Whatever Tomorrow Brings (The Californians 1) Page 5

  "I just feel so bad. I feel like I've done something to encourage him."

  "I don't think you have, Kate. I mean you're nice to people and he must have thought you liked him, well you know, in that way."

  "But I don't and even if I did Sean, Percy and I are cousins!" The thought was so clearly distasteful to her that Sean laughed.

  "Does it feel strange to be in this room?" Kaitlin asked when the laughter died down.

  'A little. But in some ways I feel closer to Mother. Her clothes and things are still in here and I kind of like seeing them."

  Kaitlin nodded in understanding and walked around the room. She reached out to touch a handkerchief that lay on the dresser. The small scrap of cloth still held their mother's fragrance. The scent brought tears to the young woman's eyes. She took a moment to gather her emotions and then told Sean she was headed to the library to get her book and then to bed. Sean lifted the handkerchief after she left and his own tears came as he held it tightly in his hand.

  "If you would just talk to me. Maybe I can help."

  "Just leave it, Mother. You know I don't like to be nagged."

  "But Percy-"

  Mother and son were in the library in a heated discussion as Kaitlin came down the stairs. That their voices were agitated did not register with her until she was close enough to hear every word.

  "I mean it, Mother. Now just leave me alone."

  "It's Kaitlin, isn't it?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about." Percy's voice was strained, belying his words.

  "Yes, you do. You're in love with her," Maureen accused.

  Percy's chin jutted out on those accusatory words. 'And what if I am?"

  "Oh Percy, Percy, no. Don't I give you everything? Don't I let you have whatever you want? Kaitlin's your cousin. She's in mourning; please leave her alone."

  "Honestly, Mother," the young man said with an offended sniff. "You'd think I was some ogre trying to throw myself at her."

  "Percy, you're cousins!"

  It was on those words that Kaitlin fled back up the stairs. Marcail was a very heavy sleeper so Kaitlin didn't attempt to wake her before scooping her up and heading across the hall to Sean's room. Sean was down to his pants in his preparation for bed and watched in surprise as his sister flew into the room and shut the door.

  "Kate, what is the-matter-with you?"

  "Sean," she panted as she lay Marcail on the bed. "Try to wake her while I find that newspaper you had earlier."

  "Katie, what-"

  "Just do it!" she commanded sharply, but Sean just stood gaping at her. Kate turned the lamp high and sat on the floor beside the bed. The rustle of papers was loud in the still room. "Here it is!" Kate finally said.

  Santa Rosa-Schoolteacher

  Wanted-Immediately-

  For Remainder of School Year

  Apply Burt Kemp Real Estate, Santa Rosa

  Kaitlin looked over at Sean in triumph. Sean stared at her in complete confusion, which reminded Kate that he hadn't heard any of the conversation downstairs. She took a deep breath and told him the whole story.

  "Kate, I think you could get that job but I don't think we need to move away. I mean Percy hasn't really done anything, and you told me you keep your distance."

  "So you think I'm overreacting?"

  "Yes, I guess I do."

  Kate's shoulders slumped. "When I realized I'd caused an argument between Aunt Maureen and Percy I felt terrible and then when Percy practically said he loved me, I panicked."

  "It's okay, Kate." They were silent for a moment and then Sean tried to encourage his older sister. "I guess it's kind of nice to know that you could get a job if you needed to. Santa Rosa is that nice town that Aunt Maureen told us about, isn't it?"

  "She said she used to have friends there and she talked like it wasn't too far away."

  Marcail had slept through the entire episode as well as Sean carrying her back to her bed. He spoke to Kaitlin before he took himself off to bed.

  "I can see why it would upset you, Kate, but I think you'll be okay. If you want, I can sleep in here with you."

  "No Sean, it's all right. I'm probably just too tired."

  "Okay. Good night Kate."

  "Good night Sean, and thanks."

  It was some time before Kaitlin could sleep but as she prayed she became totally convinced that she had overreacted, which only made the incident that happened the next day even more upsetting.

  twelve

  "I've been wanting to talk with you, Kaitlin."

