Grooms with Honor Series, Books 4-6

by Linda K. Hubalek

  Rose stood by the open door, waiting for everyone to leave. Cullen was barely out the door when he felt the swoosh of the door slamming behind him. If he’d have paused a second in the threshold, the door would have hit his backside. The click of the door lock meant he wouldn’t be welcome back inside anytime soon either.

  Should he talk to Angus or Da about how to grovel to get back in a woman’s good graces?

  “Already got girl troubles, son?” Charlie asked as they slowly walked to the café.

  Charlie calling him “son” caught him off guard, but not as badly as if he’d called Cullen that before Cullen heard his father’s side of the story.

  “I’m just not sure what to do about Rose,” Cullen blurted out, surprising himself. “She was supposed to be Richard Kandt’s mail-order bride, but he refused to marry her. Now my parents are saying it’s my responsibility to take care of Rose’s problem since I wrote the letters for Richard.”

  Cullen was frustrated, but it did help to let off a little steam with Charlie. The man was a bystander, of sorts, compared to his parents and brothers.

  “Got any advice?”

  Did Charlie’s startled look mean he was surprised Cullen would ask him? That made Cullen feel embarrassed because he hadn’t talked to Charlie much since he moved to town. Another fence he needed to repair.

  Cullen sat down on the bench outside a store to give them shade from the overhang and a place to finish their conversation before they went into the café. Charlie slid down beside him, probably glad to get off his crutches for a spell.

  “Well, everyone else in town has given me advice, unwanted or not. What do you think I should do about Rose?”

  “What’s everyone’s advice?”

  “Rose is a good woman, and she’d make a good wife.”

  “Why do you doubt everyone’s opinion of Rose?”

  Charlie’s question caught Cullen off guard.

  “I don’t doubt anyone, I just…” How could he explain it?

  “Don’t think you’re a good man or you wouldn’t make a good husband?”

  Charlie almost hit the nail on the head, but there was more to it.

  “You grew up with a good family and good role models, Cullen. You know right from wrong. Surely, you’ve heard your father say the marriage vows often enough to know them by heart. What part scares you?”

  Dare he say it out loud? At least Charlie would understand since he’d been in a brothel. Cullen was confident his father or brothers didn’t have a clue.

  “Being with a woman, Charlie. I remember seeing men being with Dolly and it was rough, mean, and took away her…dignity.”

  “I’m sure Dolly was with some drunk men, as well as some who treated her well. But having sex with a whore is nothing like loving your wife, Cullen. Your young mind has made the visions worse over time. You won’t act like those men with Rose, Cullen. I’m positive you’ll love and respect her.”

  Cullen stared at the ground, mulling over Charlie’s words.

  “Have you kissed Rose? How did it make you feel?”

  Cullen blushed at Charlie’s question.

  “Yeah, and I really liked it. Made me happy, proud Rose liked my touch.” Cullen sighed, thinking about kissing Rose the other night on the porch. Wishing he could do it again real soon if he hadn’t blown his chance minutes ago.

  “That’s what making love between a husband and wife feels like, not what you remember as a child.

  “I confess I’ve been with several women, but not one of them held a candle to Mary Elizabeth. I loved your mother, but fears of the future, and then drugs, kept her from agreeing to marry me.”

  Charlie struggled to stand up, making Cullen think about the artificial leg he needed to order for his father.

  “Don’t be afraid to take a chance for a good future, like your mother refused to do. All three of our lives would have been different if she’d just taken a chance.

  “I agree with everyone else. You and Rose are well-suited, and you’d have a solid, loving marriage together. Grab the luck that got her to town. You may never have another chance. I didn’t after I lost Mary Elizabeth.”

  Cullen watched his father, yes, his father, slowly limp away from him. The man gave him life, and the best advice he’d ever received.

  After lunch, he’d ask his father how to grovel, no, maybe his mother, and then he’d find Rose. They had a wedding to plan.

