Whatever Tomorrow Brings (The Californians 1) (9 page)

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.

"We can't very well give you a trial period since this is the end of March and school ends in two months but I do think we, as a school board, need to consider this. Maybe the best route to take would be a lower wage for the first month, you know, until you've proven yourself."

"That's fine, Mr. Carson." Kate assured him in her gentle way. Burt felt very guilty about such a move but the time was moving on. He didn't want this interview to make him late in leaving-he and his wife were going to see their eldest daughter, who was about to have a baby. He'd take up the matter with Greg, when he returned.

Sean and Marcail were ushered into the office and introduced. The next thing Kaitlin knew, they were being led down the street to ahotel for the night.

"Now, Mr. Carson will start first thing in the morning finding you a place to live." Burt was walking and talking so fast that Kaitlin was straining to catch his words.

"You should be comfortable here tonight." They were in the hotel now, going up the stairs at an amazing pace. "That will give you the weekend to get settled, and you'll be ready to start school Monday. Oh! The school records. Greg can bring you those. Oh, yes, my daughter... we're going on a trip but you'll have her when we return."

Mr. Kemp had seen them to their room and opened the door. He gave a quick look around before bidding them good-bye and nearly running from the room.

The door closed and the children stood still in the middle of the room. A moment went by, and then Kaitlin walked toward the only chair in the room and sank into it. She was nearly trembling with fatigue.

Marcail was fascinated with the idea of staying in a hotel and she did a thorough inspection of the room. There was only one bed, but there was a good-sized sofa, and Marcail declared it would be Sean's. Sean was too busy watching his older sister to pay much attention to Marcail.

"Are you going to cry, Katie?"

"I'm too tired to cry."

'Are you happy you got the job?"

"Yes, I'm just a little overwhelmed."

"Why don't I go get us some supper?"

"Would you, Sean?" Kate perked up at the very idea.

"Sure. Marcail and I will go find some food while you freshen up."

Kaitlin did cry then, because he was so thoughtful. Sean never knew what to do when his sisters or mother cried and then he remembered he didn't have a mother.

Please God, his young heart prayed as he moved close so Kate could cry onto the sleeve of his jacket, please help me take care of my sisters. And please take care of me, too.