Rachel let out the breath she had been holding and turned back to setting out the tin plates and napkins. Her cheeks flamed with heat as she tried to concentrate on the dishes, but could only see his face before her. Even her breasts tingled with awareness of him.
Caleb lugged over another basket and dumped it awkwardly in the middle of the quilt.
“My pies!” She reached out and righted the hamper, glad to have a diversion from her thoughts of the light keeper. She held up a squashed cherry pie in her hand. “To think it made the trip all the way here, and then to end up as flat as a sand dollar.”
“Where’s the problem, Rach? I’ll eat it, anyway.”
She lowered the pie, placing a cloth napkin beneath to protect the faded quilt. “No matter, I guess,” she said grudgingly. “It will still taste the same. Besides, we have the apple pie, and there will be ice cream later. Just try to be more careful.” Caleb was getting clumsier every week. Lately he reminded her more of a disjointed rag doll, all elbows and knees, than a flesh-and-blood boy.
Across the quilt from her, Reverend Crouse rose awkwardly, pressing on his knee with one hand. Skirts and coats rustled as those assembled stood for the blessing. Once he was finished, everyone gathered around the tables piled with food to fill their plates.
At Rachel’s makeshift table, the chicken pieces disappeared quickly. Rolls with butter and then molasses cookies followed. Caleb sectioned off a large piece of mashed cherry pie and ate it with boyish gusto. Rachel had just put her tin plate back in the basket when Terrance strolled up.
“Hello, Rachel.”
He towered over her, pulling on one end of his drooping mustache. He nodded to the reverend, Emma and Caleb in turn, and then his gaze locked on her to the exclusion of the others. What was it that Amanda found appealing about him?
“Ready for that walk?”
She glanced over at the other picnickers. They were finishing their meals. “What about starting the children’s games?”
With a wave of her hand, Emma Crouse intervened. “Oh, go on now, you two. I still remember a game or two. And Caleb can help me.”
Terrance pulled Rachel to her feet. “It’s settled, then.” He offered his arm.
He led her along the perimeter of the peninsula. From this high position, she could see a steamer leaving the harbor. Two ships headed toward San Diego, their white sails taut against the wind as they navigated the deepest part of the channel.
A burst of laughter and giggles came from behind her. Rachel looked back toward the picnickers. Emma and Elizabeth organized the boys and girls for the three-legged races, handing out long strips of cloth to bind legs together.
“I should get back and help,” Rachel said, starting to release Terrance’s arm. She glanced again at the children and Elizabeth. Where was Caleb?
Terrance patted her hand back into place. “Those children get you all week. They can do without you for a few more minutes.”
Reluctantly, she allowed herself to be led toward the ocean side of the point. Here the ground dropped steeply down hundreds of feet. Sagebrush and scruffy vegetation covered the higher ground, but in two areas, the wind had bitten into the high land, carving naked sandstone cliffs. Far below, the waves beat against their base. “Is that a beach down there?”
“A small one. You can’t see much from here.”
She searched for something to say. “How are your cousins from San Diego enjoying their stay?” she asked.
“They’re hoping to see a whale or two while here. So far there haven’t been any.”
“I’m not sure it’s the season for them,” she said, trying to remember what a Portuguese whaler had recently told her in town.
Terrance stopped walking and faced her. “Rachel, ah, I don’t quite know how to say this.”
She glanced up at him. “Just say what’s on your mind. I don’t bite.”
He offered a weak smile. “You know that I sit on the school board.”
“Yes.”
“Well, the others have asked me to inquire into your qualifications.”
Suddenly concerned, she met his gaze. “But they’ve already done that—when they interviewed me. They don’t think I’m doing a good job?”
“No, it’s not that.”
He ran a hand through his straight hair, and she noticed a pink tinge to his usually pale face.
“Will you be taking the teacher examination this year?”
“I plan to—after studying more. Probably in early spring.”
“Oh…well, then. That should appease them,” he said, but he wasn’t looking her in the eye.
She tried to remain calm, but her insides were in turmoil. She needed this work. “Would they hire someone else? Someone with a certificate in place of me?”
He hesitated in answering at first. “I’ll be honest.”
“I would prefer it,” she said, her alarm growing.
“A few of the board are talking about it.”
“Terrance, they hired me knowing I didn’t have that piece of paper. And I promised to work toward it. Surely they can give me a little more time. At my interview they said they understood my experience in Wisconsin was as valuable as that certificate.”
He stepped close, and this time he did meet her eyes. “I’ll talk to them. I, for one, want to keep you happy. If that means teaching for a year or two, so be it.”
“Thank you.” Her smile trembled a little. “You know my schooling has been haphazard. There are gaps in it because my father moved us around so much. But I’ll study and be ready for the test in the spring. You can count on me.”
“I know. And I’m sorry to worry you.”
“I need this job, Terrance. Caleb and I—we both do.”
He nodded his acknowledgment just as a chorus of lively shouts rose behind them. “Maybe we should join in the games now.”
She smiled slightly. After all, this was a picnic and she intended to have a good time. “Let’s join in the race. I promise I won’t trip you.”
He raised a brow. “Think we’ll make a good team?”
“Of course,” she said quickly, then realized as he continued to watch her that he wasn’t talking about the race at all. She swallowed hard. Did her job depend on her relationship with Terrance?
They neared the lighthouse, and she glanced once more at the empty catwalk. She had to talk with Mr. Taylor before she left today. Just once more—to encourage him to send Hannah to school. It was best for the girl, and it wouldn’t hurt her own job security to have another steady student.
Suddenly a series of loud pops exploded through the air. Someone cried out, and people began running to the cliff’s edge. A woman screamed.
Rachel scanned the cluster of people for Caleb. She found him crouched at the edge beside Sam Furst. Her heart pounded in her chest as she picked up her skirt and raced toward them. What had happened?
Murmurs rose from the group. “It’s little Benjamin! Somebody get a rope.”
Several men rushed past her, heading for their wagons.
The crowd moved back to allow Reverend Crouse in. Rachel peered over the edge, and then covered her mouth to stifle her cry.
Thirty feet below, seven-year-old Benjamin Alter clung to a small outcropping of sandstone and brush, his stomach flush against