Tully's Faith (Grooms with Honor Book 11)

by Linda K. Hubalek

  “That’s good to know. And if something would happen to you—heaven forbid—know that I’ll take care of Aunt Ruth if need be. After all, she’s my grandmother, besides my great aunt.”

  A thought came to mind, but she was almost afraid to say it out loud. She’d love for her grandparents to be at her wedding. But she didn’t know when it would be and if Tully still wanted to go through with their marriage.

  “Depending on what date you and Tully set for your vow renewal, would you want the Tucker family here, if they have time to travel here?” her mother asked, making Violet wonder if she’d read her mind.

  “I would love that. Tomorrow Tully and I will set the date, and then we’ll telegraph Grandpa Tucker right away,” Violet announced. She was getting more excited about the wedding plans by the minute.

  “We can pick flowers from the gardens around the big house for your bouquet and for your bridesmaids. But will you have witnesses for a vow renewal?”

  Well, yes, since it would be their legal wedding.

  “I’d like Molly, Maggie, and Maisie to stand with me. My cousins have always seemed like my siblings because we grew up together.”

  “True, as I’m sure Tully’s brothers will stand with him. Okay, now the reception. I assume you want it at the Paulson Hotel?” Her mother was so excited about her wedding, but had she thought about the cost of a reception?

  “That’s something Tully, and I need to decide. Maybe we’ll just have a family meal instead of a reception for the whole town,” Violet hedged.

  “Don’t worry about the cost, Violet. Cate has already told us she and Isaac want to host it, paying for the cake and refreshments too,” her mother beamed, apparently happy with their offer.

  Violet called them Grandpa Isaac and Grandma Cate because her cousins did, although the older couple wasn’t related to her. But Cate helped raise Violet from the time her mother ran away from the brothel to her step-uncle Isaac’s ranch for help. The couple had always been an important part of her life.

  “And they’d be hurt if we didn’t have a reception. I’m sure Tully will agree then.”

  Hopefully, all her mother’s plans would suit Tully, providing he still wanted to marry her. She hated keeping secrets from her mother, but she didn’t want to hurt her either.

  Violet looked away as her mother continued her animated conversation about Violet’s wedding reception. Should she tell her mother about stopping in Kansas City on the way home, or not?

  Chapter 13

  You’re an adult now. You don’t run from your mistakes anymore, you own up to them.

  Tully slowly drove his father’s horse and buggy into the Cross C Ranch yard, hoping there weren’t rifles aimed at his chest from the cabin, the big house, and the barn. How did Violet’s folks take the news that he and she weren’t legally married?

  Even though it was a cool, cloudy morning, his cotton shirt under his suit jacket was soaked in sweat under his armpits. Yesterday’s thunderstorm hadn’t given the ground any rain, but it did cool down the air temperature. Didn’t help his stress level though.

  Still, Tully was expecting the zing of a bullet to go through his hat as he pulled up next to the cabin. He eased out of the buggy, on alert to his surroundings. Besides the short yips of the ranch dogs that came to meet him, the only other sounds around were the horses in the nearby corral.

  He tied the horse to the hitching post by the cabin, not sure if he’d be welcome long enough to go to the water tank by the barn to give the animal a drink before having to leave again.

  Tully surveyed the ranch he’d spent time exploring as a child. The Reagans were frequent visitors for ranch families’ gatherings. He’d played hide and seek in the barn with the Brenner and Tucker children and explored the vast grassland ranch on horseback. Horses to dogs and cats, Tully had played with them all and Violet.

  And here he was back on the ranch, worried he wouldn’t be welcome anymore.

  He only had one foot on the cabin porch when Faye pushed open the screen door.

  “Hello, Tully,” Faye greeting him with a smile. “Good to see you today. Your wife is over at the big house talking to her cousins. The girls are all excited they’ll be bridesmaids at your vow renewal and of course, talking about what they’ll wear.”

  Wife?

