Grooms with Honor Series, Books 1-3

by Linda K. Hubalek

  "Don't think he has much choice if he wants to keep his claim. It's going to be a long, lonely winter for him though."

  Iris shivered, thinking of the sad family they were leaving behind.

  "Want to ride in back to keep warm? We need to travel as far as we can today since we've been delayed," Fergus asked as they turned from the homestead land onto the trail heading south.

  "Maybe later," Iris mused. She felt safe—and maybe a little loved—sitting beside Fergus. He was so sincere, with no ulterior motive other than to help her.

  "How do you think their photograph will turn out?" Iris settled her hands beneath the blanket, wishing she could lean against Fergus' body for warmth.

  "Hard to say since we had to shoot inside the dugout rather than outside. I hope there was enough light coming from the window and open doorway. You might have to touch it up with oil paints to help it out."

  Fergus acted as if she was a partner in his business, but so far she'd only helped with five families and practiced oil tinting on one portrait he had on hand.

  "Did you mean it when you said I can work for you?" Iris had asked more than once after Fergus had offered, but she couldn't help worrying.

  "Yes, I do. I hope to drum up enough business between studio portraits and trips to need a full-time assistant. Your talent at drawing and painting will draw in business...and we seem to get along with each other." Fergus lightly bumped her shoulder while smiling down at her.

  Iris finally felt better about herself, after catching up on her sleep and eating, and being with a man who didn't scare her. Maybe her jumping off the train was a leap into a real future instead.

  "So tell me more about Clear Creek, businesses downtown, your favorite people."

  Fergus looked sideways at her, a hint of a smile on his lips. "I take it you're feeling better about yourself and thinking about a future in Clear Creek?"

  "Yes. Yes, I am. Does that surprise you?"

  "I prayed you'd feel better after your headache cleared and you knew you were safe. Time—and sleep—can heal many wounds.

  "How about I make a deal with you. I'll tell you something about my hometown and then you do the same. We'll take turns swapping stories while Dapper takes us home."

  The thought of talking about her past made her stomach clench, but there were some good memories of Kentucky if she thought about them.

  "All right, but you go first."

  "Okay. The town was founded in 1868 when the railroad was built across Kansas. The Clancy's, Dan and Edna, their son and two grandchildren traveled with the crew to serve meals. When their son was killed in an accident they stayed in Clear Creek and built the first building, which is still their café."

  "So the grandparents raised their grandchildren?"

  "Yes, until they were old enough to be on their own. Nolan enlisted in the army and served several years in the Montana Territory before returning home last year, and taking over the café and the care of his grandparents.

  "His sister, Daisy, worked in restaurants in Chicago before going to Denver to apprentice with a pharmacist. She and my brother, Angus, were childhood sweethearts. They met again by accident when a train in Colorado was robbed and they were literally thrown off the train."

  "At least they didn't jump like I did," Iris mumbled.

  "No, but it brought them back together and the reason we're traveling to their wedding."

  "So what do they do in town now?"

  "Angus is the new depot agent and Daisy opened her own pharmacy store on Main Street."

  "A woman has her own store?"

  "Yes. Besides Daisy, the widow Mary Jenkins has a dress shop. Both women are about your age."

  That gave Iris hope that she wouldn't be looked down upon if she worked then.

  "Okay, your turn. Tell me something about your hometown."

  What was something positive she could tell Fergus?

  "I've been to Churchill Downs and watched the Kentucky Derby race."

  "That's a famous race now. Why were you there, and who with?"

  "My father and his family. I was their maid for the trip and they let me watch the race with them. One of the farm's horses ran in the race and took fourth place."

  By the way Fergus paused, he was going to point out she was with her family, but he refrained from commenting about it.

  "Then you'll love visiting with Mrs. Hilda Wilerson, a horse breeder north of Clear Creek. She used to race a gelding named Nutcracker before she was married. Impromptu races would happen when cowboys from the Texas cattle drives came into town. Mrs. Wilerson always dressed like a man, so she'd push her thick blonde braid under her hat and enter the race, most times winning. Her winnings are what bought the homestead she and her family still live on."

  Another strong woman in Clear Creek that didn't let men get her down.

  "I used up one of my turns talking about our local famous horse and rider, so it's your turn again. You haven't said much about any siblings."

  That was a tough question to answer.

  "I have two older half-brothers, one each from my father and my mother, but I don’t know if the latter is still alive."

  "Why is that?"

  Did she dare talk to Fergus about this? But she knew he wouldn't judge her.

  "After Master Kern’s wife died, he moved my mother to the plantation house. My mother already had a husband and son, but I didn’t know them well since I was little when the two disappeared. Years later I found out they were shipped to New Orleans and sold."

  Iris felt Fergus tense beside her. "How could your mother handle the grief of losing her family? I have never been able to fathom the concept of slavery."

  "It broke her heart. She'd talk about them sometimes, mostly on their birthdays, wondering where they were."

  "None of them came back to Kentucky after they were free men?"

  "Not that I know of."

  "Did your mother have any children after you?"

  "No, but she had some miscarriages."

