It had been nine years since Jason Bolt had brought the Brides from New Bedford. Most of them had married and were beginning to raise families of their own. Candy and Jeremy were married and had built a large cabin of their own. Molly and Christopher were grown and were sent to San Francisco to school. Jeremy and Candy had two sons and two daughters of their own, so their house was not empty.
One day Jeremy was sitting in Lottie's with Jason and Joshua after a long day at the logging camp. "Clancey's in port," Aaron stated as he entered the saloon, ordering a drink from Lottie. This news no longer stirred the excitement it had when the Brides first came. "Just got in from San Francisco."
"Any news of Molly and Christopher?" Joshua asked.
"They don't write much," Jeremy answered. "And they won't be home till Christmas on vacation. Maggie and Annie really miss their aunt and uncle and I think the boys do too. They don't talk much about it." He added.
Clancey and a young red-haired man of about twenty-one entered. Clancey tapped the man on the shoulder and pointed to Jeremy. The young man approached Jeremy. Jeremy looked up at him. He looked somewhat familiar but Jeremy couldn't place him. "Hello, Jeremy." The man spoke hesitantly, somewhat labored. Jason and Joshua looked up at him, wondering what was wrong with his speech. They noticed something familiar about the young man too. "You don't remember me, do you?" the young man added, smiling slowly at Jeremy.
"No. Should I?" Jeremy asked.
"I'm Absalom Tray," the man said.
"Absalom Tray!" The three jumped up as one. "Well, how are you? How've you been?" The three started in at once.
"You must look at me when you talk." Absalom said. "You see, I'm still deaf."
Aaron approached them. "Aaron, you remember Absalom Tray?" Jeremy said as Aaron sat down.
"Absalom Tray." Aaron thought a moment. "Of course, the deaf boy." "My uncle died recently and I came back to Seattle to see about a job. I'm an accountant," Absalom told them.
"Jason, I could use help with the books." Joshua said. "The business has grown so with all the marriages and new families."
Jason thought a moment. "But can we afford a full-time accountant? Perhaps we could send some business his way."
Aaron thought a moment. "I could send some business your way too, Absalom. Between the two of us, and perhaps Ben at the general store, we could set you up really well. Oh, Lottie."
Lottie approached the men. "You remember Absalom Tray."
"Yes. Clancey told me you were on board. He said he let you go over his books and you really straightened them out. I was wondering, could you do the same thing to mine?" Lottie asked.
"Absalom, you'll be richer than this old tightwad here." Jason clapped Aaron on the shoulder.
Absalom had been in town two months and the Christmas holidays were fast approaching. Seattle was experiencing its raw windy weather, and Clancey's ship was due in. Jeremy found Candy pacing through the center of town. "Candy, your pacing and freezing isn't going to bring that ship to port any faster." Jeremy said.
"I can't help it, Jeremy. I'm worried. I wish there had been a school closer than San Francisco." Candy said. "Well, perhaps one day Seattle will be big enough." Jeremy answered. "Now come inside. I'll make you some coffee."
"Jeremy, do you know that the one thing I've always been embarrassed about is that you make coffee better than me." Candy laughed as they headed for home. Absalom came out of Lottie's, he had set up an office there and was just locking up for the evening. "Hello, Jeremy; hello, Mrs. Bolt," he said. "Absalom, you can call me Candy," Candy said, "after all it makes no sense for you to be calling my husband Jeremy and me Mrs. Bolt."
"Hello, Candy." Absalom said.
"That's better. Why don't you join us for coffee?" Candy said and the three went into the Bolts' cabin.
Lottie came out onto the balcony of the saloon/hotel she ran. She often waited out there when there was a gale on. She looked across at the old dormitory, which had housed the brides for four years till all were married. Even that chatterbox, Biddie Cloom, had finally found a husband. They had started a small newspaper and, as they ran the only one in town, everyone took a copy; they were doing very well. Biddie had insisted, when her husband thought that Absalom, being deaf, was incapable of doing the books, "What has hearing got to do with math?" Finally a small light appeared on the horizon. Lottie went and rang the bell signaling that a ship was coming into port. Though it had been a few years since this provoked a big response, tonight was an exception. The weather was bad and people were anticipating the arrival of Molly and Christopher Pruitt for the Christmas holidays.
Jeremy, Candy, Absalom and the Bolt children were the first to arrive. Shortly thereafter, confirmed bachelor Jason and Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Bolt arrived. Clancey's ship, the Seamus O'Flynn, grew closer and closer and soon had docked. The gangplank was lowered and the whole town welcomed back Molly and Christopher Pruitt.
