Elof's Mission (Grooms with Honor Book 9)

by Linda K. Hubalek

Would she need to be married to keep Jamie? She’d married a stranger for survival before. This time she’d do it for Jamie. Her first choice for a husband and a father for Jamie would be Elof, but would he agree?

  Chapter 7

  After Jamie was tucked in bed and asleep, Linnea brought the bundle of letters and the Bible downstairs. Now they sat around the kitchen table, trying to digest and decipher the contents of the letters.

  Elof picked up the next letter in the pile and studied the envelope. “Okay, we might have some answers in this letter. It was mailed from Topeka, sent to Mrs. Noreen Meyer in Columbus, Ohio.”

  He read the letter aloud. It was from Jamie’s mother’s father, demanding she return to the family.

  If Elof had his way, he’d toss the letter and never contact the Schmidts because of the way the man demanded their daughter return.

  But Elof thought of the wording again. The letter could be interpreted two different ways. Was the man worried about the safety of his daughter because of her husband, or just being a tyrant? The letter ended with, “Love, from your concerned father.”

  Why hadn’t they taken the time to read these letters before now? He should have pulled them out of the trunk and read them during the four days of travel.

  “Pastor? Your opinions, both professionally and personally?” Elof valued the man’s thoughts.

  Pastor raised an eyebrow in silent communication with his wife, and she answered back with the same facial expression and a nod.

  “I think the grandparents should be notified, but, after we find out something about them first. I can wire to clergy I know in Topeka to see if anyone knows them. The man’s name sounds familiar for some reason, and I want to know why.”

  Kaitlyn snapped her fingers. “Barnard Schmidt. He was a state senator, probably five or more years ago. I’m sure of it.”

  “Yes, Kaitlyn, I believe you’re right. Now the question is was he a good or bad senator?”

  “I believe a good one.” Kaitlyn tapped her index finger on her lips a few seconds. “You know, Jamie made it sound as if his father didn’t like his grandparents, not that he didn’t like them.”

  “I wonder if Jamie ever met them if George was avoiding the Schmidts.” Pastor mused.

  This put a different spin on the boy’s situation. Was it a good thing Linnea’s marriage to him was brief? Would she have been harmed if the marriage continued?

  “Now I wonder if George let Noreen’s parents know she’d died, or he just took off west.” Elof wondered, wishing Linnea knew more about the situation.

  “So what should we do?” Elof asked Pastor, and then realized what he said. He should have said what Linnea should do instead of including himself. Jamie was her stepson, not his.

  “Go with Linnea to talk to Lyle Elison tomorrow. Jamie can stay with us,” Pastor suggested.

  “I’ll visit Millie Wilerson and take Jamie with me. She has children around his age.”

  “Another Wilerson?” Had Elof met this one?

  “Millie is Marshal Adam Wilerson’s wife. He’s Cate Connely’s oldest son.”

  Ah. Yes, he did meet the man while walking around with Nolan yesterday evening. Maybe Elof should talk to the marshal about Jamie too.

  “Linnea, did George mention his wife or her parents to you?

  “Just that his wife had died before they moved. He was a very quiet man. We were together on the trip to the farm, but he didn’t ask me questions or say much when I asked something. After we arrived back at the farm, he spent most of his day outside away from the house, only coming inside for meals.”

  If Linnea had been his mail-order bride, they would have talked non-stop getting to know each other. Actually, that’s what they did on the train trip to Kansas. Sounded like he and Linnea knew more about each other than she and her late husband.

  His loss, my gain.

  Why did he think that? Because he was attracted to her, and he’d been thinking about married life.

  One thing at a time. He’d help Linnea with Jamie’s situation first, and let them all be settled in Clear Creek before declaring his intentions. But in only a week’s time, he knew Linnea was a perfect match for him.

  ***

  “It should be a clear case of Jamie is your stepson, and he should stay with you, but there seem to be several unknown factors we should check out,” Lyle Elison advised them after Linnea explained her brief marriage. She brought the letters along, and he’d quickly read through them before making any comments.