  Did he hear Faye right? Did she call Violet his wife? What the…heck did Violet tell her parents?

  “Violet’s packed and ready to go back to town with you today, but I appreciate you sending her to the ranch for another day with us. We had such a good visit, and we planned the renewal and reception too. She’ll telegraph her Tucker grandparents as soon as you have the date set with your father and the hotel.”

  “Excuse me?” Tully couldn’t keep up with what all Faye was rattling off about. He was stuck on “back to town” and then she threw in “telegraph grandparents.”

  “All of us women will drive in tomorrow to watch Violet pick out her wedding gown at the dress shop.”

  “All us women?”

  “Well, me, my sister Sarah, and of course, Cate, as the honorary grandmother. Don’t worry about it, Tully. It’s something special we women can do to be part of the wedding planning. Be sure Violet invites your mother too,” Faye absently waved her hand at him with her explanation.

  And here Tully thought if he and Violet decided to marry for life, it would be the two of them in front of his father, they’d sign the certificate and take it to the county courthouse on their way out of town.

  He’d planned to take Violet for a buggy ride away from the ranch to talk in private about the whole “prank that got away from them” mess. Seems like Violet and her mama decided on their own course of action.

  “Tully!” Violet called for him as she ran down the big house steps and practically plowed into his chest. “Oh, how I missed my husband!” she exclaimed before wrapping her arms around his middle. “Please play along!” she hissed in his ear, so her mother couldn’t hear them.

  Tully had thrown his arms wide at Violet’s frontal attack but quickly hugged her.

  “I missed you too, Violet,” he said for Faye’s benefit.

  He moved their joined bodies to the side to keep Faye from reading his lips. “Care to tell me what’s going on here?”

  “Let’s pack my belongings into the buggy and leave first, please? I’ll explain on the way back to town.”

  Tully let go of Violet but still held on her hand. “Anything else we need to discuss here before we go back to Clear Creek?” Tully looked at Faye since she seemed to be in charge of the planning of whatever was going on.

  “Violet, I told Tully we’d be in tomorrow to see you pick out your dress and talk to the Paulson’s about the reception. I’m not sure what time we’ll arrive though. Tully, I didn’t ask. Are you and Violet staying at the hotel or the parsonage until you leave?”

  Oh, Deuteronomy. And if Violet squeezed his hand any harder, he’d have three broken fingers in another second.

  “Actually, I rented the café apartment for our home for now. Just call on us there to pick up Violet for your appointments at the dress shop and hotel,” Tully calmly answered, while flexing his fingers, hoping Violet would loosen her grip.

  “All right. We hope to be in town shortly after lunch. Let’s get your luggage in the buggy. I’m sure you two want to…be together again,” Faye blushed slightly as she held the door open for them to enter the cabin.

  *

  Okay, Mrs. Reagan, we’re out of ear and rifle shot of your father now. What did you tell your folks? Your father was not happy about you leaving with me, but your mother was delighted with your wedding plans,” Tully asked as he pulled the reins to stop the horse and buggy on the road. They were going to hash this problem out before they drove into town. Tully feared their stories didn’t match with what they’d been telling their family and friends.

  “First off, let me remind you, even though we didn’t follow protocol, we are married in the sight of God. Y
ears ago, couples didn’t register it anywhere, just married when a circuit preacher came around and called it good.”

  “But this is 1892, not 1792,” Tully argued.

  “Then you asked me to marry you, and I accepted. Unless you want to break mine and my mother’s hearts, you will be a man of honor and not rescind your proposal.”

  Tully wiped his hand over his face before turning to Violet. “But I’m not going to settle down to be a preacher, Violet. I’m going to be a travel writer because that’s what I want to do.”

  “And I plan to be your assistant, traveling right along with you. Or do you think I can’t handle that way of life, or I’ll be in your way?” Violet challenged him.

  “No, I think you’d be fine camping out. I’ll be the one whining about the conditions. I grew up in a house. You grew up on the open range.”

