by Lori Wick
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“Don’t give me any trouble Donovan, or I’ll clean the floor with you.”
“I don’t think you will.” Sean’s voice had gone very soft and, unbeknownst to himself, his look menacing. “Now, I’m going to do my job here for the rest of the afternoon as best as I can. If you’ve got some problem with that, then you’re welcome to go get Rigg. If he’s not happy with the job I’m doing then he can fire me, but I want you off my back.”
The older boy hesitated. He could see that he’d clearly pushed too far. Silently both boys went back to work. The atmosphere was no more friendly, but at least Sean was able to work in a semblance of peace.
“Okay, Sean, here’s your pay.”
“Already?”
“Every Saturday night at closing.”
“Thanks,” Sean breathed as he fingered the coins in his hand. Rigg watched him and suddenly felt choked up. To see the boy, you’d think it was a fortune. But this was his first job and Rigg remembered again how good it felt to be paid for a day of work.
Rigg found himself just as choked up when Sean went straight to his sister and turned the money over to her, once they’d reached the Taylor farm. Bill and the boys were not yet back from the shipping office so Kaitlin, Sean and Marcail had a chance to talk with only Rigg and May present.
“How did it go?” Kaitlin wanted to know.
“Fine. I made mistakes but I think I’m getting the idea.”
“Good. I prayed for you.”
“Yeah, Sean, we remembered you at lunch.”
“Thanks Marc.”
“Did you have enough to mail the letter?”
“Yes. I put the change with my wages.”
“Good. I wrote to Aunt Maureen today. We can mail that letter Monday.”
Kate’s attention turned from her brother and, even though Rigg was talking to his mother, she had the feeling he’d been watching her.
He had invaded her thoughts at the most unusual times today. When she’d been working with May and Marcail she had actually wondered what type of cookies he liked. She had stopped just short of asking May and humiliating herself.
The Taylor men piled in shortly after that, and Kaitlin helped May put supper on the table. She decided that feeding this many men was a costly chore. After the prayer Kate watched a huge platter of fried chicken disappear, along with mashed potatoes, green beans, fried biscuits, turnip greens and two pitchers of milk. She had no room for the apple cake that was served with coffee after the meal.
May asked Gil, Nate and Sean to help with the dishes and everyone else moved to the living room. Rigg sat on the sofa and Kate took a chair across from him. She watched as he beckoned to Marcail with one finger. Marcail snuggled into the sofa next to him as if she’d been doing it all her life. Kate was amazed.
“I brought you something.”
“You did?” The little girl’s eyes grew wide as she watched Rigg draw a snow-white hair ribbon from his pocket.
“This is for me?” Marcail almost squealed, and Kate smiled.
“Yes ma’am,” Rigg told her, and watched as she looked to Kaitlin for approval. Kate smiled at her and she hugged the thin strip to herself.
“Thank you, Mr. Riggs.”
“You’re welcome, Marcail,” he answered and then turned a challenging eye on Kate. “I’d like it if you called me Rigg. What do you think about that?”
“That’s fine with me, if it’s fine with Katie. Is it fine with you Katie?”
Bill had to hold his paper a little higher to hide his smile. Rigg was digging himself into a hole, and fast.
Kate opened her mouth to say something but closed it. That Rigg was testing her was almost more than she could take. He had backed her into a corner and she came out fighting like a teacher. She ended up addressing Rigg as though he were a child.
“I am not used to having my authority questioned, Mr. Riggs. I feel I’ve already compromised my conviction by allowing Sean to call you by your nickname. As I told you before, Marcail and I will call you Mr. Riggs, and if my sister continues to question me, I might have to punish her.”
You asked for that Rigg and you know it, were the convicted man’s thoughts. What he said out loud was, “I’m sorry Marcail. Your sister is right; I shouldn’t have done that.”
“That’s all right. I still like my ribbon.”
Marcail was off the sofa in the next instant and headed toward the kitchen to show her gift to May. Kate looked over to see Jeff taking it all in as though watching players on a stage. He grinned at her and Kaitlin couldn’t take anymore. She mumbled something about needing air and went out the front door.
“Shame on you Rigg,” Bill spoke softly when the door had latched. “Why do you bait the girl?”
“I wish I knew,” was the tired reply. “I guess I’d better go apologize.” Rigg stood up and Jeff couldn’t keep from staring at him. He’d never seen his brother like this.
“Why don’t you let me go?”
When Rigg’s features washed with relief, Jeff followed Kaitlin to the front yard.
She had walked toward the copse of trees that stood tall and green on the south edge of the Taylors’ land. Jeff caught up with her just as she reached the creek’s edge. His feet broke a fallen branch and Kate started.
“Oh, Jeff, I didn’t hear you approach.”
Jeff could see that he’d frightened her.
“Sorry to scare you.”
“I’m all right.”
“It’s pretty out here isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. Very nice,” Kate agreed.
“It was a great place to grow up. We had such fun in this water. Not every kid lives on a creek. Most people don’t know what they’re missing.”
“You’re certainly right, growing up by the water is a little piece of heaven on earth.” Her voice was so wistful that Jeff stared at her face and knew she was thinking of Hawaii. He glanced down at the stream of water at their feet and began to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Kate wanted to know.
