Cullen's Love (Grooms With Honor Book 5)

by Linda K. Hubalek

  “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 tears 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.

  “The room will start to look like a library when you get these books on the shelves. Think how many more books you’ll add once you have the book fundraiser.”

  “I’ll have to leave enough space on each shelf to add extra books. I don’t want to move more books than I have to,” Rose said, thinking of the pounds of books she’d already moved with the first donation of books.

  The children’s books were going to the lower section of shelves on one wall. Non-fiction and fiction books were separated. Right now, Rose had piles of mystery, adventure, romance, and poetry for the fiction section. There would be more categories as more books were brought in, but this gave readers their favorite sections to browse through for now.

  “Time for you to take a break for lunch. And we have a surprise to give to Charlie,” Cullen said as he pointed to the box.

  Rose studied the box then realized what it was. “Is that Charlie’s new leg? Oh my gosh! He’s going to be so excited!”

  “Yes, he will be, but I hope he’s not disappointed if he can’t walk right way. Doctor Pansy said it will take time for his stump to get used to it. Charlie will have to increase the amount of time he can wear it over time.”

  “You talking about me?” Charlie called out from the hallway. The man spent most of his time in his new apartment, but also came out to the library to visit with Rose while she worked.

  The Reagan men moved Cullen’s and Charlie’s furniture and things from their two places and combined them in the new back apartment, although Cullen spent most evenings upstairs with Rose.

  “Charlie! Guess what came in!” Cullen exclaimed.

  Charlie hobbled into the room and looked at the box Cullen was pointing to.

  Charlie’s fist went up to press against his mouth as he tried to press back a sob. Rose’s eyes teared as Charlie’s emotions played over his face. Happines
s, a hint of past sadness, and hope crossed Charlie’s face in an instant.

  “I hope Doctor Pansy has time to spend with me this afternoon. I’m sick and tired of these crutches!” Charlie said as he hobbled to the box. “Got your knife handy, Cullen? Open up the box and let’s see what my new leg looks like.”

  Cullen complied, carefully cutting the twine and paper wrapped around the cardboard box. Charlie pushed through the paper packing to find the wooden piece and pulled it out. Because Charlie lost his leg below his knee, the wooden part of the leg, including a carved foot, had a leather hinge and strap to go around his knee and fit over his thigh.

  “By golly, the wood foot looks like the same shape as my…old foot,” Charlie said as he became emotional again. Cullen gave Charlie a one-armed hug to show his support.

  “Looks like Doctor Pansy did a good job measuring then. She’ll be happy to get you back on your feet too.”

  “I’m just glad, if this accident had to happen to me, it was near Clear Creek. If it wasn’t for Doctor Pansy and your family, Cullen, I don’t know what I would have done,” Charlie took a deep breath and used his thumb to wipe tears from his eyes.

  “I agree, Charlie. I’m glad I’m in Clear Creek too,” Rose said as she moved to hug Charlie’s arm.

  “I just about forgot, Rose,” Cullen said as he pulled a fat envelope from his inside vest pocket. “Looks like your grandmother wrote you a long letter. I’ll fix us all sandwiches for lunch while you read it.”

  Cullen handed Rose her letter then Charlie and Cullen walked back to their apartment. Rose eased down on a chair, carefully opened the envelope and pulled out several pages of stationery.

  My dear Granddaughter.

  Rose sighed as she traced a finger over her grand-mère’s handwriting. She missed her family, but the homesickness for the circus life was fading. Having her own spacious home was worth it.

  Rose pictured the towns mentioned in the letter as the circus followed a specific route depending on the time of year. They’d perform in the same large cities every year but varied the smaller towns to give the rural people a chance to see the acts.

  Grand-mère wrote about gossip, illness, and injuries among the circus family, including a sick tiger. Rose could picture everyone and everything her grandmother wrote about.

  Did she make the right decision to leave her family? She wasn’t asking herself that question daily as she was when she first left Illinois, but it still surfaced at times.

  “Lunch is ready,” Cullen called as he stuck his head around the corner.

  “Thank you. I’ll be at the table as soon as I wash my hands.” Going through boxes of books had been dirty work, mainly since the books were in open crates in the back of a wagon coming into town. Summer dust meant each book had to be wiped down.

  “What’s your grandma say, Rose? Does this letter say when they’ll be visiting for the wedding?” Charlie asked as he angled down to sit in his kitchen chair.

  Rose quickly scanned two more pages, trying to find any dates mentioned. She was disappointed she didn’t see anything definite.

  “Grand-mère wrote ‘we plan to visit you after the last stop of the season, most likely between Christmas and the middle of January.’ I wish she’d give us a definite timeframe so we could set our wedding date.”

  “Just be patient. Your grandma writes near every week,” Cullen said as he reached for Rose’s hand to say grace.

  But Rose wished her grandparents would visit sooner than later. Getting their homes set up made Rose antsy to marry. She didn’t like to be stuck on the sidelines waiting for the next act.

  ***

  “Rose is getting impatient,” Charlie said as he looked sideways to Cullen. He was walking Charlie over to Doctor Pansy’s before he went back to work after lunch.

  “I, uh, know the feeling. When I suggested Rose and I court for a while, I thought we needed the time to get to know each other.”

  “And now?” Charlie chuckled, apparently knowing what Cullen was feeling.

