Donovan's Daughter (The Californians, Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

afternoon. Mr. Warren seemed to sense what was happening and sent his gawking son on an errand as soon as
he was finished eating.
    People began to mill around, and Marcail was tempted
to rise also. Weighing how safe it would be to wander around town with this man, she hesitated. When Seth,
Allie, and Mr. and Mrs. Warren left, leaving only Rowie
and Marcail on the blanket, he spoke.

    "You don't have a boyfriend back home or anything
like that, do you?"
    "I'm sorry, Jethro, but I don't feel that's something you
need to know."
    "I like it that you call me Jethro."
    Marcail sighed with frustration. He hadn't heard a
word she said. Rowie went on to ask Marcail a score of
questions about how she liked children and housework.
That he was in the market for a wife was more than
obvious. Marcail decided to nip his thoughts in the bud,
at least where she was concerned.
    With a gentle tone, she told him in no uncertain terms
that she was not in the market for a husband. Rowie
looked crestfallen until Marcail told him it wasn't personal, and that she didn't want to be married to anyone.
Rowie didn't push the point, but Marcail had the distinct
impression that he believed he could change her mind.
When they parted company later that day, Marcail did so
with a prayer that Jethro Kilmer would not push her,
because if he chose to, his feelings were certain to get
hurt.

     

    Alexander Montgomery helped himself to a serving
of potatoes and then passed the bowl to the young girl on
his right. He was having dinner, as he did most Sundays,
with his best friends, Dean and Kay Austin.
    The Austins had two children, nine-year-old Daisy
and 11-year-old Marla, both of whom were in Miss Donovan's class. Before the girls left the table the conversation turned to the high price Miss Donovan's lunch basket brought at the auction. As soon as the girls were out
of earshot, Kay teased Alex.
    "Honestly, Alex," Kay spoke in feigned rebuke. "You
didn't even try to bid on Miss Donovan's basket. You
can't tell me that you-don't-find her attractive."
    Alex's eyes sparkled with laughter. "You're right, Kay,
I can't tell you I don't find her attractive, but it's a good
thing I didn't bid, since I had only 25¢ in my pocket."
    Kay became instantly alert, an action Alex did not miss.
    "Calm down, Kay, I have a sufficiency. My last three
patients all paid with food, and you know when I go
hungry, I land myself on your doorstep."
    "Well, just see that you do!" Kay spoke the words with
a gruffness she didn't feel and left the table. Dean took a
sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair.

    "She worries about you."
    "I know she does, but I'm fine, really."
    "Tell me something, Alex. If Miss Donovan's basket
hadn't topped out so high, would you have been interested?"
    "I don't know," the younger man answered honestly.
    "Linette has been gone for over four years, Alex. Does
it still feel unfaithful to you when you think about marrying again?"
    "No, but sometimes I think I've lived as a bachelor for
too long. I feel set in my ways."
    "I can see why you would, since you're all of 30."
Dean's voice was dry, and Alex smiled. Both men were
quiet for a few minutes, and then the youngest Austin
girl joined them.
    "Do you want to see what I made, Uncle Alex?"
    if
"Sure.
    Alex took the offered picture. It was a pencil drawing
of an open field of grass and wildflowers. Daisy showed
real talent, and Alex's compliment was sincere.
    "Thank you," she told him. "It's for Miss Donovan
because I think she must like pretty things."
    "Why is that?" her father wanted to know.
    "Because she's so pretty," the young girl spoke in a
matter-of-fact tone, as if this must be obvious to everyone.
    Daisy went on her way, and Dean started to ask Alex a
question but found him studying the picture Daisy had
left on the table. For some reason the look on the younger
man's face caused him to keep still.

    Marcail dropped the last of her hairpins onto the