Sean Donovan (The Californians, Book 3) (8 page)

"I finally left Santa Rosa the summer I was 17. It
wasn't long before I started telling myself I would never
go back. I'd also been telling myself for two years that if
my father could desert me then my God probably could
as well. So I stopped trying to pray, certain there was no
one listening.

'And then today, when you cared enough to hold me
on my feet, I knew I'd been wrong. He'd been there all
along, waiting to help. me with the pain of loss and
separation. It's easy to say this now that I know how
close my death is," Sean hesitated and tears filled his
dark eyes, "but I would serve God with my whole heart if
I had another chance."

Duncan wanted to say something but couldn't swallow around the lump in his throat.

"Thanks for coming back and talking to me. It makes
things a little easier. Will you take that address now?"

Duncan nodded and went for some paper. When he
returned, Sean's voice shook as he gave Kaitlin's full
name and address.

"Try to get some sleep, Sean."

"I will, and please tell my sisters that I love them and
that I love Father too."

Duncan's throat closed again, and he waited until the
younger man lay down before taking the piece of paper
to his desk. He sat unseeing for a long time, the paper
clutched in his fingers.

When he did open a bottom drawer in the desk to file
the paper, he hesitated. It was a mess inside. His file
system left much to be desired.

He put the address in his breast pocket for safekeeping and reached again to shut the drawer. Something
stopped him, however, something he hadn't thought
about in years.

Like a man in a dream he reached into the drawer time
and again until the contents were emptied onto his desk.
The document was hazy in his mind, but he was sure it
must be there. Duncan looked at the mass of papers on
the desktop and wondered where to start.

His hesitation lasted only a moment before he remembered that 4:30 the next afternoon was less than 17 hours
away. With that thought in mind, he began to read.

Where did you find this?"

"I've been searching my papers all night. Is it any
good?"

Judge Harrison didn't answer, but continued to study
the document in his hand. Finally he said, "I'd forgotten
all about this law."

"I had too. Is it still legal?"

"Oh, yes," the petite man assured him calmly.

"Will you read it?"

"I'll read it, Lucas," he said as he looked the taller man
in the eye, "but you must know that the possibility of a
response-"

"I don't know anything, Tom, except that you've got to
read that proclamation," Duncan cut him off. "I know
it's a shot in the dark, but I'm trusting God in that
darkness. I don't know how and I don't know who-I
just know you've got to read that paper."

The judge studied the sheriff's face for a long moment.
He had always respected Duncan's faith in God. "I'll
read it Duncan; for what it's worth, I'll read it."

It was a sobering experience for Sean to hear the hammers pounding nails to form the gallows where he
would meet his death. Sean's window did not look out
onto the building site, but as the sun passed its midpoint
in the sky, a shadow was cast across the ground, giving a
perfect outline of the tall structure that would see his
execution.

Sean's hand rose involuntarily to his throat as he lay
down on the cot. "I know Your arms are waiting to hold
me on the other side, Lord, but the thought of that rope
around my neck terrifies me."

The words were whispered, and tears stung Sean's
eyes. "Please help me to be strong. I don't know if I've
ever given You the glory for anything, but I want to
now."

And such were Sean's prayers through the long afternoon. Since he knew his system would hold nothing, he
hadn't eaten a thing since before the trial. He was, in a
sense, fasting and praying, and God's immeasurable
peace had settled upon him. Duncan had come and
talked to him again that morning and then prayed aloud,
thanking God for the opportunity to know Sean. It had
almost been the younger man's undoing.

Knowing that Duncan would write a kind letter to his
family, Sean praised God. He tried to push the faces of
his sisters and his nieces from his mind, but it did no
good. He adored his nieces, and the thought of never
seeing them again brought a torrent of tears.

Having dozed off before Duncan came to get him,
Sean shook his head to clear his mind and held his wrists
behind his back for cuffing.

Sean's heart, which had been beating at normal speed,
began to pound when he saw the crowd around the
scaffolding. It had never occurred to him that people
would care to witness such a gruesome spectacle, but
there was indeed quite a crowd gathered, and it was painful to have to walk through the midst of them to his
death.

The walk up the steps of the scaffold was the longest of
Sean's life. He was momentarily surprised to see the
judge waiting for him on the platform, but a second later
he stepped onto the trapdoor and felt the rope tighten
around his neck and all other thoughts vanished.

The sun was in Sean's face, and not wishing to see the
faces in the crowd, he welcomed the excuse to close his
eyes. The noises around him and the feel of the rope as it
scraped the tender skin of his neck were all he could
take.

"It's been recently brought to my. attention that a
document needs to be read at this hanging. For some of
you it will be new. For others, it'll jog your memory from
many years ago. But either way I assure you, it is legal
and I will hear no discussion to the contrary."