  “Would it bring trouble to Linnea and Jamie though if they want to be together?” Elof pressed Mr. Elison.

  The two of them sat across the desk from the lawyer as he took notes on a pad of paper. His office was right beside the Clancy’s Café, and Mr. Elison welcomed them into his office first thing this morning.

  Linnea felt confident explaining the situation to the man the Reagan’s recommended. He’d listened carefully without interruptions as she carefully spoke in English.

  “My first thought? The Schmidts have a right to know Jamie’s parents are dead, and that he’s in Kansas. Wouldn’t you want to know, if he was your grandson?”

  “Of course,” Elof answered at the same time she nodded. Linnea would be worried sick if she’d been in the same situation.

  “There’s also a chance they have already been named a legal guardian if something should happen to his parents. You didn’t find any papers saying such, but they might have the legal document.”

  That’s what Linnea was afraid of. But she wouldn’t stand in the way if the grandparents wanted to raise Jamie. They were his family.

  “And there’s the chance he’s the lone survivor in the Schmidt family, and he’d inherit any assets from his grandparents,” Mr. Elison continued.

  Considering her worry about how to provide for them, this was a big issue. His grandparents might be a better choice to raise Jamie if they could provide for him.

  “Have you by chance met Senator Schmidt?” Elof eyed the lawyer.

  “No, I haven’t, but I’ve heard about him. He was a fair senator for the state in his time. I’m guessing he’s in his seventies now and I believe his wife is still living. He was an important enough man the newspapers would have notice of his or his wife’s demise.”

  “So what course of action do you suggest?” Elof asked.

  “If I may, Mrs. Meyer, I’d like to write a letter to the Senator—as your lawyer—stating the facts as you’ve described. We could telegraph him, but I think it’s a situation that needs a long explanation rather than a brief note.”

  “And your cost for this?” Linnea worried about what funds she had left.

  “The cost for you is taking the letter over to the post office and mailing it.”

  “But what about your fee?” Linnea could afford the cost of a stamp, but it wasn’t fair to the lawyer who would spend time corresponding with the man on her and Jamie’s behalf.

  “I never charge a woman in need of help,” Mr. Elison stared at her a second before looking at his tented fingers on his desk.

  “Why not?” Linnea wanted to know.

  “Well…I was a rich young man always getting in trouble in Boston. My family owns a textile mill back East and always got me out of my ‘gambling situations’. Then they bought the Bar E Ranch and shipped me and my brother Carl out here to straighten me out.”

  Mr. Elison shrugged his shoulders. “But I goofed off instead of managing the ranch as I was supposed to do...and my father sent me back to Boston.”

  “Is that the ranch run by Dagmar Hamner?”

  “Yes. His wife is my sister, Cora. She came to Kansas after Carl and I went back to Boston. Her fiancée married her bridesmaid instead of her, so Cora decided she needed a change of scenery so to speak.”

  “Oh, my. From Boston society life to an isolated ranch? That was quite a change of scenery,” Elof shook his head.

  “Not to worry. Cora loved it out here, and fell in love with the big Swede who too
k over managing the ranch when I left.”

  “So your sister is why you help women in need?” Linnea was curious about his story now.

  “No, Cora’s always been capable of taking care of herself; because she has a good head on her shoulders and she always had family money to help her out.

  “I finally grew up—so to speak—and became a lawyer. I was always close to Cora, so I decided to move to Clear Creek to be near her when I was ready to open my practice.

  “The first ‘woman in need’ I helped was my new neighbor, Lorna Jantz, living next door in the upstairs apartment above the Clancy’s Café.

  “Lorna came to town as a mail-order bride, looking for an adventure with a rancher wanting her to invest in his business.”

  “That right there raises a red flag with me,” Elof sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

  “Yes, they married in Ellsworth and spent their honeymoon night in the Paulson Hotel here in town. The next morning he disappeared with all her money.

  “She got a job in the café, moved upstairs, and didn’t say a word to anybody about her situation. She survived until her growing belly kept her from working. There were men she could marry, but she was still married.”

  “And so you took her case because she was destitute,” Elof guessed.

