Grooms with Honor Series, Books 7-9

by Linda K. Hubalek

  Another thought struck her. Did Adolph get rid of Anna Marie’s photo and frame, or was it hidden in the house, so he could still pull it out to study her face?

  Now Poppy wished she had pulled out the frame the first day and studied the woman’s features. She knew it was jealousy beating in her heart, but she wasn’t sure Adolph had transferred the love he’d had for his fiancée to her, his wife.

  *

  When Adolph reached for her in bed last night, she rolled over on her side and said she had a headache. It was heartache she felt instead, but she couldn't tell him that.

  Adolph was attentive this morning, helping her make breakfast but Poppy had a tough time accepting his actions. Was he really worried about her health, or just doing what he had to do since she was his wife? The woman he opted for through a mail-order advertisement since he couldn't get his first choice?

  After she cleaned up the breakfast dishes, and Adolph had been to work a half hour, Poppy started searching for the photograph. She had to know if it was still in the house and what Anna Marie looked like. If Poppy absolutely couldn't find the picture, it would ease her mind knowing he’d gotten rid of it. Either way, she was going to go through every nook and cranny of this house.

  Adolph's desk was the first thing she searched. Poppy looked at each paper in every drawer, thinking he could have taken the photograph out of the frame. Poppy pulled out the drawers too, looking behind and underneath the drawers, in case he'd hidden it.

  When she was satisfied it wasn't in the desk, she went through every book on the bookshelves and even peeked underneath all the furniture.

  Then she moved upstairs to his chest of drawers, going through the same thing of looking between all his clothing, behind and underneath the drawers.

  Poppy continued through the rest of the bedrooms, checking under mattresses to under rugs, looking for the portrait as much as the frame.

  She sat down on the top step of the stairs, knowing she should accept the fact he'd destroyed the photo if there ever had been one. It could have all been a figment of her imagination.

  Her jealousy could ruin their marriage if she didn't get over this obsession.

  "Let it go, Poppy. You have a good husband and a lovely home."

  Poppy stood up and noticed the door to the left of the stairs, which lead up to the attic of the house.

  She'd opened the door when they first walked through the house together, and Adolph stopped her, mentioning it was empty and full of cobwebs, not a place she needed to bother with.

  Poppy wanted to confirm his words and turned the knob. But it didn't open this time because the door was locked. Why was it locked now, when it wasn't the first time she'd tried the door?

  Secrets. Adolph was hiding something from her in their attic.

  Their attic and Adolph didn't have a right to lock that door, Poppy thought in her angered state.

  But where was the key? Poppy thought back, trying to remember where she'd seen keys in her house search.

  Adolph's shaving case. There was a key in the corner of it, along with a few coins.

  She rushed to their bedroom, finding the key where she thought it was, and went back to the attic door.

  The key opened the attic door, and anything Adolph was trying to hide from her.

  Taking a deep breath, she took the few steps up to the storage room above part of the house. It didn't cover the whole top floor, only half of it, but it was enough space to store extra furniture and several trunks if they had any to spare.

  Poppy walked to the only trunk in the room, listening how her steps echoed in the near empty space.

  She studied the trunk before trying to lift the lid. It was a crude rectangular wooden box, about two-feet high, three-feet wide, and four-feet long. It had two hand-made metal bands wrapped around the trunk to make it stronger, and two leather handles on the long ends to lift and carry it.

  The words "A. Bjorklund, N. Amerika" had been crudely carved on the front of the box with a hand chisel.

  This was the box Adolph used to move his things from Sweden to the United States. What was in it initially? All his belongings. But what was in it now?

  Poppy couldn't help comparing this box holding his belongings when he arrived in America, to this house full of furnishings. He had done well for himself, by himself, for Anna Marie.

  There were fingerprints in the dust on top of the lid, as if the box had been opened recently.

  She placed her fingers in the same spots and carefully opened the lid until it rested out of the way.

