Sean Donovan (The Californians, Book 3) (17 page)

All Sean had been able to do for the first few days of
his marriage was thank God he was alive. But soon he
had begun to notice the woman to whom he found
himself married. Never in his wildest dreams did he
expect her to be a woman who possessed so many of the
qualities he admired.

That her life had been no bed of roses was obvious in
many ways. She rarely asked for help or allowed Sean to
wait on her. She never complained about the hard work
or mentioned the past, but there were times when Sean
would help her in some small way and immediately find
himself under her scrutiny. She would stare at him as though figuring out what type of man he was, was the
most important thing on earth.

Sean found himself speculating on Charlie's grandfather a good deal of the time, since he had clearly played
such a large part in who Charlie had become. He'd had a
good head for business, that much Sean knew, but what
had he been like as a person? Sean was unaware both of
the new insight he would gain and how swiftly it would
come.

The day had flown by as usual, and Sean spent some
extra time at the well cleaning up for supper. He knew
that Charlie would have the table prepared and the meal
set out by the time he arrived. He planned to mention
the primer when they did the dishes.

They talked about the customers they'd had that day
and even laughed about Sean getting stepped on by a
workhorse.

"You can laugh," he teased her. "You weren't the one
whose foot was being crushed by a thousand pounds of
horse."

"He looked so comfortable too," Charlie said, her eyes
lighting. 'As if he could have stood there all day."

"He probably didn't even know my foot was down
there."

"That's true. There's not a malicious bone in Tiny's
body."

Who in the world named him Tiny?" Sean asked as
he pictured the gigantic animal in his mind. Tiny's hoofs
were the size of large dinner plates.

"His owner is quite a character. He has a goat he milks
every day whose name is George Washington, and a
male dog named Dolly Madison."

They shared the light moment together, and then rose
to clean up. It was Sean's turn to dry the dishes. He waited only until Charlie handed him the first plate
before he brought up the book.

"Charlotte, I want to talk to you about the school
primer." She looked startled, and Sean went on in a very
gentle voice. "If you want me to return it, I will, but first I
want to tell you something."

"No, I don't think that's a good idea." Charlie's voice
was one of near panic.

"Charlotte," Sean called after her as she darted out of
the kitchen and down the hall. With the drying cloth still
in his hand, he followed.

Charlie would have shut her bedroom door, but Sean
came through behind her and made the action impossible. She never dreamed he would follow her, and
quickly looked about for something to do. She couldn't
pick up a catalog and pretend to read, because he knew
she couldn't. She didn't sew very well, so mending was
out. Charlie settled on rearranging her dresser drawers.

"Charlotte, I just want to talk with you," Sean said
from his place near the dresser where he'd followed her,
the drying cloth now thrown over his shoulder. "I'm not
trying to make you feel bad because you can't read, and if
you'll just look at me for a moment I can tell you what I
have in mind."

Frustration rose up in Sean as he was completely ignored for the first time in his adult life. He knew that if
Charlie would just let him explain, the whole matter
could be settled.

"Charlotte!" Sean's voice thundered in frustration,
and Charlie jumped before turning to face him.

She looked up into his face with a startled kind of fear,
and Sean felt more upset than ever, this time with himself. He had scared her, and that was the last thing he
wanted. He suddenly raised an agitated hand to his hair,
raking his fingers along his scalp. It took no more than a moment to see that his wife had flinched and was steeling herself for a blow.

Sean became utterly still. With his hand still resting
on the top of his head, he saw Charlie realize her mistake
and try to cover it. She straightened the front of her
blouse and touched the rim of her hat as though nothing
out of the ordinary had happened.

"You thought I was going to hit you." Sean's voice was
strained and filled with pain.

"No, I didn't," Charlie lied.

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't," Charlie said, turning away sharply as
she spoke. "Don't be foolish." But there was no conviction in her tone, and Sean watched as she went back to
work on her dresser.

His next actions were those of a man who felt like he
was going down for the third time. He would not leave
this room until things were settled between them.

He found his hand gently encircling Charlie's upper
arm as he reached for her. He brought her away from the
dresser to stand before him, holding her there with both
hands on her arms. Charlie looked up at him for a moment and then lowered her head, her hat hiding her face
from Sean's view.

"Please take your hat off."

Charlie looked up, startled once again, but did as he
asked.

"Look at me, Charlotte," Sean implored her softly and
waited for her to comply.

Charlie had never seen a man look the way Sean
looked at that moment. His face was a mask of tender
determination, and she hoped he couldn't see the tears
she felt gathering behind her eyes.

"I want you to listen to me, Charlotte, and listen well. I
would never hit you. Do you hear me, Charlotte? Never!"

Sean watched her eyes carefully and waited until she
nodded ever so slightly. Then without permission he
pulled her against his chest. Cuddling her full against
him, he settled his hands on her back, one thumb stroking idly along her shoulder blade. When he felt her arms
come around his waist, albeit tentatively, he began to
talk.