  “Yes, and it took detective work and luck to find the man and get her divorce.”

  “What happened to the woman?” Linnea wondered.

  Mr. Elison laughed. “She’s been my wife for thirteen years.”

  Now Linnea felt completely comfortable with working with the lawyer. She felt like he’d look out for Jamie’s and her best interests. She looked over at Elof and saw his nod of approval.

  Mr. Elison stood and held out his hand, indicating the meeting was over. She and Elof stood, and Mr. Elison shook her hand first, then Elof’s.

  “I’ll write the draft this morning, so would you be available to come back before lunch to read it?”

  Linnea looked at Elof, and his nod said it was all right with him. “Seems like that will work for both of us. What time should we be back here in your office?”

  “How about eleven thirty to see if I need to change anything in the letter. And please bring Jamie along because we’ll go upstairs to have lunch with Lorna and the family afterward.”

  “Thank you. I’d love to meet Lorna and your children.” Linnea was feeling better about moving to Kansas each day, but now she wondered if she’d be living here with Jamie or by herself. She’d be on pins and needles waiting for Mr. Schmidt’s answer to news about his grandson.

  Chapter 8

  “Why you cooking dinner? That’s your momma’s job,” Jamie looked perplexed looking up at the four tall Reagan brothers as they worked in the parsonage kitchen.

  “And why’s that, young man?” Mack asked as he sliced a large roast and laid the thick slabs on a platter.

  “Because that’s the way it’s supposed to be. That’s why my pa ordered a new wife. We needed someone to cook and clean for us,” Jamie shrugged his shoulders as if it was a fact they should all know.

  Seth was slicing two loaves of bread on a cutting board on the side table, but he turned to look down at Jamie. “But mothers deserve help now and then for all they do for us. We boys have always put the Sunday dinner on the table since we were your age. Da and Ma are busy with the parishioners after church, so we get the meal on the table, so it’s ready to eat when our parents walk in the door.”

  Elof leaned against the kitchen doorframe listening to the conversation. Jamie was getting restless, so they came over with the Reagan brothers after church while Linnea stayed with Kaitlyn to visit with the members of the congregation.

  Jamie’s eyebrows and twisted jaw showed he was perplexed with this information. Probably conflicted with what his father had told him.

  Cullen, who looked nothing like his brothers, was busy mashing a huge mound of potatoes. Elof hadn’t heard him talk much, probably because Mack and Tully always carried the conversation in the room.

  Tully was much younger than the others, probably sixteen, or seventeen, and lived with Seth at the horse ranch. He’d already placed dishes of pickles, jelly, and butter on the table. Now he lifted a stack of plate’s off the wall shelf and turned to the group.

  “What’s the count for today’s meal?”

  “Us six plus Elof, Jamie and Linnea,” Mack answered. “Jamie, how many does that make?”

  Jamie’s eyes grew round at Mack’s question but then darted to Cullen’s hands above Mack’s head. Cullen’s hands were held wide with one thumb down.

  “Nine!”

  “Very good, Jamie. You’ve been practicing your numbers,” Mack answered before turning back to his task.

  Seth looked out the kitchen window and back to Tully. “Make it ten. Adolph Bjorklund is walking this way with Linnea.”

  “Ma’s playing matchmaker!” Tully said in a singsong way.

  What? Elof fought the urge to look out the window to confirm it.

  “Don’t T A L K about that in front of the B O Y,” Mack warned his little brother.

  “Man, I hated when you used to do that to me,” Tully whined.

  “Why, because you still can’t spell?” Seth countered. He turned to Elof to explain. “We older boys used to spell out parts of our conversations when Tully was little, so he couldn’t understand us.”

  Elof missed out not having brothers to grow up with. These four were still close as adults. He glanced at Jamie now putting silverware around the plates Tully had placed around the table. Would Linnea want more children so Jamie wouldn’t be an only child?

  “We’re home, and we brought a guest,” Kaitlyn called out as she entered the front door. Elof watched Adolph walk in behind Linnea and felt a stab of jealousy. He’d make sure he and Jamie sat on either side of Linnea at the table instead of the other Swede.