  Poppy held her breath as she peered in the trunk to see an old quilt, and a stack of papers with foreign words, probably Swedish, written on them. But something wrapped in a towel was peeking out from under the corner of the quilt. As soon as she touched the frame’s corner, she knew it was the filigree frame.

  Should she leave the frame where it was hidden or take it out and look at it?

  After arguing with herself, she carefully lifted the quilt enough to pull the wrapped frame from the trunk. She walked to the window at the end of the attic to reveal the frame in the best light.

  Poppy carefully unwrapped the towel from the frame and looked at the flowing writing on the back of the photo.

  "To Adolph, with all my love, Anna Marie."

  With trembling hands, Poppy flipped the frame over and gasped. Anna Marie looked so very similar to the woman’s picture Poppy had used for her mail-order bride advertisement, that she could have been the same dark-haired beauty, only in a different pose.

  I chose you because of the photo. Poppy squeezed her eyes shut thinking of Adolph's words. He'd answered her advertisement because the picture looked like his fiancée.

  How shocked he must have been meeting Poppy instead, with her bright orange hair and plain looks.

  Why had Adolph married her when she'd apparently deceived him, and didn't look anything like Anna Marie?

  He felt obligated to take care of her. There was no love involved when they met and said their wedding vows the same day.

  From this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

  Adolph pledged to be with her forever, as her partner, but Poppy had said the vows, too. But the pastor didn’t have them pledge their love to each other since they just met that day.

  Without the pledge, Adolph could continue to love Anna Marie instead of herself. With shaking hands, Poppy returned the frame to its hiding spot, closed the trunk lid, and left the attic. She didn’t break down and cry until the key was back in Adolph’s shaving case and she was downstairs to hug the cat.

  It hurt to be trapped in a loveless marriage when she truly loved Adolph.

  Chapter 15

  "I don't know what's going on, Pastor, but something's wrong with Poppy. Suddenly, she's sad, hardly talks to me, and hasn't come down to the meat market all week. And you know how she loves to talk to customers."

  "Has she been visiting with other women? She and Linnea seem to have become close friends," Pastor asked while they visited the church office. Adolph was getting worried about Poppy and knew he could talk to Pastor Reagan without it getting around town.

  "No. In fact, Linnea stopped me this morning as I went by their house, asking if Poppy was ill. Linnea had come over to the house twice this week, and Poppy didn't answer the door either time."

  "It could be she's homesick for her life in Tennessee."

  "She might be missing Collard's Cove, but not her father. She confided he abused her, and that's why she left home."

  Pastor sighed, no doubt sorry that had happened to Poppy.

  "Have you asked her point blank what is wrong? Sometimes women think their husbands can read their minds."

  Adolph fiddled with his hat in his hand. "No, sir. I was waiting for her to speak up."

  "That's a common newlywed mistake," Pastor chuckled. "And beware, if she says 'nothing, I'm fine' you know you did something wrong."
r />   "What should I do to mend Poppy's problem?"

  "First, remember it isn't her problem alone. Something made her feel this way, and I'll bet you had a very prominent role in it, whether you meant to or not. You both need to talk openly about your problems because you are married for life."

  "And again, your advice for our problem?"

  "Pick some flowers from Millie Wilerson's garden on your way home from work tonight, give them to Poppy, and then beg her to tell you what you did wrong."

  *

  Adolph hated to cut Millie’s first rose blossoms of the season, but he was desperate. He’d stopped at the mercantile to buy a pretty vase for the flowers first, so he had a lovely display to hand to her when he walked in the door.

  He stepped onto their porch and decided he needed to plant some rose bushes around their home. That would give his wife the beauty of flowers every day of the blooming season.

  Poppy. His wife. Slowly over time, she’d taken over his heart, squeezing away any feelings he’d had with Anna Marie. And this love was stronger and deeper than what he thought he had before with Anna Marie anyway. What he was building with Poppy was true love, not infatuation.

  A chill ran down Adolph’s back. Did Poppy’s mood have anything to do with his past with Anna Marie? They hadn’t talked about his former fiancée since their first day together.