The judge cleared his throat and began to read. "As
official of this legal hanging in the State of California, in
the County of Tulare, I hereby proclaim that for the
offense of bank robbery, Sean Donovan will be hanged
by the neck until dead. Unless, in said case, a woman of
good standing in the community, that is, not being a
woman of ill repute, a child beater, or an adulteress, will
hereby step forward and claim said prisoner to be her
lawfully wedded spouse from this day forward."

The announcement was met with gasps of shock and
outrage from the throng. An ominous silence followed.

"Now, I should explain a little further, without having
to read the whole thing, that this would not apply to the
offense of murder. And since I know I've taken you all by
surprise, I'll read it one more time."

The judge did as he said without looking anywhere
but at the paper. If he had he would have seen the condemned man staring at him, his eyes nearly popping
out of his head.

Sean would have sworn that nothing but the sight of
his Savior would have been able to pry open his eyes, but
when the judge began reading the document, his eyes
flew open and he swiveled his head as best he could to
look at the man next to him.

The judge finished reading a second later, and Sean
was still so busy staring at him that he didn't hear a
woman calling from the crowd. Murmurs of "Charlie"
came to his ears, but the name didn't really register.

Sean watched Duncan's face in disbelief as the sheriff
loosened the knot and lifted the rope from his neck.
Spots danced before his eyes.

"Don't pass out now, Sean. Charlie has just agreed to
marry you."

Sean's eyes went from the grinning sheriff to the
judge, who was staring down the steps of the scaffold to
a woman standing below. Sean followed his gaze and
saw black spots again. With Duncan's hand gripping his
arm, he was brought back to his senses just as the judge
addressed him.

"Well, son, it seems there's been a change in the plans.
Can you stay on your feet long enough to be married?"

Duncan stared down at the redheaded woman in
front of him and tried not to smile. Charlotte Cooper,
"Charlie" to the entire town, was the hardest working
woman in the area. Deceptively attractive under her
dusty clothes, Charlie did a good job of hiding her
beauty beneath the hat she wore, the brim of which was
always stubbornly pulled down to her brows.

Charlie and Duncan were alone in the judge's chambers where she had just become Mrs. Patrick Sean Donovan III. She didn't appear overjoyed, and Duncan was
thankful that they had tied the knot before she could
change her mind. He didn't by any means believe this
was a match made in heaven, but he did believe that if
God had brought Sean this far, He would see him the rest
of the way.

"I think he'll be just fine, Charlie," Duncan told her
after Sean went to her wagon with his deputy.

"He'd better be, Duncan," she told him seriously,
wondering again at the impulse that now had her married. "Because if he makes one move out of line, I'll bring
him back here and you can just go right ahead and hang
him higher than Haman."

Duncan did smile then, not believing for a second that
she was as indifferent as she sounded. His smile only
caused Charlie to frown.

"What are you grinning about?" she growled at him.

Duncan didn't answer, and Charlie shook her head
and exited the courthouse.

Sean was waiting patiently where he had been directed. He watched his wife approach and felt a state of
shock settle over him. His wife. He was married! And to
an absolute stranger!

Charlie stopped in front of him and looked out under
the battered hat. Her eyes were serious, and Sean wondered what she was thinking.

"I hope you're not afraid of hard work," she muttered
as she hitched her skirt enough to climb into the wagon
unassisted. "You can sit in the back."

Sean did as he was told, careful not to sit on the
supplies neatly stacked in the rear of the wagon. Duncan
stepped to the sideboard and spoke softly.

"I wanted to warn you about the paper I'd found,
Sean, but I was afraid of getting your hopes up. Charlie
will do right by you. Just follow the rules and you'll be
fine." They shook hands, and Duncan told the stillspeechless Sean that the door to his office was always
open.

A moment later the wagon was moving down the
street. Sean sat still as they went into the next block. No
more than 30 seconds had passed before the wagon
pulled straight into the livery. The sign above the door
read "COOPER'S LIVERY" in large, faded letters.

The horse and wagon stopped inside the sturdylooking building. Sean jumped out of the back as soon as
the wagon halted and without forethought, moved to
help his wife. Charlie stared at the hand extended to her and then at the owner. Sean's hand dropped, and he
stepped back and watched as she jumped to the ground.

Her manner was plainly suspicious, and Sean told
himself he was going to have to watch his step. Feeling
rather helpless, he stood back as Charlie stabled her
horse and began to rub him down.

"You don't need to unload that wagon until tomorrow, so just push it into the big stall on the end." It was a
command and Sean was swift to do her bidding. He
stood just outside the stall once the wagon was in place,
waiting for his next orders. The livery in which he stood
was clean, spacious, and well supplied. There were
horses in five other stalls, and from where he stood,
Sean thought he could see another wagon and two buggies.