A Groom's Promise

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “Maybell, this is inappropriate,” her pa began.

  “Last time I checked I was a grown woman and perfectly able to decide if I’m hungry or not,” she snapped.

  She stormed out of the room.

  “You better not go to the barn,” he called out after her.

  Her face warmed from a mixture of embarrassment and anger. That was all Hugh needed to hear—her pa telling her she couldn’t do something, as if she truly were a child.

  Well, she didn’t care what her pa said. She wouldn’t marry Hugh. Deep in her heart, she couldn’t believe Hugh really wanted to marry her. She had a nagging suspicion her pa was somehow manipulating things. She didn’t know how he was doing it, but he was pressing Hugh into it. She just knew it.

  Since she couldn’t go to the barn, she went to her room. After shutting the door, she plopped down on her bed, tears welling up in her eyes. What was wrong with Jack? He’d make a wonderful husband. Just because he stuttered and bumped into things when he was nervous didn’t mean he wouldn’t be a good husband.

  Why did people insist on judging others by outward appearances? Sure, Hugh seemed more confident and self-assured than Jack, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do the same job as Hugh could as a provider. Maybell just couldn’t believe her pa took this kind of attitude toward Jack, especially after knowing the trouble Ada went through in proving Pete was smart.

  Well, she wouldn’t marry Hugh. Her pa couldn’t force her to do it. No matter how much he wanted it, the man she married was her decision. Her pa wouldn’t be happy about it, but there was little she could do about that. This was her life, and she was going to marry the man she wanted, even if she upset her father.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jack didn’t even bother to wait for Hugh to return from supper to talk to him. Hugh was determined to avoid him, and at the moment, Jack was too upset to bring it up. He could only handle one battle at a time. Right now, he had to deal with Archie.

  So he went to sleep before Hugh returned. Unlike Hugh, he could sleep on an empty stomach, and the rumbling didn’t bother him. In fact, he preferred it. It reminded him that time was of the essence, and if he didn’t do something—and soon—he might lose Maybell. What were the chances that he’d find someone as pretty and kind as her again?

  Hugh could have anyone he wanted. Back in Virginia, the young ladies made it a point to come up to him and talk to him. They barely even glanced Jack’s way, and the few who did only offered an obligatory smile. There was never anything special in the way they looked at him.

  With Maybell, it was different. She was perfect for him. He couldn’t stand by and watch her marry Hugh. Surely, the money Hugh owed Archie could be cancelled out if Jack sold the pocket watch and ring. All he had to do was give Hugh the money. Then he could pay Archie and Hugh could marry someone else.

  Sitting up in bed the next morning, he glanced around the dim room and saw Hugh was sleeping. He kept his actions quiet as he sorted through his clothes in the trunk. At the bottom, he found the small box he’d made last year and opened it. Inside were the ring and pocket watch. He carefully slipped them into his pocket then continued putting his clothes on.

  Hugh only rolled over once, and that was while Jack was walking to the door. Jack paused for a moment, hoping Hugh wouldn’t catch him sneaking out. But then, he decided that was ridiculous. If Hugh woke up, he’d most likely pretend he was still asleep so Jack wouldn’t bother him.

  Jack stepped outside and closed the door softly behind him. Releasing his breath, he hurried to the house. Usually, Maybell got up before Archie did. He knew this because there were a couple of mornings when Archie had come down the stairs when he got there for breakfast. With any luck, Archie would still be upstairs.

  He almost didn’t collect flowers, seeing as how Hugh had given her the ones that were in the parlor. Sure, she thought they were from him instead, but Archie—and he—knew better. This didn’t help his cause at all. If Hugh was doing it, too, it didn’t mean so much if he did it, except to Maybell. And that was why he finally ended up pulling some wildflowers. He could have given her more mums, but since those were Hugh’s choice, he’d rather not. He needed to do something uniquely his own, and more than that, he would hand them to her. Then she would have no doubt who they were from.

