Sean Donovan (The Californians, Book 3) (33 page)

A few minutes passed, and Sean could tell without
looking at her that she was no longer sobbing. That she
was asleep was not apparent to him until Marcail came in
with a mug of hot coffee. He watched his sister stop
halfway across the rug, and then tip-toe to set the cup on
the sofa table.

"She's asleep, Sean," Marcail whispered and Sean
nodded. "If you want to carry her upstairs, your room is
all ready."

"Maybe I'd better."

Kaitlin and Rigg came back in time to see Marc leading
Sean up the stairs with his precious bundle. As their feet
disappeared from view, Kate spoke.

"I'm so glad they came together, but we didn't even
get to meet her."

"We'll have plenty of time for that."

"I almost ran upstairs to wake the girls."

"Since tomorrow is Sunday, we'll all have the entire
day to get acquainted."

"So tell us your plans!" Rigg encouraged Sean as both
men, Katie, and Marcail sat around the kitchen table.

"Well," he said slowly, "I probably should have explained everything to you before moving back, bag and
baggage, but-"

"You misunderstand me, Sean," the older man assured him gently. "I'm not trying to pin you down to any
schedule. I'm just excited to have you here and want to
know what you have in mind."

"I guess I just wanted the baby to be born here," Sean
began again. "Everything happened so quickly with the
sale of the livery. I know we'd have been welcome at
Sadie's if we had to stay, but we honestly believed the
trip would be easier for Charlie and the baby before the
baby was born." Sean's gaze traveled upward to where
his wife was sleeping. "She's so tired right now," Sean
continued, "I wonder if we made the right decision."

"I think she'll be fine, Sean," Katie told him. "You
know that we'll do all we can to make her comfortable.
And we're just thrilled that your baby will be born here."
Kate's voice caught just a little.

Sean could only nod, his heart full. It had been so long
since they'd been together, and so much had passed.
Marcail, quiet as she was, seemed to be having the hardest time. She kept touching Sean as though making
certain he was really there.

They talked late into the night before Rigg said they'd
better get some sleep. No one argued, and after a few
yawns and another round of hugs, Sean made his way
upstairs.

"Sean?" Charlie's voice was heavy with sleep as she
felt the bed shift beside her.

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"What time is it?"

"I'm not sure, I think about 2:00 A.M."

"Oh, Sean," Charlie pleaded as she remembered
where she was. "Please tell me I didn't fall asleep before
a proper introduction to your family."

Charlie buried her face in the pillow when he laughed
softly. Forgetting the hour, she told herself to get up and
apologize, but before she could work out the time or
force herself out of bed, she was back to sleep.

Charlie looked around the breakfast table at the
people surrounding her and smiled. Marshall Riggs, a
man whose frame was even larger than Sean's, was a big
sweetheart. He had taken Charlie's hand as soon as she
had come downstairs and humbly asked her forgiveness
for closing her outside in the cold. That he was still
amused over what he'd done was immediately evident to
her, and they ended up grinning at each other like old
friends.

Kaitlin, so obviously Sean's sister, was a model of
tenderness. Charlie had apologized about falling asleep,
but all Kaitlin did was laugh and hug her again. She then
went on to tell Charlie some great stories about the way
she had behaved when she was expecting, putting Charlie so at ease that she laughed until she had tears in her
eyes.

"Beautiful" was the only word Charlie could mentally
formulate to describe Marcail Donovan. Kaitlin was
extremely attractive, but Marcail's exquisite features and
huge dark eyes were so fetching that Charlie caught
herself staring on more than one occasion. Marcail had a
genuine desire to help, and her lovely mouth would
draw into a smile at the slightest provocation. Her frame and height were petite. Charlie, who never considered
herself tall, found that Marcail looked up to her.

The last to come under Charlie's scrutiny were Gretchen
and Molly. The sight of them caused Charlie to smile.
Both girls were darling, with big dark eyes and the coalblack hair that seemed to be the hallmark of this family.
They were perfect little ladies at the breakfast table. Since
Gretchen was only four and Molly was just two, Charlie
mentally congratulated Rigg and Kate for the work that
must have gone into the last years.

