Whatever Tomorrow Brings (The Californians 1) (35 page)

Rigg could see that Burt was prepared to go on all day. May and Bill were now on the scene and Rigg was thankful when his father interrupted.

"It looks like Kate needs to think on this, Burt. I don't think you need to worry about her going across town though."

Kate agreed with a smile, even as her mind raced. What if Father came back in the fall and wanted to move away? What if Rigg pressed his suit?

"Thanks Mr. Kemp, for checking with me but I'll need to pray about this and talk with Sean and Marcail."

"Oh certainly, Miss Donovan. I'm sorry if I was out of line in any way."

"Not at all. And I consider it a great compliment that you want me back." Kate was using her gift for making people feel at ease, something for which everyone was thankful.

Burt took his leave then and Kate went inside with May to fix lunch. The older woman noticed her houseguest's solemn look and commented on it.

"I know Burt didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm sure you're right May. But the truth is, I'm not sure what my father would want or if Rigg wants me to continue on the books through the fall."

"Or if he possibly had another job in mind for you, one a little more personal?" May said the words softly and Kate felt her lungs empty of air. She stared at her hostess for an instant and then busied her hands with potatoes. She tried to ignore the words she'd just heard, knowing as she did, that it was a mistake.

"How would you feel about that, May?" Kate asked the question quickly before she could talk herself out of it.

"Oh, I'd probably rant and rave at him," May came close to Kate and smiled into her eyes, "and ask him why he took so long."

Kaitlin's jaw dropped in a most unfeminine way and May laughed. In the next instant the two women were hugging each other and laughing hard.

"Can I get one of those hugs?" Bill asked from the doorway and Kate watched in surprise, as May moved so that the table separated her and her husband. Bill's brows rose, telling her he'd accept her challenge if he had to.

"No hugging in front of the children," May stated as primly as she could and Bill laughed. She allowed him to close the distance then and Kate watched unashamedly as they embraced. When she did go back to working on lunch, she did so thanking God for the special family He'd sent her way.

fifty- three

Kaitlin and Marcail lay on their stomachs in the haymow looking out the loft door to the yard below. Lunch was over and the girls were feeling lazy. They heard movement behind them and a moment later Sean flopped down on Kaitlin's open side.

"Did Burt Kemp really ask you to teach again?" Sean wasted no time in asking the question that had been on his mind through lunch.

"Full salary."

"He did?" Marcail asked, wondering where she had been all the time this was going on.

"What will you do?" Sean wanted to know.

"You can't teach here in Santa Rosa, Katie. Father will probably want us to live with Aunt Maureen."

This was something she'd already thought of but hadn't bothered to mention to her sister.

"It would be easier to leave the mercantile than it would the school if Father came back," Sean stated logically. "But if you plan to make Santa Rosa your permanent home then you need to be discussing with Rigg where you should work."

Two in one day, Kate thought.

She wondered if Rigg had been telling people something that he should have discussed with her first.

You know better, Kaitlin, she immediately said to herself. The way he feels about you is written on his face, for all the world to see.

"I want us to be together," Marcail said after a moment.

Sean and Kaitlin would have been surprised if Marcail hadn't understood the gist of their conversation, so they made no pretense in front of her as they continued to talk.

"Marc," Sean began, "do you understand what's happening between Katie and Rigg?"

"They love each other."

"Right. And that's how it should be. We don't know when Father is coming back but we do know that until then, we'll be together. If Kate marries Rigg, and Father is still gone, then we'll still be here in Santa Rosa. She's not going to ship us off to San Francisco by ourselves. Isn't that right, Katie?"

"Right." Kate was relieved that that was all she had to say; it was all she could say.

"And you never know, Marc," Sean went on. "Maybe Father will like Santa Rosa enough to want to stay."

Marcail looked very satisfied and Kate put her face against Sean's shoulder to cover her tears. She couldn't stand the thought that Marcail would be hurt by her relationship with Rigg. The thought of being separated from her siblings, even if it meant a lifetime with Rigg, was more than she could deal with at the moment.

'Are you all right Katie?" Marcail asked softly.

" "Yes.

"Katie, where would we live if you married Rigg?"

Kate's tears came harder and Sean kept still as she wet his shirt sleeve.

"You know," he said finally, "maybe we're jumping the gun here. He hasn't asked her-or has he, Kate?"

"No." Kate sniffed and then complained, "I don't know what's the matter with me these days. All I do is cry."

"That's okay," Sean said. "Rigg calls it a late reaction. As least that's what he said when I told him I hadn't cried much about Mother. He said sometimes we don't need to cry and then we find ourselves crying nonstop."

Sean was so sweet with Kate that she only felt worse and suddenly very tired. A few minutes later Rigg climbed up to join them and Sean eased away from his sister. Her head fell against her outstretched arm and for the first time Sean saw she was asleep.

Sean stood and looked down at her and then at Rigg. Whispering, he asked Marcail if she wanted to come, but she shook her head no. Rigg and Marcail watched him leave and then Rigg motioned for Marcail to join him where he sat against the barn wall.

"Was Katie crying?" Rigg immediately asked, still speaking in hushed tones.

"Yes she was. It almost made me cry too."

"That would have been okay," Rigg assured her.