  "What about, Percy?" Kate smiled kindly and stood expectantly several feet in front of her cousin, in the library.

  Percy was suddenly tongue-tied. Both of Kate's black dresses were being pressed and so she'd slipped into a light-weight spring fabric of green and yellow. Percy found her enchanting.

  The warm expectant smile slowly died on Kaitlin's face as Percy's gaze grew intense. Kate's brain was telling her to get out of the room but she was so surprised she reacted too late. In the next instant Percy's arms were around her, attempting to pull her close. Kate's hands were on his chest pushing with all her strength.

  "I've wanted to hold you from the moment I saw you," Percy whispered. "Please don't fight me, Kaitlin." Percy's head came forward and he tried to kiss her.

  "No, Percy!" Kaitlin gasped as she twisted from side to side. She opened her mouth to call for help when a voice spoke in the doorway.

  "Get your hands off my sister." The voice was deadly cold and Percy froze in surprise. It was enough. Kate took advantage of the loosening of his arms and twisted free. She had just arrived at Sean's side when Maureen and Marcail stepped through the door.

  Maureen's gaze went from her white-faced disheveled niece and furious nephew to her stone-faced son. Something clutched around Maureen's heart and for the first time in her life she truly saw Percy for the immature, selfish and spoiled man that he was. Before she could say anything, Sean made a quick decision and spoke.

  "Aunt Maureen, we appreciate all you've done but we'll be moving to Santa Rosa. There's a possible teaching position there for Kate. We'll be leaving in the morning."

  Sean could see he'd shocked his aunt speechless. But he wasn't finished. He turned to his cousin and spoke in a voice so like his father's that both his sisters and aunt could only stare at him.

  "If you ever touch my sister again, I'll thrash you to within an inch of your life." Sean did not wait for an answer before he ushered his sisters from the room.

  He'd seen a flicker of fear in his cousin's eyes and knew he'd been taken seriously. The truth was that he'd never hit anyone in his life, but he also knew, with the way he was feeling right then, that he was more than capable of carrying out his threat.

  "Who will we live with?" Marcail wanted to know.

  "We'll figure that out when we get to Santa Rosa," her brother told her. The Donovan children had been talking for over an hour. They had all three prayed and tried to think of what their father would have done in the same circumstances.

  "The problem is that this would never have happened if Father had been here," Sean stated logically. "I am really sorry, Kate."

  "Stop apologizing."

  "But if I'd listened to you last night-"

  "It's all right, Sean. We just underestimated the way Percy would act. We're also causing problems between Aunt Maureen and Percy so I think it's best this way."

  "Is it my fault that he did that, Katie?" Marcail wanted to know. "Because I said he loves you?"

  "No Marc, it's not your fault. Percy is a grown man and he knew better than to try and hug me when I didn't want to be hugged." Kate was surprised at how normal her voice sounded. Every time she thought of Percy a shiver ran through her. She folded her arms across her chest and tried to push the whole episode out of her mind.

  "Now, we need to take a vote. Do we leave for Santa Rosa in the morning and pray that God gives me a job? Sean?"

  "I vote we go."

  "Marc?"
<
br />   "I want to stay with you and Sean. But mostly I want Father to come back."

  Kate hugged her where they sat on the floor of the girls' bedroom. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Sean answered it.

  Aunt Maureen stood on the threshold looking pale with strain and worry. Sean held the door wide and she entered wordlessly.

  "Is there anything I can say, Kaitlin?" The older woman came straight to the point.

  "It's not your fault, Aunt Maureen."

  If only that were true, the older woman thought, but said in a voice that shook with emotion, 'Are you really going to leave?"

  Kate went to her. "Aunt Maureen, I have to tell you something. When I came downstairs last night, I heard you and Percy talking. I panicked when I heard how he felt about me because I thought I'd done something to cause that."

  "Oh no, my dear, please don't think that."

  "Well, I'm feeling better about it but the thing I need to tell you is about the ad I saw for a teaching position. You said Santa Rosa wasn't too far from here."

  'About a day's ride on the stagecoach."

