Grooms with Honor Series, Books 4-6

by Linda K. Hubalek

  Lily stood in the bathroom doorway a minute and watched the steam coming off the tub water. How did I get so lucky to have a decent man help me after this terrible week?

  Piece by piece she shed the men’s clothing, and her wet undergarments, cringing at the pain it caused her left side. She gasped as she turned and looked in the mirror above the sink. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her face was as pale as the snow outside the hotel.

  She moved farther from the mirror to see more of her body and gingerly raised her arm to view the bruise on her side. It was an ugly combination of shades of purples and reds, but it would heal, thanks to her escaping and Mr. Reagan finding her.

  Lily turned the knobs to shut off the water. She’d add more when the water cooled because she planned to soak for a long time. Her feet stung when she stepped into the tub. After a minute, she eased down to her knees, getting acclimated to the water, before sitting to stretch her legs out and lean against the back of the full-length tub. Oh, this feels so good!

  Time had passed when she heard the key in the room door, but she continued to enjoy the hot soak.

  “Miss Lind, it’s me. I brought...”

  Lily opened her eyes when he spoke and realized he could see her! The bathroom door latch hadn’t caught, and it had slowly opened on its own to reveal her in the bathtub.

  He stared at her as she sank down in the bathtub, then quickly turned his back to her. “I brought food, and I’ll set this tray on the table. Can I close my eyes and shut the door for you? I promise I won’t look again.”

  Her face might be red because she was in hot water, but she was sure her cheeks turned redder if that was possible. “Yes, please.”

  True to his word, Seth walked backward, feeling for the doorknob without taking another peek at her in the tub. She had almost fallen asleep in the hot comfort of the tub, but she was wide awake now to finish her bath. She rubbed the washcloth against the bar of Castile soap to make a nice foam then scrubbed every inch of her body, hoping to get the smell of cigar smoke, cheap perfume, and horse manure off her skin.

  Then Lily slid forward in the tub to lean back and dunk her hair into the water, then sat back up. It felt luxurious to rub the bar of Castile soap into her scalp and hair. She slid her head back into the hot water to swish and rinse her hair. Once again on her feet, Lily carefully rubbed her body with a clean towel, then used it to wrap around her wet head. Then she reached for…nothing. She didn’t have any clothes to put on after her bath.

  Mr. Reagan’s cup of coffee stayed halfway to his lips when Lily opened the door and peeked around it. “Do you have any dry clothes I could borrow?”

  ***

  Miss Lind devoured the toast, eggs, and bacon like she hadn’t eaten in…well, days, which Seth guessed was accurate. She’d been savoring the hot, strong coffee a slow sip at a time, which looked like it had finally taken the chill out of her bones—along with his wool socks, his nightshirt, and the blanket from his bed, which was wrapped around her.

  The woman was covered head to toe, but he was still embarrassed that she was in his room. They ate in silence, but now they needed to talk.

  “I need to go back to the Stock Show today, so you can sleep here while I’m gone. I brought up extra food you can eat later. Will you be all right while I’m gone?” Seth had promised Mr. Connely he’d visit with cattle buyers about the Cross C Ranch breeding stock.

  “Yes, thank you, Mr. Reagan. I feel safe now and appreciate the use of your room to recover from my ordeal.”

  “Since you don’t have the bare necessities you need, how about you make me a list of items I could get while out today?”

  “I don’t know how I’m going to repay you for all of this. I was so unprepared coming to Chicago. I assumed I’d be settling into a nice house this week, and getting to know my husband…having money...”

  Miss Lind was doing her best not to cry in front of him. It had to be so hard, dreaming of what her future as Mrs. Hardesty was going to be, compared to the situation in which she found herself.

  “Don’t worry, buying what you need is no problem for me. My employer is a generous man, with my salary, and expense money for my trip to Chicago. And Mr. Connely is the type of man who would be disappointed to hear if I didn’t help a woman in dire need.” Seth tried to assure her.