  Fergus nodded, but didn’t ask any more questions. What did he think about her mother being a mistress to the plantation master?

  "Those times were tough for so many people—before and after the war. Several men in town fought in the battles. Rather than go home, they moved to Kansas to start over.

  “Isaac Connely, who started the Cross C Ranch near Clear Creek, was a sniper during the war. All my brothers and me worked for the ranch for a while after we finished school. Mr. Connely told us stories of the battles, the near misses, the deaths he'd seen. I'm sure he glossed over the worst of the details, but he usually worked in a 'moral to the story'.

  "Mr. Connely is the reason I'm a photographer."

  "How's that?"

  He asked me one day what my dream profession would be, so I told him about a man I'd read about, Timothy O'Sullivan, who photographed Civil War battles, but then went on the first governmental survey of the American West. O'Sullivan started taking photographs in Nevada and worked eastward. His job was to photograph the West to attract settlers. The idea of capturing a scene in time forever fascinated me.

  “Two weeks later Mr. Connely bought a camera and wanted me to take photographs of the herds, buildings, families in the area, anything that I wanted to do. After I finally confessed I enjoyed this much better than herding cattle, he sent me to Chicago to work with a photographer for two months to learn how to work the camera and to develop the plates."

  “How long ago was that?”

  “Two years ago. I’ve worked for a studio in Kansas City and now I’m finally coming home to open my own studio.”

  Iris felt a ping of jealousy and sadness. She couldn't go "home" to do what she wanted, even though her father had been a rich man.

  "So, Iris, if you could do anything in the world, what would it be? A mother with six children, a famous painter, an opera singer?"

  "I've never let myself think about that because I was tied to the plantation."

  "Now'
s your chance to dream, Iris. You're free of your past."

  You are free of your past.

  Fergus didn't know how those words affected her. His saying them aloud finally broke the chains, so to speak, off her mind.

  She was out of Kentucky, away from her half-brother, Mr. Morris, and she could work and do what she wanted...as long as no one knew she was a mulatto.

  Chapter 8

  Fergus ushered Iris to a pew behind everyone else, then strolled up to take his place between two of his brothers. The Reagan brothers were back in line by birth order, according to the descriptions Fergus had given her. They all stood proudly in front of the pulpit and their father, the pastor.

  “Kaitlyn, it’s time to start the ceremony.” The pastor said to the woman in the front row.

  “I’m in the front row and ready, Patrick,” the woman with faded red curls answered back.

  What would it be like to be part of this family, included and loved, no matter your background or past?

  The pastor nodded to his wife, lifted his book, and began the wedding ceremony.

  ***

  “Angus, will you love Daisy, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, be faithful unto her as long as you both shall live?”

  Angus solemnly replied, “Yes, I will,” before sliding a shiny gold band on Daisy’s left ring finger. “Daisy, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

  Pastor gave a nod to Angus, cleared his throat, and turned to Daisy.

  “Daisy, will you love Angus, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, be faithful unto him as long as you both shall live?”

  Daisy straightened her shoulders at his words. She met Angus’ serious gaze with hers when she stated, “Yes, I will.”

  Would Iris ever feel secure enough to stand in front of God and proclaim her undying love and support to a man? Iris glanced at Fergus just as he looked back in her direction. She dropped her eyes to her hands and felt her face redden because he caught her looking at him.

  “Da,” Angus interrupted his father.

  “Would you mind if we finished with our own words, after you pronounce us husband and wife?”

  “That’s fine. Wait until after the benediction.”

  Angus retook Daisy’s hands as he smiled at her.

  “Angus and Daisy, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in holy Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, the giving of this ring and the joining of your hands, I now declare you to be husband and wife.”

  Pastor raised his right hand and prayed, “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up his countenance unto you, and give you peace. Amen.

  “Son, your turn, but don’t forget to kiss your bride.”

  Everyone in the congregation chuckled as they waited to see what Angus had planned.

  “I want to do this in honor of my parents, and in memory of my mother and your parents.

  “We’ve said parts of the wedding vows to each other ever since…we started falling in love actually, all in teasing, but at the same time it was preparing us for today. I’d like to go through the whole version with you now.”

  Daisy waited for Angus to start, but he paused. “You need to say the first line, Daisy.”

  “All right.” Daisy cleared her throat and started the vows. “For better, for worse.”

  “For richer, for poorer,” Angus answered back.

  “In sickness and in health,” Daisy countered.

  “To love and to cherish,” Angus pulled her hands against his chest.

  “Till death us do part,” Daisy whispered.

  “This is my solemn vow,” Angus wrapped his arms around her and waited for her to say…

  “So you need to kiss your bride,” Daisy teased him as she reached to circle her arms around Angus' neck and joined her lips to his.

  Iris sat quietly as everyone clapped for the couple. It was an informal affair compared to the weddings she'd attended in Louisville, but then the snowstorm’s delay changed the event. The family and the few attendants seemed happy for the couple.

  "Hello." Iris realized a young woman was leaning over the back of the pew with her hand extended to her.

  "I'm Mrs. Linnea Lundahl. I'm glad you and Fergus could make it to the wedding."