  Tully took Violet’s hands in his. “I do love you and want to spend my life with you. But this won’t be a conventional marriage, Violet, at least for the first years. Or maybe I’ll tire of traveling, or the Chicago Tribune won’t give me more assignments. I still might have to preach after all to provide us with a living, and then you’d have to take on the role of the preacher’s wife.”

  “Or you write for a different newspaper or write books about our adventures. Or daily devotional books to use your preacher’s background. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you are satisfied with what you do, Tully. And I’d be happy about it as long as I have a tent over my head.”

  “What about our children though? We have to think of the future,” Tully questioned, still not sure if it would be the right way to raise a family.

  “The Hamner children grew up traveling back and forth between Texas and Kansas when their family managed cattle drives. I think Rania and Hilda grew up just fine camping and traveling,” Violet replied.

  “And Hilda has always been your role model because she trains race horses and wears trousers,” Tully teased Violet, already feeling better about the two of them living and working together.

  “She has been, but if I need to be a preacher’s wife, your mother has been a good role model. Whatever we need to do for our family, Tully, I think we can do it.”

  Tully wrapped his arms around Violet’s and gave her a long heartfelt kiss.

  “All right then, Violet. I’m sorry I clammed up in my father’s office, but I felt like I was ten years old and getting scolded, much like I had in that very chair way too many times.”

  Her laughter warmed his heart. How he thought he could head off to Wyoming without his best friend was beyond him.

  “Okay, since your ma planned our wedding, tell me what we need to do. I don’t want to disappoint her.”

  Violet’s tearful expression and timid smile melted his heart.

  “Thank you so much for going along with this, Tully. Because of her past, she wants the best for me, including the wedding of her dreams.”

  “I’d do anything for my mother-in-law, so name it.” That’s the first time he thought of Faye, and Rusty, as his in-laws, but they were. And he had two more brothers now, Luther and Anton.

  “We need to set a date for the ‘vow renewal’ as my mother calls it, probably to remind my father we’re technically married, and he can’t do anything about it.”

  Tully’s collar tightened around his neck. “They think we’ve already had our wedding night?”

  “Um, yes. I hope you haven’t told anyone anything different.”

  Tully sucked air between his teeth. “I don’t think so, but I’ve talked to Da, Tate, Reuben about our situation.”

  Whap. Violet slugged his arm. “You didn’t!”

  Tully had to think back to his conversations with everyone. “I think most of our conversations had to do with my wanting to travel and write instead of our wedding night.”

  “Most? I can’t look these people in the eye again if they think we haven’t truly finalized our wedding in that way.”

  “I can swear on my Bible that our wedding night, back in Chicago where we wed, was not talked about.” Tully was sure everyone assumed they had had their wedding night, well except his father had probably figured out they hadn’t.

  But we are married in the sight of God. Violet’s words were drumming in his head now.

  “Then we’ll carry on as if it did happen in Chicago then. Did you rent the apartment for while we are home or longer?”

  “Just the few weeks we’re home. I hate to pay rent just to store our meager belongings for our first trip out. Maybe we can store our trunks in my old room at the parsonage?”

  “I don’t want to rely on our parents, Tully. We’re married adults now. I think that was one of the points your father was trying to stress yesterday.”

  Tully hated to pay for a place they wouldn’t actually be staying in while they traveled, but it made the most sense to keep the small apartment then.

  “All right. I’ll tell Nolan we’ll rent it for six months,” Tully agreed, now excited to think he finally had his first, no, their first home.

  “As big as Mama is planning our wedding, we’ll need a home just to store our wedding gifts,” Violet teased him.

  “Apparently my idea of Da quietly marrying us without anybody witnessing it has been tossed out the ‘cabin window’ by your mother?”

  Tully leaned down to kiss Violet on the cheek, then continued a trail of kisses down the side of her neck, just because he could now. Violet was his wife and tonight was their wedding night.