  ***

  “Relax, Rose. I can’t work on your shoulder with you being so tense,” Doctor Pansy advised Rose as she slowly rotated the joint. “You’re very tense today. Something wrong?”

  Rose tried to relax, but thinking of Cullen tightened her shoulder back up.

  “Does the problem have to do with a certain blonde Reagan?” Doctor Pansy snickered. “I know from experience with the Reagan brothers, Cullen’s the most stubborn of the bunch…but that has to do with his background, and the chip on his shoulder.”

  “And I’m ready to knock that chip off Cullen’s shoulder if I didn’t worry it would hurt my good arm.”

  Doctor Pansy’s hands paused a moment before starting again. The woman was trying to keep from laughing, for heaven’s sake.

  Rose took a deep breath and willed her body to relax from the top of her head to her toes.

  “That’s better. Will it help or hinder you to talk about it?”

  “I offered to pay for Charlie Moore’s artificial leg, Doctor Pansy, and Cullen refused my help, even though he said he didn’t have the money in his savings account to cover it,” Rose started the conversation.

  “Ah, but none of you have to worry about it, actually. Lyle Elison wired in the order and payment this morning. But since you’re in my office, this information is strictly confidential.”

  Rose turned to look up at Doctor Pansy. “That’s good news, but why is the town lawyer paying for it?”

  “Lyle handles the community funds his sister, Cora Hamner, set up about a decade ago.”

  “Did I meet Cora in church last Sunday?” Rose tried to think through all the people she was introduced to after the church service.

  “I’m sure you did. Cora is very short, with dark, brown hair. Her husband, Dagmar Hamner is very tall, with blonde hair that always looks like it needs to be trimmed. Their pew was filled with their twelve children.”

  “Oh yes, I remember the couple.” They could be in the circus for their distinct opposites of height.

  “Cora left Boston, and the humiliation of three failed engagements, to live a simpler life on the Bar E Ranch north of Clear Creek, which her parents owned at the time. A few months later, Cora had to marry by her birthday to inherit her grandfather’s estate, and so she talked Dagmar, the ranch foreman, into marrying her.

  “Money and status didn’t matter to either of them. Over the years Cora has used the estate money to help others in the area. Even though everyone knows about it, a person can’t ask for money. Eyes in the community, usually Pastor and Kaitlyn Reagan, see someone who needs help and quietly contacts Cora and Lyle about it.”

  “I’m guessing you talked to Cora about Charlie?”

  “Let’s just say I’m in a unique position to see people who need help.”

  “Then thank you, Doctor Pansy, for helping Charlie. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him this week.”

  “He’s a decent man who had terrible luck. Or good luck, if you think that the accident brought him and Cullen together. Pastor Reagan could use Charlie’s situation to prove God works in mysterious ways,” Doctor Pansy mused.

  “Back to you and Cullen, will you need a wedding dress soon? Cora will be sure you have a beautiful gown for your ceremony.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Because I lived with Cora’s parents when I went to physician’s school in Boston, I know Elizabeth Elison ships trunks of dresses to Cora about twice a year. It used to be Kaitlyn Reagan would bring the soon-to-be bride out to Cora’s home for tea, and the bride had the pleasure of choosing a
dress from the “five-trunk room,” as they used to call the unique bedroom in Cora’s home.

  “Because the house is filled with children now, Mrs. Elison ships the dresses to Mary Jenkins, the dressmaker in town. The bride tries on her dress there, and Mary can alter it to fit.

  “I’m sure Mary had to use two dresses to make one big and tall enough for my wedding dress, but my dress was so special since I knew the origin of it.”

  “Well, I’m not holding my breath about marrying Cullen anytime soon. I made the mistake of offering to marry him in exchange for Charlie’s leg.”

  “Oh, I bet that was a hit to Cullen’s male pride,” Doctor Pansy said as she dug deep into Rose’s shoulder.

  “I moved to Clear Creek to marry, have a home, and have a family. Richard refused to marry me, and I’ve turned my attention to Cullen, especially since we’re well suited.”

