A Groom for Ruby

by Laura Ashwood

“There are two babies in this one, do you know them?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean, this one?”

  Cullen hesitated, but then continued. “The other drawings have only one child in them.”

  The color drained from Ruby's face except for the two red splotches on her cheeks. She took a step back and splayed her hand on her chest. “You…you were in my trunk? How could you?”

  Cullen suddenly realized he had done something very wrong. At the time, it had seemed totally innocent. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean…I saw it and was curious, that's all.”

  “So you thought you'd open it? It wasn't yours. Those are my...my personal, private things.”

  “I don't know why you hide them,” he tried to reason. “They're beautiful. The most beautiful drawings I've ever seen.” Then realization struck. Cyrus. She'd hidden them from Cyrus. That also explained the various different sizes of paper. She drew on whatever she could find. His heart fell, and he felt ashamed. “I'm sorry, Ruby.”

  “Go,” she said, as tears streamed down her face.

  Cullen reached a hand out. “I didn't mean…” But she pulled away.

  “Please, just go,” she turned her back to him. He stood there for a moment and then did an about-face and walked out of the house.

  Cullen retreated to the barn. He hadn't even felt this low when he’d been sentenced to prison. What had he been thinking? How could he make this right? He had no idea. He had very little experience with women. He did know that the hurt he saw in her eyes, that he put there, was something he vowed never to put there again. She'd had enough hurt in her life, she didn't need him to cause more.

  The sound of children's laughter interrupted his thoughts, and he stepped outside just in time to see Isaac and Eliza disappear over the hill, and Everett run toward the house. Cullen didn't know if Ruby was still upset, but he didn't want Everett to see her that way.

  “Everett,” he called, waving his hand. “Why don't you come here?” The little boy diverted his course and ran toward the barn.

  “Hi, Mr. Parker,” the boy grinned.

  “I could use your help on something I'm making in the barn today, would you like that?”

  The boy's eyes grew wide. “Yes, Mr. Parker, just let me go say hi to Miss Ruby and I’ll be right back,” he turned and started to run toward the house, but Cullen caught his arm and pulled him to a stop.

  “Why don't you wait a bit?'' he said. “I think Miss Ruby might like to be alone for a little while.”

  Everett glanced from Cullen to the house and back. “Did you do something wrong?”

  Cullen felt heat rise up his neck and into his face. He put his arm around the boy's shoulder and they walked into the barn. “Yes, I did.”

  Everett looked up at him. “Did you say you're sorry?”

  “I did,” he nodded.

  The boy looked at him solemnly for a moment, then shrugged. “Miss Ruby is really nice; she won't be mad very long.”

  Cullen smiled at the boy’s insight and prayed he was right.

  A short time later, Ruby stepped into the barn. The rims of her eyes were still a little pink, but the anger was gone from them.

  “Everett,” she said. “Isaac and Eliza’s Ma came to visit today, and she brought some cake. I cut a piece and put it on a plate for you inside if you want it.”

  Everett’s eyes grew big as saucers. “Cake? For me?” He ran to Ruby and wrapped his arms around her skirt. “Thank you, Miss Ruby,” he said and ran out of the barn.

  They stared at each other for a long moment, then she pointed at the project he’d been working on. “What’s that?”

  “I’m building a stanchion for the cow,” he said. “Everett was helping me.”

  She tipped her head to the side and looked at it again.

  “It holds the cow in place to make milking easier,” he explained.

  She nodded, and pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth, and drew in a deep breath.

  Cullen’s stomach tightened. She was going to ask him to leave. He tightened his grip on the hammer in his hand and held his breath, waiting for her to speak the words he didn’t want to hear.

  “Cullen, I...I’m sorry,” she said.

  Wait, what? Had he heard her right? “You’re sorry?” He set the hammer down and took a step toward her. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m the one at fault here.”

  She held a hand up. “Let me finish.”

  He closed his mouth and nodded. He noticed something different about her, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. She had the same brown dress and scuffed black shoes on that she always wore. Her hair was pulled back in the same tight knot. He watched her intently as she spoke.