"My mother was a teacher. My oldest sister also taught
before she started having children, and my younger
sister has planned on becoming a teacher for as long as I
can remember. I've always taken my reading skills for
granted, but there were times when I think they saved
my life.

"When we lived in Hawaii there was never enough to
read. After coming to San Francisco and living with my
Aunt Maureen, I learned what it was like to have a daily
newspaper. I've always loved to read, and when I wasn't
eating or out seeing the city, I could be found in my
aunt's library, reading anything I could get my hands on.

"Then my mother died and my father left for the
islands. I remember my sisters and I devoured every
word of every newspaper available. I think the pain of
my mother's death would have overwhelmed me if I
hadn't had something to do with my mind. I wasn't
trying to forget her, but dwelling on her loss wasn't
doing me any good either. So I read.

"Rarely was a page turned that I didn't thank my
mother, because she was the one who taught me to read.
And Charlotte, I -want to teach you."

Sean's hands slid back to her upper arms and he held
her before him so he could look into her eyes.

"I want to open the world of words to you, Charlotte,
because I think everyone should know how to read, and
because there isn't a more precious gift I could give you
in all the earth."

"What if I'm too stupid to learn?"

"There's nothing stupid about you."

Sean spoke with such sincerity that Charlie blinked.
She did pick up on things rather quickly, but she had
never stayed in school long enough to know if she could
learn to read. Her grandfather had felt it unnecessary.
You know your numbers, Charlie, and enough words to get by.
That's all I've ever learned. It's enough, he used to say.

"Will you let me teach you to read?"

The question jerked Charlie back to the present, and
before she could change her mind, she nodded her head.
Sean grinned and pulled her into his arms again. After
giving her a tender squeeze, he took her hand and led
her back through the kitchen and into the living room,
ignoring the unfinished dishes.

A mere moment went by before he had lit the lamp,
retrieved the primer, and settled with her on the sofa.
Sean read to her from the front of the book and then
showed her the letters printed within.

Charlie didn't catch everything he said because she
was so busy looking at him. She didn't know that men
like Sean Donovan existed.

The talk around town is that you're falling for your husband.
Those had been Duncan's words and Charlie felt something almost painful squeeze around her heart at the
sight of this man beside her. She also found herself
thinking, the talk around town is true.

Sean discovered during their second lesson that
Charlie had learned the alphabet. She looked so pleased
with herself that he wanted to kiss her. When he began
teaching her sounds, Sean made a point of starting with
words that were pertinent in her world.

While most people learned that A is for apple and B is
for boy, Charlie learned that A is for anvil, B is for bellows, and C is for carriage.

Charlie was as fast a learner as he had expected her to
be. The first few days were great, so great, in fact, that
Sean was a little confused when Charlie did not want to
study on their third night.

"I need to go to Sadie's," she explained, hoping that
Sean would not question her.

Sean didn't question her, but he did feel let down. She
seemed almost as skittish and hesitant as she had been
before they'd talked. It never occurred to him that she
was harboring a secret. He was quiet as they made their
way to Sadie's, and just as silent as he took his place at the
kitchen table. Charlie glanced at him before going to
find her aunt. Sean would have been surprised to know
she was laden with guilt.

"Why do you look so down?" Sadie asked as soon as
Charlie stepped into the small parlor.

"I just feel bad about leaving Sean in the kitchen."

"Well, tell him to come in here and get settled then.
We'll measure your dress in the sewing room."

"Is it really ready for me to try on?" Charlie asked,
excitement lighting her face.

"It sure is, honey, and I'm sorry I didn't have it ready
for you last week."

"It's all right, Sadie; I'm sure the dress will be worth
the wait."

"So you think you'll go to church this Sunday?"

"Sean and I haven't talked about it, but I think we'll
try the church that Duncan and Lora attend."

"Good," Sadie said emphatically. "Now get Sean in
here so we can get to work in the sewing room. I'll have
the dress ready for you to take home when you come for
your bath Saturday night."

Charlie could do nothing more than stare. Sadie had
hurried her into the dress, made a few measurements,
and whipped it back over her head before she could even
think. Now the dress was hanging again, and Charlie
stood before it and looked her fill.

The fabric was an off-white, almost a cream, with the
palest of flowers and leaves swirled throughout in a
delicate pattern. The only word that would come to
Charlie's mind was "soft." The pink and blue flowers,
and the green leaves and vines were all soft pastels. The
small redhead reached out reverently to touch the fabric.

The sleeves were short and sewn to puff at the shoulders. The waist was gently gathered, and Charlie's
hands went to her hips as she remembered the way the fabric fell in a flattering line from her waist.

"Well, what have we here?"

Charlie stiffened at the sound of Tansy's voice.

"My," Tansy said brightly, "what pretty material. I
think the neckline is a little too high for my tastes, but
then it's probably just right for your figure."

Wishing that Sadie hadn't left the room, Charlie
watched as Tansy's shoulders went back to best display
her full chest.