  Once he gathered a handful of the white, yellow, and purple flowers, he went up the porch steps, careful in case he woke Archie. He peeked into the parlor window to make sure Archie wasn’t there, and as luck had it, he wasn’t anywhere in sight. He then made his way over to the kitchen window. Good. Maybell was up.

  He tapped on the window, and she gave a slight jump from where she stood at the worktable, stirring something in a large bowl. When her gaze met his, he pointed to the front door. She nodded and left the kitchen. He made it to the door in time for her to open it.

  “These are for you,” he said, keeping his voice low as he presented the flowers to her.

  She smiled and took them. Shutting the door behind her, she took his hand and led him back down the porch steps. “It’s probably best if we talked somewhere private.”

  She was right. They didn’t need to risk being caught. Fortunately for her, this was one thing he could do well. He’d spent his life finding places to hide when he didn’t want anyone to find him, and that included the few times he’d done it here right after he and Hugh came.

  “I know a place where no one will find us,” he said. “We can go to the loft in the barn.”

  “I forgot all about that place. I hadn’t been up there since I was a child.”

  “Well, I was up there recently.”

  He thought she might laugh since it was silly a grown man would hide in a loft, but since she didn’t, he relaxed. One thing he liked most about Maybell was her willingness to accept him as he was, faults and all. That was important in a marriage. He didn’t want to spend his life with a woman who wanted him to be someone he wasn’t. Why couldn’t Hugh and Archie allow him that pleasure in life? Why did they insist on making things difficult for him?

  Pushing the questions aside, he led her into the barn and up the ladder into the loft. Just so the horses wouldn’t complain about him being there without tending to them, he put the hay into their troughs before he joined her.

  When he sat next to her, she said, “I notice you put fresh hay up here.”

  “It was more comfortable than sitting on the wood,” he explained.

  He hesitated to touch her, but then he remembered she had held his hand earlier and had kissed his cheek yesterday. Certainly, she wouldn’t be opposed to it if he initiated contact. As much as he wanted to put his arm around her shoulders, he figured he should hold her hand instead, especially since she’d already held his just moments ago. He brushed her fingers with his, a silent question to see if she’d let him proceed, and to his delight, she wrapped her hand around his.

  “I missed you last night at supper,” she told him.

  “I missed you, too, but I couldn’t bring myself to go into the house. Not after how things went with your pa.”

  “I figured as much,” she said, her gaze going to the flowers in her other hand.

  “I want to be with you, Maybell. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

  Her eyes met his again, and that wonderful smile returned. “I want you, too. I won’t marry Hugh. I don’t care what my pa and Hugh want. No matter what they say or do, they can’t make me say yes if a preacher asks if I’ll love, honor, and obey Hugh for the rest of my life.”

  “You’d say no to Hugh in front of a preacher?”

  “Well, my pa would have to force me to the preacher first, but yes, I would. No preacher is going to make a woman marry someone she doesn’t want. At least, none around these parts would.” She squeezed his hand. “I’ll only say yes to you.”

  After feeling so frustrated last night, hearing this made his heart jump for joy. She was right. Archie and Hugh couldn’t make her marry anyone she
didn’t want to. Whether they acknowledged it or not, she was in control of the situation.

  Even so…

  “When I talked to your pa yesterday, he said Hugh owes him some money,” Jack said. “I’m going to go into town this morning and sell some things I own. Maybe if I can pay Hugh’s debt, Hugh and your pa will let you marry me. As glad as I am you won’t marry Hugh, I’d like to have your pa’s blessings if possible.”

  She leaned into him and smiled. “That’s what I love so much about you, Jack Warren. You’re a good man.”

  Then, before he had time to blink, she kissed him. Right on the lips! This was even better than being kissed on the cheek.

  He wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss her back, but he was too scared to try it. Things were going so well between them. He didn’t want to ruin it by doing something stupid.

  She ended the kiss and squeezed his hand again. “Pa will be getting up about now. I better go before he sees us together. Something tells me he wouldn’t like it.”

