Angus' Trust (Grooms With Honor Book 1)

by Linda K. Hubalek

That flows by the throne of God.”

  Holly had a unique talent she was sharing with the congregation. Daisy was going to provide medicine to heal people. What was his talent to contribute to the community, to a family?

  Angus stopped after entering the back door, to glance around the kitchen. Mack had pulled the roast from the oven and was slicing the meat onto a platter. Seth was slicing two loaves of bread on a cutting board on the side table. Cullen was mashing potatoes and Tully had been digging watermelon pickles out of a jar with his fingers...instead of a fork.

  Same scenario as every other Sunday. The boys put the meal on the table as their parents talked to the parishioners after church. Guess that was Angus clue to get the table ready for the meal.

  “Boots off!” Tully yelled at Angus.

  “Oh hush up. I grew up with Ma’s rules a lot longer than you did.” Angus grumbled as he toed his boots off and set them in line with his brother’s boots. The lineup took triple the amount of space as it used to.

  “How many extra are coming for dinner today?” Angus asked as he took a stack of plates off a cupboard shelf.

  “Five extra.” Cullen volunteered, but didn’t say who. No matter, he’d find out as soon as they walked in the door.

  Angus finished putting drinking glasses on the table when he heard their company arrive by the front door. He smiled hearing Daisy and Holly talking on the porch. Maybe Ma was playing a little match making for him?

  “Meal ready, boys?” his mother’s voice came from the back door. Even if she sent company to go through the front door, she and his father usually used the back door on Sundays.

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Start bringing in the food then,” she ordered as she took off her hat and patted her hair. When did gray hairs start showing up in her ginger red hair? Made Angus feel a little older himself.

  “I can’t believe how full the church was today, Pastor.” Daisy mentioned as she passed the bowl of potatoes on to Holly. Angus managed to sit across from Daisy to watch her.

  “Has the congregation thought of building a larger church building?” Daisy continued.

  “It’s been brought up to council, although attendance always depends on the weather and season. We’re packed to the rafters before spring planting and after fall harvest. Winter weather only allows townspeople to attend.”

  “And how a new building would be paid for is always on everyone’s mind,” his mother added.

  “You have a top notch builder in town,” Angus nodded toward Mack. “Seems like he could buy lumber cheap and organize the community’s muscle to raise the church.”

  “It’s been on the town council’s list. With new businesses coming into town, that should mean more families.”

  “Or would someone build a second church and start a new congregation?” Nolan threw into the conversation.

  “Always possible that a Methodist or Lutheran congregation could start up. Then maybe we’d lose part of our congregation,” his father added, but didn’t seem worried about it.

  “I would absolutely hate to lose any members. Can you imagine not having our pews full every Sunday, Patrick?”

  His father put his fork on his plate and looked around the table. “Actually that would be hard to imagine, because all I see now is a row of tall men in the front pew.” His father looked at each son in turn, except for Tully. “Isn’t it time you boys marry and move to the back of the church?”

  Silence filled the room. Mack had a mouthful of food but looked like he couldn’t swallow it now. Cullen’s face turned red, probably thinking about talking to a woman, let alone kissing one. Seth looked thoughtful before shifting his eyes to look at Daisy.

  Nope, no way was anyone, including a brother, looking at Daisy that way. She would be with him in the back of the church.

  Angus realized his parents, and Daisy’s grandparents, were smiling at him. This meal was a setup, planned to push the courtship back on between him and Daisy.

  “Please pass the butter, Grandma,” Daisy asked as if his father’s question didn’t pertain to her.

  And maybe it didn’t, if she wasn’t planning on marrying since she had her own business and home. Angus hadn’t said anything to Daisy about a future together, so he didn’t know if it had ever crossed her mind.

  “Nice day today, Holly. Shall we take a buggy ride out to the hills?” Nolan gave his wife’s shoulders a squeeze. They closed the café on Sunday so they could attend church and have a day of rest.

