Jenny Bolt: Homecoming

I wrote this fan fiction, "Homecoming," years ago, based on the '60s TV series Here Come the Brides, set in 1870s Seattle, Washington. The show revolved around a family of logger brothers who bring a shipload of east-coast brides to the Pacific Northwest to marry the lonely loggers (based loosely on the true story of Seattle pioneer Asa Mercer, who did something like this). The original "Jenny Bolt," whom I created to be a younger sister to the logging Bolt Brothers, eventually morphed into Jenny Grant, who also comes from a family of loggers, but lives in Tacoma, WA, instead of Seattle. As you all know, Jenny Grant is Andi Carter's roommate at Miss Whitaker's Academy in San Francisco in the book Andrea Carter and the San Francisco Smugglers.

CHAPTER 1

July 1868, Puget Sound, Washington Territory

The frigid salt-water spray rose up and over the prow of the Shamus O’Flynn as the schooner cut through the waves of Puget Sound. It splashed into the face of a young girl, but she barely noticed. She shook her red-gold tangles to be rid of the water and clung just a little tighter to the ship’s railing.

The wind blew fresh and strong from the northwest, driving the sailing vessel through the Sound at a remarkable speed, but it wasn’t fast enough for fourteen-year-old Jennifer Bolt.

Jenny stepped closer to the prow of the ship and peered into the dark green of familiar waters. It had been so long! Each day away from Seattle had crawled and it seemed as if this sea voyage from San Francisco was taking an eternity.

The Shamus O’Flynn

“You’ll not be gettin’ there any faster by climbing out over the bow, missy,” a rough but friendly voice chided. “And if you’re not careful, you’ll not get there at all. You’ll be fish bait for sure.”

Jenny turned and gave Captain Clancy a  smile. “I know, Clancy. I’m careful. I just wanted to feel the sea breeze in my hair and the salt water in my face.”

“Looks like you accomplished your goal, then,” Clancy agreed with a chuckle.

“How much longer?”

“Let’s see.” Clancy peered at the sun’s bright July reflection on the water. “You asked me an hour ago, so’s I guess we’re an hour closer.” He laughed at her frown. “Really, Miss Jenny. T’won’t be more’n another couple hours, now that we’re through the strait and into the Sound itself. We’re makin’ good speed. By this afternoon you’ll be home. Trust me.”

“Home,” Jenny said softly. She climbed down from the prow and out of the worst of the wind. She looked up into the captain’s grizzled face, and her insides turned a sudden somersault. “You don’t suppose they’ve forgotten me, do you? And those brides you told me about, the ones Jason went all the way around the Horn for last year? They’re really still there? And Seattle’s a real town now? And Lottie’s still—”

“Enough already, lass,” Clancy pleaded. “I can’t take much more of your prattlin’, especially when me throat’s as dry as a desert. You’ve done nothin’ but pester me the whole way out from Frisco.”

“But Clancy! I’m just so excited! I can’t wait.” Jenny plopped down on the ship’s damp deck, pulled her knees up under the skirt of her fancy San Francisco dress and hugged them in pure delight. She’d pulled her hair out from the stylish but painful bun two hours after the Shamus O’Flynn had weighed anchor. Ever since, it had hung wild and free in long, tangled waves around her shoulders and down her back. Most of the time, her hair stayed damp from sea-spray.

I love the freedom in even that small act. Jenny giggled at her act of rebellion. Oh! Wouldn’t the aunts have conniption fits if they saw me now!

Jenny would have shed the tight, uncomfortable dress also, but she had nothing else suitable for a sea voyage. Her aunts had seen to that. She had been bidden bon voyage with a trunk and two carpetbags stuffed full of the latest fashions from Godey’s Lady’s Book.

“Not one of these outfits will last more than a week in Seattle,” she’d complained, nearing despair. Mud hole was a more suitable name for the tiny logging town on Puget Sound.

But the aunts had been firm. Jenny would not leave San Francisco without being attired as a proper young lady from a good family. Jenny had let it rest. After all, the point was to get to Seattle, wasn’t it? And once there, well—We’ll see about that, she determined.

Captain Clancy bid Jenny goodbye and left sitting on the sunny deck with her thoughts. She glanced toward the distant, dark-green forested shore that slid by and had second thoughts about this whole trip. A whale broke the surface just then, and Jenny held her breath. She hadn’t seen an orca for four long years. Maybe it was a sign that everything would be all right. “Hello, friend!” she called.

An orca in Puget Sound, with Mt. Rainier overlooking the forest.

Then the excitement of returning home dampened. An unbidden wash of old bitterness threatened to invade her thoughts. I shouldn’t be returning home. I should never have been forced to leave in the first place.

She stared at the forest, where it met the sea and sighed. Without warning, Jenny’s mind returned to that bitter day four years earlier when her entire world had turned upside down . . .

CHAPTER 2

July 1864, Seattle, Washington Territory

“Finally, a sunny day,” ten-year-old Jenny Bolt crowed in glee to her brother Jeremy. They sat side by side on the weather-beaten dock overlooking the shining waters of Puget Sound. Jenny shaded her eyes and gazed at the westering sun. She could easily make out the rugged, snow-capped peaks of the Olympic Mountains. They looked close enough to touch from across the Sound. “It’s been a perfect, hot, July day. I sure hope the sky’s red tonight. I’m sick of rain. It rained nearly the whole month of June.”

“I think it’ll be nice t-tomorrow,” her brother replied. At fifteen, Jeremy had not yet reached his full growth. He was slightly built, with brown hair and blue eyes. He also struggled with a stuttering problem. It had afflicted her older brother ever since their mother died six years before. Jeremy had been nine, and her death had affected him greatly. His stuttering worsened when their father had been killed two years later in a logging accident.

Jeremy was shy and sensitive but also full of good ideas to spend a lazy late afternoon among the cluster of buildings that passed for Seattle. A few houses (cabins really), a church, a general store, and a saloon, plus a totem pole at the edge of town. The pole was nearly as fun to climb as one of the Douglas fir trees that grew in abundance. But since climbing the totem pole could be seen from the window of Stemple’s sawmill, Jeremy and Jenny had stopped taking the chance of having their backsides warmed by grumpy ol’ Aaron Stemple.

Seattle also boasted a schoolhouse. Not much use for a school, though. Not these days. Poor Miss Essie, the spinster schoolmarm, couldn’t find enough pupils to hold a summer term. The winter pupils had vanished with their families into the hills. So right now, Jenny was the only school-aged child in the area, if you didn’t count the native Indians. Miss Essie tried to round up the Indian youngsters, but they wanted nothing to do with any kind of book learning. Neither did Jenny. Especially not during the summer.

So, Jenny happily spent her days following Jeremy around. The two youngest Bolts reveled in the freedom they enjoyed while their older brothers spent all day—every day—logging the gigantic Douglas firs up on their family’s Bridal Veil Mountain.

Right now, they were trying their hand at fishing off the dock for bottom fish. Mostly it was an excuse to watch the tide come in and hang their feet in the icy water. But there was a chance that a rockfish or maybe a sole would take the bait. In that event, Jenny wouldn’t object to pulling it in and eating it for supper.

“When do you suppose Jason and Josh will get back?” Jenny asked. She now lay sprawled out on her stomach, peering into the dark waters to see if anything was happening at the end of her line. She couldn’t see a thing.

“I hope it’s s-soon,” Jeremy replied wistfully. “But they said those t-trees on the south s-s-side might take a while.”

Jenny sighed. “I guess it means we eat supper at Lottie’s again tonight, right?”

“We could g-go up to the camp if we want, I g-guess.”

“Nah.” Jenny pulled back from the edge of the dock and sat up. She stuck her feet in the icy water and shivered with pleasure. “It’s too far without a horse. Besides, Jason’ll probably tell us to hightail it back to town.”

“I suppose I c-could fix us something. Pancakes, maybe? I’m not such a bad c-cook.”

Jenny smiled. “Why, that sounds fine, Jeremy! How about some bacon too?”