  “No, he wouldn’t.”

  “Good luck in town, Jack. I hope your plan works and you get Pa’s blessing.”

  He thought to ask her if she’d kiss him again, but she saved him the trouble and kissed him. This kiss was shorter than the one before, but it warmed his heart all the same and made his body tingle in the most pleasant of places. If kissing her could bring him to such heights, he could only imagine what making love to her would be like.

  He quickly shifted his thoughts. He didn’t think she could tell what he was thinking by looking at him, but it was hard to know what women could or couldn’t figure out. It’d be best not to take the risk.

  He helped her down the ladder, and on impulse, he kissed her this time. “I love you, Maybell.”

  Her cheeks turned the loveliest shade of pink, and her eyes danced with merriment. “I love you, too, Jack.”

  He watched as she hurried to the house. She loved him. He didn’t think he’d ever hear those words come out of a young woman’s mouth when he left Virginia, but so much had changed in such a short time. And they had changed for the better.

  Except for one thing. His gaze went to the bunkhouse. He had to get his brother to talk to him. It was so unlike Hugh to not tell him what was going on.

  Maybe it was the debt with Archie. Maybe Hugh didn’t want Jack to feel obligated to pay the debt because Jack had told him to handle all the details of the purchasing agreement with Archie. Maybe if Jack offered to pay the debt, Hugh wouldn’t mind it if he married Maybell.

  Surely, they could work something out. They always had in the past. Somehow, they would this time. Feeling a lot better, he went to get a saddle to put on one of the horses.

  ***

  “I’m glad you came to your senses and decided to have breakfast,” Maybell’s pa said as he pulled out his chair at the table.

  “I’m not marrying Hugh, Pa,” she replied, setting the fresh coffee down.

  He shot her a pointed look. “Be sensible about this, Maybell. Hugh’s a good man.”

  “Yes, he is. I’m not arguing that. But he’s not the man for me.”

  “Do you honestly think I’d give you to someone I didn’t think was best for you?”

  “I don’t doubt you believe he’s the best for me, Pa. I know your heart’s in the right place. But I don’t love him the way a wife ought to love her husband.”

  “Sometimes those feelings take time.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he added, “I’m older than you. I have years of experience in this area. Your ma and I had a wonderful marriage. She made me happier every day we were together. But we didn’t marry because we were in love. We married because it was the most logical choice to make. I had land, and she had money to buy animals. Together, we made it work. Love came in time. It’ll be the same for you and Hugh. You’ll see.”

  The front door opened, and Hugh sauntered in. She couldn’t make eye contact with Hugh, no matter how much she wanted to pretend she didn’t know about the agreement he’d made with her pa. She might be able to look at her pa without giving away the fact that she knew, but she couldn’t do it with someone she hardly knew.

  The last thing she wanted was for either man to start asking questions. She wanted to keep Jack’s plan a secret. He’d trusted her by telling her what he was going to do, and it was up to her to let him do it. Despite what her pa thought, Jack was perfectly capable of handling himself.

  After she realized Hugh wasn’t going to sit down until she did, she sat in the chair she’d purposely put no other chairs by. The next chair was across from her. Coincidentally, so was Hugh’s plate.

  “I see you didn’t set a plate for Jack,” Archie said as Hugh took his seat.

  “I didn’t need to. He’s going to town,” she replied, picking up the large plate of bacon, eggs, and pancakes and taking her share of them.

  “Town?” Hugh asked.

  Noting the surprise in Hugh’s voice, she finally glanced over at him. “Yes. He has something he needs to do.”

  “You must be mistaken. He can’t be going to town. He doesn’t like being around a lot of people.”

  “Well, when I rang the bell to call you in for breakfast, I saw him heading on out, and he told me he was going to town.” With a shrug, she added, “You can check the barn if you don’t believe me. He took one of the horses.”