  “I wish we were getting married this weekend, even if all our furniture isn’t here yet.”

  “Fallen in love, have you?” Charlie teased as they arrived at the doctor’s office.

  “Yep,” Cullen admitted.

  And Cullen also admitted it was nice to have a comfortable normal conversation with his father too. Their days spent together had eased so much anger about his past and curiosity about his ancestors. It was ironic his birth mother was an Irish immigrant, just as Kaitlyn, his adoptive mother was.

  Charlie’s family—his family, Cullen needed to remind himself—had immigrated from England over a century earlier, landing on the east coast and moving west with each generation. As far as Charlie knew, their ancestors had never been farmers, but merchants or tradesmen. His Moore grandparents had a mercantile in Iowa, which Cullen hoped to visit someday, along with their graves.

  Yes, Cullen was ready to marry, but learning about his past first would make him a better husband and father.

  “Doctor Pansy! My new leg is here!” Charlie called out as soon as they crossed the threshold of the doctor’s office.

  “Uh, just a minute, Charlie. I’ll be out—”

  Did Doctor Pansy just giggle? Cullen’s face reddened as he heard Mack’s deep voice next.

  “Sounds like the newlyweds aren’t done with their lunch break yet,” Charlie said as he slid his body down into a waiting room chair.

  “Shall we leave and come back?” Cullen asked, ready to bolt out the door.

  “I’m settled until they are done,” Charlie smirked. “Go back to work. I’ll walk over to show you my new leg when Doctor Pansy gets it fitted.”

  As embarrassed as Cullen was with Mack and Pansy’s display of affection, the act made Cullen turn back to the library instead of walking to the post office. No one would know if he was a minute late opening the post office after lunch.

  “Rose, I want a quick kiss—”

  Cullen stopped mid sentence when Rose, and four older children, turned to stare at him in the doorway of the library. Shoot! Cullen forgot Rose had help right after lunch to put books on the shelf.

  “Cullen and Rose, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G…” one of the Wilerson boys sang until all the children joined in.

  “First comes love, then comes marriage and then comes the baby in the baby carriage!”

  The old Cullen would have grumbled, barked at the kids, and slammed back out the door. But now Cullen realized time and love for Rose had changed him.

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Cullen said as he stalked Rose, trying to catch her as she laughed and ran around the table, trying to dodge him, the kids, and piles of books.

  The kids hooted and clapped as Cullen pulled Rose close and gave her a long kiss on the lips.

  Courting was fun, but Cullen was ready for the next line of the rhythm. Who knew writing letters for another would bring the love of his life to town?

  Chapter 16

  “Who would have thought it would rain for three days straight?” Iris said as she mopped the latest mud off the library floor. Cullen’s sisters-in-law were all here to help Rose for the book fundraiser today, but very few people had come in so far, due to the morning’s downpour.

  “The dry spell had to break sometime,” Cullen said as he walked behind Rose, who stood looking out the window at the empty muddy street. He kneaded her shoulders, tight with frustration.

  “But why did it have to rain today?” Rose fumed. “We worked for weeks to get the library ready for today. And think of all the cakes the Peashooter Society made for this afternoon!”

  Cullen shook his head, thinking of the name the Reagan sisters-in-law called his Ma’s group of friends. Well, if the gun fits the reticule…

  This Saturday event was to start at one o’clock in the library and end with a six o’clock potluck at the schoolhouse. Maybe some people would still come for the evening meal if the sky would clear up.

  Fergus w
alked in the door, scraping his feet on the rug by the door after Iris pointed at it. “Sky’s clearing in the west. The sun should be shining within an hour. Ready for customers?”

  “The country people won’t be in with this mud. Their buggies will sink up to their axles,” Mack said as he followed Jasper in. “Although that means more refreshments for us.”

  The plan was to have tables and chairs set up in the nearby schoolyard for people to have cake and coffee after touring the library. But the cakes now filled both library tables, Rose’s desk, and the downstairs apartment’s kitchen table instead of being outside. And then there were the big pots of coffee sitting in the downstairs and upstairs kitchens and the heating stove in the library.

  “The first weekend in October is usually nice weather, but I’ve seen it snow too,” Charlie said as he carefully walked toward the window.

  Cullen still having trouble believing Charlie was the same person he’d met after the man’s accident. Charlie had adjusted well to his new leg, standing a few inches taller than Cullen. His gait was stiff because he couldn’t bend his left ankle, but the artificial leg had given Charlie back his independence and spark for life. Charlie didn’t even use crutches anymore.

  Charlie was a regular at church and any other social event in town now. He worked part-time for Jasper, sanding furniture, cleaning the shop, or whatever else needed to be done.

  The whole Reagan family met in Rose’s apartment for a family meal when Charlie made his way up the stairs for the first time. Cullen truly felt blessed.

  The only thing marring his perfect life was not being married yet. Rose’s grandparents still hadn’t decided when they would visit, so his and Rose’s wedding date hadn’t been set. January was only three months away, but the indecision bothered both him and Rose.

  All the furniture Rose had ordered was delivered and in place upstairs. The only thing not moved in yet was Cullen.

  Mary Jenkins daughter, Burdette, had blurted out the secret that Rose’s wedding dress was ready and hanging in the dress shop. Cullen couldn’t wait to see what Rose had picked out for their special day.