"I don't like to cry, it makes my head hurt and sometimes I throw up." Her admission was so honest, her face so creased by her frown that Rigg couldn't help smiling. He adored this little girl.

"Tears aren't ever fun but they're sometimes very needed. Were Katie's needed?"

"I think so. Rigg, are you going to marry Katie?"

Rigg's eyes went to Kaitlin's sleeping form. He couldn't see her face but knew she was out cold. "I don't think it would be right to talk to anyone about that before I've talked with Katie. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yes." They fell silent again and then Marcail had another question. "Does the man always ask?"

"The girl to marry him, you mean?"

"Right. Can the girl ask the boy?"

"I guess so. It's tradition for the man to ask and from everything I've heard, most people like it that way."

"Do you?"

Rigg could see Kate stirring so he answered Marcail's question very softly. "I think when two people love each other, it doesn't matter who asks, just as long as they can be together." Marcail seemed content with that answer. She had more questions but Kate was stirring. They watched as she came slowly to a sitting position. Kaitlin blinked at Rigg and Marcail as if she were dreaming them.

"Hi Katie. How did you sleep?"

Kate didn't answer her sister; things were still too fuzzy. She continued to frown at them until Marcail giggled.

"Would you like to get down?" Rigg asked. "I can help you on the ladder." But again Kate didn't answer. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her skirt around herself. Once she had curled herself into a ball, she stared out the door at the trees.

"I dreamed that Father was back," Kate said softly. "He'd grown a beard and we didn't recognize him at first. I think I miss him more than ever." Marcail moved over to Kate and she drew her close.

Rigg's eyes met Kaitlin's over the top of Marcail's head and his look told Kate he was very aware of her pain. Quietly Kate began to talk, not reminiscing as they'd done on the front porch earlier, but about her fears. At first she held back, not wanting to upset Marcail, but Marcail shared a few of her own fears, surprising Kate with the intensity of her feelings.

Rigg listened attentively and spoke with tenderness, telling the girls how normal their fears were and how much he believed God was going to take care of their every need.

They talked until the heat of the loft drove them down the ladder. Once outside the barn they walked toward the house, seeking the cool interior and something to drink. They were almost at the back door when Joey Parker came shooting into the yard.

"My Pa's been hurt!" he cried in panic. "There's blood everywhere and he won't wake up."

The entire family heard his screams and within seconds everyone was gathered in the yard, trying to understand his hysterical chatter. When they could see that he was not going to calm down, Bill, Rigg, and Jeff jumped in the wagon, grabbed Joey, and headed for the Parker house. Kaitlin wanted to go along to comfort Joey, but Bill stepped in and forbade her.

"I have no idea what we'll find and I'm not about to take you into that situation."

Kate stood with the rest of the family until the dust had settled on the road, covering Parker and the loved ones in the wagon with their prayers.

fifty-four

The odor inside the Parker house was overpowering. It was also dark and therefore took a moment for the men's eyes to adjust and find Joey's father.

There was indeed blood everywhere but he was breathing. He had evidently passed out from drink and hit his head. Commenting that head wounds were typically gushers, Bill told Joey to try and calm Frank down. He was barking in a near frenzy over being shut outside. No one believed he would attack, but the noise he made was very annoying.

"Let's get Parker outside," Bill commented. "I need air and I think he must too."

Joey was sent to fetch water and using an old shirt, they attempted to clean Parker's head. Coming around some when the gash at his temple was touched, he tried to shove the ministering hands away from him.

"Should I go for the Doc?" Jeff wanted to know.

"I want your mother to see him first. She's always good with head wounds. If she thinks we need to go for the doctor, then we will."

They learned quickly that the easiest method for moving Parker was simply to let Rigg lift him in his arms. No small task, the muscles corded in Rigg's neck as he strained under the load. They were, however, on their way in no time with Joey and a half-conscious Parker in the back.

May examined Parker while he was still in the wagon and decided she could patch the cut herself.

"But first, I think he should have a bath. Are you up to it?" May asked her sons and husband and they agreed without hesitation. As it was, Parker awoke as soon as the water touched his skin and Bill stayed in the bathing room to assist him.

Joey would not believe that his father was going to be all right, so Rigg took him in for a brief visit. He then tried to get him to eat.

"This bread was made yesterday Joey, it's real fresh." Rigg put together a chicken sandwich for both of them while Kate poured lemonade. May cut apples into slices. All the adults watched the little boy's eyes move repeatedly in the direction of the room his father was in.

"What are you afraid of Joey?" May asked softly, thinking it was time someone addressed the fear usually masking this child's face.

"I'm afraid my Pa will die," he admitted. His face was so vulnerable that Kaitlin wondered if she might need to leave the room. "And I'll be left all alone."

"May I tell you a story Joey?" May waited for him to nod before she began. "When I was just a young woman I married a man and we had a baby-a son. I was the happiest woman on earth. But then, when my son was only two years old, my husband died.

"I didn't think I could go on. I loved him so much and he was a wonderful father to our son. I don't know when I've ever felt so alone ... but then a wonderful thing happened. I remembered a Bible verse that said God would never leave me nor forsake me. I remembered that my husband was with the Lord and that the Lord still loved Rigg and me.