  Her pa accepted the food as she handed it to him. “Maybe he didn’t say he was going to town. Maybe you thought he said town, but he really said he was going somewhere else, like to check on the cattle in the field.”

  “No one checks the cattle this early,” she said. “Besides, I know what a town is, and it’s not checking the cattle.”

  “I’m not saying you don’t think you heard him say town,” her pa relented, “but I think he meant something else.”

  She couldn’t believe it. Since when did her pa think she was so daft she didn’t know when someone said they were going to town?

  “Jack likes to spend a lot of time alone,” Hugh spoke up. “Maybe he said he was going to town but is really just riding the horse around. He’s done that sort of thing in the past.”

  “There you go.” Satisfied, her pa smiled and gestured to Hugh. “I bet that’s what he’s really doing. It makes the most sense. I’ve been to town with Jack, and he has to be dragged there, kicking and screaming the entire way. That boy is afraid of his own shadow.”

  “He’s not a boy. He’s a man.” Irritated, Maybell bolted out of her seat and grabbed her plate and cup of coffee. “I don’t need to sit hear and listen to this. If he said he went to town, then that’s where he went. And I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

  Ignoring the startled looks on her pa’s and Hugh’s faces, she stormed upstairs to eat her meal in peace.

  Chapter Sixteen

  By the time Jack got to town, the businesses had opened for the day. He recalled going through the main street the day he and his brother arrived and again when he went to the bank with Archie. At the time, he hadn’t thought he’d need to sell anything, but he remembered seeing a sign in front of one shop advertising it would buy and sell things at a fair price. It was next to the general store. And if he was right, the general store was just one block from the train station.

  He slowed the horse as he came into town. People hustled about in a flurry of activity, some going up and down the boardwalk to find the store of their choice and others to stand around and talk. And not only were there people to contend with, but he had to mind the carriages and horses as well.

  He took a deep breath then released it. Focus. He needed to focus. He was here to sell the ring and pocket watch. Once he was done with that, he could return to the farm…and Maybell. Just the thought of her kiss was enough to prompt him forward. He led the steed to the shop and tied the reins to a post.

  He pulled out the items he had to sell and gave one more thought to his grandpa and his ma. They would be happy for him. Maybell was a fine woman, and a pr
etty one at that. She’d make him an excellent wife. Together, they would have a good marriage and lots of children. He smiled. He never thought he’d have children. He never thought he’d ever marry either. But Maybell was making all those things come true. Yes, his grandpa and ma would tell him to do it. Women like Maybell only came once in a lifetime.

  Clasping the items in his hand, he went into the store, stumbling once over the threshold. Thankfully, no one was in the immediate vicinity to see his blunder. It would be alright. All he had to do was sell these objects and be on his way.

  As he walked up to the counter, he noted a lot of secondhand objects. Boots, clothing, catalogues, cookware, a saddle, ropes, a bassinet, and a couple of chairs. But most were small items, mostly heirlooms. Behind the counter, he saw jewelry and pocket watches, along with other similar items. Good. Maybe the owner would purchase the ring and pocket watch he had.

  A man stepped out from the backroom. “Pleasure to see you, sir,” he said, a wide smile on his face as he came up to the counter. “Are you in the market to buy something?” Before Jack could answer, he added, “Let me guess. A good looking gentleman like you is probably looking for a ring to give your lady, am I right?”

  “N-not exactly.” Jack stopped and took a deep breath. He could do this. He could relax and speak clearly. It was just a matter of focus. “I-I,” he paused, “I came to sell some things.”

  “Oh? What do you have?”

  Jack set the ring and pocket watch on the counter, hoping the man wouldn’t make him talk any more than he had to. And as luck had it, the man didn’t.

  The man picked the objects up and studied them. “Real gold?”

  Jack nodded.

  “I aim to be fair when buying things,” the man began, “but I’m also in the business of selling them. These are good quality possessions you have here. What I’ll do is give you three-fourths of what they’re worth. I have to do that in order to make a profit when I sell them. Are you sure you want to do this?”