Donovan's Daughter (The Californians, Book 4) (9 page)

"I can't believe how swiftly the day went."

"I can't either. I sure enjoyed the Austins' hospitality."

"I really hadn't known them before, but they're wonderful," Marcail agreed and added, 'Are you sure you
have to go first thing in the morning, Rigg?"

The full moon shone on Rigg and Marcail as they stood at Marcail's front door recalling the afternoon. Rigg was
headed to the hotel for the night, and this would be the
last they would see of each other.

"I really do, Marc. Jeff is going to open the mercantile
for me, but I've got to get back. Christmas is only about
two months away, and we'll all be together then."

Marcail nodded, and they hugged one last time. She
stood in the doorway and watched him walk toward
town. When she finally shut the door, it was with a
prayer of thanksgiving for her family, and for the way
God had sent Rigg on the day she needed him most.

"But don't you think she's perfect for Alex?"

"Kay," her husband spoke patiently as he slipped into
bed, "that still does not give you an excuse for eavesdropping."

Kay looked somewhat rebuked, but she was so excited
about the little she'd overheard that she was not very sorry.

"I can see you're not at all sorry."

"I am sorry that I listened. I should have walked right
into the room instead of waiting, but I'm not sorry about
what I heard."

Dean frowned at his wife's line of reasoning, but she
was too wound up to notice.

"You should have heard his voice. When he found out
she was afraid of him, he was so tender with her. I just
know she's the one."

Dean shook his head, kissed his wife good night, and
turned down the lantern. Kay listened as his breathing
evened out into sleep. She was planning ahead and
much too excited to sleep. Alex came to lunch every
Sunday afternoon; maybe she should ask Miss Donovan
to join them more often. It was a delightful plan.

An entire month passed before Alex saw Marcail
again. It was not for lack of trying on his part, but he
wanted to be careful about how often he went to the front
door of her home, and there was really no other time
when he ran into her. Since she would probably have to
be dying before she would call on him, he knew better
than to hope she would need medical attention.

On this particular Saturday morning he was a little
late heading into his office in town. For the first time he
saw Marcail at the side of her house. He did a double take
when he saw that the tiny, black-haired woman was
chopping wood, or at least making an attempt. Knowing
that he was getting a glimpse of Marcail Donovan's determined personality, Alex dismounted and stood watching
her.

Marcail balanced a fat log on end, and then lifted the
ax in front of her, bringing it down on the log. A small
piece of wood flew off as the remainder of the wood
landed on the ground. Alex watched in fascination as she
added the piece to a small pile of chips and started again.

Just as Marcail raised the ax again, she spotted her
neighbor. She repeated the process and then stood breathing heavily as Alex approached.

"I can't believe you're doing this yourself."

"Well, I said I would," Marcail was still panting, "so
I'm going to."

"And just who did you say that to?" Alex reached for
the ax and tried to ignore the surreptitious way Marcail
backed away from him.

"Jethro offered to chop wood for me, but I didn't think
that was a good idea, so I told him I would take care of it
myself. In fact, I think you should give the ax back to
me."

Alex stared at her for a full ten seconds, shook his
head, and began to chop. In 20 minutes he had a large
stack of burning logs and a smaller stack of kindling.
They worked together carrying the logs to the house and
dumping them into the box by Marcail's stove. On the
last load Marcail turned to thank the doctor, but found
him standing and watching her from the door. With his
gaze leveled so intently on her, it took a moment for her
to speak.

"Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome. Will you do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"Will you do it?" he persisted.

Marcail hesitated. She knew it was unfair of him to ask
for a commitment before explaining, but he had chopped
her wood, and she could see his desire to help was out of
kindness and not selfish motives.

'All right."

"Come by my office and let me know the next time
you need wood."

Marcail nearly panicked. That would mean he would
be around more often. She had to make him see this
wasn't necessary.

"There really is no need. I, uh, well, I mean, that is, I
didn't think that you would, I mean, I really appreciate, but I don't want to bother, and I-" Marcail came to a
breathless halt when she saw laughter in the depths of
his blue eyes.

Marcail took a breath and tried again. "Thank you for
your help, but I'll be okay now."

You're not about to let me near you, are you, little one? These
were Alex's very tender thoughts. What he said aloud
was much less personal.

