by Lori Wick
For a moment the two older Donovans stood frozen, their minds blank and then Marcail saved the day by suggesting another hymn. This happened two more times making a total of four songs and at one point, Kate remembered they were singing to the Lord. As she committed the lyrics to God along with her voice, all selfconsciousness disappeared.
When they moved from the front back to their seats, Kate sat down next to Rigg. She didn't look at him but could feel his eyes on her. When he reached over and gave her hand a squeeze her whole being melted with relief. Kate smiled at Rigg with her heart in her eyes.
Pastor Keller began his sermon just after that. Kaitlin had been too uncomfortable up front to look beyond the second row or she would have seen Joey Parker sitting in the last church pew.
She did catch sight of him as they exited, disappearing around the corner of the church toward home. She nearly ran to intercept him and he stopped reluctantly. He looked at her with shy embarrassment.
"Hi Joey. Did you hear me sing?"
"Yeah. It was nice." He smiled at her and as always, Kate's heart turned over.
"I could teach you a song in Hawaiian sometime. Would you like that?"
"Yeah." Joey's face came alive with the idea but when Kate asked him if he wanted to come for lunch he stepped away from her, declining as he went.
Kaitlin watched him walk away, her heart heavy. He was so young to be fighting God but Kate was convinced this was exactly what he was doing. Pastor Keller had challenged everyone in the room that morning to settle their eternity before leaving. Kate was certain that if Joey had trusted in the Lord that morning, he'd have told her.
"You're quiet," Rigg commented as they drove toward his folks.
"I was thinking of Joey. I know God is speaking to that boy but he's fighting Him and making himself miserable in the process."
Rigg agreed with her and then told her he liked the songs she sang.
"Were we really all right?" Kate's hand went to Rigg's arm and he was suddenly conscious of his brothers in the back.
"You were great. Your voices harmonize beautifully. I almost hope for Sean's sake that his voice never changes. He's a great tenor."
"Poor Sean," Kate commented. "He thinks he sounds like a girl. He hates it."
"There's nothing feminine about the way Sean sings," Jeff commented from the back. "He has nothing to worry about."
"Unless it's the number of teenage girls who nearly fall out of their seats when he passes by," Gil commented almost absently, but Kaitlin's head whipped around in surprise. She never thought about girls finding her brother attractive. Sean was cute, or at least she'd always thought so, and now she was seeing for the first time that she wasn't alone in that belief.
"I can see Gil surprised you." Rigg was watching her and Kate felt her face heat up.
"It's hard to see your own brother in, well, that way," she admitted.
"We know what you mean, Katie," Jeff called forward. "We don't see how you can stand to spend so much time with Rigg."
"She must feel sorry for him because he's so homely," Gilbert added in a stage whisper.
"You can both be replaced you know," Rigg informed them. A giggle escaped Kaitlin but when Rigg turned to look at her she gave him the most innocent look she could muster.
"Are you going to tell me I can be replaced too?"
"No. I don't like to tell lies."
"Now would you listen to this!" Jeff said with disgust. "What do we have to do to get a little appreciation around here?"
"For one thing, it would help if you smelled better."
Everyone laughed at Jeff's expense but he took it well. They were still chuckling when they got home and found Burt Kemp waiting for Miss Donovan.
"I know I shouldn't be doing business on Sunday but I missed you at church. And truth is, I just heard that they need a schoolteacher over on the west-side of town and I didn't want them to steal you away from us."
All of these words had been directed at Kate as he'd helped her from the wagon. She now stood staring at Burt in confusion.
"Mr. Kemp, you'll have to forgive me, but I'm not sure what you're talking about."
"Why teaching in the fall of course." He smiled at Kate as though he'd just offered her a lifetime contract. That such a thing never occurred to Kate was clear by the look on her face.
"Is there some reason you don't want to come back and teach at our school?" Some of Burt's enthusiasm drained away and he rushed on to sell Kaitlin on the idea.
"Oh, I know there was that whole mess with your salary, but Greg is sorry about that and you would be hired full-time at full pay. And if you don't like the dates we've picked for school to begin and end, we could certainly discuss that."
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 re
peatedly 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.
"But Joey, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I wouldn't have known that about the Lord if I hadn't made a decision to trust Him for my salvation when I was young. When I was about your age, I understood that I needed a Savior. Without my believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, I would go to hell. I didn't want to go to hell, Joey, I wanted to live forever with God.
"I was sick with grief right after my husband died but God reminded me of His love and that changed everything inside of me. I was no longer afraid or believed I'd been deserted. I knew that God loved me and died for me and that meant there was nothing more to fear. Not being alone, not dying, nothing.
"Joey, do you have that peace, that special quiet inside of you because you know God is your Savior? Have you faced God and confessed your need for a Savior?"
There were tears puddling in Joey's eyes as he shook his head no. She went on to ask him if he wanted to pray right at the table. He then voiced his second fear.
"But what if Pa never believes in Jesus?"
"Oh, honey, I can't promise you that he will. But I do know that you are not responsible for your father. When you stand before God, He's not going to say to you, 'Joey, why didn't you save your father?' Only God can take care of that and right now the best thing you can do for your father is to trust God yourself.
