Grooms with Honor Series, Books 7-9

by Linda K. Hubalek

  “Spittin’ images of their sisters. And I bet that’s their parents next to them?”

  “Yes, Oskar and Annalina Hamner. They live on the Bar E Ranch with Dagmar and Cora.”

  “I met Cora. She’s the short woman with a dozen kids, right?”

  “Correct.”

  “And her mother sent this gorgeous gown I’m wearin’ today, all the way from Boston.”

  “See, you’ll have everyone figured out before you know it.”

  “But the Reagan brothers don’t have much of a family resemblance.”

  “Nope, the group is an assorted adopted bunch. Only their youngest son, Tully, who’s away at school, is Pastor and Kaitlyn’s boy.”

  “How long before we get to go home? I’d like to try some more kissin’.”

  Adolph’s face had to have turned beet red as he thought of being alone with Poppy tonight. He was going to suggest they stay in separate bedrooms for a while, but Poppy’s willingness was putting ideas in his head.

  “Doctor Pansy told me about marriage relations, and she said it was wonderful, after the first time anyway,” Poppy whispered to him while her face was turned away from the crowd.

  Adolph groaned. How long did they have to stay at their own wedding reception? He was ready to get to know his bride right now.

  Chapter 5

  Poppy nudged Adolph’s shoulder to wake him.

  “Adolph. Why are the cat and two huntin’ dogs in our bed?”

  Adolph’s eyes slowly opened, and he gave Poppy a lazy smile. He was thinking about last night instead of the three critters in their bed.

  “My cat and pet dogs have always slept with me. Didn’t you hear the dogs howling during the night? I was afraid they’d wake the neighbors, so I let them in, and they made a beeline for the steps, beating me back to bed.”

  “After we set the world on fire, I slept so hard I didn’t even hear them. Can you kick the dogs back outside, so we can kiss again? I surely did like that,” Poppy teased as she wrapped her arms around Adolph’s neck and snuggled as close as she could until she realized Flicka was between them and refused to budge from her warm spot.

  Apparently, Flicka always slept in the middle of Adolph’s bed, and the cat claimed her spot after they went to sleep. The pups were curled up together at the foot of the bed, on her side, which must be their usual sleeping spot. It was fine when Adolph slept alone, but things were going to change—now.

  Adolph glanced at the clock on the dresser across the room, moaned and rubbed his hand across his face.

  “I need to get up. Gabe will be at the pens in an hour to help me with the hogs.”

  “Gabe? Did I meet him last night at the reception?”

  “Yep. Gabe Shepard and his father, Reuben, have the Shepard Saddlery. They help me butcher the animals in exchange for the skins that they’ll tan into leather for their business.”

  At least Poppy knew in detail what her husband did for a living and could help him with it in the future.

  But today, she needed to figure out how to use the kitchen stove, and what food there was in the pantry. By people’s comments, Poppy guessed Adolph ate at the café for most of his meals. That would have to change now that Adolph had a wife to cook for him. People would expect him to eat at home.

  Cooking, cleaning this big house, laundry, which thankfully didn’t have to be washed down in the nearest creek…

  Thoughts were whipping through her mind faster than a whizzing bullet. Oh my, she had so much to learn. Poppy was afraid everything she knew how to do in Collard’s Creek was done differently in Clear Creek. And people would expect her to do it their way.

  Adolph leaned over to give Poppy a quick kiss, then swung around to sit on the edge of their bed. Their bed. She couldn’t believe what all had happened to her in less than twenty-four hours. She had her first kiss, and now she was watching as her husband walked away from their bed.

  Poppy stared at Adolph’s bare legs as he walked over to the chest of drawers and pulled out a clean pair of drawers, shirt, and trousers. Where was she to put her new clothing? Were there empty drawers for her to use?

  Adolph noticed Poppy watching him. “Move my things around so you can have space in the chest of drawers and wardrobe. There’s plenty of room for both of us.”

  “Thank you. So far all my new things are strewn in another bedroom.”

