Chapter 1
Summer 1887
Sweetwater Springs, Montana Territory
Jasper took a deep breath and looked around again before knocking on the wooden door to the log cabin. He’d never been this far west or north in America. Jasper wasn’t familiar with the type of pine tree which surrounded the home he stood looking at either. The cabin was less than a quarter-mile walk from town, he didn’t work up a sweat in this cool mountain air. It was hot in Kansas, so Jasper hadn’t thought he needed a coat for this trip to check on his former friend.
The depot master pointed the way to Reverend Norton’s home when he departed from the train in Sweetwater Springs. Jasper wanted to thank the reverend for writing back about Julip and to get more information about her situation. Turns out Julip wasn’t living with the widow anymore since the elderly woman died.
Jasper thought the reverend was rather tight-lipped about Julip, but he gave Jasper directions to her current home.
Now he stood here, ready to see if the woman who lived in this house was his childhood friend.
Jasper knocked his knuckles on the rough-hewn door before calling out, “Hello? Anyone home?”
He studied the missing chinks between the house logs. The walls needed repair before next winter. Holly said it snowed from early fall until late spring in the Montana Territory. Last year’s Kansas winter was bad enough for this man of the South. He’d hate to spend the winter in this area.
Jasper heard someone moving around inside the house, but no one was coming to the door. He knocked again and heard a muffled voice.
“Just a minute. You’re early!”
Early? Julip didn’t know he’d traveled across several states to visit her. She must have been expecting another visitor.
Jasper stared at the door as a bolt was released on the inside. What would Julip look like a decade later?
He didn’t expect a woman answering the door in her chemise and drawers.
“You’re early. Get in here before anybody sees you,” the woman waved at him without really looking at his face. “Take off your holster and lay it on the table with my money before you go any further.”
The woman stepped back and looked at Jasper when he didn’t do as he was told because he wasn’t sure what she meant. Then he looked around the one-room cabin and saw the bedding on the bed pulled back. This woman was servicing men in this little cabin in the woods. That’s why she was half-dressed, wanting money, and impatient to get it over with.
“Julip? Julip Washburn?”
“Ah! How’d you know my maiden name?” she whispered in shock.
The woman grabbed her wrapper at the foot of her bed and held it against her, but Jasper had already seen her bony body, too thin from lack of food, he guessed. And although her skin was shallow, and she had deep shadows under her dull eyes, he knew this woman was Julip.
“Cause I’m Jasper Kerns, your friend, formally of the Washburn Plantation.”
Julip stared at him a long second, then she crumpled onto the dirt floor in a dead faint.
Click now to read Jasper’s Wish.
Who falls in love next in the Reagan family? Be sure to watch for Cullen’s Love. Cullen Reagan meets his match in Rose Leander.
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Dear Reader:
I hope you enjoyed reading Mack’s Care, the fourth book in the Grooms with Honor series. Please help other readers discover my books by either recommending them to family and friends, by word of mouth or writing a review. I’d appreciate it.
The historical romance series setting, based near the famous old cowtown of Ellsworth, Kansas, is famous for its cattle drive days in the 1870s. The town of Clear Creek though, is fictional, based on the many little towns built alongside railroads across Kansas.
This area is now the current Kanopolis State Park in central Kansas. Being local to where I live, I've hiked the park’s hiking trails where it’s easy to visualize what the area looked like in 1886—because it remains the same now—as then.
For more information on this series, please visit or ask your favorite retailer or library to order them for you. You don’t have to, but I recommend reading the books to get the full benefit of the storyline.
If you see any errors or typos, please email [email protected] about them. Even though this book was professionally edited, things can slip through which I want to correct for the next reader.
Please sign up for my newsletter at www.LindaHubalek.com to receive a free short story, and to hear about the release of future books, contests and more. And I love to connect with my readers, so please contact me through one of these social media sites.
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Many thanks from the Kansas prairie!
Linda K. Hubalek
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Grooms with Honor Series in order (available and future titles)
Angus’ Trust (Angus and Daisy)
Fergus’ Honor (Fergus and Iris)
Gabe’s Pledge (Gabe and Iva Mae)
Mack’s Care (Mack and Pansy)
Cullen’s Love (Cullen and Rose)
Seth’s Promise (Seth and Lilly)
Tully’s Faith (Tully and Violet)
Grooms with Honor “Friends” Series in order:
Montana Sky: Nolan’s Vow (Nolan and Holly)
Montana Sky: Elof’s Mission (Elof and Linnea)
Montana Sky: Jasper’s Wish (Jasper and Julip)
Brides with Grit Series in order:
Rania Ropes a Rancher (Rania and Jacob)
Millie Marries a Marshal (Millie and Adam)
Hilda Hogties a Horseman (Hilda and Noah)
Cora Captures a Cowboy (Cora and Dagmar)
Sarah Snares a Soldier (Sarah and Marcus)
Cate Corrals a Cattleman (Cate and Isaac)
Darcie Desires a Drover (Darcie and Reuben)
Tina Tracks a Trail Boss (Tina and Leif)
Lorna Loves a Lawyer (Lorna and Lyle)
Helen Heals a Hotelier (Helen and Ethan)
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Historical Fiction Books by Linda K. Hubalek
Trail of Thread Series
Trail of Thread
Thimble of Soil
Stitch of Courage
Butter in the Well Series
Butter in the Well
Prairie Bloomin’
Egg Gravy
Looking Back
Planting Dreams Series
Planting Dreams
Cultivating Hope
Harvesting Faith
Kansas Quilter Series
Tying the Knot
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About the Author
Linda Hubalek grew up on the Kansas prairie, always wanting to be a farmer like her parents and ancestors. After earning a college degree in Agriculture, marriage took Linda away from Kansas as her husband worked on engineering jobs in several states.
Meanwhile, Linda wrote historical fiction books about pioneer women who homesteaded in Kansas between 1854 to the early 1900s, especially her Swedish immigrant ancestors.
Linda Hubalek and her husband eventually moved back home to Kansas, where they raised American buffalo (bison) for a dozen years.
Linda currently writes sweet historical western romance and an occasional contemporary western romance.
Mack's Care (Grooms With Honor Book 4) Page 12