California Romance Read Online Free PDF

him.”
    Gus grinned and took a swallow of whiskey. “Sarah, Sarah.” He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “You are such an innocent. Have you any idea how much I owe Tice Edwards?”
    She shook her head.
    “I owe him more than six thousand dollars.”
    Sarah blanched. “Six thousand dollars?” If she worked day and night until she was an old woman, she could never hope to pay back such a sum. Her hopes crashed. In desperation she threw herself to the floor in front of Gus. “Please,” she pleaded, “don’t force me to marry Mr. Edwards. Who will take care of the children if I’m gone? Timmy’s still little. Ellie’s too young to look after him all day while you’re out of the house.”
    “Who’d take care of ’em if you hired yourself out to work?” Gus growled. He sat up and leaned closer to his stepdaughter. “I can get me another woman anytime I want. Just like I got your ma. It ain’t hard to do. Your ma is proof of that.”
    It took every ounce of self-control Sarah had to keep from grabbing a frying pan off the dilapidated stove and giving him a whack. How could he speak that way, with Mama barely cold in the grave?
    Gus reached out and grasped Sarah’s wrist. “I’ll tell you another thing, missy. Tice Edwards sees something in you he likes. I don’t know what, but you’ll not do anything to make him change his mind, you hear? He’s a gentleman. Told me he plans to court you right and proper for a week or two—starting tomorrow. You’d best get yourself cleaned up and ready when he comes calling in the afternoon. Or else.” He thrust her aside and went back to his bottle. Soon he was snoring loudly, sprawled across the chair with his head thrown back.
    Tiptoeing so as not to wake his father, Timmy crept to Sarah and whispered, “I’m hungry.”
    “It’s too late to fix you anything,” Sarah muttered, getting up. She turned to Ian and Peter. “Go up to bed, boys. The night’s half over.”
    Ian glared at her while Peter remarked, “We don’t have to.”
    “Fine. Stay up all night. See if I care.” Wearily she took Timmy’s hand and glanced around the room for Ellie. The little girl lay sound asleep in a corner, curled into a small, tattered ball. Wisps of dark brown hair fell across her face, pouting even in sleep. Sarah thought about rousing her, but what was the point? Ellie would certainly protest against being wakened and dragged up to the attic. Why care if the child spent the night on the cold, hard floor?
    A sliver of guilt stabbed Sarah as she guided Timmy up the steep ladder to the room above. Her mother never would have allowed Ellie to huddle in the corner. Virginia always had a tender word for the fractious little girl, no matter how weary and heartsore she felt after a long day’s work.
    “I’m not like you, Mama,” Sarah confessed in a whisper, giving Timmy one last boost onto the attic floor. “I can’t be patient and kind to these rowdy youngsters when my own world is falling apart. I’m sorry.”
    “What did you say, Sarah?” Timmy asked quietly.
    “Never you mind.” She tumbled him onto his pallet and tucked the quilt around his peaked face. She rose. “You just go to sleep. It’s late.”
    “Sarah?”
    “What now?” Sarah snapped.
    “You—you ain’t leavin’ us to marry that gambler fellow, are you?”
    Sarah caught her breath at the fear she heard in Timmy’s voice. Reaching down, she patted him on the leg. “I don’t know, Timmy. I hope not. But it’s nothing you have to worry about right now.”
    Before he could reply, Sarah crept around the partition and onto her own mattress. The corn husks rustled and crackled while she tried to find a comfortable position for her weary body. Soon she lay still. The rustling ceased. Only the soft laughter of the boys downstairs and the occasional snore of a drunken Gus Stoddard floated up through the hole in the ceiling.
    Although Sarah’s body was at last at rest, her mind was spinning. The