  “Uh-uh…” Violet whispered as she arched her neck for Tully’s attention.

  Tully abruptly sat up, breathing hard. “Can we finish this conversation, so we can go home?”

  “Absolutely, yes, finish this conversation,” Violet mumbled as she straightened her shirtwaist, then her hat.

  “How many people do you think will be at our wedding then?”

  “The entire town and county population, plus any out of town relatives and friends my mother can think to invite,” Violet announced without batting an eye.

  “Everyone invited to a reception after the ceremony too?” If he had to pay for that, he’d have to…well, he didn’t have the money for that. Period.

  “Yes, but Isaac and Cate are hosting and paying for it, so you can quit holding your breath,” Violet said as she patted his chest.

  “First we need to talk to Ethan or Helen Paulson to check the dates when the hotel’s event room is available, and then talk to your father for a wedding date. Then go back to the hotel to reserve the room, plus two rooms for my Tucker grandparents and Uncle Edwin and Aunt Ruth.”

  “I hadn’t thought about inviting them.”

  Because in his mind, there would have only been a pew full of people at their wedding.

  “My mother will be in town tomorrow to pick out my dress and veil, and I’ll go over the date and arrangements with her after that.

  “Do we need to buy basic furnishings for the apartment? Is there a bed, table, etcetera, or are we starting our camping trip tonight?”

  Tully smiled because Violet looked excited to camp out in their little home. Or was her smile due to the fact it was their wedding night?

  Tully shook his head to clear his mind. “The three rooms are furnished with the bare minimum of furnishings. I bought towels and sheets for the bed yesterday. But we need to buy a few cooking utensils and groceries, for however long we’re here before we take off.”

  “Um, I think we should wait to buy things until after Mama comes to visit tomorrow. At supper last night she mentioned she’d bring a few things in for our first home and Papa rolled his eyes, stating it would be a wagon load.”

  “Dishes, or what kind of things?”

  “It’s hard to tell, so we’ll just wait and eat at the café this evening. What did you do for breakfast this morning?”

  “Helped Nolan this morning and ate scrambled eggs and bacon between filling customers’ orders. This was his first day open after his grandpa’s death, and I th
ought he could use company in the kitchen.”

  “That was thoughtful of you. I’m sure he appreciated it,” Violet gave him a sad smile, thinking of the Clancy family too.

  “In true Reagan fashion, all my brothers stopped in the kitchen, at least for a few minutes. They washed dishes or brought orders to the tables, which was a good thing because the café was packed first thing this morning.”

  “Small town community support. I missed that in Chicago.”

  “I did too. Will coming back to Clear Creek between assignments be enough for you?”

  “Yes, we’ll have adventures, and then cherish the time home with family and community,” Violet said with an affirming nod.

  “Maybe when Da and Ma are ready to retire, in ten or fifteen years, we’ll be ready to take over the church for them and stay home,” Tully said and meant it. The Clear Creek community was a great place to grow up, and he wanted his family to experience it too.

  “I’m sure your parents would like the idea, but I think our children would benefit from exploring the world too, besides the Cross C Ranch.”

  Tully hugged Violet again and gave her one more heartfelt kiss before picking up the reins.

  “Anything else we need to discuss before showing up in town as newlyweds?”

  Tully loved the smile that spread across Violet’s beautiful face. He truly adored her.

  “No, not that I can think of. We’re good together, Tully, and it’s okay we don’t have everything planned out for our future right at this moment.”

  What a wonderful woman he’d married. It didn’t matter to him if she was dressed in a high fashion gown or in trousers either.

  How’d he get so lucky to marry Violet? Fate, divine intervention, or by a prank? Didn’t matter anymore. Violet was the right woman for him, and he looked forward to their adventures as husband and wife.

  Chapter 14

  Violet gave Tully another kiss before opening the apartment door. The feminine chatter down below in the alley meant her mother and relatives had arrived.