"I don't want to push in where I'm not wanted, but if
you'll let me, I'll just keep an eye on your woodpile. I
won't come into the house; I'll just stack it by your porch
when it looks like you're getting low."

Marcail's mouth had suddenly gone dry. She did not
want to be beholden to this man, but she couldn't go on
as she was. Every day was colder than the day before,
and as hard as it was to accept his help, she didn't really
have much choice.

"Thank you" was all Marcail could muster, and then
she scolded herself for her rudeness. But the doctor must
not have minded. He smiled at her, raised a hand in a
small wave, and went on his way.

It would be a long time before Marcail knew that Alex
found her delightful, especially when she stood looking
very proper and composed, unaware of the strands of
hair that hung in her face and the dirt that was smeared
on her cheeks and forehead. Delighted, captivated, fascinated-Alex's emotions ran the gamut, and much to
his chagrin, he found he could think about little else.

Marcail was invited to the Austins for dinner again the
first Sunday in December. As much as she wanted to,
Kay had not had the courage to ask the girls' teacher to
join them the week after the pie auction, and every week to follow. So on this day, she decided to pull out all the
stops.

Alex was the first to arrive, and spotting the extra
place setting and fancy dinnerware, he turned a curious
eye on his hostess.

"Who's joining us, Kay?"

"Who?" Kay sounded much like an owl.

"Tell him, Kathleen," her husband commanded as he
entered the room.

Kay turned aggressively on both men. "I happen to
know that she eats by herself every evening, and I think
the least we can do is ask her to join us on the weekends!"
Kay stormed back out to the kitchen and left the men to
stare at each other.

"I take it the lovely Miss Donovan is joining us today?"

Dean only nodded and watched the younger man.
"I'm sorry, Alex, if that's a problem for you."

"It's no problem for me, Dean. I find myself daydreaming about the next time I'll see her. However, I
don't know how Miss Donovan is going to feel about my
being here."

A moment later they both heard the knock on the front
door.

"Well," Dean spoke again, this time softly, "we'll
know soon enough."

Marla answered the door and stood grinning at her
teacher. Marcail was just as glad to see her because the
Austin girls were some of her best students. The fact that
they prayed for her gave them a bond she did not share
with any of the other children. They were also bright and
well behaved, and looked at her with something close to
adoration, which was good for any teacher's confidence.

Daisy joined them as they made their way to the dining room. Even though both girls were talking at once,
Marcail didn't miss the sound of Alex's well-modulated voice. Surprisingly enough, she did not feel like running
away. There was a constant supply of chopped wood
next to her door, and Marcail wanted to thank him.
Unfortunately her mouth went dry the moment she felt
his eyes on her.

"Hello, Miss Donovan," Kay greeted her warmly.
"Come in and make yourself at home."

Marcail had to clear her throat before any words would
come out, and only then was she able to thank her
hostess. Dean greeted her, and then Marcail had no
choice but to meet the doctor's eyes.

"Hello, Dr. Montgomery," she began. "I want to
thank you for the firewood."

"You're welcome. Has there been ample?"

"Yes, more than enough, thank you."

Alex had to hide a smile. Such a speech had obviously
cost her, and he found the look of profound relief on her
face adorable. He realized in an instant that he wanted to
court this woman. With Linette, his attention had been
welcome; with Marcail, he didn't know whether he even
stood a chance.

Alex had sudden visions of the young men in Santa
Rosa, just waiting for her to disembark from the train
when she returned for Christmas. He couldn't believe
the wave of jealousy that overwhelmed him at the thought.

"Dinner is ready," Kay called as she added a soup
tureen to the table and everyone gathered around.

Marcail found herself next to Marla and across the
table from Daisy. Alex sat on Daisy's left, and even though
Marcail told herself not to, she looked at the young
doctor almost constantly.

Her mind ran in two directions. One moment she
found herself enjoying his handsome face, dark hair,
and blue eyes, but regretting the fact that he was a doctor. The next moment she wished his features were
pale and washed out, and that she found him repulsive.

Alex did not miss the way Marcail's gaze strayed to
him repeatedly. He tried to squelch the hope rising
within him that she might be interested, but it didn't
work. When Marcail said her goodbyes, Alex did the
same so they could leave together.

Marcail was looking uncomfortable all over again as
they walked out the front door. But Alex so wanted to be
with her that he ignored her look, took a big breath, and
asked if he could see her home.