  “Thank you. If you have a pencil and a notepad, I can start the list, but I’m keeping it to the bare minimum.”

  Seth reached into his vest pocket to pull out and hand her the items while asking, “How about you make your list and I’ll get ready to go?”

  Miss Lind had a lot of decisions to make about her future, but she needed sleep, and a clear head first. And he needed to get away because being close to Miss Lind was clouding his brain. Even though she was tired and forlorn, he still enjoyed visiting with her.

  Chapter 5

  Lily slowly awoke, needing to get up to relieve herself. Why does my side hurt?

  She rolled over in bed and pushed back the covers to swing out of bed but stopped when hearing a light deep snore. The room was dark, but light shadows were coming from the window and beneath a door.

  Where am I? Lily put her hand up to her throat. This isn’t lace at the neck of my nightgown…and these sleeves are so long.

  The Emporium! No, the room layout wasn’t right. The extra door…was the bathroom in Mr. Reagan’s hotel room. And the poor man was sleeping in the chair near the window. He was going to have a kink in his neck in the morning.

  Had she slept all day and into the night, not hearing Mr. Reagan come back to the room? Apparently. Lily slowly slid out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom, trying not to wake the man.

  Lily knew Mr. Reagan was awake before she reopened the bathroom door because he’d turned on the table lamp. She had no choice but to walk out in his nightshirt, which didn’t cover her ankles.

  “Good evening, Miss Lind. Did you have a good rest?”

  “Yes, it helped. Sorry I slept so long. What time is it?”

  Mr. Reagan pulled his watch out of his vest pocket. “Eleven fifteen,” he said before snapping the watch cover closed and slipping it back into his pocket.

  “Eleven fifteen…at night? How could I sleep that long?”

  “Apparently you needed it. Want a bite to eat now? I ate earlier, but I saved you a sandwich for when you awoke.”

  Lily pulled the chair out from the table and slid into it. She was hungry and thirsty again, and she appreciated he’d saved food for her.

  “My day was productive,” Mr. Reagan hinted as he watched her take her first bite of sandwich, “besides finding you.” Lily looked up, glad to see a smile on his face when mentioning the rescue instead of a frown.

  “I talked to two bull breeders whose stock I’d recommend for the Cross C Ranch cattle herd. One was from St. Louis, Missouri and the other from Topeka, Kansas, so close to central Kansas than most of the breeders at this show. I’ve met people from Canada to Maine on this trip. It’s amazing how far people travel to bring livestock to this show, but it’s a way to advertise your pedigreed stock.”

  A thick slab of ham, plus a slice of cheddar cheese between two buttered pieces of fresh-baked bread made a filling sandwich. Lily enjoyed every bite while watching Mr. Reagan talk. He didn’t make gestures as some people but sat telling her about his day in a calm, gentle manner.

  “I also spent time looking at the horses this afternoon. I actually liked the mare group you spent last night with, and I picked several stallions I’d be interested in, too.”

  “When’s the sale?”

  “Day after tomorrow, so maybe you’ll be rested enough to join me at the auction, give me your advice,” he slowly grinned.

  “Besides seeing horse teams pulling wagons and carriages in Boston, it’s been a few years since I rode a horse.”

  “Ah, but you’ve ridden, so you grew up on a farm? We haven’t talked about your family or life in Sweden. What did your father do, if you don’t mind me asking?
”

  “Sharecropper for a rich man,” was all she said before taking another bite of sandwich.

  “You’ve been around livestock then.”

  Lily chewed and swallowed her bite before answering him. “My parents were too poor to have more than a milk cow and a plow horse, but when I moved to the manor farm, I did livestock chores besides taking care of their young children.”

  “That’s kind of a strange job combination for a housemaid, isn’t it?”

  How did she answer his question, and how much did she want to tell him about her childhood? “I wasn’t a housemaid. I moved there when I was ten years old, doing chores early before the master’s children woke up. After they went to bed, I did my evening chores.”

  “That’s young to start working outside the home, but I guess no different than child labor in America—be it on the farm or in a factory.