  Iris stood up, taking the woman's hand. "Thank you. I'm Miss Iris Kerns." How should she explain why she was with Fergus? This woman and everyone else in the church had to be wondering the same thing.

  "How did you manage to get here through the storm?" the woman continued with an easy question, assuming she had been traveling with Fergus.

  "We stopped at the Bar E Ranch, and then continued to town with a fresh horse and their sleigh."

  "Well I'm sure the Reagans are happy it worked out Fergus could be here." Mrs. Lundahl looked to the front of the pulpit where the Reagan family were hugging and animatedly talking to each other.

  "It might be a while before Fergus is free to join you. Want to stay with me until then?"

  The woman must have known she was nervous, because she smiled and hooked her arm into Iris' arm.

  "Please call me Linnea. I moved to Clear Creek recently and married the man who rescued me."

  "Rescued you? From what?" Iris couldn't help asking.

  "Here's the short version," Linnea laughed. "My tall husband, Elof, is standing by a shorter man with longish blonde hair, Nolan Clancy. Nolan and Elof were soldiers together in Fort Ellis in the Montana Territory. Nolan left the army first and moved back to Kansas to manage his grandparent's café.

  "Elof left the army later in the year and planned to settle in Kansas to be near his friend. Before leaving the area, he went to a cemetery to place an iron cross on Nolan’s wife's father's grave, which Nolan had shipped out west to him.”

  Linnea pointed to a woman. “Nolan's wife, Holly, played the violin during the service."

  The woman with the darker skin and straight black hair? Linnea must have seen Iris staring at the woman because she commented.

  "Holly's mother was Cherokee and her father was white."

  "Oh, I didn't mean—" Iris cut off her sentence instead of sounding prejudiced.

  So Iris wasn't the only person with mixed blood in the church then.

  "Holly is quiet, but a loving person. Anyway, I met Elof in the cemetery because I was burying my husband of eight days.

  "Eight days?"

  "Yes. This last summer I traveled from Chicago to the Montana Territory as a mail-order bride. My husband was killed in a fire eight days after we were married. And I was left with his six-year-old son and no home since our landlord informed me we were to leave the place that night." Linnea shook her head while a wrinkle of memory crossed her forehead.

  "What did you do?" Linnea's situation sounded as bad as her own did.

  "Elof buried my husband, took me back to the farm to collect our few belongings, and suggested we travel to Kansas with him to start over. We stayed with Pastor and Mrs. Reagan while inquiring about my step son's relatives."

  "Did you find his family?"

  "Jamie moved to Topeka to live with his grandparents, but I’m happy to say they are in the process of moving to Clear Creek.”

  “So when did you and your husband marry?”

  Linnea’s broad smile gave away her answer. “After we fell in love, remodeled a home, and Elof established his farrier business. I also work at Clancy's Café to help with expenses and to give Holly a rest since she’s in the family way."

  Iris’ attention switched to Fergus as he walked down the aisle with his mother and father.

  She inhaled, needing extra air to give her courage and stamina. What would they think of her traveling with their son?

  "Ma and D
a, I'd like you to meet Miss Iris Kerns."

  "Iris, my parents, Patrick and Kaitlyn Reagan."

  "Nice to meet you, Miss Kerns." Pastor Reagan was the first to grasp her hand to shake it. Iris thought it would be his mother by the way he'd described her effervescent personality. But she hung back a second, maybe sizing her up?

  "Welcome to Clear Creek, Miss Kerns." Mrs. Reagan enveloped Iris in a close hug dispelling any fears she had about Fergus’ mother. These were good people.

  "Thank you," Iris stammered, not knowing what to expect next, but knowing she’d be all right with the Reagans.

  "Time to move over to the Paulson Hotel to celebrate!" Angus announced to everyone before leaning down to give his bride a quick kiss.

  “I’m game for food!” Tully declared as he loped up the aisle and reached for his coat lying in a back pew.

  “You’re always hungry,” Seth sighed as he followed Tully.

  "Gramps and Grandma Clancy, want a ride over to the hotel? We stopped and borrowed the Hamner's sleigh to get to town," Fergus asked an older couple still sitting in a pew.

  "Why sure, if you can get us up in it. It'll remind us of our courting days, won't it Edna?"

  Fergus and the biggest brother, Mack, went to help the Clancy's stand and move out of their pew so everyone waited for them to walk out of the church first.

  Iris moved with the flow of people moving out to find their garments in the church’s vestibule because she didn't know what else to do since she was by herself.

  "Iris, this is my husband, Elof." Linnea introduced them while Linnea's husband laid Linnea’s cloak on her shoulders

  "Nice to meet you, Miss Kerns. Care to walk with us to the hotel?" Mr. Lundahl politely asked.

  "I'll walk her over." Fergus replied for her. "Nolan will drive the sleigh since his grandparents and Holly are in it."

  Fergus turned to the front of the church first. "Da, Ma, need any help turning out the lanterns, closing up the church?"

  Iris hadn't realized the couple had gone back into the sanctuary, but it made sense they would be the ones to take care of the church.