  “I’d love that. Can you rent a larger buggy so your grandparents can go with us?”

  Mr. Clancy waved his hand. “Why don’t you ask someone else to go with you? My hip doesn’t feel up to crawling into the buggy seat today.”

  “I’ll go!” Tully announced enthusiastically.

  “I believe it’s yours and Seth’s turn to wash dishes today, so don’t plan on it.”

  “Daisy and Angus, would you like to join us for a drive?” Nolan asked.

  “Yes,” Angus replied the same moment Daisy said ‘“no”.

  “Why not?” Angus asked staring across the table at Daisy and not paying attention to the others around the table.

  “I already have plans for this afternoon,” Daisy answered while buttering a piece of bread now that the butter plate had been passed to her.

  Daisy ignored Angus and turned to Nolan. “Why don’t you ask Gabe and Iva Mae to join you, Nolan?”

  “Okay, we’ll do that,” Nolan agreed, ending the conversation.

  Angus wanted to ask Daisy what “plans” she had this afternoon, but it wasn’t his business. Did he want to make it his business?

  He noticed his parents were doing their secret messaging to each other, lifting their eyebrows a certain way. Probably something all married couples worked out to “talk” in front of their children.

  His mother hadn’t said a word to him yet about staying in town or marrying Daisy, which was unusual for her to keep her thoughts to herself. So he needed to figure out these two life changing events by himself…or ask her advice.

  It would be easier to jump on the next train and run away, but he knew it was time to make a decision about the next phase of his life.

  Chapter 8

  “Hey, knock, knock,” Angus called out as he opened the door to her shop. Daisy looked over her shoulder, surprised but also pleased Angus was stopping by this morning.

  “Come on in and be helpful. Daisy isn’t tall enough to hold this shelf high enough,” Mack mumbled as he balanced the board with one hand and the hammer with his other. Two nails pressed between his lips made him hard to understand.

  Angus rushed over to take her end of the shelf, easily holding it at the right height.

  “Thank you, Angus. I was just about to move a bucket over to stand on it.”

  “Don’t you have a ladder, Mack?”

  “Yeah, but we hadn’t needed it until now. Hold the board steady while I nail it in.”

  Daisy stepped back to watch the men work. The wall of shelves to the right side of the entry door would hold and display a nice variety of items. Mack planned to build shelves on the opposite wall also, plus two display cases with a counter in the middle of them. While in Denver Daisy had learned the traffic flow in a store was important. People walked into a store and looked at the right items first, then made a loop through the back of the store. Customers could pick up the items they want and pay for them before they walked out the door.

  She had ordered a cash register and intended to use it for all purchases. She wasn’t going to let people charge items as they did at the mercantile. She needed cash to keep the store and her livelihood viable.

  “That’s a lot of shelves to put up,” Angus pointed to the stack of shelves cut and ready to nail in place. “Want help finishing the project?”

  “That’s up to Mack. He’s the carpenter.” Daisy could find plenty of other things to do if Angus wanted to help, like sweep up the sawdust pile Mack had made while cutting the b
oards to length.

  “Here. Grab the other hammer and some nails. We can do this twice as fast now.”

  “Be sure they are level,” Daisy warned, although they had marked the placement of each shelf before they started nailing up the shelves.

  “Yes, Ma!” Mack and Angus answered in unison and then laughed that they’d automatically said it.

  Daisy couldn’t help but smile at their answer. It was good to be home, back with friends and family.

  “Did you have a nice afternoon yesterday?” Angus asked Daisy as he waited for Mack to nail his side of the shelf.

  “Yes I did, thank you.” Daisy didn’t actually have any plans besides reading a book, but she wouldn’t tell Angus that. If Angus wanted to ask her for a buggy ride yesterday, he could have done it himself. Courting her had to be his idea, not his family’s.

  “I’m enjoying getting to know Holly. We could have talked with her and Nolan yesterday if we would have taken the buggy ride with them.”