Molly awoke in the early morning wondering how she was going to tell Candy that she had no intention of returning to school. She was homesick for Seattle, far more than she had ever been homesick for New Bedford when she first came. She entered the kitchen of the cottage and found Jeremy cooking himself eggs. Jeremy had to get up to the camp early in the morning and didn't like to get Candy up. She had enough to do getting the kids to school. "Hi, Molly, want some eggs?" He said.
"Jeremy, I've got something to tell you." Molly answered. "No thanks, I'll wait till the rest get up."
"Good thinking. What's on your mind?" Jeremy asked.
"Jeremy, I don't want to go back to San Francisco. I'm staying in Seattle." Molly told him.
"You sound determined. Just like your sister always did." Jeremy smiled, recalling the many petitions Candy had circulated when she wanted Jason to do something. Most of the time Candy had won and Jeremy had enjoyed seeing his brother get his comeuppance.
"I'm serious, Jeremy. I hate it there and there's no way I'm going back." Molly said.
"Well, I say it's up to you. Candy has her heart set on both you and Christopher being educated." Jeremy said. "Good luck convincing her." Jeremy finished his breakfast and left the house. Molly started washing his breakfast dishes.
At Lottie's, Absalom was entering his office in the back room. He was remembering the blond, blue-eyed woman that he hadn't recognized from when he was young. That was Molly Pruitt, Candy Pruitt's little sister. Absalom wished that Molly would stay in town for him to get to know now.
"She doesn't want to go to school?" Joshua asked Jeremy, as they were loading a shipment of logs onto the wagon to be sent to Aaron's sawmill.
"No. I'm glad I won't be there when she tells Candy." Jeremy answered.
"What about Christopher?" Joshua asked.
"Christopher's decided to become a doctor. I think Jason was hoping he'd join the camp." Jeremy told him as they loaded the last of the logs.
"What do you mean you're not going back to San Francisco?" Candy shouted.
"Exactly what I say. I refuse to go back. I hate it." Molly shouted back.
"Don't you shout at me, young lady," Candy scolded, banging the breakfast dishes into the sink.
"You shouted at me first." Molly said, and she ran out the door and into the street, slipping on a patch of ice. The young red-haired man she nearly knocked over helped her up." "Absalom, hello." Molly said.
"From the expression on your face I'm glad I couldn't hear whatever caused this," Absalom said, brushing her off.
"Oh, it's my sister. She insists I go to school in San Francisco and I hate it there." Molly said. Absalom, who hadn't been looking at her. pointed to his ears. "I forgot, I'm sorry." Molly apologized.
Jeremy and Candy were readying the cabin for the next day's Christmas celebration. Jason was coming, and Joshua and his wife, plus Molly and Christopher. They had also invited Biddie and her husband, and Absalom. Christopher had asked the daughter of a couple who had settled in Seattle three years ago. "Candy, it would be better if she made the decision. If you force her, she might run away and end up who knows where." Jeremy said.
"How do you know?" Candy retorted, still angry from the quarrel that seemed to be continuing for three days and into Christmas.
"I married her sister." Jeremy grinned.
Candy thought about that as Molly entered the room. "Molly, I don't like the decision, but it is yours to make." Candy told her.
"Thanks, Candy." Molly said. "I got a job in Ben's store." She told Jeremy.
"I think you're making a mistake." Candy said. "But it's your mistake."
Christmas morning, the Bolts went to church and afterwards came back to the cabin as one by one their guests arrived. Absalom sat next to Molly. Unbeknownst to Candy and Jeremy, he and Molly had been seeing each other every day since Molly's arrival. After the dinner ended, Absalom stood. "Molly and I have an announcement. We love each other and we want to get married."
This was greeted by absolute silence from everyone seated at the table. "Now, I understand that you're all thinking of the drawbacks of my being deaf -- how will I protect her, things like that." Candy, Jason and Joshua all looked guiltily down at their empty plates. "But I have a good job and I can provide for her as well as any hearing man. And doctors have told me my condition is not hereditary. They believe that it was due to an illness I had when I was a baby."
Jeremy stood. "Congratulations, Absalom. If Molly is anything like her sister, and I believe she is, you won't need to worry about needing protection."
"Jeremy," Candy's voice held a warning.
"There are times when I wish Candy did need a bit more protection," Jeremy continued.
"That's enough, Jeremy." Candy's voice still held a warning, but she was starting to smile.
"On the trip here from New Bedford, she led a mutiny. Held a gun on Jason and Clancey." Jason and Joshua were beginning to laugh.
"I should have used it on the youngest Bolt." Candy finally joined the laughter. "Welcome to the family, Absalom."