Whatever Tomorrow Brings , livre ebook

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Cover photos © Kateryna Govorushchenko, Chris Inch, and sprout22 / iStockphoto
Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota
WHATEVER TOMORROW BRINGS Copyright © 1992 by Lori Wick Published by Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.harvesthousepublishers.com


ISBN 978-0-7369-1945-6 (pbk.) ISBN 978-0-7369-3228-8 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


Wick, Lori.


Whatever tomorrow brings / Lori Wick.


p. cm.


ISBN: 0-89081-969-6
I. Title.


PS 3573.I237W48 1992
813'.54 dc20
92-38109
CIP
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means–electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other–without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author’s and publisher’s rights is strictly prohibited.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to
my parents, Harland and Pearl Hayes,
whose life together began in the
Hawaiian Islands. Thanks Dad and Mom
for the years of love and support,
in times of laughter and in times of tears.
I think the world of you both.
About the Author
L ORI W ICK is one of the most versatile Christian fiction writers in the market today. Her works include pioneer fiction, a series set in Victorian England, and contemporary novels. Lori’s books (more than 4 million copies in print) continue delight readers and top the Christian bestselling fiction list. Lori and her husband, Bob, live in Wisconsin with "the three coolest kids in the world."
Other Books by Lori Wick
A Place Called Home Series
A Place Called Home
A Song for Silas
The Long Road Home
A Gathering of Memories
The Californians
Whatever Tomorrow Brings
As Time Goes By
Sean Donovan
Donovan’s Daughter
Kensington Chronicles
The Hawk and the Jewel
Wings of the Morning
Who Brings Forth the Wind
The Knight and the Dove
Rocky Mountain Memories
Where the Wild Rose Blooms
Whispers of Moonlight
To Know Her by Name
Promise Me Tomorrow
The Yellow Rose Trilogy
Every Little Thing About You
A Texas Sky
City Girl
English Garden Series
The Proposal
The Rescue
The Visitor
The Pursuit
The Tucker Mills Trilogy
Moonlight on the Millpond
Just Above a Whisper
Leave a Candle Burning
Other Fiction
Sophie’s Heart
Pretense
The Princess
Bamboo & Lace
Every Storm
White Chocolate Moments
The Taylor and Donovan Families 1871
The Taylor Family
William Taylor
Wife Mabel (May)
Children Marshall Riggs (Rigg)
Jeffrey Taylor
Gilbert Taylor
Nathan Taylor
The Donovan Family
Patrick Sean Donovan II (Patrick)
Wife Theresa
Children Kaitlin Donovan
Patrick Sean Donovan III (Sean)
Marcail Donovan
Maureen Donovan Lawton Kent sister to
Patrick Sean Donovan II
Percy Lawton Son to Maureen Kent
Contents

Dedication
About the Author
Other Books by Lori Wick
The Taylor and Donovan Families 1871
one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten
eleven
twelve
thirteen
fourteen
fifteen
sixteen
seventeen
eighteen
nineteen
twenty
twenty-one
twenty-two
twenty-three
twenty-four
twenty-five
twenty-six
twenty-seven
twenty-eight
twenty-nine
thirty
thirty-one
thirty-two
thirty-three
thirty-four
thirty-five
thirty-six
thirty-seven
thirty-eight
thirty-nine
forty
forty-one
forty-two
forty-three
forty-four
forty-five
forty-six
forty-seven
forty-eight
forty-nine
fifty
fifty-one
fifty-two
fifty-three
fifty-four
fifty-five
fifty-six
fifty-seven
fifty-eight
fifty-nine
sixty
sixty-one
epilogue
Books by Lori Wick
one