There was a bit of a squabble in the wagon on the way
to church, showing Charlie that the girls were not always
so well behaved. But their quick response when reprimanded, and the way they snuggled close to their Uncle
Sean and Aunt Charlotte as if they had known them
for years, was enough to win over even the hardest of
hearts, let alone one like Charlie's that was waiting to
love them.

Charlie desperately tried to keep the names of everyone she had met clear in her mind. So many from Rigg's
family had come to meet her that she was beginning to
think that he was somehow related to the entire church.

"We're all going to Taylors for lunch," Sean told her as
the wagon pulled out of the church yard.

"Rigg's family?"

"Right."

"Which ones were they?" Charlie looked very worried.

Sean took her hand and squeezed it. "Don't try to
remember. They'll understand if you need to ask their
names."

Charlie wasn't at all convinced, and with Molly trying
to get Sean's attention, he missed the look of distress on
his wife's face.

"It's all a little overwhelming, isn't it?"

Charlie turned and found one of Rigg's brothers smiling down at her. He joined her on the sofa, and Charlie
gave him a tired smile.

"I've never had any trouble with names before,"
Charlie stated apologetically.

"I'm Gilbert Taylor, Rigg's brother, and please don't
apologize," Gil forestalled her.

Charlie smiled. "I won't, although it seems as though
all I've done in the past 24 hours is apologize. Actually,"
Charlie paused, looking a little surprised, "I haven't
been here that many hours." She looked even more
exhausted after realizing that less than a day ago she was
on a stage just coming into town.

Gilbert, always sensitive to the feelings of others,
talked quietly to Charlie until her lids began to droop.
The house was noisy, but she fell asleep beside him, and
he stayed close to keep the little ones from disturbing
her.

It wasn't long before Sean came in from the kitchen.
He had been talking with Bill and May Taylor, and Rigg
and Kaitlin. When he saw Gilbert guarding Charlie, he
grabbed the newspaper and with a softly spoken word of
thanks took his place.

Charlie was able to catch almost an hour's sleep before
someone slammed a door and woke her. Sean had done
very little reading as he sat beside her. He had been
praying, and as soon as Charlie's eyes focused on him he
spoke to her in a soft tone.

"I think I owe you an apology."

"Over what?" Charlie blinked slowly at him, but she
had heard every word.

"About taking you out of the house today, even for
church."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"I mean, we're going to be here until after the baby is
born, so you'll have lots of time to meet folks. I had no
business taking you out today, introducing you to dozens of people, and then bringing you here for lunch,
when all you needed was rest."

"I hope you know you're being very silly," Charlie
said, her voice still very sleepy. "I wanted to go to church,
and you've told me how long all these people have been
praying for you. Sean, you needed to see them."

Sean only shook his head and moved close enough to
put his arm around her. With one arm holding her close,
he reached with his free hand to the roundness of her
stomach. It seemed she was increasing daily.

While Sean held her close he whispered in her ear that
she was the most important person on earth to him. He
told her that from now on, he would be taking much
better care of her. Charlie tried once again to tell him she
was fine, but he silenced her with a kiss.

Neither one of them realized that Kaitlin had come
into the room just in time to witness that kiss. She
turned back to the kitchen with a smile on her face. The
only thing better than having Sean come home was
having him home with the woman he loved and who
loved him in return.

Charlie had been in Santa Rosa for about eight days
when the dam that carefully held her emotions in check
shattered. It was a Sunday morning, and while still in
the bedroom getting dressed for the day Sean innocently
teased her about once again falling asleep when conversation was going on around her.

To Sean's utter amazement, Charlie burst into tears.
He apologized several times, but she seemed inconsolable. Staying with her until the harsh sobs had passed,
Sean left her still crying softly on the edge of the bed to
tell Kate they would not be joining the family for church.