  "Well, yesterday morning I saw this ad and for some reason I couldn't get it out of my mind. At first I just thought it was because I knew I could apply. I think I was feeling prideful about being an experienced teacher but then after I eavesdropped and panicked, I told Sean I wanted to go and have a try for that job.

  "Last night we figured I was overreacting but now we've talked and taken a vote. We'll check the fares and time schedule this afternoon and leave tomorrow morning."

  "What will I say to your father?" Tears appeared in Maureen's eyes and Kate put her arms around her.

  "I'll write Father. I'm not saying that he won't be furious with Percy but he also trusts Sean, Marc and me to do the right thing. When he gets back here and if I'm still teaching, he can come to Santa Rosa. If not we'll go wherever he wants."

  "You sound very confident that you'll get the job," Maureen commented.

  "Well, I guess I'm not that confident but I'm headed that way to find something and we'll have to wait to see what tomorrow brings. The thing I want you to remember, Aunt Maureen, is that we know God will take care of it us.

  Maureen nodded and went with them to check the stagecoach timetable. Feeling as though she were living a bad dream, she watched her brother's children pack their things that afternoon. The following morning Maureen drove them into town for the nine o'clock stage. She'd given them extra money for the trip and knew the line was a dependable one ... but the papers were always filled with stories of robberies. It was tempting to call them back, but they were handling it all so well she knew she needed to leave well enough alone.

  Percy made himself very scarce until after Maureen had returned to the house, whereupon he asked for more money to return to Europe. Maureen was more than happy to comply and Percy was surprised at how generous she was until he looked at his mother's face. It told him he would never get another penny from her.

  Two hours later the Donovans were wondering about their decision. Nothing they had ever experienced had come close to preparing them for stagecoach travel. Their dark clothing was covered with dust, and it was so stuffy inside the coach that Marcail felt sick. The colorful language of their driver made their eyes open wide on more than one occasion. Well, they'd paid the fare to Santa Rosa,-so-Santa Rosa it was going to be.

  Please God, Kate prayed as she looked at the strained face of her sister, please let our money hold until I can get work. And Lord, if we've made a mistake, show us, so we can go back to Aunt Maureen's.

  She had much more she wanted to say to her heavenly Father but Sean was thrown almost on top of her when the coach dropped into a rut in the road. He came so hard against her she knew she'd have a bruise. Her last coherent thought before her mind refused to think any longer, was that she hoped Santa Rosa would be worth all of this.

  thirteen

  Santa Rosa, California-March 1871

  "Hey, Rigg, I thought you were headed to Burt's office."

  "I am. At one, like we decided."

  "It's quarter to two."

  Marshall Riggs looked at the regulator on the wall and shook his head. "I tell you, Jeff, these accounts for the store are going to be the death of me."

  Jeff laughed unsympathetically and the two men headed down the office stairs. Marshall, Rigg to nearly everyone, was the darker of the two with black hair and startling gray eyes that turned almost black if he was upset. Jeffrey Taylor, Rigg's half brother, stood just short of six feet, whereas Rigg was just over. Jeff's hair was a medium shade of brown and his eyes were light blue and usually smiling with mischief.

  The stairway took the men down to the floor of one of Santa Rosa's mercantiles. It was a good business with every imaginable type of ware. There was even a row of chairs along one side for the men to sit in and chat when they brought their wives in to shop.

  The brothers were passing those chairs now and, as always, Rigg felt a bit of envy. He wished his own wife was shopping somewhere in the store. But Rigg didn't have a wife. He believed that if he was to have a wife, God would provide one. But the fact that God was in control did not change his desires, the deepest of which was to have a family.

  "I thought I told you to get rid of those hats Rigg," an elderly farmer spoke in a gruff, good-natured voice, causing Rigg and Jeff to smile. "They're costing me a fortune." As if on cue, the man's wife appeared with a hat on her head and one in each hand.

  "I can't decide," she spoke before she saw the young men. "Oh, hello Jeff, hello Rigg."

  "Hello, Mrs. Wallace," Rigg spoke. "I hope you're finding what you need."

  "Well, I just can't choose between these hats. You always have such nice hats, Rigg."