  “Our family was ‘as poor as church mice,’ as they say, when us six boys were little, since Da, my father, is a preacher. Probably half his pay was in meat and produce though, so we always had enough to eat. Ma’s always had a big vegetable garden behind the house, too.”

  I’ve been half starved all my life, Lily thought.

  “I always raid Ma’s canned goods when she’s done pickling in the fall. I love her dill pickles, and they aren’t something I could make myself or buy in the store. She has a special recipe she rarely shares. I’ve been doing it for five years now, so she makes extra jars of them just for me.”

  He looked lost in thought. “What made you decide to come to America?”

  “Like all immigrants, it was a way to start over,” Lily quickly said before taking the last bite of the sandwich.

  Mr. Reagan sat back in his chair, staring at her face. “I’d say there’s more to your story—and, if you ever want to share it with me—I’ll listen without judgment.”

  Why couldn’t Mr. Hardesty have been a decent man like Mr. Reagan?

  “The other thing I need to mention is the police are looking for you, but a certain blue dress will be found stained and torn in Bubbly Creek fairly soon, so hopefully that will stop Hardesty’s active hunt for you.”

  “How did you manage that?”

  “Better you don’t know,” was all he’d reply. “I hated to throw the dress away though because I thought the dark blue color was very fetching with your pretty strawberry-blonde hair. Don’t get me wrong, not the style of the dress, but the color.”

  Lily blushed at Seth’s compliment of sorts. At least she’d have a good memory of the dress now because Mr. Reagan thought she looked pretty in it

  “Ah…were you able to get a few things for me?” Lily hated to ask, but she really needed some items on the list, and to change the subject.

  “Yes, you’ll find the packages on the settee. I thought you needed to sleep rather than looking through your items when I got back to the room.

  “And about sleeping arrangements…I checked but the hotel is full so I couldn’t get another room. I’m sorry, it isn’t proper, but I’m going to have to sleep on the floor in this room.”

  “Mr. Reagan, you are paying for this room, so I’ll sleep on the floor. I’ve slept in much worse places,” Lily could have bitten off her tongue telling him about her past living arrangements, but he didn’t comment on it.

  “You’ve been hurt, so you stay in the bed tonight. But I do ask for the spare pillow and a blanket,” Seth asked as he yawned.

  She’d gladly give him most of the bedding for his generosity.

  Why couldn’t he have been the groom waiting for me at the train station?

  It didn’t take Mr. Reagan long to fall asleep, even if he was sleeping on the carpeted floor. But after Lily heard his even breathing, she rolled on her side toward him, just so she could look at him. The window drapes weren’t quite closed in the middle, and he’d moved enough so she could see his face in the shadowed light sneaking across from the window to the floor.

  She studied his features, wishing she had the liberty to feel the dimple in his chin, follow the line of his eyebrows, and trace the calluses on his working rancher’s palms. The few times she’d touched his arms or chest, she felt hard muscles of a man who did honest, manual labor.

  Lily automatically compared him to Mans Soderstrom, the only man she’d ever touched—because they were to be married—or so they’d planned. But his parents didn’t want Mans to marry a piga, a servant girl way below his family’s social class.

  Mr. Reagan may not have been as handsome as Mans, but she liked his rugged looks. Seth proved he could be trusted and had followed through on his promises, where Mans hadn’t.

  She shut her eyes when tears trailed down her cheeks and onto the crisp, white pillowcase. Lily had thought Mr. Hardesty was her destiny when he answered her letter regarding his ad, asking her to come to Chicago. She’d memorized the short, cherished letter because she was excited someone wanted her.

  Dear Miss Lind,

  I received your letter requesting to come to Chicago, and I agree after seeing your photo. Enclosed is a train ticket to travel to the Union Station Depot. It is a six-day trip, so I’d like you to arrive here on November 10th.