  “Love and marriage is a huge commitment, Rose. It’s not something you should put on a time schedule.”

  “It was Pastor Reagan who told Cullen to marry me this next Sunday.”

  “My father-in-law may be a preacher, but he’s also an Irishman with a temper which pops up at times. He only said that to make Cullen think about the situation.”

  “Are you saying I don’t need a wedding dress by Sunday?”

  Doctor Pansy slowly kneaded Rose’s arm down to her fingers and back up past her elbow.

  “It wouldn’t hurt for Cullen to know you visited Mary about a wedding dress. A little jealousy can make a man think about his future, good or bad.”

  “How so?”

  “If Cullen hasn’t asked you to marry him, and you’re being fitted for a wedding dress…he’ll worry who did ask for your hand in marraige?”

  Chapter 14

  “Uh, Rose? Can I talk to you a minute?”

  Cullen had sat on the parsonage porch swing for over a half hour waiting for Rose to come out of the house. Ma suggested he didn’t come for supper this evening and Cullen agreed. He would have loved to taste Rose’s meal this evening, but he settled for a sandwich and an apple in his room instead.

  Cullen held out the canning jar of garden flowers to Rose. “I brought you some zinnias to brighten your room. I’ll set them on the side table here until you go back into the house.”

  “Thank you,” Rose stepped closer to touch the colorful petals of the mixed colors. “I love the bright colors. Where did you get them?”

  “I must confess they came from Millie Wilerson’s garden. Every boy in town used to cut her prize roses to give to the girls they wanted to impress. Millie started raising a patch of flowers just for anyone to pick from instead of cutting her roses. Millie still gives away her roses for wedding bouquets though.”

  “That’s nice of the woman. I’ll have to go over to see her flower garden and thank her for growing them.”

  Rose moved to stand by the porch post.

  “You have a minute to sit and talk, Rose?”

  “No, actually. I was walking over to talk to the Paulsons about holding a library fundraising party this Saturday night.”

  “This Saturday? What do you have planned?”

  “I need books for the library, so I thought we could offer a program and refreshments at the hotel. People could donate a book, new or slightly used, as admittance.”

  “Was the Paulson’s event room available for this Saturday? Sometimes it’s booked in advance.”

  “Oh. I hadn’t thought of that. We might have to postpone it a week then,” Rose said as she sat in the chair by the wall, instead of in the swing with him.

  “You’ll need time to make flyers to put in the store windows and pass the word out to the area ranchers. I’m sure they’d like to be included in the event too.”

  “True.” Rose rubbed her forehead.

  “Where are you going to store all those books until Mack gets the shelves made and stained?”

  Rose folded her arms across her chest. “Are you trying to discourage me from doing this?”

  “No, I think it’s an excellent idea. Hardly anyone knows there’s a library being started in town.”

  “But, I hear a ‘but’…”

  “It takes time to fill a library full of books and patrons, Rose. People know well in advance when the circus is coming to town because they’ve seen the advertisements. Same thing with your library. You'd have more attendance if you built up the awareness and enthusiasm first.”

  “I want it done now, though. Nothing is going as scheduled with my life!” Rose huffed.

  “You left the circus because you wanted a normal life. Taking time to plan and enjoy things is normal, and you’ll enjoy it better too.”

  Cullen took a deep breath. This was the perfect opening for what he wanted to talk to Rose about. Cullen put his feet flat to stop swinging and leaned forward, so he was closer to Rose.

  “For example,” Cullen took a deep breath to continue. “I want to marry you, but I don’t want to rush into marriage.”

  Rose sat up a little straighter.

  “I’ve never courted a woman, and I want to experience that. I want to give my lady flowers and chocolates. Go on buggy rides and have picnics down by the river. Write her love poems. Sit together for hours and talk about anything and everything, besides learning to kiss better.”

  Cullen waited for Rose to comment, but she didn’t.

  “Don’t you want to experience that too? That’s part of a normal life before getting married. We met less than a week ago. I don’t know your favorite book or dessert yet.”