“Yeah!”

The two returned to their fishing, swinging their feet over the edge and watching the tide rise higher and higher. An occasional wave splashed high enough to spray them, and they yelped at the cold.

“It’s going to be a real high tide this evening,” Jenny said. “Do you suppose there’s a chance Clancy’s ship might dock today? Haven’t seen much of anybody for two months now.”

“That’d be great. C-clancy promised he’d show me a f-few more of those knots he’s so fond of t-tying next time he docked. Say, I wonder—”

What Jeremy wondered Jenny never learned. At that moment a loud, irritated voice broke through the Bolts’ pleasant afternoon. “You kids get off that dock! Now! How many times do you have to be told?”

Aaron Stemple, dressed as usual in his fancy business suit, strode out onto the dock. He planted his fists on his hips and regarded them with a look of wrath. “This dock is dangerous. The water is over your heads and cold as ice. What would happen if you fell in?”

Jenny stood up and faced the grouchy dark-haired, dark-haired man. She didn’t like Mr. Stemple. He acted like he owned the whole town and always bossed her and Jeremy when they encountered him. “I guess we’d get wet, Mr. Stemple,” came her quick reply.

“We’re only f-fishing,” Jeremy explained. “Nothin’ wrong with that.”

“Yeah,” Jenny agreed. She planted her fists on her hips and gave Mr. Stemple a saucy look. She knew that she and Jeremy were a sore trial to the sawmill owner. Over the years, they had played a number of practical jokes on sour Mr. Stemple. No doubt he knew exactly where the frogs on his desk had come from, or who had tied his clean laundry in knots.

“Where’s Jason?” Aaron demanded. He dropped his hands to his side and took a step forward. Jenny backed up at the impatience in his voice.

“Up at c-camp,” Jeremy answered. “He knows you need that t-timber, so he’s been working the men overtime.”

“And leaving you two to fend for yourselves”—he let out an exasperated breath—“again.”

“Lottie looks out for us,” Jenny countered defiantly. Why couldn’t Aaron Stemple mind his own business and leave her and Jeremy alone? “She said—”

“Lottie!” Aaron cut off Jenny’s words with a wave of his hand. “She’s got enough to do without being sweet-talked into worrying about a small girl and an idle youth.” He turned to Jeremy. “Why aren’t you up logging with your brothers? You’re certainly old enough to put in a day’s work.”

Jeremy stood stock still. Then he glared at the man. “Then who would watch out f-for J-Jenny?”

“She should be in school,” Aaron declared. He shook his head. “For the life of me I can’t understand that Jason Bolt. He lets you run around Seattle like a couple of wild Indians. One day he’s going to come down off that mountain and find you both lost in the woods or treed by a bear or floating away on the evening tide.”

“Mr. Stemple!” Jenny gasped. How dare he criticize her brother!

“Oh, never mind,” Aaron blew out. “I want you off this dock and back at your cabin.” He reached out his hands, taking Jenny by one arm and Jeremy by the other. “Come on now.”

“Let me go!” Jenny planted her bare feet on the rough dock planks. She jerked her arm out of Mr. Stemple’s grip, clearly taking by surprise. Unfortunately, her quick, thoughtless move took Jenny by surprise too. She staggered backward at the sudden, unexpected release into freedom. Trying to catch her balance, Jenny whirled her arms and skip-hopped. Too late. She tripped over a loose plank and plunged backward into the icy waters of Puget Sound.

“Jenny!” Jeremy shrieked. He headed for the end of the dock and made ready to jump in after her.

Aaron held him back. “One fool in a family’s plenty,” he declared in disgust. “You stay put.” He took two steps to the end of the dock and lay down—suit and all—on the planking just as Jenny’s reddish head bobbed back up to the surface.

“Help!” Jenny screamed. She could swim, of course. Who in Seattle couldn’t? But the shock of the cold water had frozen her wits and she was struggling to draw a breath. The incoming tide did nothing to help her. Instead, the water seemed determined to drag her right under the pier. Jenny flailed her arms in some semblance of a swimming stroke, but they wouldn’t obey.

“Jenny, take my hand!”

She looked up and saw Aaron reaching out his hand. She struggled to catch it, but a new wave dunked her. She kicked and paddled until her head burst through the surface.

Then, as suddenly as she had found herself in the Sound, Jenny felt herself rising out of the water. Splat! Aaron dropped her onto the warm wooden planks of the dock. She lay still, gulping great breaths of sweet air, sobbing, blubbering, and shivering.

“Of all the fool things!” Aaron rumbled. He wiped the sand and salt water from the front of his suit. “Didn’t I tell you this would happen?” He shook his head. “You Bolts are more trouble than you’re worth. All of you!”

“I’m c-cold,” Jenny stammered. Her teeth chattered in spite of the July sun. One did not recover quickly from a dip in the Sound. She stood up and wrapped her arms around herself and turned helplessly to her brother.

“C’mon, Jenny.” Jeremy sighed. “Let’s go home.”

“Aren’t you going to thank me for rescuing you?” Aaron asked.

Jeremy stiffened and came to his sister’s defense. “If you hadn’t b-bothered us, there’d be no n-need for thanks.”

“True enough,” Aaron admitted with a wry grin. “It’s damper and colder in your cabin in those woods than out here on the dock.” His voice turned unexpectedly soft. “Come along, Jenny. I’ll take you over to Lottie’s. She’ll get you dried off and put something warm in your belly.”

Jenny nodded and trudged along behind Aaron and Jeremy. They crossed the town square toward Lottie’s saloon. Jenny’s overalls and shirt stuck to her body. Seawater trickled down her pants legs, leaving tiny puddles in the dirt. Her mop of short, red-blond curls dripped in her face. She shook her head like a wet puppy.

Just as Aaron opened the door to wave the kids inside the saloon, an excited voice shouted from across the square. “The ship! Clancy’s ship! I just saw it rounding the point. It’s coming!”

The man’s announcement elicited a cheer from four or five bystanders in town, and Jeremy joined them. He turned to Jenny. “See you l-later, Sis! I’m running up to camp to t-tell Jason and Joshua the boat’s in.” With that, he sprinted away.

Jenny looked with longing after her brother. She could never catch up to her brother. Jeremy could run faster than any of them, even faster than Josh. The uphill climb to Bridal Veil Mountain never seemed to make him short of breath.

And I’m stuck here.

 

 CHAPTER 3

Aaron opened the door wider and ushed Jenny inside. He greeted the owner with a smile. “Did you hear the commotion, Lottie? The ship’s coming.”

“Sure did, Aaron.” Lottie came out from behind the rough-hewn bar, which had been made from splitting a large fir log straight down the middle. She was an older, stocky woman with a ready smile for loggers, fishermen, and mill workers alike. At some point, everyone in Seattle—visitor and resident alike—found their way to Lottie’s.

Lottie

Lottie glanced behind Aaron and sucked in a breath. “For pity’s sake, Aaron, what happened to Jenny?” She reached around the bar and drew out a blanket.

“I fell off the dock,” Jenny answered before Aaron could respond. She took the blanket and wrapped it around her shaking shoulders. Her teeth chattered.

“Goodness, girl! What were you doing on the dock? Where was Jeremy? Hasn’t he more sense than—”

“It was just an accident. I’m all right. Mr. Stemple pulled me out.”

“That’s right, Lottie.” Aaron grinned. “My good deed for the day.” He held up his finger. “But I can’t be doing this on a regular basis, Jennifer Bolt, so stay clear of that dock like I told you.”

“All right.”

“And you and Jeremy stay away from my laundry. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you. I will.” Jenny ducked her head.

Lottie covered Jenny’s short curls with a large towel and began rubbing. “Come along,” she ordered. “We’ve got to get you out of those wet clothes before you take a chill.” She took Jenny’s hand and led her to the backroom, where she stripped the wet clothing from Jenny’s body then wrapped her once again in the bright-red blanket. Lottie wrung the water from the overalls and shirt and stepped outside. Jenny watched through the open backdoor as Lottie hung the clothes on a line strung between two trees. “In this heat it shouldn’t take long for them to dry out. Come on back to the bar and I’ll get you a sarsaparilla.”

