Whatever Tomorrow Brings (The Californians 1)
everything that no one was given a chance to feel like an intruder.
    May disappeared with her littlest house guest and Nate showed Kate and Sean to a desk that satin the huge living room. Kate took a seat and tried to gather her damp hair to lay it over one shoulder. She certainly hoped the rest of the young men in her class wouldn't stare at her as Nathan was doing.
    But in a few moments she was oblivious to everything but the paper in front of her. She was rather glad she wasn't going to be there to see her father's face when he found out why they'd left San Francisco.
     

twenty-one

    May's heart, which had begun to melt when she met Marcail Donovan, was now a puddle in her soul. She was the sweetest little girl she'd ever known. May guessed that her bone structure was very small by looking at her face, but when Marcail undressed, bone structure was the last thing on May's mind.
    There was a bruise, gigantic and already black, nearly covering the little girl's upper arm and spreading across her shoulder. May saw that she was safely in the tub and then had to force herself to walk to find Kaitlin. She found her at the desk.
    "Kaitlin?" Kate looked up from her letter in expectation.
    "Marcail has a huge bruise on her arm. I've never seen one so bad. Maybe I should send for the doctor?"
    Kate came to her feet. "I'll look at it, Mrs. Taylor, but I think you should know that Marc bruises easily and that man, well he had quite a hold on her."
    May could only nod her head as she visualized Marcail being hurt. "Would you like me to stay here?" she asked when Kate rose from the desk.
    "No, you can come. You could have talked with Marcail about it, she's had them before."
    The women walked through the kitchen and Kate knocked gently before entering.
    "Hi, Marc. How's it going?"
    "Fine."
    "You gave Mrs. Taylor a -scare."
    Marcail looked at the older woman in surprise.
    "Your bruise," Katie informed her.
    "Oh, it doesn't hurt unless I press on it."
    May looked instantly relieved and said with a small laugh that she had been ready to get a doctor. The smile left Marcail's face and she nearly came out of the tub. Kate didn't miss her panic.
    "It's all right, Marc. She was only kidding."
    "I'm sorry, Honey," May said quickly. "I wouldn't do anything without asking Kaitlin first."
    The little girl nodded and looked uncertainly at her sister. Kaitlin smiled. She figured something like this might happen remembering the hard time Marcail had with Dr. Weston in San Francisco.
    Kate took her leave a minute later in order to finish her letter. Sean and Nate had been in the living room the entire time she was writing and Kate was pleased at how well they were getting along. Sean needed a friend.
    "How's the letter coming, Katie?" her brother wanted to know as she came back into the room.
    "Pretty good. Why don't you read what I've got?"
    Brother and sister traded chairs and Kate found herself once again scrutinized. She tried to ignore it.
    "How old are you, Nathan?"
    "Fifteen."
    "You're tall for 15. Do you like school?"
    "Most of the time."
    Kate grinned. "That was an honest answer."
    Nathan grinned back, turning only a little bit red this time. Sean spoke from the desk. "I added a little to what you have Katie. Are you going to tell Father about what happened today?"
    "I don't know. I don't want him to worry about us because I really do think Marc's going to be fine. What do you think?"
    "I'd leave it out," Sean said and then thought, Father is going to be upset enough when he finds out why we left San Francisco.
    The rest of the afternoon sailed by in a lazy fashion. Kate had gone to her bedroom for a while to read her Bible and then joined everyone else in the living room where they were poring over the newspapers. She was so intent on the article she was reading, that she nearly tore the page in two when Rigg startled her by sitting down on the sofa very close to her.
     

twenty-two

    "You look better." Rigg's voice was soft and deep and

Similar Books

The Fifth Elephant

Terry Pratchett

Telling Tales

Charlotte Stein

Censored 2012

Mickey Huff