  “Take your time. You don’t have to do everything today. You probably still feel the need to catch up on your sleep.”

  Poppy stifled a yawn trying not to prove him right as she sat on the edge of the bed and reached for her wrapper—which the dogs were laying on.

  “Off the bed, you two,” Poppy said as she pulled on her wrapper. Darn if there weren’t dried mud paw prints across the back. She flipped the wrapper a few times to get the dirt and hair off before putting it on and belting in around her waist.

  Keeping a dirt floor shanty clean was one thing. Keeping this house clean would be something else.

  “Please show me how to fire up the stove so I can make coffee and breakfast. I’ll get dressed after our morning meal.”

  “Uh, I usually go over to the café for breakfast, but…I guess I’ll start eating at home now, won’t I,” Adolph’s face told Poppy he just thought how much their marriage would change his routine.

  “Part of having a wife in the house, Mr. Bjorklund,” Poppy couldn’t help saying.

  “Please bear with me, Mrs. Bjorklund. I’ve been alone in this house for years and rather set in my ways,” Adolph said as he put on his vest, tugging it maybe a little harder than he needed to.

  “Golly, we already sound like an old married couple, Adolph, and I don’t even know how you like your eggs cooked,” Poppy teased, trying to lighten the mood in the room.

  “Any way but with runny yolks. Can’t stand eggs that aren’t firm.”

  Just her luck, runny is the only way she knew how to fix eggs. Her father had a fit if the yolk had started to firm up on his eggs. Well, that meant she just needs to cook Adolph’s breakfast eggs longer is all.

  ***

  Waking up in bed with two dogs and a cat was normal. Waking up with a woman he didn’t know—his wife no less—in his bed was…disturbing. To hear another person breath, snore, snort…while she tugged on his sheet was…disturbing.

  But at the same time, it was…comforting, knowing he now had someone to share his life with. He hadn’t planned to consummate their marriage right away, but that was part of marriage he had looked forward to, so it was nice to have started right from the beginning. And he silently thanked Doctor Pansy for telling Poppy it would be wonderful. Now he knew why Mack, and the other young married men in the community, had smiles on their faces when they left their homes in the morning to go to work. Even the former grumpy postmaster Cullen Reagan was a changed man, due to his marriage to Rose.

  He and Poppy didn’t love each other yet, but they’d work on the foundation of their marriage, just as they promised in their wedding vows last evening.

  By the time Adolph shaved and dressed, Poppy was stoking the wood stove fire—without opening the back-draft damper to the right spot—and smoke was starting to fill the kitchen.

  “What am I doin’ wrong? I’m goin’ to burn the house down!” Poppy yelled in frustration as she fanned a towel at the smoke.

  “You need to adjust the back-draft damper when you add new wood to the stove,” Adolph said patiently while trying not to cough as he changed the damper. “Open some windows to move the air.”

  Poppy rushed to a window and pushed up on the frame, but it wouldn’t budge, because she didn’t open the window latch first.

  “I can’t do anythin’ right!”

  “Hang on. You just need to move the latch, and then the window will slide up,” Adolph assured her as he slid the window up, letting the chilly morning air into the room.

  Now Poppy was standing in the middle of the room, her arms tight around her middle, biting her bottom lip as if she
was trying not to cry. Or was that from the smoke in their eyes?

  “I think we need to go through the house, one room at a time, to see how things work. I’m guessing things were different in your old home?”

  “As different as night to day, and my old home was still a hundred years back in time,” Poppy confessed.

  “Then you’re going to enjoy moving up to 1889. Be patient with yourself, Poppy. You can’t learn everything in a day or even a week.”

  Should he wrap his arms around her to comfort her? He was new at being a husband, but after last night, it seemed like he should.

  Poppy stiffened her shoulders as he embraced her, surprising Adolph.

  “Uh, I was trying to…make you feel better?” Adolph gently tipped up Poppy’s chin to make her meet his eyes.

  “Oh,” Poppy’s eyes widened,” I’m not used to…someone bein’ nice to me.”