Clutching the blanket around her shoulders, Jenny followed Lottie back into the saloon’s main room.

“Up you go.” Lottie lifted Jenny onto the flat-sided counter top. The saloon was empty except for one or two customers off by themselves in a corner playing cards and having a drink. Lottie poured the chilled girl a small glassful of sarsaparilla. She looked long and hard at her, until Jenny took the glass.

“At least my hair won’t take so long to dry now,” Jenny said. “I guess it’s a good thing it’s so short now, right?” She downed the sarsaparilla in three gulps and asked for more.

Lottie rolled her eyes and poured Jenny a bit more. Then she went back to her duties.

Jenny sighed. Didn’t anyone understand about her hair? Up until two months ago, her long, tangled hair had been an annoying problem. Unless it was braided, it flew all over the place, getting into her eyes, dragging along the ground when she crawled through the bushes, catching on blackberry brambles, and generally being a nuisance.

Occasionally, Lottie took a comb and brush to it, for Jason knew less than nothing about such things. Besides, he was too busy. But more often than not, Jenny didn’t bother to run over to the saloon just to have her hair combed, and she was too impatient to tend to it herself.

Jenny had decided that in honor of her tenth birthday she would cut it off short so it would be out of the way once and for all. After all, her brothers had short hair, so why couldn’t she? They never had to do anything with it. It took a lot of doing, but she managed to convince Jeremy to take their mother’s old shears and help Jenny hack her hair away a little past shoulder length.

However, once freed from its heavy weight, the shorn locks curled up and shortened themselves to just below her neck. Jeremy looked shocked when he realized what he had done. “You look j-just like Jason now,” he whispered, horrified. “It’s just as c-curly, and not much longer than his. I sure wish you hadn’t been so p-persuasive.”

“But I love it, Jeremy! Thank you.” She’d thrown her arms around her brother and hugged him tight, but Jeremy looked a little anxious. It wasn’t until Jason and Joshua returned home that afternoon and discovered what had gone on in their absence that Jenny realized she had overstepped her boundaries.

Jason had tanned her good and proper for what she had done. He’d also given Jeremy a piece of his mind in a voice that could have been heard all the way to Bridal Veil Mountain.

But there wasn’t much else Jason could do. Jenny’s hair was gone now, and she needn’t bother with it any longer. She was delighted to discover it was as curly as Jason’s, for that made it twice as easy to care for. She couldn’t have cared less if people looked at her strangely. It was worth it.

Jenny sipped her second glass of sarsaparilla and watched Lottie clean up and wash a few glasses, readying her saloon for customers. Now that Clancy’s ship was docking there’d soon be more people coming to the saloon for a place to stay or a hot meal.

An hour later, Jenny and the others heard the excited loggers before they saw them. The pounding on the porch outside the saloon was a dead giveaway that Jeremy had spread his news well. The door flew open and a noisy group of loggers entered, laughing and yelling. “Clancy’s ship docked. There’s mail. And passengers!” With that, the noisy group pounded out again, leaving the door wide open.

Just then, a tall, handsome, dark-haired man burst through the doorway, his face a mask of apprehension. He ran across the saloon floor and grabbed Jenny by her shoulders. He lifted her up, blanket and all, and planted a heartfelt kiss on her forehead. “Ah, Jenny!” he exclaimed. “Are you all right? Jeremy told me what happened. I ran all the way back. Are you cold? Wet?”

Jason Bolt

Jenny shook her head. “I’m fine, Jason. Lottie fixed me up. She’s got my clothes hanging out on the line.”

“It’s good of you, Lottie.” Jason smiled at her then turned back to his sister. He squeezed her tightly and set her back down on the countertop. “I don’t know what I would have done if you’d gone out with the tide,” he whispered, stroking her still-damp curls.

“Mr. Stemple rescued me. He even got his suit dirty.”

Jason grinned. “I bet it nearly killed him to do something nice for a Bolt.”

“I’m sure I can come up with some way you in which can repay me,” Aaron piped up from the doorway. “You can start by keeping your sister and brother away from that dock.”

Jason sighed. “You won’t let me be forgetting this incident, will you, Aaron?”

“Not a chance.” He turned to Jenny. “How’s the wet rat?”

“I’m not a rat, and I’m not wet,” Jenny replied with a scowl. Then her face broke into a grin as her brother Joshua entered the saloon. “Hi, Josh!”

Jenny’s tall, blond brother held up a clean pair of overalls and a shirt. “I thought I’d stop by the cabin just in case your other things hadn’t dried.” He smiled. “And even if they have dried, I wouldn’t want to wear salty clothes, would you?”

“No. I guess not. Thanks!” She took the clothes. It was a little hard holding the blanket around her shoulders and gripping the clean clothes, but she would manage it. She must manage it.  

“Did you have a nice swim?” Joshua asked.

“Not at all. Too cold.” Jenny made a face. “Where’s Jeremy?”

“Meeting the boat with the rest of the town. He’ll be here soon, along with that old sea dog, Clancy.” He motioned to his sister. “Why don’t you go get changed and then we can see what’s keeping them.”

“That sounds fine, Josh.”

Before Jenny could drop from the counter and head for Lottie’s back room to change, a silence fell over the saloon. She turned to discover the source. Two women stood in the open doorway. They were staring into the building. A mixture of disbelief and disapproval covered their faces.

The silence lingered. A shudder went through Jenny. Where had these two sour-faced ladies come from? And why would any fancy, well-dressed ladies come to Seattle?

 

CHAPTER 4

“The captain said this is the only place where one might find accommodations. Is that correct?” One of the ladies, the older one, sniffed and waited for an answer.

“That’s right, ma’am.” Lottie made her way around the bar and came forward. “I’m Lottie. I have a nice room all made up that should suit you just fine.”

“We will be the judges of that, if you don’t mind,” the younger of the two women said.

“Of course. How long will you be staying?”

“We don’t know yet. It depends on how long our business takes.” Then their eyes opened wide. “Why, I never saw such a thing! Is that a girl-child sitting on a saloon bar?”

“I believe it is, sister,” the other lady replied. Shock rang in her voice. “The very idea!” Both ladies marched across the saloon and stopped in front of Jenny. The older of the two looked at Jenny from over her spectacles. “Am I to understand you have nothing on under that . . . that . . . sorry excuse for a covering?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jenny whispered. She glanced at Jason, who stood looking tongue-tied.

“Why, it’s indecent, that’s what it is.” The woman’s mouth formed a pucker of indignation. “Wrapped in a blanket, surrounded by rough loggers in a saloon.” She leaned closer. “And my stars! What happened to your hair?” Then she rounded on Jason. “Jason Bolt! I’m ashamed of you!” She raised a finger at Josh. “And you too, Joshua. I’m shocked beyond belief.”

Jenny’s heart thumped wildly at this unwanted attention from two strange ladies. How did they know Jason? She scooted closer to where he stood leaning against the bar. Then Jenny frowned. She looked from Jason to the strangers and then back again. Her brother was staring at the women with amazement, like he knew who they were too. “Who are they?” she asked.

“Go put on your clothes,” Jason commanded softly. He lifted her from the bar and pointed in the direction of Lottie’s storeroom. “Hurry up now.”

Clutching the clothes Joshua had brought, Jenny obeyed, trembling just a little. She ducked into the backroom and slammed the door shut behind her. She hurried into the fresh overalls and shirt and returned to the main room. The women had vanished. Maybe it was my imagination, she thought in relief. I didn’t like them much.

Jenny looked around. Her three brothers were seated around a table talking. Captain Clancy had entered and was having a drink at the bar. He saw Jenny and greeted her. “Jennifer Bolt! How do you do this fine, sunny day?” He started to grin, then his smile faded. “Land o’ Goshen, lass! What did you do to all that beautiful red hair you had?”