  “I’m sure you’ll have opportunities to visit with her until you leave town.” Daisy wasn’t going to fall for Angus and then see him leave again.

  And why was talkative Mack not putting in his usual two cents worth?

  “So why aren’t you married yet, Mack?” Daisy threw out the question and both men stopped and stared at her as if she’d asked why the sky wasn’t always bright purple at noon.

  “Uh, why’d you ask that, Daisy?” Mack’s face was bright red with embarrassment.

  “Your father’s remark yesterday, hinting his sons needed to move to the back of the church.”

  “Who’d want to marry a giant usually covered with sweat and sawdust?” Mack muttered in response.

  Really? This handsome man didn’t know half the eligible women in town thought he’d be a catch.

  “I can think of several women who’d be honored to be courted by you,” Daisy answered while watching Angus out of the side of her eyes as she swept the floor.

  “Okay, I’ll take the bait. Who and why?” Mack had regained his sense of humor.

  “Just look around at who’s watching you. And why? You’re a handsome man, have a steady carpentry business, and could build a woman a lovely home.”

  “I think the third point would be number one for most women.” Angus challenged her list. “Women want a home.”

  True, and that’s probably one of the reasons Angus wasn’t interested in her. He hadn’t decided what he wanted to do yet.

  “What qualities do you want in a wife, Mack?”

  “Obviously a good cook since I’m a big eater. Not mind my clothes being covered with wood chips or paint.”

  “There are worse things your clothes could be coated with,” Daisy interjected.

  “Somebody who doesn’t mind pulling out a splinter or stitching up an occasional cut on my forehead. My height and two by fours seem to collide now and then.”

  “Blonde, brunette, redhead?” Angus teased his brother, after glancing at Daisy.

  “Don’t really matter...although it would be nice to have a woman tall enough I wouldn’t have to bend in half to kiss her.” Daisy bit her lip not to laugh, thinking of a man Mack’s height leaning over to kiss an extra short, petite women.

  “Okay, missy. Your turn. What do you want in a husband?” Mack challenged Daisy.

  “First,” Daisy laid the broom handle against her shoulder and touched her left index finger with her right one, “he has to love, honor and respect me, just as the wedding vows states.

  “Second,” she touched the top of her middle finger, “his looks don’t matter to me, but he needs to be close to my age.

  “Third,” Daisy touched her ring finger, “he has to provide for his family and be a part of our community.

  “Fourth,” she touched the top of her little finger, “my husband shouldn’t mind if I want to work outside the home.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Mack shook his head.

  “Mrs. Taylor runs a store and has raised a family.”

  “But that’s not typical.”

  “What about your mother? She worked her whole life besides taking care of you. Her work as a pastor’s wife is as important as the pastor’s, and I bet your parents would agree with that.”

  “But Ma is real special,” Mack argued.

  Yes, Kaitlyn Reagan was special and had been an important role model in Daisy’s life. Kaitlyn would be hard to measure up to, plus she might also become Daisy’s mother-in-law, if Angus got around to thinking of Daisy as his wife down the road.

  What did Angus want for his wife? Daisy glanced at Mack, trying to give him the hint that it was Angus’ turn to answer this same question. Mack’s eyes’ widened, getting her hint.

  “Okay, Angus, your turn. What are the qualities you want in a potential wife?”

  Angus continued to pound in the nail until he was done, then set the hammer down on the shelf and turned toward Daisy.

  “Let’s see. She needs to have ringlets in her hair, sapphire blue eyes, and be about six inches shorter than me.”

  Angus stood to stand in front of Daisy, gently pulling the broom out of her hands and setting it against the wall.

  “I’d like someone I’ve known most of my life, so I don’t have to start the relationship from scratch.”

  “I got to go get something. I’ll be back in fifteen, or twenty minutes.” Mack dropped his hammer on a sawhorse and rushed out the front door.

  Angus stepped forward, causing Daisy to back against the wall. Only a foot separated their bodies now.

  “And I wouldn’t mind if the woman had a store, as long as she also has time for me and future children.”