  "You could take all three," Rigg said with exaggerated innocence.

  "Rigg!" sounded the gruff voice from the chair. Laughter was heard as the younger men chose to exit on that note.

  The men were headed to Burt Kemp's office to check with him on the vacant teaching position. On the way, the teacher they'd just lost became the topic.

  "Mom told me to look you over today and see if you're losing weight."

  Rigg laughed. "I will admit to you that I miss Marty's cooking."

  The last four schoolteachers had all been men, and Rigg's large home, situated two blocks from the school, had been the perfect place for the men to live. Rigg had gotten along very well with all of them, but he hadn't enjoyed anyone's company as much as the last one, Marty Wright.

  Marty's hobby was cooking and Rigg hadn't eaten so well since he'd turned 23 and moved into his grandparents old home three years ago. But two weeks ago Marty had come down with a severe case of pneumonia. Rigg experienced the scare of his life at how quickly the younger man had gone down. School had been called off for a week, but it became clear even after it was no longer a life-and-death situation, that Marty was not going to be able to finish the school year. His parents, who lived in nearby Fulton, came and took him home to recover.

  Thus, the ad was put into papers as far away as San Francisco. So far the response had been poor.

  Burt Kemp was head of the school board and a kind man. He welcomed Rigg and Jeff into his cluttered office and told them no applications had come in.

  "I really wish this had been settled. But I've talked with Greg Carson and he's agreed to take over for me when I leave. In fact he's coming over in a while to make sure he knows what to do."

  "When do you go?" Rigg wanted to know.

  "This afternoon, late." Burt said the words apologetically and shrugged.

  "Don't be sorry, Burt. You need this time with your daughter. I'm sure Greg can handle it." Even as Jeff said the words, Greg's one fault came to mind. He was extremely tightfisted. It didn't often affect his position on the school board but it always made Jeff a little uncomfortable.

  The men broke up later and Jeff made his way back to the shipping office that his parents, William and Mabel, May for short, ran. It
was actually his father who was on the school board but he'd been tied up and asked Jeff to go with Rigg. He would fill him in after the next stagecoach was unloaded. It was due any time.

  The stagecoach, with its weary travelers, slowed and came to a complete stop near the shipping office.

  On the trip Marcail had fallen asleep and was now revived to full energy. Even Sean had dozed off and didn't look very tired. Kaitlin, on the other hand, was not sure her legs were going to hold her. Every muscle in her body ached and her mouth and throat were so dry they felt as if they had been stuffed with an old rag.

  A young man who should be in school, Kaitlin thought vaguely, helped them with their bags and when Sean asked directions to Burt Kemp's office, he gave them politely.

  "Who was that?" Jeff approached, as the Donovans walked away.

  "I don't know," Nathan Taylor answered. Nate was Jeff's youngest brother. "They're headed to Burt's. I hope he's not a schoolteacher."

  "I'll bet you do," Jeff laughed, knowing how much his 15-year-old brother was enjoying this time without a teacher. "Well, I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. He looked a little young to teach school."

  "That's true," Nate said with relief.

  The boys were joined then by the next brother, 18year-old Gilbert, and all three of them went back to work.

  "I can see I've surprised you, Mr. Kemp, and I know my appearance right now is rather a dusty mess, but I am qualified to teach your school."

  Burt and Greg both stared in disbelief at the lovely young woman, dressed in widow's weeds. It took a few moments for Burt to recover.

  "Please be seated, Mrs. Donovan. I'm sorry we-"

  "It's Miss Donovan."

  Burt blinked in surprise thinking that he'd misunderstood her when she'd introduced herself. He looked at her dress and Kaitlin knew she had to explain.

  "My mother died recently." Her voice told of her grief. "I've never been married, although my brother and sister will be living with me."

  The meeting, off to a poor start, came to a wonderful conclusion. The men had been hesitant to hire a woman but within a few minutes they were more than impressed with Kaitlin Donovan. The only cloud on the horizon was Kaitlin's lack of a teaching certificate. Greg was very bothered by this and came right out and said so.