“I cut it.” Jenny gave the grizzled old man a warm hug. “Actually, Jeremy cut it. We both got it good from Jason.”

“I bet you did.” He chuckled.

“Did you have a nice trip?” Jenny asked, stepping away from the grizzled old sea captain. She had known Clancy all of her life. His trading schooner, the Shamus O’Flynn, made the port of Seattle its home, but Clancy and his ship were gone for weeks or even months at a time.

He rolled his eyes. “It could have been better, m’ girl, if only those two old biddies had left me alone. But no. With their constant nagging and complaining I nearly lost me mind.” He winked at Jenny. “I think you’re headed into some rough weather shortly too, I’ll wager.” He leaned closer, and his voice dropped to a whisper. “Does you know who them two ladies is?”

“No,” Jenny shook her head. “Who?”

“Why, Jenny-darlin’, them two’s your aunts from San Francisco. They’ve come fer a visit.”

“A short one, I hope,” Jenny grumbled. She glanced toward the table, where her brothers still sat. They appeared to be in deep conversation with each other.

“I dunno how long me ship will stay in port. Short or long, those ladies will hopefully be on board when I leave.”

“Maybe on the next high tide?” Jenny asked hopefully.

Clancy laughed. “Doubtful, lass.”

Jenny scowled. Aunts? A visit? It sounded suspicious to her ten-year-old mind. “See you later, Clancy.” She hurried across the room and sat down in the empty chair at her brothers’ table. “Clancy says those two ladies are our aunts. Is that true?” She looked at her oldest brother for an answer.

Jason let out a long, slow breath and folded his hands before placing them on the table. “Yes. They are Margaret and Alice Winter, our mother’s older sisters. They never married.”

“Where are they now?” Jenny asked.

“Unpacking in their rooms,” Joshua supplied with a frown. He glanced toward the open flight of stairs that led to the upper floor.

Jenny wrinkled her forehead. “What are they doing here?”

Jason didn’t answer Jenny’s question. Instead, he remarked, “They’ve been here once before.”

“When was that?” Jeremy asked, curious. His expression showed that he couldn’t remember seeing them before now.

“Six years ago, when Mother died.” Josh, Jeremy, and Jenny stared at Jason. “They came as soon as the news reached them, maybe three or four months after Mother’s death,” Jason explained.

Josh leaned toward Jason. “I remember them slightly. How long did they stay?”

“Not long,” Jason said. “Our aunts stayed only long enough to see Mother’s grave and to talk Father into allowing them to take Jeremy and Jenny back to San Francisco, in order to raise them in a proper environment.” He smiled grimly at the looks on their faces. “Father, of course, refused. He would not even discuss their proposal. He felt his children needed a father rather than two spinster aunts—”

“So, what are they doing here now?” Joshua persisted. “Nobody’s died.”

Jason let out a deep, uncertain breath. “I’m not sure, but they may be here to try and talk me into letting them take Jenny back to San Fran—”

“No! You can’t!” Jenny’s words came out like the frightened cry of a small, trapped animal. She felt the blood drain from here face. “You won’t, will you, Jason?” she pleaded. “Promise me.”

“We’ll talk about it later, Jenny. Here they come. Be polite.”

CHAPTER 5

And talk about it they did. The aunts made their reason for coming quite clear. They had hazarded the dreaded sea voyage and come all this way aboard that cattle barge to see how their dear sister Mary’s little girl was faring, and if she was being raised in a manner suited to the Winter family.

“After all,” Margaret told Jason a week later as Jenny listened from her attic sleeping room, “this sort of country is all right for boys to grow up in.” She sniffed. “But really, Jason, without a woman’s influence, look what has happened to Jennifer. Why, her hair is as short as any boy’s, and to think she nearly drowned last week!”

Jenny had felt a little bit sorry for Jason when the aunts learned that she owned only one dress, and that she had no underthings at all. They gave Jason the full measure of their shock and disapproval. “Jason Bolt! What would your mother say?” Alice rebuked her nephew.

Jason tried to salvage the situation. Her brother could almost talk the little birds out of their nests with his smooth, well-spoken ways. “Why, Aunt Alice, I think Mother knows I’m doing the best I can. I think both she and Father would say that Jenny needs to be with her own folks.”

“We are her folks also, Jason,” Margaret reminded him.

Jason shook his head. “No, Margaret. I don’t think so. I can’t let her sail off to San Francisco. Seattle is all Jenny knows. We’d miss her too much, and she’d miss us.”

“That’s very selfish of you, Jason,” Alice argued. “You’re denying Jenny any chance of choosing for herself. What’s more, you are condemning her to a life of hardship and deprivation in the middle of a soggy mudhole. There’s no school, no decent women (save the store-keeper’s wife and a spinster schoolmarm), and no refinement at all. Let her go. You know she’d have the finest we could offer. We’re very well off, as you are aware.”

“Jenny wants to stay here,” Joshua added coldly.

Jenny squeezed her eyes shut and made no noise. Not even a cough. If Jason caught her listening, they would take the aunts to Lottie’s to finish this conversation, and Jenny would never learn how it would end. Thank you, Josh, she thought.

“If you always let children do as they like, they grow up spoiled and selfish,” Margaret countered. “I’ve got eyes in my head, Jason. I realize you have to log that ridiculous mountain your father left you in order to make a living, but Jenny doesn’t have to. She’s growing up free and wild, without discipline and without guidance. You don’t know the first thing about raising a girl-child, do you? Be honest with me now.”

Jason sighed. “No, I don’t. But I told you—I do the best I can.” He indicated his brothers. “We all do.”

“Would you at least consider our proposal?” Alice put in kindly. “We know how hard it would be to be parted from the child, but you must do it for her own good. If you love your sister, you’ll consider it.”

“All right,” Jason agreed softly. “I’ll consider it.” He rose to escort them back to Lottie’s. “But I’ll make you no promises.”

*******************

If it hadn’t been for an unfortunate turn of events, Jason might have sent his aunts away disappointed. He was sorely tempted to say no once and for all and get back to his life on the mountain. Jason couldn’t take the arguing from Joshua and Jeremy one day longer. They were both vehemently opposed to sending their sister to San Francisco.

“I call for a family vote!” Josh insisted, glaring at Jason one evening after another heated argument.

“M-me too!” Jeremy threw in his two-cents’ worth. “Two to one, Jason. And we all know how J-jenny would vote.”

“This goes beyond a family vote, brothers,” Jason said, holding firm. “This is my decision.”

“I don’t see how,” Josh scowled, but he knew in his heart that if Jason decided Jenny would go, she’d go. It irritated him, but his older brother was the undisputed head of the Bolt family, and his decisions stood.

********************************** 

Jenny stayed as far away from her aunts as possible. She couldn’t understand the fuss. After her one evening’s eavesdropping venture, she decided she didn’t want to hear any more. Everybody just argued, and it gave her a bellyache.

Why not just do what Joshua had suggested more than once around the supper table and have a family council? They could take a vote and be done with it. Even Jenny had a vote when it came to Bridal Veil Mountain, or if there was a disagreement among the Bolt family members. That’s how it was always done. Why not now?

At any rate, vote or no vote, it was not an issue. Jenny had decided that she simply would not go. And nobody could make her. If Jason put her on the ship by force, she’d jump overboard and swim back to Seattle. She’d been in the Sound once already this summer, and she could do it again. Anything to stay here.

Jenny hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She knew Jason was unhappy. He seemed torn up on the inside, and Jenny didn’t know why. Surely, he wasn’t considering their aunts’ request that she stay with them for an extended visit! Even a short visit was out of the question in Jenny’s mind.

Then one day in early August, Jenny woke up with a sore throat. She paid it no mind, but this time it did not go away or change into a runny nose like it usually did. To be ill during the summer was unheard of, so Jenny ignored it and continued to run and play in the woods and wade in the Sound.

Until the day when she tripped and fell and lay on the beach. She couldn’t get up. Her head felt like it was exploding, and she was so tired. And cold.