“Oh, just me with my little creek, telling you how wonderful living by the water is, when you probably swim like a fish!”
Katie laughed with him then. “I do swim, that’s true. And your creek is not the Pacific, but it’s still beautiful. Actually, it isn’t really Hawaii that I miss, but the people, and knowing that my father is there without my mother.”
It didn’t matter that Jeff had no words to say to that; he knew none were needed. After a moment, they talked of little things and then Jeff mentioned Rigg.
“He certainly enjoys seeing me upset,” Kate said, feeling flustered all over again.
“He enjoys you period.”
“Sure he does.”
“I’m serious, Kate. You can’t believe how many women have been interested in Rigg over the years—more than I can count. He’s just never met anyone that he felt he could get serious about.”
Kate was looking at Jeff with such amusement that he stopped.
“What?”
“Don’t you see, Jeff? I am evidently one of the few girls who hasn’t thrown herself at his feet and he can’t stand it. Somehow that makes me a challenge and it hasn’t taken me more than a few meetings with Mr. Riggs to know that he loves a challenge.”
“Oh, Kaitlin!” Jeff sounded truly distressed but all Kate did was chuckle. “That’s utter nonsense. You can’t really believe that?”
“And why shouldn’t I? You were sitting in the living room tonight—enjoying everything that went on, I might add. You can see for yourself that I’m just a plaything to your brother.” Kate’s voice suddenly became very serious. “And if I can speak honestly with you, Jeff, it’s the last thing I need. I have feelings and no one likes to be laughed at. My world has come apart at the seams in the last few months. I find myself playing mother to my brother and sister and falling way short of the mark.
“So your brother’s actions are just insult on top
of injury. You tell me he’s a man of God. Well, you can understand why I have a hard time believing that. He brings my sister a present and then challenges my authority right in front of her. If he’s such a man of God Jeff, can you tell me why he treats me like that?”
“Jeff can’t tell you, but I can.”
Kaitlin spun around so quickly that her dress flared. Rigg stood less than ten feet away and Kate knew the time for confrontation had come.
twenty-six
“I heard a little bit of what you said to Jeff, Kaitlin. Is there anything you want to add?”
Kate couldn’t say anything. She wasn’t really embarrassed, just wary of confrontations. She also knew that the thoughts she shared with Jeff should have been said directly to Rigg. Jeff tactfully left them alone, and the silence between them lengthened.
The sun was beginning to set; it was a little darker beneath the trees and the breeze had picked up, sending a cool draught against Kaitlin’s bare arms. Crossing her arms in an effort to keep warm, she finally broke the silence.
“Even though it’s hard for me to face you, I’m rather glad you came out when you did, or I would probably never have talked to you.
“I meant what I said to Jeff but I should have said it all to you. You couldn’t be more kind to Sean and Marcail, but you treat me so strangely. One minute you’re tender and the next you’re ordering me about as though you owned me.
“I’m not a child, but neither do I have the wisdom of the ages, and I just don’t know how to handle this underlying animosity between us. In another circumstance I would just keep my distance from you, but with Sean living with you and me staying temporarily with your folks, that’s impossible.
“If I’ve done something or am doing something that is offensive to you, I’d be more than happy to clear the air. And I know I’ve said a lot but there’s just one more thing. I hope that anything between us won’t affect the way you treat Sean and Marcail. I know they like you and it’s so hard to be here without our folks, I just hope that—”
“Kaitlin.” Her name, softly spoken in his deep voice, brought her to a halt. He came close enough to touch her, but did not.
“I’ve been so wrong in the way I’ve treated you. Will you please forgive me?”
“Yes,” she said immediately.
“I’ll try not to be so bossy with you, but please understand that you and Marcail gave me quite a scare on Friday. In my mind, leaving you at that house would have been like leaving an infant in the snow. You had no money or food or even sufficient blankets for the bed. I was afraid you would refuse me so I ordered instead of asked.
“As for the other—the teasing—all I can say is that I’m not myself with you. We got off to such a bad start. I mean, right away you didn’t like me, and I wanted you to like me. And not just because I let your brother live with me. Am I making any sense to you?”
Kate nodded. “Thank you for telling me. It clears up a lot. So much has happened to bruise my emotions, and my mind never goes more than an hour all day without wondering where my Father is and if he’s all right.
“What I need right now is friendship. I hope you’ll understand when I tell you I can’t handle anything more than that.”
“I do understand, and I hope you’ll consider me a friend.”
“Thank you.” The words were whispered sweetly and Rigg watched as tears puddled in those huge brown eyes. Rigg mentally shook his head. He’d just offered to be her friend. Husband was much closer to what he had in mind.
Desperately wanting to be the man Kaitlin needed him to be, his heart cried out to God for help. He knew as he looked into those eyes that if it took forever, he was going to try to win this woman’s heart. If he had to stuff his own emotions into a place deep within himself in order to do that, that was exactly what he would do.
“It’s getting pretty cool out here. Why don’t we go in?”
“Okay. Mr. Riggs, may I ask you something?”