  What happened right before things changed between them? Adolph rubbed his forehead, trying to think which day her mood changed.

  It was the day he gave her their wedding portrait. Poppy was so beautiful in the photograph. Did she not like how lovely she looked in her gown and veil?

  No, she studied the frame more than the portrait. Why?

  Out of curiosity, Adolph knocked on the front door instead of automatically entering. He’d seen Poppy sitting on the settee when he walked by the window. Would she come to the door or not since Linnea had tried to call on her this week?

  After knocking again with no response from Poppy, Adolph let himself into the house.

  “Hello, Poppy. Why didn’t you answer the door?” Adolph called as he took off his hat and hung it on the coat rack.

  “I saw you walk by the window, so I knew you’d come in. The door wasn’t locked.”

  Adolph walked into the room and held the vase of flowers out to her, but she didn’t take them. After a few seconds, he sat them on the parlor table.

  “I wanted to surprise you with a gift, so that’s why I knocked,” Adolph answered, not caring that he sounded hurt.

  “I’m sorry. Thank you, Adolph. The roses are beautiful.”

  Now it dawned on Adolph that “pretty” wasn’t what mattered to Poppy. She mentioned the flowers, but not the crystal vase. Poppy liked the house furnishings, but she loved the simpler things, like the flowers, instead of the fancy crystal things he’d bought for Anna Marie to live among.

  Adolph sat down beside Poppy and took her hands in his. “Poppy, what’s bothering you? You seemed so sad this week.”

  Poppy bit her lower lip and looked away. Not a good sign. “Nothin’ is wrong. I’m fine.”

  Ouch. Pastor was right. He was at fault for something, but he still didn’t have a clue.

  “Poppy, what did I do wrong? How did I hurt you? I swear I didn’t do it on purpose, but I know I must have done something,” Adolph pleaded, hoping his words would jar her into honestly answering.

  “You didn’t—”

  “Yes, I did hurt you, or you wouldn’t be so sad and unhappy. Please tell me. I promised you for better or worse…and I’ll do my best to correct the problem.”

  Poppy stared at Adolph as tears started to run down her checks. Oh no. Now he had to contend with tears, too?

  “I found Anna Marie’s picture. That’s why you chose my advertisement. You thought I’d look like her.”

  Adolph slumped back against the back of the settee. That’s precisely what he’d done now that he thought of it. It wasn’t on purpose, but his mind had seen the resemblance and automatically chosen Poppy’s picture.

  Wait…Poppy had found Anna Marie’s picture? When? Where? In his desk drawer or where he’d hidden it later?

  “I’m sorry I didn’t burn the photo before you arrived, but I couldn’t. Anna Marie was a big part of my past.”

  “How long were you together? And how long has it been since you last saw her?”

  Poppy’s questions made him think, and it was embarrassing to say now that he thought of it. “We were together five months…and I last saw her nine years ago.”

  Nine years ago. Why had he pined for Anna Marie for that long? Did he hope her husband would die and he could swoop in to love and protect her?

  Well, yes if he was truthful with himself.

  “I’m sorry, Poppy. I truly didn’t mean to hurt you. You are my wife, and I let you down. I’ll give you the photo, and you can burn it.”

  A shrug of her shoulders was not the answer Adolph was hoping for. He wanted an acknowledgment, and maybe even an apology for her snooping, to begin with.

  “When did you find her photo, and why didn’t you say something about it then?” Adolph had never raised his voice to Poppy, but her shun this past week was getting him riled.

  Poppy looked at him with narrowed eyes. “I saw the frame the first day when you had the desk drawer open.”

  “Oh.”

  “Later I opened the drawer again to look at the pretty filigree frame, but I didn’t pull it out and turn it over.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I thought you bought the frame for our weddin’ portrait,” Poppy said through gritted teeth.

  Oh, rats.

  “Instead our portrait is in another frame, and the other frame disappeared from your desk.”