Jeremy reached down to help Jenny to her feet and gasped. “You’re b-burning up! Are you sick?”

“I think I might be,” she answered, shaking with chills. “I feel terrible.”

Half dragging, half carrying her, Jeremy managed to get Jenny home and put her to bed downstairs. Then he ran like a white-tailed deer up the winding road to the logging camp. After that, everything changed.

Jenny continued to run a high fever, and her throat felt as if it were on fire. She had never felt like this before in her life. When Jason reached down to put a cool rag on her head, her brother looked afraid. More afraid even than the day when a tree fell on Joshua’s leg. “She needs a doctor,” he whispered to his brothers, “and there’s no doctor for miles.”

“I agree, boys,” Lottie said softly. She had come to help and now sat by Jenny’s bed. “It looks like scarlet fever to me. See this rash?” She lifted Jenny’s nightshirt and traced her fingers across Jenny’s stomach.

“What are we going to do?” Jeremy asked, his stuttering disappearing in this crisis. “Is there a doctor in Tacoma? I could ride and–“

“No, I don’t think there is,” Jason said. “The nearest doc I’ve heard of lives in Portland, and that’s many days’ travel.” He shook his head. “I really don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe the aunts know what to do,” Joshua offered. “Maybe they have some wisdom from the city, something we wouldn’t know about.”

Lottie nodded her agreement. “Go fetch them, Josh, and see what they have to say.”

Jenny heard bits and pieces and thought it was all a bad dream.

When Alice and Margaret entered the cabin, they knew right away what was wrong, and they let everybody know about it, even Jenny. “It’s scarlet fever,” Alice told Jason, confirming Lottie’s diagnosis. “She’s got a pretty bad case of it.”

“What can we do?”

“Not a thing. In San Francisco she could get the best of care—soothing medicines and cool baths, clean tending and professional advice from a physician. But here in this wilderness?” She shook her head. “Truly, Jason. I’m sorry. We’ll keep her as comfortable as possible and hope that she doesn’t succumb to another infection. She needs a doctor and medicine, but we will tend her the best we can.”

Jenny trembled. Would she die? She gripped Lottie’s hand and croaked, “No, I want Lottie.” And she got her wish. The aunts returned to the saloon, and Lottie tended Jenny.

**********************

At the end of two weeks, Jenny was weak but well, with no visible side effects, for which they were all grateful. But the illness had played nicely into the aunts’ hands.

“Jason,” Alice confronted him. “You remember how scared you were when Jenny was ill. Think about this. What if it had been her appendix? She would have required an operation, and of course that can’t happen here. Would you lose your sister because you wouldn’t let her go to the city, where she can be kept healthy and educated?”

For Jason, this was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” He looked at his little sister and decided she must go with their aunts. Joshua and Jeremy would stand against it, and Jenny would probably never forgive him, but he wouldn’t take the chance ever again of his baby sister being so ill without a doctor. He would give her up rather than selfishly hold on to her until she died out here in Seattle. “All right.” He sighed. “She will go.”

Jenny was too weak to pitch a really good tantrum over Jason’s decision. Neither did she have the strength to run away and hide in the woods until the aunts got tired of looking for her. There was nothing she could do in her present state, so she resorted to tears. From the moment Jason told her, she sobbed continually—right up until the day her brothers escorted her up the gangplank of the Shamus O’Flynn, along with her few possessions.

Jenny refused to speak to Jason. Instead, she clung to Joshua and Jeremy, who were clearly trying to stay civil about the whole thing. Jason dropped the trunk of Jenny’s things on the deck of the ship then turned to her. “I’m sorry, Jenny,” was all he said. “I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me someday. And I want you to know that I love you.” He held out his arms for a last embrace, but Jenny turned her back on him.

“No! Just go away.” She burst into a fresh torrent of tears. Margaret and Alice gently pulled her away from Joshua and Jeremy, and Clancy ordered the lines to be cast off.

Jenny watched through blurry tears as the port of tiny Seattle fell farther and farther away. Then she turned from the view of her beloved Seattle and squared her shoulders. She would get through this. Somehow. But her troubled, ten-year-old mind made a vow.

I’ll never forgive you for this, Jason. Not for as long as I live.

 

CHAPTER 6

Late June 1868, San Francisco, California

The four years in San Francisco did not pass swiftly, but they passed. Jenny slowly adapted to life in the serene, fashionable house of the Winter sisters and learned many things, most of which would be entirely useless once she returned to Seattle.

And return to Seattle Jenny would, and sooner than her aunts intended, if she had any say about it. Unbeknownst to Margaret and Alice, Jenny hoarded every cent of the generous allowance they gave her to spend on trinkets or candy. Who cared about trinkets or candy? Jenny saved the money for the day—however long it took—when she might have enough to buy herself passage on the first ship north to Washington Territory.

Margaret and Alice were kindness exemplified. They strove to make Jenny’s stay in the city as pleasant as possible. It was no secret that they eventually hoped to convince their pretty little niece to stay in San Francisco until she was eighteen years old. As the child grew and matured, she would naturally embrace the advantages of living in a thriving city rather than a God-forsaken mudhole in the middle of the wilderness. They often wondered how their sister Mary had survived such an ordeal as living in the woods and raising her family there. And it was obvious that she had not survived there long.

Mary had been their little pet of a sister, many years younger than themselves, and Margaret and Alice had doted on her. They had been understandably vexed when a handsome, rugged logger by the name of Jonathan Bolt had entered their lives and swept their younger sister off her feet, literally carrying her off into the harshness of Washington Territory. The very idea!

And little Jennifer reminded the aunts so much of dear Mary! Her reddish hair was the same color, and her eyes sparkled with the same zest for life. They had no intention of allowing the wilderness to claim dear Jennifer’s life as it had claimed her mother’s.

Margaret and Alice showered the homesick little girl with all the warmth and affection they had shown her mother, but Jenny was slow to melt. She may have resembled her mother, but she had inherited her father Jonathan Bolt’s determination and had not welcomed their advances into her life.

Eventually however, as the weeks turned into months, and the long months passed into years, Jenny began to accept her new life in San Francisco. Although she blamed her aunts for coming to Seattle in the first place, she reserved much of her bitterness for her oldest brother, who had the power to send Jenny away when she so very much had wanted to stay in Seattle.

Once Jenny discovered that she could earn an allowance by being helpful and cheerful, she set her plans into motion. She also learned that by being cooperative and uncomplaining, she was granted numerous freedoms. So, in spite of the fact that she often pined away for her home in Seattle, she buried it temporarily and concentrated on the idea that if she saved enough money, she could eventually find a ship’s captain willing to take her home.

So, Jennifer Bolt went to school with other young girls her age. She learned her sums—quite well, in fact. She learned to sew samplers and cook a variety of interesting and tasty dishes. Her hair grew quickly, and she learned to care for it. She also learned to appreciate and care for the expensive clothes her aunts bought for her with much delight.

They thought it simply wonderful to have a little girl to care for again.

As Jenny began to adjust, Margaret sighed in relief and satisfaction. They also looked forward with joy and expectation to the day when Jennifer Marie Bolt would “come out” and be a credit to the Winter family. By the time she was eighteen, they hoped Seattle would be no more than a passing mist in the life of a once-little girl.

However, the aunts had forgotten about the steel will and determination behind the pretty face of a little girl who was growing into young womanhood. When she turned fourteen, Jenny let the blow fall.

“Aunt Alice?” she asked one evening at supper. She sat at the table, quietly wondering how she in the world she would bring this subject up, when she decided to just blurt it out.

“Yes, my dear?” Her aunt answered with a smile. Aunt Margaret looked up to nodded to her niece to continue.

“I was down along the waterfront today and—”

“Excuse me? You went where?” Margaret’s eyebrows rose.

“The waterfront. The wharves and piers. You know . . . where the all the ships dock and—”

“I know where the waterfront is, Jennifer. I’m just uncertain as to why you went there. It is an extremely unsuitable place for a young lady to go, especially without an escort.”