  “Elof, make yourself useful,” Mack said as he shoved a steaming bowl of mashed potatoes in his hands. He sat the bowl on the table while watching Adolph pull the chair out for Linnea and sit down beside her. Well, he’d sit directly across from her then.

  “Elof, here’s the gravy.” Mack grinned as he held out the gravy bowl. He was keeping him from Linnea on purpose! Did he think Adolph could be a better match for Linnea? Well, the man did own a store, was on the town council...and whatever else he’d heard about the man was better than his life now. But still! I met Linnea first.

  Elof walked back into the kitchen, figuring he just as well finish carrying in the meal, but found he was the only one in the room. He looked back in the dining room to see everyone pulling out a seat to sit down, except him.

  Heck. The only chair left was between Cullen and Tully at the opposite end of the table from Linnea.

  “Let’s bow our heads for grace,” Pastor said as he took the hands of his wife on one side of him and Tully on the other. Elof inhaled and held his breath as Cullen and Tully held up their hands to hold his during grace. He grabbed theirs and bowed his head, but kept his eyes open as he watched Linnea take hold of Jamie’s, then Adolph’s hands. Elof thought his own prayer while watching Linnea and Adolph. I want to be the only one holding Linnea and Jamie’s hand in the very near future.

  “Why don’t you brothers look alike?” Jamie asked when there was a lull in the conversation around the table.

  Instead of being upset at Jamie’s question, all the Reagans, including Pastor and Kaitlyn, grinned at Jamie.

  “Okay, who wants to tell the story?” Pastor asked, looking at his sons.

  Three brothers pointed to Mack. “Okay, I’m it,” Mack raised his hands in deference.

  “Jamie, we’re all family, parents, and brothers, but in some ways, we’re not related.”

  “Huh?” Jamie questioned Mack. Elof felt just as puzzled.

  “Our oldest brother, Angus—who’s a railroad detective and gone most of the time—and Seth, are real brothers. Da is their real father, but their
mother died before they moved to Clear Creek. Da sent to Ireland for a mail-order bride who ended up being, Kaitlyn, our ma now.

  “When Ma,” Mack pointed to Kaitlyn for Jamie’s benefit, “sailed into New Orleans, she claimed me, and my brother Fergus—who’s in Nebraska working right now—as her sons so we could get off the ship.”

  “Why?”

  “Our mother died on the boat, and we had no one to be with.”

  “What about your pa?” Jamie asked worriedly.

  “Never knew the man. Pastor became our Da—which was our Irish word for Pa—when he and Kaitlyn married. Understand the first four brothers now?”

  Jamie looked back and forth but nodded. Mack was doing a good job of talking at a level Jamie could understand.

  “Cullen lost both his parents when he was young, so naturally we adopted him. And Tully was actually born to Ma and Da.”

  Everyone stayed quiet while letting Jamie think. “So your family is the same as mine now with Mor and Far?”

  “Well, very similar, Jamie except—” Linnea said until Elof cut in.

  “That’s exactly right, Jamie. You, Mor, and I make a family.” Elof stared at Adolph daring him to add anything to the conversation.

  Elof’s attention was drawn away when Mack coughed in his hand. And darn if Kaitlyn was sucking in her cheeks trying her hardest not to smile, but it wasn’t working. Now he noticed all the Reagans were smiling at him.

  He’d been set up so he’d declare his intentions for Linnea and Jamie. His first thought was I don’t have a house or job yet, but his second was, it would all work out.

  ***

  You, Mor, and I make a family.

  What was Elof declaring? Or was it just a smart remark because he’d been staring daggers at Adolph the whole meal? Was Elof jealous?

  Linnea sat up straighter, smiling a little at the thought. No one had ever been interested in her, and now she had two men vying for her attention?

  Elof would be her first choice to marry if he’d actually propose. There was a shortage of women on the Kansas frontier, so Kaitlyn assured her it was just a short matter of time before someone asked for her hand in marriage, even if she was older than the typical bride.