  Sincerely,

  Mr. Wilber Hardesty, Esquire

  But after meeting him and seeing the Emporium, Lily realized he never asked her to be his wife. The letter was short, to the point, telling her to be in Chicago by a specific date—that was all, absolutely no mention of marriage. She knew better, had been hurt before, and swore she’d never get in a situation she couldn’t control again…but Lily took the first chance she saw to have a new life, without thinking it through as she should have.

  Now she was back to being alone, penniless, and in a new city where she didn’t know a decent soul—except for one man who’d be going back to Kansas in a few days.

  Chapter 6

  Seth was surprised at the amount of food Lily ate this morning for breakfast. If she were a horse, he’d be worried about her floundering because she shoveled food into her mouth like she couldn’t get enough. It made him wonder—was she naturally very slim by nature, or because she hadn’t had money for food? She still hadn’t talked about her past, but he was about to suggest a future.

  Seth couldn’t get the idea out of his head when he thought of it yesterday. It would help Miss Lind get out of Chicago and away from the Stockyards Emporium owner.

  Miss Lind was free to do whatever she wanted to do, but Seth was worried Hardesty would find Lily and have her imprisoned in the saloon again. Seth couldn’t believe the obsession Hardesty had for the woman, probably because her looks and voice could add to his coffers. Hardesty considered Miss Lind his “property” even though she wasn’t an employee—if there was such a thing as legally hiring a soiled dove—and he never married her. So…

  “Miss Lind, I’d like to propose an idea to help you with your predicament,” Seth’s stomach was swarming with butterflies. Was he nervous about what he was about to ask her, or excited with the prospect she’d say yes?

  She was eyeing the last piece of toast on the breakfast tray, but quickly looked up when he spoke to her.

  “Miss Lind,” he waited for her to look across the table at him, “will you marry me today?”

  Luckily, she wasn’t eating the toast, or she’d have gagged on it trying to sputter out, “What? Why? We barely know each other!”

  “You were going to marry a man you only had contact with through one letter.”

  “Yes, but he’d been checked out by the matrimony agency, so I assumed he could be a good husband.”

  “Which he wasn’t. I am a sincere, honest man and you can send a telegram to the town marshal to confirm it. Marshal Wilerson, town merchants, and my father, Preacher Patrick Reagan, can all vouch for me if you need assurance.”

  “You would marry me, even though you don’t know my…background?”

  “Yes. But, what I’m offering is a marriage of convenience, so you can get out of Chicago and have a fr
esh start in Kansas.” Seth took another breath to continue, “We can annul the marriage once you’re settled in the Swedish community near Clear Creek.”

  Seth didn’t know how to react when tears formed and slowly trailed down Miss Lind’s cheeks. Was she upset, sad, or happy he made the offer? It was so hard to tell what the woman was feeling.

  “Are you sure of this, Mr. Reagan?”

  “Positive, or I wouldn’t have offered.” Seth realized she’d had a tough life and found this opportunity to start over challenging to believe.

  “Yes, Mr. Reagan, I gladly accept your proposal of a marriage of convenience, and I can’t believe my luck of coming to Chicago and finding you,” she whispered as she folded her hands in prayer and looked up to heaven and back to him.

  “I’m glad I found you, too. And I believe we can be on a first name basis now, right, Lily?”

  “Yes, Seth.” She beamed back at him even though she had tears of relief running down her cheeks. Seeing her grateful face made him feel good about his decision.

  “So, your fiancé,” Seth enjoyed saying the word, “bought his bride-to-be some clothes yesterday—besides the meager list you gave me.”

  “Oh, but I can’t…”

  “Uh, uh. You need to learn to say tack så mycket and open the packages on the settee, so we can go get married, Lily.”

  Lily was out of her chair at the table where they had been eating their breakfast and practically hopped over to the settee. She was excited as a child on Christmas morning.

  I hope she likes what I picked out for her.

  “Any order I should unwrap the packages?”

  “Well, now that you asked, yes,” Seth said as he moved his chair over to the pile on the settee. “Shall I bring over a chair for you?” Lily sat back on her knees by the settee like it was a Christmas tree.