  “Maybe I decided I wanted the new frame with the flowers on it for a special reason, instead of the old frame I had in my desk drawer. Did you think of that?”

  Words were getting heated between them, but he enjoyed the sparring and Poppy looked better than she had all week. Maybe it was good to talk things out.

  “No…. Yes, but I searched the house to be sure. And guess what I found in a trunk in the attic?”

  “The quilt my grandmother made for me? My Swedish documents?”

  “Anna Marie’s portrait! And I know for sure that was your fiancée because on the back it says ‘To Adolph. With all my love, Anna Marie’.”

  “That was from nine years ago!”

  “And you kept it!” Poppy leaned forward to spit out the words. “And, you didn’t write, ‘with all my love, Adolph’ on the back of the photo you gave me!”

  Poppy sat back, slapped her hand over her mouth as her eyes widened in surprise of what she’s just said.

  “Ah ha! You’re jealous of a nine-year-old photo!” Adolph teased her in triumph.

  “Fine! Make your own supper tonight. You can sit Anna Marie’s photo across the table to talk to while you eat!” Poppy hissed as she launched off the settee and went to the coat rack. She situated her hat on her head, probably barely missing scraping her scalp with the hat pin, picked up her reticule, and opened and slammed the door in under five seconds.

  Adolph sighed and looked at Flicka, who had sat calmly in the middle of the settee through the whole heated debate. He stroked the cat, then looked at all the white hair stuck to his hand. Maybe they had stressed the cat after all. Probably the cat was stressed because he’d stressed Poppy.

  Now what? Honesty had blown up in his face. No, as Pastor said, he was at fault. Adolph didn’t toss that photo when he should have, about nine years ago. Now he hurt his wife and he had to make it up to her.

  Chapter 16

  It was near dark when Poppy let herself into the house. She’d walked every street in town, which didn’t take long, then slipped in the back door of the church, being careful the Reagans didn’t see her and come over to check on her.

  She sat in the front pew, the one Kaitlyn always occupied and tried to think what the woman would d
o in her situation. Kaitlyn had been a mail-order bride too, coming all the way from Ireland to be Pastor’s wife and the mother of his two young boys.

  Kaitlyn also brought two orphaned boys with her, instantly adding to the family before she met her husband.

  Poppy sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Having a cat who constantly shed hair, two boisterous puppies, too many crystal vases to dust, and a kind, patient husband was not a problem. It was a blessing.

  It was a wonderful life compared to what she’d left in Tennessee. Adolph treated her like a queen compared to her father. Why had she forgotten that?

  Because she was jealous. She wanted Adolph to love her instead of Anna Marie.

  *

  Poppy slipped in the front door, noting Adolph wasn’t in the parlor waiting for her. Had he gone to bed, or out to visit a friend?

  She walked on to the kitchen because the table’s kerosene lamp lit the room. Adolph wasn’t in the kitchen either, but two photos sat on either side of the lamp. Their wedding portrait and Anna Marie’s.

  Now what? Had Adolph left them here to let her decide what to do with them? Did he think she wanted to switch frames? Give her the satisfaction of burning Anna Marie’s photo?

  Something looked different on Anna Marie’s photo, and Poppy nudged the frame to see it at a better angle in the lamplight.

  Poppy gasped, putting her hand to her mouth, so she didn’t laugh out loud. Adolph’s former fiancée now sported horns, crossed eyes, a mustache, and a beard! Adolph had drawn on the picture!

  She picked up the photo and turned it over to see if he’d done anything to the back. He’d crossed out Anna Marie’s words and below it had drawn a crude face with the tongue hanging out and hands stuck in its ears.

  Poppy couldn’t help laughing. How she loved her husband and his sense of humor.

  Hmm. Did Adolph do something to their wedding portrait?

  Yes. On the back, he’d written, “To my dearest Poppy. Thank you for marrying me and filling our home with joy, laughter, and spunk. With all my love, Adolph.”

  Poppy traced the words with her finger, letting their meaning sink into her heart. Adolph truly did love her, and she was a fool to think otherwise.