“Anything.” Rigg wondered how long he could endure being addressed as Mr. Riggs.
“Did Sean really do all right today? Were you pleased with the job he did, or did he get into some sort of trouble?”
“I think he did fine. Why do you ask?”
“He said something he’s never said before, something about making mistakes and getting the hang of it. I’ve never known Sean to have a bit of trouble catching on to anything.”
“The young man training him might have given him a hard time this morning. I checked on them several times this afternoon and even though they’re not best friends, I think they both know where the other one stands.”
Kate thanked him for explaining. She strongly suspected that Sean was putting pressure on himself to work and be the man in the family. She shared her belief with Rigg, feeling for the first time like she could really talk to him.
“And what bothers me the most is his schooling. Sean will be 15 in December. I don’t want him getting it into his head to quit school and try to support us.”
“I have noticed that he’s very conscious of your welfare. I think he’ll stay in school and it’ll help that Nate is there. But I will keep my ears open and if he says anything to me about wanting more hours before summer, I’ll discourage it.”
“Thank you. I feel better knowing that you think he should stay in school. Some people think that once you’re a teen, you’ve had all the school you need.”
“Well, Santa Rosa certainly has some of those but I’m not one of them.”
They were back at the house, Rigg walking with Kaitlin, his heart swelling with joy. She was talking to him like he was a friend. When he’d felt a very definite burden to join her and Jeff, he’d fought it. At the moment he couldn’t have been more thrilled that he’d listened to his heart.
All the lamps were lit in the living room when Kate and Rigg stepped through the front door and Bill immediately told Kate they wanted to talk with her. Sean, Nate and Gil were taking their baths. Marcail was sharing Jeff’s chair and they’d been reading a story until Kate came in. Kaitlin sat down on the sofa expectantly.
“I’ve been planning to make an announcement tomorrow morning to the congregation about your house needing supplies. I don’t mind doing that, and I can promise you there will be a great response. But Kate, we’d really like you to stay here. That is, we want you to know that you’re welcome here for as long as you’d like. We even have an extra wagon and Nate can drive all of you to school each day.”
Smiling at the sincere faces of the people before her, Kate’s voice told of her gratitude.
“You’ve been so kind to let us stay with you and I praise God for you. If I knew a little better when Father would be back, I might take you up on it. But I think Marcail and I should go back to the little house as soon as possible.”
The Taylors respected Kate’s wishes even though their disappointment was evident.
“I’ll go ahead with the announcement as planned. May is ready to write down the things you need.”
So Kate began, with Marcail and even Rigg adding to the list. Dishes, silverware, hollow-ware, pots, bedding, extra chairs; the list seemed endless.
“Now,” Bill said when the list looked complete, “how are you set financially?”
“I got paid today.” Sean had come down the stairs in time to hear the question.
“When will you be paid Kaitlin?” Rigg wanted to know.
“At the end of April. Since I don’t start teaching until March twenty-seventh, that is, since the month is almost over, Mr. Carson figured he would just put those five days in March onto my April check.”
“Has Mr. Carson been handling everything for you, Kaitlin?”
“Yes, he’s been very nice.”
Bill’s face gave no hint of his thoughts, and even though Rigg and Jeff were exchanging a look, Kate didn’t notice. None of them were exactly sure when Burt Kemp had left town. They were all hoping that Kate had worked with him, but it looked as if Greg Carson had been on the
job.
“So Mr. Carson found the house for you?”
“Right.”
“And how about your wages. Did Mr. Carson set that too?” Bill’s voice was as smooth as honey, and Kate answered calmly with no signs of offense over such a personal question.
“Yes, he took care of that. You see, I don’t have a teaching certificate and he felt it would be better to give me a little lower wage to compensate for that. The rent at the house takes a major part of my salary but we’ll get by with Sean working.” She smiled with genuine confidence at Sean.
“Kaitlin, would you think me intruding to ask how much your monthly salary is?”
“Oh no, I don’t mind. Actually it’s kind of nice to have someone to talk to because we’ve never lived on our own before.” Kate went on to answer Bill’s question and noticed that the adults in the room became very still. When Rigg spoke his voice was tender.
“Katie, your wages aren’t a little lower than the usual teacher’s pay, they’re less than half of what they should be.”
“Oh,” was all she could say and she looked over at Marcail who had begun to gnaw on her lip, a sure sign of distress.
“Well,” Kate said carefully—and maybe a little too cheerfully—her eyes on her sister, “you said the people at the church would be helping us with the things we need, so we just need to buy food.”
“Did you have any money when you came into town?” Jeff asked kindly. No one had missed the focus of Kaitlin’s gaze and all were sensitive to the feeling of security this little girl needed.
“Yes, our aunt gave us some. We used it to pay our rent,” Sean supplied.
“And your rent is paid through April?” Bill probed.
“We had enough to pay for about three weeks, so half of April.”
“And what had you planned to do then?”
“We’ve been praying about that.”
Bill leaned forward in his chair to make sure he had Kate’s attention. “Then will you consider me an answer to those prayers? I would like to give you some money and I would also like to speak with Greg. He needs to be made aware of your financial situation.”