Hawaii January 1871
Kaitlin Donovan smiled as the mid-morning sun hit her full in the face. She’d slipped from her shoes and stockings while hiking among the trees and now, as she moved toward that hot globe in the sky, her toes sank into the pure smooth sand of the beach. She walked until she was just short of the Pacific Ocean waves that lapped in easy rhythm at the shore.
The seemingly endless horizon stretched before her and the wonder of it, a wonder that never waned, made the breath catch in her chest. Kaitlin was content to stand and stare for a long minute before she walked a lazy path down the shore line.
Coming to the beach always brought her thoughts to God in a very special way. Today was no different. The vast expanse of water made her think of His overflowing love and the sand beneath her feet reminded her of a verse in Psalms that said God’s thoughts of her were as numerous as those tiny grains.
Some 50 yards up the beach Kaitlin stopped her tour of the shore line and looked once again out to sea. The rest of the world felt so far away and, in actuality, it was. But it was more than just the miles, of this she was positive, even though her remembrance of a home before this one was vague.
Her parents sometimes spoke of their life before the mission but until recently none of what they said had been of much interest to Kaitlin. She couldn’t imagine living anywhere else and she believed herself to be content, but there was a restlessness rising within her that she’d never experienced before. It was both confusing and exciting, as if something special was about to happen. But she couldn’t think of what that something might be so there was never any relief from those restless feelings when they occurred. She prayed and tried to place her restless heart into God’s loving hands; and peace came, as she knew it would.
Much too soon the sun rose until nearly straight overhead and Kaitlin knew it was time to be home for lunch. She’d just laced her shoes when she caught sight of a couple walking along the shore. Kaitlin recognized them immediately as two of the village young people who attended her father’s services. Normally she would have called out and waved but seeing their hands linked together made her hesitate.
What would it be like to have someone hold your hand? It wasn’t the first time such a question had occurred to Kaitlin and, as always, she looked down at her own hands. But again, as in times past, she found no answer as she examined her long fingers.
When Kaitlin’s attention was once again drawn to the shore, she saw that the couple had stopped to face each other. Sure that she was about to be an unwilling witness to an embrace, Kaitlin turned quickly into the trees and walked toward home. As she went she prayed about the restlessness that again reared its head after seeing that couple.
The sun’s position told her she was late for lunch and she knew she’d have to apologize. But she also knew she would not be scolded not today that is. Today was much too special. This was her twentieth birthday!
two

"I don’t think it’s fair." The little girl spoke to her mother from a stool in the corner of the kitchen.
"It’s very fair, Marcail, and you know it. I warned you this morning at breakfast that if you were too far away to hear me calling, then you’re far enough away to be punished."
"But I came as soon as Sean told me to."
"I shouldn’t have had to send your brother at all. If you had stayed where you were supposed to, you would have heard me calling."
"I’ll bet Katie’s been to the beach. Will she be punished for making lunch late?"
The attempt to divert Theresa Donovan’s attention to Kaitlin didn’t work and she sent her eight-year-old daughter a look that told her she had heard enough. Marcail lowered her eyes and sat quietly for her punishment, wondering as she did if someone would remember to call her for lunch.
"I’m sorry I’m late, Mother." Kaitlin spoke as she entered the kitchen and bent to kiss her mother’s cheek.
"That’s all right dear, but be sure to thank Sean, he set the table for you."
"What did Marc do?" Kaitlin wanted to know, as she looked at her sister in the corner.
"She can tell you if she wants."
Kaitlin’s brows rose in question and her look was kind. Marcail cocked her head to one side and admitted in a small voice, "I was down at Loni’s."
Kaitlin nodded. Loni was Marcail’s best friend but her hut was on the beach and Marcail was not allowed to go there alone. Loni’s mother was dead and her father was rarely home during the day. The lack of adult supervision had forced Theresa to decide that if Marcail and Loni wanted to play, it would be at the Donovan home.
Theresa had watched the exchange between her daughters and smiled as she went back to work. Theresa’s sweet spirit had given her very special relationships with her children. It wasn’t any wonder that Marcail responded well to Katie, who was so much like Theresa.
Not that they were alike physically. In fact Katie’s resemblance to her father was almost frightening. She was tall and full-figured with deep brown eyes that looked right to your soul with compassion and kindness. Her face, with its well-shaped nose and high cheekbones, would probably be considered beautiful were it not for her strong square jaw. It lent a look of stubbornness that her nature rarely exhibited.
Marcail’s tiny frame on the other hand, was the physical image of her mother. But there the resemblance ended. Marcail’s personality was very much like her father’s. Theresa didn’t have half the ener