  “I shouldn’t have gotten so upset with you this afternoon,” she clasped her hands in front of her, but they were loose, not tight as they usually were. She lifted her chin slightly and continued. “I know you didn’t mean any harm. Those drawings, those were...are the only things I have that are mine. Cyrus took everything else away, in ways you wouldn’t understand. They are very personal to me. That’s why I got so upset with you. I understand you were just trying to pay me a...a compliment.”

  All at once, Cullen realized what was different about her. She was standing straight and tall, as tall as a woman her size could stand, and she held his eyes the entire time she spoke. There was a strength and confidence about her that she’d never shown before. The odd tug Cullen had felt on his heart before suddenly felt more like a yank. His mind went blank. He opened his mouth, but it was like he’d forgotten what words were, and he merely nodded.

  “All right then,” she gave him a small smile and his stomach flipped. “I’m going back to make sure Everett doesn’t eat the rest of the cake,” she continued. “You’re welcome to come have a piece too, if you’d like.”

  Cullen watched her leave and stared at the door for a few moments, while her words ran through his mind again. He squeezed his eyes shut when he thought about how foolish he must have looked just standing there, and mentally cursed himself. Even his brother, Ben, would have come up with something to say. He sat on the sawhorse and let his shoulders slump.

  He didn’t understand why he was feeling this way. He had a plan. Once the weather warmed up, he’d ride north. Some of the men he’d panned with in Deadwood were going to Lead, and Cullen knew he’d have no trouble getting hired at the Homestake Mine there. It was what he wanted to do. Wasn’t it? He glanced at the tools and pieces of wood laying at his feet, and thought of the sawmill again. Stay.

  He rose to his feet and looked out the door at the house. A thin ribbon of smoke rose from the chimney flue and Cullen thought about the little boy inside eating his cake while Ruby watched him. He remembered something his mother had told him when he was little and they were moving around. Home is where you make it. And he knew. He’d found his home.

  The sound of an approaching horse and buggy interrupted his thoughts, and Cullen turned to see who was coming. A man in a black suit and black hat sat alone in the buggy. An uneasy feeling spread through him and he raced toward the house. He reached the door just as Ruby opened it.

  “Pastor Collins,” she gasped.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ruby wrung her hands as Pastor Collins climbed out of his buggy. Cullen stood by her side and while she was glad he was there, she knew his presence would only serve to fuel the preacher’s accusations. Everett came out of the house and stood next to her, holding onto her skirt.

  “Who’s that, Miss Ruby?” he whispered.

  Before she could answer him, the preacher made his way around his horse and stood in front of them, his thin lips curled into a sneer. He was wearing the same black frock that he had on when Ruby had nearly run into him at the mercantile. His black, flat brim hat was pulled down low over brown hair that looked like it could use washing, and for some reason, Cyrus popped into Ruby’s mind. Cyrus’s hair was always in need of a wash too, as well as the rest of him. It had tak
en her weeks of cleaning and scouring before she could no longer smell him in the cabin. Even the smell of the chickens as they sheltered inside during the blizzards was preferable. She wondered if the preacher smelled as bad as Cyrus had too, and the thought sent a very inappropriate giggle up her throat. She slapped her hand over her mouth and coughed it away.

  Barnaby Collins narrowed his eyes and glanced back and forth between her and Cullen. “Sinners!” he bellowed. Everett let out a strangled cry and ran into the house.

  Cullen held his hand up. “Now wait just a minute,” he said, and Ruby cringed.

  Pastor Collins pointed his finger at Cullen, and puffed his chest out. He did that in church too, right before he began to moralize about the innate sinfulness of his congregation. Ruby wished she would have warned Cullen about Pastor Collins, but she’d been afraid to.

  “The devil has a stronghold on this house. Thanks be to the Almighty God that I have been made aware of this transgression and am here to stamp out the sin that has gathered in this place.” His gaze shifted and he stared into Ruby’s eyes. “Mrs. Fulton, why have you taken to a life of sin since your husband’s death? Living the life of a loose woman, and jeopardizing your eternal soul. This man, Cullen Parker, is nothing more than a drifter. You are choosing to lose your place in the Kingdom of the Almighty God for him?”