The San Francisco waterfront

Jenny looked down at her lap. “I’m sorry, Aunt Margaret, but I just had to go. I needed to check when there would be a ship bound for Seattle.”

Alice gasped. “Whatever for?”

“I’ve been saving up my allowance and I now have enough money to buy passage to Seattle.”

“Goodness gracious, child!” Margaret burst out. “It costs more than the allowance you receive from us.”

“No, ma’am, it doesn’t,” Jenny contradicted quietly. “I’ve been saving my money ever since you first started giving me an allowance. Four years’ worth is enough. I checked long ago.”

“You’ve saved your allowance for four years?” The question came out as a whisper.

“Yes, Aunt Alice.” Jenny looked up into her aunt’s gray eyes. “I want to go home.”

“But Jennifer,” Alice pleaded. “You are so nicely adjusted to life here in the city. Your grades at school are outstanding. You’ve been nominated honor student of your class. Your teachers say—”

“I know what they say, Auntie. But I want to go home.”

“You are home. At least until you turn eighteen years old.”

“Eighteen! You told Jason I’d only have to stay here a few years. Well, it’s been a few years. I’m not a little girl who’s going to get sick every time I walk through a mud puddle. I’m practically grown. I’ve gone way past the eighth grade. I probably have more education than all my brothers combined.” Jenny forced a smile. “Although, I do remember Josh being the ciphering champion. He can do all kins of sums in his head.” She sighed. “I can dance and curtsy and smile ‘just so’ at any young man. That’s not a very useful skill in the woods, by the way. And I can cook and sew.” Jenny paused. “Now that is the one useful thing I learned here. I can cook and sew for my brothers.”

“You would do that to us, Jennifer? Abandon us when we’ve showered everything upon you to make you a lady that we can be proud of?”

“You promised,” Jenny said. Her hands began to shake.

“We thought you liked it here.”

Jenny shrugged. “It’s a nice place to visit, but I want to go home. I miss the forest. Trees that reach to the sky.” She let out a longing breath. “I miss sitting on the dock and watching the sun set over the Olympics. I miss”—she shrugged again—“oh, never mind. You would never understand the scent of those Douglas firs in the air—like Christmas every day.”

“Seattle is not a proper place for a young lady. Only rough loggers live there—”

“Not anymore,” Jenny broke in. She felt a flush of complete and utter joy at her latest discovery, a discovery that would be her trump card, at least if her aunts ever let her play the card game Whist.

“Why, whatever do you mean?”

Jenny’s heart raced. “When I was down at the docks, I saw that the Shamus O’Flynn was docked.”

“That wretched cattle barge?” Alice exclaimed with a shiver.

“The very same. Captain Clancy was full of news. He told me that my brothers had gone all the way around the Horn last year. Six months ago they returned to Seattle with thirty brides to wed the loggers.”

“But . . . but where would they have found any decent young ladies willing to take such a journey?”

“In New Bedford, Massachusetts,” Jenny replied. “The War left a lot of women in the North short of husbands, and Seattle is short of wives, so . . .” She left the rest unsaid.

“And?” Alice prompted.

“Clancy says that they’re all proper eastern young ladies, so there’s no reason why I shouldn’t return to my home. Seattle is now populated with thirty ladies who are more than willing to live in the wilderness and give it a civilized feeling.”

“Jennifer—” Margaret began but stopped herself.

At that moment, Jenny knew the battle was over and she had won. The aunts could not give any reasonable explanation for their niece to stay in the city any longer, now that Seattle had become “civilized.”

“I have my own fare for passage if you refuse to send me back, but I will go home. Clancy promised he’d find a spot for me, so long as I was at the wharf by tomorrow’s high tide. The tide’s full at four o’clock in the afternoon.” She stood up. “I’m leaving with or without your blessing or consent. I certainly don’t need your money.”

In the face of such determination, the aunts conceded defeat. “We will send you home, my dear,” they agreed. “We did promise just a few years, and now that Seattle has proper ladies living there, it won’t be so bad to know you are there.”

Jenny sighed. “Thank you. I don’t want to hurt you, but I miss my home and my brothers.”

“I think we finally understand. You are just like your mother. She left too when your father asked her to marry him and go to Seattle. We can’t keep you here if you’re so determined to leave. But we can make sure you arrive in Seattle as you ought—the well-turned-out niece of the Winter family. Tomorrow morning, we shall help you pack all you need. You will be more than adequately prepared to meet Captain Clancy when he weighs anchor.”

“Thank you.” Jenny sighed deep in her heart. At last, I’m going home.

CHAPTER 7

July 1868, Seattle, Washington Territory

Jenny opened her eyes, blinking as the bright sunshine fell onto her face. She didn’t realize she’d been crying while she sat on the deck of the Shamus O’Flynn and remembered all that had happened over the past four years. When Clancy’s shadow fell over her, Jenny hastily brushed the tears from her eyes and commented about salt spray in her eyes. Then she bent over and pretended to be organizing something on deck.

The captain nodded absently. Poor little mite. She was such a funny little thing with her shorn curls and spunky ways. Gave ol’ Aaron Stemple a time of it. Wonder how they’ll like having her back. She’s not a little girl anymore. Will they even recognize her, I wonder?

Once Jenny had left Seattle, Clancy never heard anyone speak of her. For quite a while, though, it looked as if the Bolt brothers were on the verge of a family feud. Joshua and Jeremy went around town with scowls, and Jason had thrown himself into his work. And so, life went on.

“Jenny-lass,” Clancy said. “Come here.”

Jenny jumped to her feet and joined the captain at the port bow. “What is it, Clancy.”

“That there’s Seattle, darlin’.”

Seattle, Washington Territory

Jenny shaded her eyes against the glare of the sun on the water and strained to recognize the town. She could just make out the totem pole, and of course one could always see Lottie’s saloon. And there, off to the right, Jenny glimpsed the wooden dock where she and Jeremy loved to sit and fish or just watch the sun set.

She raised her eyes to one of the many hills in the east, behind Seattle. Bridal Veil mountain rose tall and dark green against the bluest skies Jenny had ever seen. The skies in San Francisco never looked this blue. She’d forgotten how rain always washed the sky and made it bluer than ever. Come to think of it, hadn’t it rained yesterday, when the Shamus O’Flynn was sailing through the Strait of Juan de Fuca? Oh, yes. She’d stayed in the wheelhouse with Clancy, watching a veil of misty summer rain blanket everything for miles around the ship.

She turned to Clancy with a smile. “It looks the same as always.” She threw her arms around the grizzled sea captain and looked up into the old man’s Irish-blue eyes. “Oh, I hope everything else is the same too.”

“You won’t be disappointed, I’m sure.”

“Say, what’s that?” Jenny asked as the ship drew closer to the dock. She pointed to a large, two-story building in the middle of the town square.

“That’s the dormitory. For the brides, ya know.”

She nodded. Of course. The ladies had to stay somewhere until they were wed.

“Well, Jenny-darlin’, I’ve gotta see to the docking of m’ ship.”

“All right. Thank you, Clancy.”

“My pleasure. And I sure wouldn’t want t’ be missin’ the look on Jason’s face when he sees you.”

“Maybe you’ll see it, if he’s at the dock.” Jenny turned back and watched the ship slowly and perfectly slide alongside the quay, where a crowd of excited bystanders yelled and waved at the arrival of Clancy’s ship.

Just like always. Jenny was cheered at the familiar thought that everyone still looked forward to the ship docking.

The Seattle wharf

Clancy’s sailors scurried around Jenny, tossing the ropes onto the dock then jumping out and tying the ship up. In no time, they lowered the gangplank and began to unload the cargo, leaving Jenny to do as she wished.

All of a sudden, Jenny felt shy and lonely. She looked out over the sea of faces—loggers, sawmill workers, a few farmers, and a large group of young women who must be the brides from New England—and felt completely out of place in her fancy blue-velvet dress and stylish shoes. She was hatless, of course, having tossed her bonnet days and days ago, and her face felt sunburnt from the sun’s glare upon water. She flushed even hotter when some of the young women took notice and pointed in her direction. “Maybe I should hide in the hold,” she murmured. She didn’t recognize even one soul.