  Angus put his hands on either side of Daisy’s head, and leaned within inches of her face. Daisy smiled and lifted her face, hoping for what might happen next.

  “And she’d have to be a good kisser, like someone I knew when I was eighteen.”

  As soon as Angus’ lips gently touched hers, Daisy wrapped her arms around Angus’ neck and pulled him closer. This was what she’d been waiting for ever since she decided to come home. Daisy didn’t know if Angus would stay in Clear Creek but she’d enjoy his kisses for now.

  ***

  The cool fall air had a slight bite to it, but it felt refreshing to Angus while he strolled down the street from the parsonage to the depot. He looked up and down the street but there were no trees in this section of town. Growing up on the prairie, he was used to open grassland with no stands of trees, except in spots along the Smoky Hill River.

  He’d enjoyed the aspens and evergreens in Colorado this past year, and now missed them. The golden yellow aspen leaves would be at their peak in the Rocky Mountains now. The closest tree here in Kansas with similar leaf color would be the sparse cottonwoods along the river banks.

  Maybe he could ask Daisy to go for a ride down to the river this coming Sunday to look at the cottonwoods. Volunteering to help Mack in Daisy’s shop had been the best plan he’d had in a long time. Angus smiled thinking of the kisses they shared, right in the window of her new store. The news of their kissing probably spread around town before the lunch hour finished in the café.

  Now he was walking to the depot to talk to Harvey. The agent should be back in the depot after his lunch hour. Everyone hinted the man was ready to retire his post at the depot, but that might just be hearsay. Angus needed a steady job in town if he and Daisy were going to eventually marry.

  Down the road there would be profit from her store, but that would be set aside for emergencies and their children’s education. It was his job to provide income for their shelter, food and clothing, not his wife’s.

  The thought that now he was a man needing to provide for a family put a different spin on how he looked at the town. At least he knew the townspeople here and knew he could fit in.

  He’d only been eight years old when their family moved to town. How did his father, a young widower with two young boys in tow, feel arriving in a town where he did
n’t know a soul, hoping he could save souls?

  Probably like Angus felt as he walked into the depot and headed for the agent’s window. Angus took off his hat and ran his hand over his hair, thinking this was a job interview and he needed to look respectable.

  Angus leaned into the open window trying to locate the agent. Dust motes floated in sunlight coming through the two dirty back windows in the room. The room smelled of coal burning in the little pot-bellied stove in the corner of the room. Piles of papers sat on the telegraph desk on the right side of the room. The depot agent used to keep this place spotless.

  Mr. Daniels pushed his chair away from the other desk, also piled with papers, on the opposite wall.

  “About time you got here,” Mr. Daniels huffed as he noticed Angus and limped toward the window. He held out a piece of paper, shaking it a bit, meaning Angus should take it. “Get this telegraph over to the marshal, pronto! And don’t dawdle on your way there and back!”

  “Uh, Mr. Daniels, I’m not...” ten years old anymore? Gosh how many telegraphs had he delivered around town when he was young? Dozens, and always hoping to collect a few cents from the receiver. It was his first paying job, if he was to be truthful about it.

  And now after working his way up to railroad detective, he was back to this?

  “If Marshal Wilerson needs to send a reply, do it. I’m going home,” Mr. Daniels grumbled while struggling to pull down the frosted glass ticket window.

  How old was the man? Angus thought Mr. Daniels was old back when he was a kid. Probably mid-seventies and still working.

  Mr. Daniels came out of the office, locked the door then walked up to Angus still standing at the closed window.

  “Here’s the key to the office door when you come back.” Mr. Daniels held out a key, and slapped it in Angus’ hand when he reluctantly held it out, then Angus opened the door for the man to walk out of the depot.

  “Uh, sure I can stay here until you come back from lunch, Mr. Daniels.” Angus felt he needed to help the agent down the board walk the way he was limping but didn’t think the man would like that. The man should be using a cane, but was probably too proud to use it.