  Adolph gave Poppy’s lips a quick kiss and stepped back. “Something else to look forward to then. Let me show you how to fry eggs in a skillet on the stove, and then I really need to get over to the hog pen.”

  After adding lard and eggs to the skillet, he moved efficiently around his kitchen, pulling out the bread, breadboard, and knife to cut thick slices of bread to go with the eggs.

  “Please get down two plates on the first shelf. Silverware is in the drawer to the right of the dry sink.”

  “Oh, my. The drawer is full of silverware. Why do you have so many?”

  “I bought a set of twelve place settings for when company comes. Why?”

  “We…only had a few pieces, and they didn’t match with a pretty design like yours do.”

  Adolph smiled, thinking of her comments. His growing up in Sweden had been similar to Poppy’s, with only the bare necessities, but Adolph had made up for it when he could afford it, almost going overboard with his buying of household items. All because he wanted to show off to Anna Marie when she came to her senses and came back to him.

  His smile waned when thinking of his former fiancée. Adolph finally had a wife now, and he needed to make the most of his marriage, even if Poppy was unprepared for it, compared to how well Anna Marie would have fit into his home.

  From this day forward, for better, for worse…

  Adolph realized he was thinking of his wedding vows while clenching his teeth.

  Time. They needed time to get to know each other and for Poppy to learn how to run the household. Poppy wasn’t Anna Marie and never would be like her. Adolph needed to get that through his head before he ruined his marriage before it had a chance to start.

  Once their plates of food were on the table and they’d sat down, Adolph reached across the table for Poppy’s hands.

  “What? Aren’t we going to eat, Adolph?” Poppy asked.

  “I’d like us to hold hands while I say grace for our food. Is that all right?”

  “Somethin’ else I’m not used to…” Poppy mumbled before she reluctantly grasped his hands.

  There was so much to learn about each other, but Adolph wanted it all to be positive.

  “Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for our food, our health, and our new marriage. Please give us …patience and joy as we learn about each other. In your name, we pray, Amen.

  Poppy let go of Adolph’s hands before picking up her fork.

  “Patience and joy, Adolph?”

  “I think that might be a good combination to pray for as we learn about each other, don’t you?” Adolph asked with a smile on his face.

  “Especially patience with how to run this household,” Poppy emphasized.

  “But think of the joy you’ll feel every time you turn on a faucet for a hot bath,” Adolph countered.

  Adolph liked the smirk on Poppy’s face as she must have thought of the ease of drawing a bath yesterday.

  “Yes, I could get used to that, Mr. Bjorklund.”

  Chapter 6

  Poppy woke up with a start when she realized someone was knocking on the front door. She remembered sitting down on the settee after Adolph left for work, the cat making herself at home on her lap and then…she must have fallen asleep. She was tired from her journey and arrival, and all the stress and emotions that went with them.

  “Off, Flicka. We have company,” Poppy said as she pushed the feline off her lap and brushed the white cat hair off her blue calico dress.

  Poppy took a deep breath before opening the door, not knowing who it could be. She met so many people at their wedding reception last night, but right now she couldn’t remember more than a dozen names.

  A young woman stood on the porch. She had a baby on her hip and held a basket with her other hand.

  “Hello, Poppy. I’m Linnea Lundahl, your neighbor next door,” the woman nodded her head to her right.

  The woman’s accent was thicker Swedish than Adolph’s. How many Swedes lived in the area? She knew she met several last evening, but did she meet this one?

  “Oh, hey…nice to meet you. Do you want to come in?”

  “Thank you. I didn’t come to your reception last night because Sophia was fussy with her new tooth coming in,” Linnea said as she stepped in the door. “But this morning Sophia is all smiles again.” The woman said as she looked down at the sweet baby beaming in her arms.

  “Here’s a basket of food for you. I made sandwiches for your noon meal and brought a jar of sweet pickles too. I’m sure Adolph’s pantry is probably near empty since he ate at the café most of the time.”