“May I help you, miss?”

Jenny jerked back to the here and now. She glanced down the gangplank and into the cheerful face of a young logger dressed in the familiar attire of a plaid flannel shirt and suspenders. He looked slightly mussed, as if someone had sent him on a hurried errand for the logging camp and he was sneaking a peek at the ship before heading back into the woods. One of Jason’s men?

“Sure,” Jenny answered, quickly forgetting all of those well-taught lessons her aunts had bestowed upon her for such occasions. She allowed the young logger to take her hand, and she made it down the gangplank without tripping, thank goodness!

These shoes are impossible! she moaned silently.

“Have you any bags?” the young logger asked.

“A trunk and two carpetbags,” Jenny replied. She grinned at the man’s silly look.

“Then you’ll be staying awhile?”

“Oh, yes,” came her quick answer. Then she laughed. “Thanks for the help. Gangplanks are a death trap. I nearly became fish bait when I boarded in San Francisco. I tripped going up the ramp and almost fell over the side.”

The logger laughed with her, then spoke. “Are you here to visit one of the brides? A younger sister or friend?”

“Something like that,” Jenny answered. She stepped off the wooden quay and took a few steps into the muddy streets of Seattle. From yesterday’s rain, she remembered. She giggled inwardly. Good ol’ Seattle!

“Watch yourself, miss. The streets are a fright.” He indicated the brides’ dormitory. “I’ll carry your bags to the dormitory if you’d like, and Clancy can bring the trunk later.”

“Thank you, but I don’t think I’ll be staying there. I can come back later and—”

“Hello there.”

A pretty, auburn-haired young woman joined them. She was surrounded by three or four other brides, all of them looking as curious as could be over Jenny’s arrival. I’m alone, so they are probably wondering why in the world a young girl would show up in Seattle, especially without an escort. Well, it won’t be a mystery for long.

“Hello,” Jenny replied, caught off-guard. She looked back at the friendly logger.

“These here are some of the brides of Seattle,” he told her. “You’ll be in good hands with them.” He nodded at the auburn-haired girl, who appeared to be the leader of the little group. “That’s Candy Pruitt.” He turned to go. “I’m Alan if you need anything.”

“I’m Jenny B—”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Jenny. I’ve gotta get back up to camp before Jason has my hide.”

*******************

Alan waved at Jenny and took off running toward Aaron Stemple’s sawmill to complete his errand. In his mind he replayed the image of that young, pretty girl who looked so lost and scared those first few minutes after Clancy’s boat had docked. “I wonder how old she is? Fifteen? Sixteen?” Alan shook his head to rid himself of his silly thoughts. He had no idea how to judge a lady’s age, but she appeared younger than the brides in the new dormitory. Alan was only eighteen, the youngest logger in Jason’s crew. Even the young brother, Jeremy, was nineteen and had worked in the woods for years. “I’m as green and raw as a city slicker.” He chuckled and banged on Mr. Stemple’s office door.” As the sawmill owner beckoned him inside, Alan hoped he could get a chance to become acquainted with this new arrival.

*******************

Candy Pruitt smiled at Jenny. “That Alan Bates! Don’t mind him. He’s a nice boy. Friendly and helpful. And a pretty good logger too.”

Jenny studied Candy without trying to appear rude. She was tall and beautiful, with an air of confidence that made her look older than . . . Jenny wondered at her age. These brides couldn’t be much older than eighteen nor nineteen. Maybe twenty at the very oldest. Much past that and folks like Aunt Alice and Aunt Margaret would whisper, “old maids, the lot of them.”

Candy Pruitt

“Oh,” Jenny said for lack of anything intelligent to reply. It was clear from the way Candy put herself forward that she was the leader of this interesting group of young women from back east. her nineteen years. Jenny hoped she was kind. She needed a friend right now, even an older girl.

“What’s the matter, Jenny?” Candy asked kindly. “Long trip?”

“Very long.”

“Are you waiting for someone? You can wait in the dormitory if you’d like.”

“Thank you, Candy, I am, but I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Jenny replied. “I’ll wander around a bit and look things over.” Inside, she was smiling. This Candy girl appeared bursting with curiosity to know for whom Jenny waited. Seattle was such a small town, and no one had any idea she would be arriving on Clancy’s ship today. “Good day,” she remembered to say.

“Good day,” Candy replied. She sounded disappointed.

One of her companions whispered loudly enough for Jenny to catch. “Oh, Candy. Who can she be meeting? Why in the world—”

“Biddy, hush!” Candy hissed, and her face turned red in embarrassment.

Jenny ignored the whispering of gossip and speculation. Speculate all you want, she mused. Candy or one of the other girls could have asked her, but for certain Jenny did not plan on volunteering any information. It might be nice if the Bolt brothers knew of her arrival before the rest of the town.

“Oh, bother!” Jenny hiked her skirt up to avoid the worst of the puddles. She had not wanted her skirts lowered, no indeed! For one thing, it made a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl appear much older. Secondly, the shorter the skirt, the better chance there was of keeping the hem dry and clean.

Little do the aunts know that we make our own rules in Seattle. Jenny grimaced. And the sooner I’m out of these fancy clothes and into comfortable ones, the happier I’ll be!

Jenny took a quick peek from the corner of her eye at the brides. Candy and the rest of her small group of young ladies had returned to the dormitory’s porch, but they did not go inside. They were watching her, or maybe the frenzied activity around Clancy’s ship as the men unloaded the cargo was excuse enough to linger outdoors.

Downcast, Jenny headed for Lottie’s. This was not the reunion and homecoming she had envisioned. None of her brothers were in town, and she recognized no one. Well, perhaps Lottie would remember her.

Just then, a tall, dark man dressed in a business suit crossed her path and tipped his hat. Afternoon, miss.” He gave her a quick smile.

“Hello, Mr. Stemple,” Jenny replied. “A fine day, isn’t?”

“It is indeed,” he replied and kept walking. He hadn’t recognized her. Did he think she was one of those New Bedford brides? How ridiculous!

“Will I have to walk all the way up to the logging camp in these horrid shoes to see my brothers? Why aren’t they in town meeting Clancy’s ship?”

Oh well. This is what I get for expecting Seattle should remain exactly as I remembered from four years ago. Then she scowled, and her heart started hammering. A sick feeling burned in her stomach. This is all Jason’s fault, she steamed quietly, jumping over another mud puddle. I’m going to—

The sudden appearance of another logger, who was coming as she was going, stopped Jenny in her tracks. They had nearly collided. Jenny dropped her skirt folds, and the hem fell into the puddle. Of all the rude, blind—  

“Oh, golly! Excuse me,” he said in a rush. “I’m awfully sorry. Look at your dress. It’s getting all ruined in the mud. It’s my fault, isn’t it? Can I help you . . .” His voice trailed off. Then he asked, “What’s wrong? Honestly, I didn’t mean to run into you like that.”  

Jenny’s eyes filled with unexpected tears. Her own brother didn’t recognize her. Well, in truth, she hardly recognized him. Jeremy had shot up the past few years, and all traces of his stuttering had vanished. “I might as well have stayed in San Francisco,” she muttered. Then louder, “Jeremy Bolt, if you don’t say something right in one minute, I’m going to slap you silly.”

Jeremy’s eyes grew huge with sudden understanding. “Jenny?” He gripped his sister by her shoulders, and a huge smiled covered his face. “Jenny! It is you!”

Right there in the middle of the town square, Jeremy lifted Jenny and swung her around and away from the mud puddle. Then he engulfed her in a huge embrace and kissed her forehead.  “Never have I been so glad to see anyone in my life! Are you home to stay? Wait till Jason hears. Come on!” He grabbed her hand and started to pull her toward the road out of town. “We’ve got to get up to camp.”