  Cullen took a step forward and stood nearly toe to toe with the preacher. “She is not a loose woman,” he growled. “I don’t care if you’re a man of the cloth or not, this woman has done nothing improper.”

  “So say you! The tongue of the devil cannot be trusted. Would you condemn her soul in the name of lust? Brand her a harlot?”

  Ruby’s insides began to quiver and she wrapped her arms around her stomach. What had she done? Nothing. The word filled her mind as surely as if it had been shouted in her ear. She had done nothing improper with Cullen Parker. She lifted her head and straightened her shoulders.

  “Pastor Collins, let me explain. It’s not what you think.”

  He shook his head. “Are you married to this man?”

  Ruby blinked. “N-n-no.”

  “Has Mr. Parker lived at this place, alone, with you, for weeks?”

  Ruby’s face grew hot and her cheeks flushed bright red. “Well, yes, but…”

  The preacher lifted his hand. “Have you had a chaperone here with you?”

  Ruby lowered her gaze. “No.”

  “I don’t appreciate what you’re trying to imply here, Pastor,” Cullen broke in. “Mrs. Fulton is a fine, Godly woman. And while I may have been staying here, I have been sleeping in the barn. Alone. Not in the house. I wouldn’t take advantage of her in that way.”

  “The devil speaks with a forked tongue. The damage has been done. The Good Book says, ‘That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart’. There is but one way to rectify this situation.”

  Ruby closed her eyes and waited for words she knew were coming.

  “You must marry this woman.”

  Ruby’s eyes flew open and it felt as though her entire body had gone numb. “What? No!”

  “I’ll do it,” Cullen said.

  Ruby’s gaze snapped to Cullen’s. What was he doing?

  Pastor Collins clasped his hands in front of him. “Very well…”

  “No, wait! Cullen, you can’t do this,” Ruby hissed.

  “He can, or you will both leave Last Chance,” the preacher looked down his thin nose at her, almost as if daring her to defy him.

  He’d make her leave? Where would she go? What about Everett? Fear gripped her like hands around her throat and she struggled to catch her breath. Could he really do that? She recalled what she’d heard at Altar’s house the day Altar married Wolfe. She didn’t know if he could, but she knew he would.

  Cullen turned to the preacher. “Let me have a moment with her.”

  Pastor Collins raised one brow, then shrugged. “Very well.”

  Cullen grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the barn. They stopped in front of the door, still visible to the preacher, but out of earshot.

  “Let me marry you, Ruby.”

  Ruby shook her head and closed her eyes. This couldn’t be happening. Her selfishness was going to cost him his dreams. “I can’t let you do that, Cullen.” She lifted her eyes, silently pleading with him to be reasonable. “What about the gold mine in Dakota Territory? You said you could get a job there. You don’t want to stay in this cursed town with a woman you don’t love.” A tear escaped her eye and trailed down her cheek.

  Cullen lifted his hand and gently wiped it away. “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “The town needs the sawmill. I have some gold, enough to buy the mill I think.”

  Ruby shook her head, and Cullen placed his hands on her arms and looked deep into her eyes. A strange flutter coursed through her and she swallowed hard. His hands felt large on her shoulders, but in them she felt safety, not fear. He was not like Cyrus, of that she was sure. But could she trust him?

  “Let me marry you, Ruby,” he said in a low, gentle tone. “You and Everett can have a proper home, and I can run the mill. It can be a marriage in name only, if you want.”

  Her eyes widened. “Why...why would you do that?”

  “I was drawn to this town for a reason, Ruby. I don’t know how to explain it. But I want to stay. If there’s a day that you want to have more, then you will have to come to me. Until that day comes, I will be happy as we are. Marry me, Ruby.”

  She stared at him for a long moment. She didn’t really have any other options, but it was more than that. There was something in his eyes that she’d never seen with Cyrus. She closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath. “I will.”