  “That’s true, and I don’t know your favorites either.”

  Cullen held out his hand, and Rose took it before sitting down beside Cullen on the swing.

  “I also want time with Charlie before I marry. The library back room is bigger than his and my place combined, so I’d like to live with him as he adjusts to his new leg. I need to hear stories about my real parents and my grandparents.

  “Pa started a tradition when we boys were young. He’d take us to the café for Saturday morning breakfast to give Ma a break from feeding all of us. We still do that—without the wives—each Saturday. The women, by the way, love it and often get together themselves.

  “I need to start including Charlie in our Saturday mornings and introduce him as my father to everyone in town. As soon as he feels comfortable with his new leg, I want us to go to church together.”

  Cullen stopped because he could ramble on about what he wanted to do with his father now that Cullen had accepted him. But that wasn’t all he wanted.

  “I’d want my father to perform our wedding ceremony, but I’d like to wait until your family has their winter break and then they can be here too. Can you imagine how happy your grandmother would be, to be a part of your special day?”

  Rose surprised Cullen by laying her head on his shoulder and wrapping her good arm around his elbow.

  “Oh, Cullen, you’re so right. I’ve been anxious and rushing things. It would be so romantic to be courted,” Rose said before she raised her lips to be kissed.

  Cullen happily obliged by kissing Rose twice before slowly starting the swing to rocking. This felt good, and he wanted more of it, time alone kissing the woman he loved. Yep, Cullen could admit it now. He loved Rose and wanted to marry her.

  “Could you write to your family and see when they could visit for our wedding? I realize it would be winter, but—”

  Rose stopped him with a kiss.

  “Now you’re starting to sound anxious. Is there something you want to ask me before you go any further?”

  Rose was right. Besides courting, she needed the full proposal. Cullen stopped the swing, got down on bended knee in front of Rose and took her right hand.

  “Miss Rose Leander, I believe fate and God sent you to Clear Creek, Kansas for a reason, and that’s so we could meet. I’m falling in love with you, and I want to enjoy courting you. Will you marry me when we’re ready?”

  Rose’s eye’s glistened with t
ears of happiness as she said, “yes, to us courting and marrying, when we’re ready.”

  Right now, Cullen wasn’t sure he wanted to wait though. He sure liked the idea of kissing and loving Rose right now and forever.

  Rose pulled away first and rubbed his cheek with her gentle finger.

  “I’d love to have my family at our wedding, but then we wouldn’t marry until December or even later. Would that be alright?” Rose asked between light kisses where her fingers had just touched him.

  “Time would go by faster than we think because we’d be combining homes, setting up the library…courting and kissing,” Cullen wrapped his arms around her and kissed her again to emphasise the fact.

  Chapter 15

  “Guess what came in the mail today?” Cullen called out excitedly as he pushed through the screen door of the library.

  Rose wiped the damp curls off her forehead and shifted her position on the floor where she’d sat for the last hour sorting books. It was easier to sort the books closer to where they would be on the shelves than carry them from the table to the shelf one at a time.

  She had more motion in her arm now after three weeks of exercises, but she still couldn’t lift her arm past her shoulder. Working with books had undoubtedly exercised and strengthened her left side though.

  Cullen stopped to look at the various piles of books on the floor. “Do you have help today? I thought some of the neighborhood kids were going to help put the books on the shelf?”

  “They’ll be here after lunch. I’ve been sorting the books, and almost have them ready for the children to put on the shelves for me.”

  Isaac Connely’s books were delivered to the library in dozens of crates but in no order. Why did Rose think it would only take a few days to set up a library? Cleaning, repairing and sorting Connely’s three hundred and sixty-seven books had taken two weeks of constant work.

  Plus, other people were dropping off books at the library too. There would be an excellent selection of books when the library officially opened next month.

  Cullen laid the long, rectangular package on the table and held out a hand to help Rose off the floor. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a lingering kiss before letting her go and looking around the room.