A surge of joy flooded Jenny. Jeremy was still Jeremy. She wanted nothing more than to race him up to the logging camp, but her city shoes with the pointy toes and grown-up heels would not allow it. “I can’t,” she mourned, pointing at her feet. “You go on up and . . .” She stopped talking. Uh-oh.

Coming toward them was the young, auburn-haired leader of the brides, Candy Pruitt-something. The expression on her face told Jenny that Candy had seen and heard everything that had just transpired between Jenny and Jeremy. What of it? Jenny wondered. Why does she look so angry and confused and—

“Well, I never!” the girl Candy had called Biddy exclaimed, marching up behind Candy. “Do you think they’re—”

Candy whirled on her friend. “Biddy, don’t say a word. I’ll find out soon enough what kind of rascal Jeremy Bolt really is.” She clenched her fists and continued walking toward Jeremy and Jenny. When she came within a few feet, she planted her fists on her hips. “Jeremy Bolt, I’d like a word with you, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, Candy,” Jeremy agreed. He looked at Jenny in confusion. “I’ll be right back.”

“No, what I have to say can be said in front of Jenny.” Candy took a deep breath. “What—”

“Is she your girl, Jeremy?” Jenny asked, just as confused as her brother looked.

“Perhaps no longer,” Candy retorted icily.

Jenny frowned. “Why not? What’s he done?” She turned to Jeremy. “What did you do to make her so angry?”

“I don’t know.” He turned to Candy. “What’s the matter, Candy?”

Candy rolled her eyes. “Are all loggers as thick-headed as you?”

“Huh?”

“Candy wants to know why—”

“I can speak for myself, Biddy,” Candy snapped. She rounded on Jeremy. “I’d like an explanation for this tender scene between the two of you.”

For an instant, Jeremy looked puzzled. “What? Who? Jenny?” Then he laughed. “Candy, you’re jealous for no reason.”

“She looks like a pretty good reason to me.”

Jeremy sputtered in mirth. “This is my sister, Jennifer. She’s been staying with our aunts in San Francisco for a number of years, but it now looks like she’s here to—”

“Your sister!” Candy looked aghast. “Oh, Jenny! I’m so very sorry.” She shook her head, clearly embarrassed for jumping to conclusions. “When will I ever slow down and think? I saw you and Jeremy, and I . . . well, I . . . never mind. Can you forgive me?”

By now, Jenny was laughing too. “Of course. It feels good to laugh after wondering if I even belonged in Seattle any longer.” She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and took Candy’s hand. “I can’t thank you brides enough for coming to Seattle. It’s the only way my aunts would permit me to return.”

“How long have you been gone?”

Jenny sighed. “Four years. Seems like four hundred, though.”

“You poor thing. Why?” She looked troubled. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business, is it?”

“I might tell you sometime if you’ve got about five hours to listen to the whole thing. But right now, I’ve got to find Jason and Josh. I want to kiss Josh and scratch Jason’s eyes out.” She grinned at Jeremy.

“I hope you’re just spouting off,” Jeremy muttered. Then his voice rose. “Jason and Josh were right behind me. I’m sure they’ll be in town in a minute. Let’s wait.” He yanked on a long, reddish lock of hair. “I see your hair grew out.”

Jenny grimaced. “Yeah. But I had to hear about it from the aunts for weeks and months.”

“Your hair?” Candy asked.

“Jeremy cut it all off for me a couple of months before I left Seattle. Needless to say, we both got in hot water from Jason over it.”

“Oh, Jenny,” Candy said, smiling sincerely. “I would truly enjoy talking to you about just those kinds of things. I want to get to know your family, and Jeremy is pretty tight-lipped when it comes to stories. In fact”—she planted her fists on her hips and glared at him—“he never told me about you.”

“Jeremy!” Jenny yelled.

“I couldn’t. Me and Josh, well . . . it was better for us to try and forget about you. It hurt too much whenever we talked about you.” He shook his head. “But that’s all in the past. And Sis . . .” Jeremy bent down to whisper into her ear. “I’ll hold Jason down so you can scratch his eyes out if you like.”

“Deal,” Jenny agreed. Then she remembered her trunks. “My stuff is still on the dock. Will you take it up to the cabin for me?”

“Why, surely you’ll stay in the dormitory with us,” Candy broke in, clearly anxious to get to know this surprise addition to the Bolt family.

Jenny frowned. “I don’t know. I thought I’d go home and be with—”

“We can decide that later,” Jeremy interrupted. “And I’ll grab your luggage later. Right now, we’re going to Lottie’s while we wait for Jason and Josh. I don’t know what’s taking them so long.”

Jenny looked at her brother in surprise. He had sure grown up these past four years. Why, he was a man, and he had a girl and everything! “Lead the way, big brother,” she said, tucking her hand around his elbow. Candy took his other arm.

Together, the three of them walked companionably into the saloon, where Lottie dropped the mugs she was carrying. They clunked onto the floor. “Jenny!” Lottie recognized her at once. “You look just like your mother. Oh, honey, it’s good to see you!” She enfolded Jenny in her ample and embraced her. “The town’s not been the same since you left. You’re staying, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Jenny replied. “For good.”

“Well,” a serious voice broke in, “I guess I’d better watch my step then, oughten I?”

Jenny pulled herself away from Lottie and regarded the owner of that voice with amusement. “Hello, Mr. Stemple. I’m back.”

“I had my suspicions earlier when we crossed paths, but I hoped I was mistaken. I don’t think I can take another Bolt.” But he was smiling.

“I’m grown up, Mr. Stemple,” Jenny assured him. “I won’t be falling off any more docks or tying up your laundry. I’m a young lady now.”

“I am not so sure of that,” he said, clearly unimpressed. “However, I shall give you the benefit of the doubt. If that’s truly the case, welcome back, Jenny Bolt.”

The door to Lottie’s opened just then, and Jason and Josh strolled through. “Good afternoon, Lottie,” Jason began. “Ship’s in early, is it? Where’s Clancy? I need to ask him about those supplies he was supposed to bring me from—”

“Hello, Jason,” Jenny called, standing at the bar next to Jeremy.

Jason face drained of color. He recognized her at once. “Jenny?” he asked softly.

Jenny nodded but stayed right where she was. She knew her brother had to process this himself. As if she could read his mind, Jenny saw four years of guilt washing over him. Mixed into his expression was the uncertainty of how Jenny would react to seeing him after what he’d done.

“Jenny,” Jason repeated. He cleared his throat and got right to the point. “I’m sorry I made you go. I was young. I was scared. I figured our aunts knew what they were doing and I”—he ducked his head—“well, I don’t have any excuses. I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to forgive me.” He looked up. “Can you forgive me?”

“Do you still want to scratch his eyes out?” Jeremy whispered.

Jenny elbowed Jeremy in the ribs. “Hush.” Then she pushed him aside and dashed across the large room. She propelled herself into Jason and threw her arms around his neck. He stood solid as the Douglas firs he logged, strong and unmoving, but Jenny heard a quiet “oof” escape his lips.

“Oh, Jason!” Jenny burst into tears. The four years of bitterness she had stored up in the city and even on the way home ran down her cheeks, never to be recaptured and held against him again. She’d thought she would never forgive Jason for as long as she lived, but she had been a foolish child. As soon as she saw him, she realized what a hard, heartbreaking decision he’d made, a decision he thought was best for her. And why had he done this hard thing? Because he loved her.

“Let’s not ever bring it up again,” Jenny told Jason between tears. “It’s over. Nobody can bring back the past. I just want to live for now and for the future. Neither wild horses–nor determined, bossy aunts–can make me go back to the city. I’m never leaving Seattle again.”

Listening to Jenny’s words, Jason’s eyes filled with tears. He hugged her tightly, grateful that she forgave him. “I’ll make it up to you, Jenny-girl. See if I don’t. In two months, you’ll forget you ever lived in San Francisco. I promise.”

“I believe you,” Jenny said, then pulled herself away and smiled into her brother’s bright blue eyes. “I believe you.”

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