society required that he keep his distance unless summoned, of course, but he would nevertheless try to stay abreast of the little family’s circumstances. Taylor had had the benefit of the support of both his parents all his life and he couldn’t imagine how he’d have managed without his father’s wise counsel and his mother’s tempering gentleness and abiding Christian faith.
He glanced back at the Reese children as he stepped outside. They had gathered around their big sister and were clinging to her as if she were the only lifeline from a sinking ship. He hoped—and prayed—that that was not so. There were many opportunities in San Francisco these days, but there were also many pitfalls and dangers, especially for a young, pretty woman with no family elders to advise and cosset her.
As Sara Beth comforted the boys and dried their eyes, she wondered why she, too, was not weeping. She wanted to cry but the tears would not come. Perhaps that was because she still could not force herself to believe her mama and papa were gone forever. Oh, she believed in heaven. That wasn’t the problem. Her question was how a benevolent Heavenly Father could have allowed her and the boys to be left so alone.
“I shall need to return home soon,” she told Abe Warner. “Will you escort us?”
“I’d be obliged,” he said, “but I can’t leave my store with all these goings-on outside. There’ll be the law to deal with and then—”
“Will you then arrange for a proper funeral?” Sara Beth asked. “I wouldn’t know how to begin.”
“Of course, of course. Your pastor should be notified, too. What church do you attend?”
“First Congregational,” she said. “At least, Mama and I went and took the boys. Papa never seemed to have the time. He was always working.”
“That reminds me,” Abe said, frowning. “You’ll need to make sure that that workshop of his is secure. Lock it up good and tight, if you know what I mean. There’ll have to be an accounting and you wouldn’t want to come up short.”
“I don’t know a thing about that, either,” Sara Beth said. “Papa brought the gold dust samples home and assayed them all by himself. None of us were permitted to even watch from outside a window. What shall I do?”
“Leave everything just as it sits,” Abe advised. “Whoever assigned him to do the assay work will surely contact you and make further arrangements.” He shook his head pensively. “Always did seem a mite reckless to me, trusting outsiders to handle the dust—even a little of it. Then again, they say there wasn’t room for the entire operation under one roof at the mint yet, and your papa was an honest man. He’d had that job ever since Moffat and Company sold to Curtis and Ward, hadn’t he?”
“I—I think so.” She rubbed her temples. “I’m sorry, Mr. Warner. I can’t seem to concentrate at the moment.”
“It’s the shock, I reckon. You’re right about needin’ to get on home and take it easy. I’ll arrange for someone to drive you.”
“No, no. We can walk. I don’t have the price of a private hack and I don’t know when I’d be able to repay you.”
“There’s someone close by who has his own buggy. Never you fear. He won’t charge a penny.”
“But—”
“No argument, girl. I think he’s still outside. I’ll go talk to him and be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”
Mathias tugged on her skirt to get her attention. “Are we goin’ home, Sara Beth?”
“Yes, dear. As soon as we can.”
“What about…?” His lower lip began to quiver as he gazed out the open door.
“Mr. Warner will take care of things for us here,” she said, realizing that her real problems were only just beginning. “We need to get on home. I’ll fix some nice pancakes. You’ll feel better after you eat.”
Although she knew that it now fell to her to hold the family together, she had absolutely no idea how she was going to accomplish that feat.
Yes, she knew how to keep house and do the same things her mother had always done, such as sew and prepare meals.
But those were the least of her worries, weren’t they? With Papa gone, who would support them? Who would bring in the wages they’d need to survive, let alone flourish as they had been? Sara Beth had had only one serious suitor in the past year and repeatedly rejected his offers of marriage, with her mother’s blessing.
Perhaps that was why Mama had specifically mentioned the Ladies’ Protection and Relief Society, Sara Beth reminded herself. The benevolent organization had begun as a part of her home church and she already knew many of the members. Mama herself had once worked for some of those dear ladies as a seamstress, until she’d met and married Papa.
Are my skills with needle and thread sufficient to do the same? she wondered. Was there a chance she might find the kind of gainful employment that had once kept her and her widowed mother off the streets? She prayed so. For if not, she and her brothers were going to be in trouble. And soon.
Abe found the young doctor in the alley, awaiting the arrival of the sheriff. “You bring your buggy, Taylor?”
“Yes. I was just coming in from a call outside town so I already had the horse in harness. I wouldn’t have stopped to hitch up otherwise.”
“Good. I’ve got a favor to ask. Miss Sara Beth and her brothers need a ride home. I’d take ’em myself but I don’t dare leave my emporium until the furor dies down a bit more. I figure I might as well open the bar and take care of the thirsty curiosity-seekers, too.”
The doctor chuckled wryly. “That’s what I’d have expected, you old reprobate. Don’t you know that rotgut is bad for you?”
“It’s a darned sight safer than the water we get from the water wagons,” Abe countered. “That stuff’s clear green sometimes, especially come summer.”
“I can’t argue with you there,” Taylor replied. “All right. I’ll bring my horse around and wait while you fetch the Reese children.”
“One of ’em ain’t exactly a child, if you get my drift. You okay with that?”
“I’m a doctor,” Taylor said. “And we’ll have the boys with us as chaperones. As long as Miss Sara Beth doesn’t mind riding with me, I’m sure no one else will think twice about it.”
The old man snorted cynically. “If you say so. Just keep your interest professional, you hear?”
“Have you taken it upon yourself to look out for the young lady’s honor?”
“I wish I could,” Abe answered, sobering. “An old codger like me is no good example for those boys, nor a fitting companion for a young woman of Sara Beth’s upbringing.”
“What do you think she’ll do?”
Abe shrugged. “Don’t know.”
“Does she have grandparents? Aunts and uncles?”
“None, far