  “I’ve been so overwhelmed, and tired, I haven’t even looked in the pantry yet. Adolph said I needed to buy groceries, but I sat down for a minute—”

  Linnea laughed. “I remember what it was like when I arrived in town three years ago. It was overwhelming, but I stayed in the parsonage with the Reagan’s for a while, so you know Kaitlyn took care of me, and the little boy who was with me.”

  “Yes, Mrs. Reagan seems to take care of everyone. She helped me out yesterday as soon as I arrived,” Poppy said, appreciating the woman’s help.

  “If you have any questions, about anything, you can ask her. As a pastor’s wife, she’ll keep it confidential and not pass it on as gossip to anyone else.

  “Shall we move into the kitchen, so you can take the food out of the basket?” Linnea suggested.

  “Oh yes, I’m sorry,” Poppy said as she ushered Linnea through the house to the kitchen. “This house is so big, and I haven’t explored all its nooks and crannies yet.”

  Linnea’s questioning look made Poppy backtrack.

  “The house is huge compared to what I lived in, back in Tennessee. That house was just a two-room shack with a dirt floor,” Poppy’s face reddened with embarrassment when she realized what she’d revealed.

  “Don’t be embarrassed in your past, Poppy. Many of my married friends in town came from unusual or hard pasts,” Linnea said as she set the basket on the table, and then pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down so she could put Sophia on her lap.

  “I answered a mail-order bride advertisement of a widower in the Montana Territory when I needed to leave Chicago. We’d only been married a brief time, when the barn was accidentally set on fire by his young son, Jamie, causing my husband’s death.”

  “Oh, my word! How tragic!” Poppy said as she sat in the chair opposite of Linnea. “How’d you end up in Kansas then?”

  “As I was preparing to bury my husband, Elof Lundahl arrived at the cemetery to put a marker on a friend’s grave. The marker was for Holly Clancy’s father’s grave. You probably ate at the Clancy Café or met Holly last night?”

  “Yes, I’ve done both, so I know who you are talking about.”

  “Anyway, Elof dug the grave and buried my husband’s body for me. To make matters worse, our landlord told me to leave the farm by nightfall. Elof helped me get my few things at the farmhouse and brought me, and my stepson, to Clear Creek since we didn’t have anywhere else to go. Elof was a former soldier in the Montana Territory with Nolan Clancy and decided to start his
new life with his friend in Kansas.”

  “And then?” Poppy wanted to know the rest of the story.

  “We fell in love,” Linnea blushed, “and found Jamie’s grandparents in Topeka, so it was a happy conclusion for everyone. Jamie’s grandparents moved to Clear Creek the next year, and Jamie lives with them, although he’s in and out of our house all the time.”

  “What does your husband do in town?”

  “Elof is a farrier, shoeing, and doctoring horses both here in town and at area ranches. He works with Kiowa Jones, the blacksmith if you’ve met him.”

  “I don’t remember. What’s Mr. Jones look like and is he married? Maybe I met his wife.”

  “Kiowa is an Indian and has never married, although he used to visit widow Mary Jenkins, the dressmaker. Kiowa’s a loner—you’ll rarely see him inside the church—but he’s a good man. Elof enjoys working with him.”

  The more Poppy could learn about the people in town, the more she could fit into the community.

  “Clear Creek is a small town, so you’ll soon get to know everyone, either through the church or if you help Adolph at the meat market.”

  “I hope I can help Adolph in his business. I know more about butcherin’ than I do about usin’ that kitchen stove,” Poppy said as she waved at her problem.

  “You know, that’s the model stove I have. I can show you it’s functions and quirks.”

  “I’d appreciate it because I cooked over a fireplace before, never a wood cook stove.”

  “Oh, my, you do need my help then. How about we bake some cookies for starters?”

  Poppy could feel the tension ease out of her shoulders as Linnea offered her help. Having Linnea as a neighbor was going to be a lifesaver.

  “I’d love that, although I haven’t looked in the pantry to see if there are ingredients to make them. Adolph said I needed to make a list and go to Taylor’s Mercantile.”