moment and began to smile. His shyness touched her. Just then the ship hit a swell and they both lost their balance. She was about to fall when he caught her in his arms.
      He set her on her feet and asked shyly "D-do g-g-girls really wear that?"
      "Course they do." she answered.
      He hesitated and then, his curiosity getting the best of him, asked "Why?"
      "So they won't wiggle!" She laughed and he smiled at her.
      "D-don't you c-c-care if, y'know, people see you hanging it up here?" he asked.
      She responded by holding her head high and, with a laugh in her voice, said "They know I wear it, why shouldn't they know I wash it?"
      Jeremy thought about that for a second. "That's right. To hell with them! Oh, excuse me... I'm sorry."
      "No, you're right! To hell with them!"
      They'd looked at each other for a moment. Then he said "I s-s-stutter" and she felt her heart begin to melt.
      "I bite my nails." She responded, and lifted her hand to show him.
      He looked at her hand and after a moment, started to smile. "Well, you better quit that. You bite too hard, you'll bleed to death!"
      "You stutter too much, you'll choke!" she responded as she began to giggle.
      The ship hit another swell and she was in his arms again. He helped her regain her balance and there had been a moment when they just stared into each others eyes. Then he picked up the laundry basket and held it while she finished hanging the laundry. They spent many hours of that long voyage together after that. By the time they arrived in Seattle, they were in love.

      The sun was almost up now. Streaks of sunlight were starting to fill the room. Still, she was content to lie in bed and think about the last three years of her life.
      She recalled when Merlin had come to town and helped Jeremy stop stuttering. And how disappointed she'd been when he didn't come to her first. And how jealous she was when he started talking to all the other girls! But, of course, she would never admit that to him! Instead, they'd gotten into an argument and she said she'd liked him better when he was nice! Then she had flounced into the dormitory and slammed the door in his face! He'd stomped off and she started to cry. Then she'd started to bite her nails again! She'd felt so bad when he started to stutter again after Merlin snuck out of town when the rain started up again. But as time went on, he became more sure of himself, more confident and he stuttered less and less.
      Her thoughts moved ahead to the first time he'd proposed. Oh, how happy they'd been! But that stupid Lew had gotten silly ideas into Jeremy's head about a silent engagement! Everyone had been so disappointed when their engagement was broken. But she and Jason had gotten the last laugh on Lew. He and Abigail were married within a day! And she and Jeremy had made up and decided together that perhaps waiting a little while longer was best. After all, she did believe in long courtships!
      The sun was up all the way now. But the town was still quiet. It was Sunday, after all. She decided to steal just a few more minutes to think about the man she loved before waking Molly and Christopher.
      She remembered how he had tried to rescue her when she'd been kidnaped by Wakando and his tribe. She'd been so frightened and he had been so helpless, tied up like he was. But even though his life was in danger and he was helpless to stop the Indian brave who touched her, Jeremy never gave up trying to protect her. He was almost killed when he yelled at the brave "Don't you touch her!" And what about the time Rafe Holiday took her up into the mountains and held her captive in a cave, wanting her to be his "wife". A search party was formed but had to turn back because Joshua had been injured by a trap Rafe had set. But Jeremy continued on, alone, to search for her. He had found them, and Rafe had shot at him. But Jeremy kept coming, even after she told him to turn back. And finally, a bullet hit him in the leg and he lay there in the open, completely unprotected and helpless. She had never been more frightened in her life than she was when she realized that Rafe would kill him then. She ran down the mountain, not caring if Rafe shot and killed her, too. All she wanted was to be with Jeremy. Rafe finally saw that and let them be.
      She thought about the time she almost lost him to the sea over a foolish misunderstanding. It started just as he was getting ready to leave for his first bidding trip. He was very edgy and they had gotten into a terrible fight, one of the worst they'd ever had. She stormed out of the Bolt cabin and into the woods, and he stomped off toward the dock and Clancey's ship, bound for San Francisco. Ward Kimberly had found her and they had become friends. Of course, Jason thought it was more than that and tried to interfere! What nerve!
      When Jeremy got home, he saw her in the woods with Ward. Later that night, he accused her of kissing Ward, and she had done no such thing! They had gotten into another horrible argument, even worse than the one before he'd left for San Francisco, and he had accused her of lying to him! Then he and Ward got into a fist fight in the town square. She had been so angry at him! Until Lottie told her he was considering a job offer from Mr. Silas Harmon, an offer for a life at sea.
      She'd gone to the church to be alone and think. A short time later, she heard Jeremy over at the dormitory, banging on the door and shouting her name, over and over again. Finally, it got quiet. She heard someone come into the church and she knew it was him. She swallowed every ounce of her pride and listened to Lottie's advice. "I apologize." she said quietly.
      They would have gotten into yet another argument, because he thought she was apologizing for kissing Ward Kimberly, and she told him again that she had not kissed Ward Kimberly! But they didn't argue, because she had started to cry. When she told him that she'd wait for him if he went away to sea, he'd said she didn't have to do that. But of course, she did have to... she loved him. He'd started to wipe the tears from her eyes when he realized that was what he had seen Ward doing. He felt terrible, thinking of what he had accused her of. She eventually had to slap him, at his insistence, so they could finish making up!
      When they walked out of the church, the whole town of Seattle was waiting for them. Well, how could they not be curious, after the spectacle Jeremy had made of himself looking for her! When he said they had an understanding again, the whole town cheered!
      And the second time he had proposed, just after her mother passed away. And she'd had to say no, because of Molly and Christopher, and because she felt it wasn't fair to him to take on a ready-made family. It was the hardest thing she'd ever done, saying no to him. He had insisted it didn't matter, but she had stood firm.
      Unfortunately, Christopher and Molly overhead them and ran away, thinking they were in the way. After they were found safe and sound, Jeremy and Candy reached an understanding. They would be married as soon as the children had time to adjust. That had been a little over a year ago.
      And, now, finally, today was their wedding day! She knew that leaving New Bedford was the best decision she had ever made. It had led her here, about to become Mrs. Jeremy Bolt. She knew that today was going to be the happiest day of her life.
      And tomorrow morning, she'd wake up in Jeremy's arms...before she allowed herself to get lost in that thought, and thoughts of tonight, she made herself stop daydreaming and get up before she missed her own wedding!