  “I will never make you regret it,” Cullen grinned. He took her hand and they walked to where the preacher impatiently waited.

  “Have you seen the error of your sinful ways, Mrs. Fulton?”

  Ruby opened to her mouth to speak, but Cullen squeezed her hand and she closed it.

  “She has committed no sin, Pastor,” he reiterated, and the preacher’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “But she has agreed to marry me.”

  Pastor Collins’s condescending demeanor disappeared and a wide grin spread across his face. “Praise the Holy God of the World that your souls will be saved.”

  Ruby felt as though she were watching herself in a dream. She could hear the preacher and Cullen talking, but the words passed through her ears and trailed off in the breeze. The next thing she knew, Pastor Collins was climbing back into his buggy and driving up the hill and away from her house. She glanced up at Cullen. Had he really agreed to marry her? Why was the preacher leaving? Her throat tightened and she couldn’t catch her breath.

  Cullen led her into the house and pulled a chair out for her to sit in. He poured a cup of coffee and handed it to her. She sipped the warm liquid greedily and felt herself relaxing, her breathing slowly returned to normal.

  “Are you all right?” Cullen’s concerned eyes gazed into hers.

  She nodded. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened,” her cheeks flushed. “He left?”

  Cullen nodded. “There needs to be witnesses. We will get married at church on Sunday.”

  Ruby stood in the doorway of the house and watched as Lotty Gruby brought her buggy to stop in front of the house for the second time that week. She couldn’t imagine what would bring the woman by again so soon, but she didn’t mind the intrusion. She’d been trying to wrap her head around the fact that in just a matter of days, she’d be a married woman again. It would be nice to be able to talk about it with someone. Lotty waved and climbed down. She reached behind the seat and pulled out a basket and a paper wrapped bundle.

  “Hi Ruby, I’m guessing you didn’t think you’d see me again so soon,” she chuckled and followed Ruby into the house. She placed the basket and bundle on the table, and glanced at the cook stove. “Oh good, you have coffee on. We forgot to have you show me
how you do that trick with the eggshells. I can’t hardly drink my coffee at home now that I’ve had yours.”

  Ruby felt her face flush and she demonstrated to Lotty how she put clean, crushed eggshells in with the grounds before the coffee percolated.

  “Well, I never,” Lotty exclaimed. “That’s a clever use for the shells.”

  Ruby poured two cups, and Lotty opened the basket and pulled out another gingerbread cake. Once the cake was cut and on plates, Lotty clapped her hands.

  “I heard in town that you are getting married! I just love a good wedding,” she smiled, then frowned. “I also heard that Pastor Collins forced his hand on the matter.”

  Ruby nodded. “Yes, Cullen convinced me to say yes, but…,” she paused. She didn’t really know her new friend very well. Was this something friends would talk about?

  Lotty placed her hand on Ruby’s. “What is it, Ruby?”

  Lotty looked so sincere that Ruby found herself spilling out everything. She told her how she’d prayed for Cyrus not to return, and how she hadn’t wanted to take one of the letters that came from the advertisement that the town placed for grooms. How she’d feared Cullen would leave, but never considered he’d marry her and offer a marriage in name only. When she was done, Lotty just sat quietly for a moment. Ruby’s stomach rolled. Had she said too much?

  “I can’t blame you one bit for not wanting to take one of those letters after what you went through with Cyrus,” Lotty said, taking a bite of cake. “And I think you’d be surprised to find you weren’t alone in wishing he wouldn’t come back.”

  Ruby stopped chewing her cake and stared at Lotty for a moment.

  “It’s true, he was a vile man. I’d say more, but being a Christian woman, I can’t.” She dismissed the conversation with a wave of her fork. “Enough about him. I want to talk about your wedding.”

  Ruby blushed and tried to hide her face behind her cup of coffee.

  “I had a feeling about that man,” Lotty’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Where is he? I didn’t see him when I got here.”

  “He went to Grand Platte to do some business. He wants to buy the sawmill.”