Adolph's Choice (Grooms with Honor Book 7) Read online

  Adolph’s Choice

  Grooms with Honor Series, Book 7

  Copyright © 2018 by Linda K. Hubalek

  Published by Butterfield Books Inc.

  Printed Book ISBN—978-1987759273

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2018904464

  Kindle Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the retailer and buy your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Except for the history of Kansas mentioned in the book, the names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  A sweet historical romance set in 1889.

  Adolph Bjorklund... he's always at Reagan's parsonage for Sunday dinner when there's a new, single woman in town. But they never turn out to be someone he can court.

  Well, Kaitlyn Reagan decides to end Adolph's free Sunday dinners by helping him order a mail-order bride.

  Poppy Beavers places an advertisement wanting to be a mail-order bride to move away from her Tennessee family. She doesn’t have a photograph of herself, so she uses one of someone else…and of course, Adolph chooses Poppy’s “photo” from the advertisements Mrs. Reagan shows him.

  Adolph doesn't know what to do...except he chose spunky Poppy for his wife and he's going to make their marriage work...somehow.

  Enjoy this love story of trouble, sparks, and attraction when a Swedish immigrant man marries an Appalachian mountain woman.

  Adolph and Poppy

  I always picture my characters, either imaginary or from real images, when I write my books. For the Grooms with Honor series I’m using couples I found in my great-grandparents’ photo album, dating back to the early 1880s to early 1900s period. My great-grandparents were born in Sweden, moved to Kansas, and married in 1892.

  There are no names written on the back of these photographs, and I don’t recognize them as any of my relatives.

  These couples don’t look like our modern-day cover models (men with rippling muscles and women with flawless makeup), but they show real couples starting their new life together as husband and wife during the same period as the couples in my Grooms with Honor series.

  While you’re reading Adolph’s Choice, you can pretend this portrait is of Adolph Bjorklund and Poppy Beavers. Hopefully, I’ve given them a good start in their married life.

  Chapter 1

  Spring 1889

  Clear Creek, Kansas

  “Adolph, you’ll beat those flowers to death before your bride steps off the train.”

  Adolph Bjorklund looked over to Kaitlyn Reagan, the pastor’s wife, and then down at the bouquet of white daisies he had clutched in his left hand, and then his suit jacket. Kaitlyn was right. He’d been tapping the flowers against his chest, and there were white petals stuck to his coat and a few more on the depot platform.

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have beat up the flowers after Millie went to the work of growing them.”

  Millie Wilerson, Marshal Adam’s wife, grew a flower garden for others to enjoy, be it for scenery or to pick and give to others. Later in the season, there would be roses, zinnias, and larkspur. Adolph was happy there was something in bloom this early in the spring to give to his bride.

  Adolph looked at the mail-order advertisement he’d cut from the newspaper, studying the photograph of his intended again. His right palm was damp from nervousness, and the newsprint smudged where he’d been carefully holding it by the edge of the paper.

  “I think you picked out a pretty bride, Adolph. I’m sure that newspaper photo doesn’t do her justice,” Pastor Reagan commented.

  The pastor and his wife stood with Adolph on the train depot platform, waiting for the train which would bring his bride to Clear Creek.

  Adolph immigrated from Sweden fifteen years ago and settled in Clear Creek a few years after that. He’d built a nice meat market, supplying the townspeople with cuts of meat, butter, and eggs, as well as the café, and the Paulson Hotel dining room.

  He had his thriving business, a lovely home a block from downtown, and many good friends, but he lacked a wife. Not that he hadn’t tried to find one, but he’d only looked as far as the city limits. Besides having his business to run, he no longer wished to leave Clear Creek after traveling from Sweden to the Kansas prairie.

  Adolph always showed up at the parsonage for Sunday dinner after church if there was a new woman in town, hoping she was available, but it seemed the Reagan’s guests were always already spoken for.

  Kaitlyn finally said she’d have to adopt Adolph for him to keep coming to Sunday dinner, or find him a wife. Hence the newspaper clipping in Adolph’s hand.

  One afternoon after Sunday dinner, Kaitlyn handed him the latest edition of Matrimony News and said she’d help him pick out a bride from the “groom wanted” section. After his initial shock, he knew Kaitlyn was right. Adolph needed her push to move forward. They’d discussed the advertisements, and he’d finally chosen the woman from Tennessee, mainly because he liked her image. The wording had been short, probably because the woman didn’t want to spend more money than she had to.

  Kaitlyn helped him word his letter to the woman, and she’d answered back. Adolph sent a train ticket to a Miss Poppy Beavers, and she was on the train approaching town now.

  Adolph looked upward at the clear blue sky and prayed he’d made the right decision. Pastor and Kaitlyn were beside him for support, and to escort Poppy and him to the church to marry right away. Adolph was ready to become a married man.

  “Ready for this, Adolph?” his friend and the depot agent, Angus Reagan, squeezed his left shoulder.

  “I will miss your ma’s Sunday dinners, but I’m ready to eat with my wife, and hopefully soon, a family of my own.”

  “Good luck then. Marriage is work, but it is so worth it,” Angus said as he walked closer to the train that was slowing to a stop.

  Adolph looked at Poppy’s photograph one more time, and then stuffed it in his vest pocket. He didn’t need to look at it anymore. He was about to meet Poppy, his bride, in person.

  They watched the dozen or so people leave the passenger car, but no one looked like his future bride.

  “Don’t panic yet, Adolph, she might have stopped in the washroom first,” Pastor told Adolph as he glanced at Kaitlyn.

  “Oh, dear. Maybe your bride isn’t on this train, but I’m sure she’ll be on the next one,” Kaitlyn told Adolph as she patted his forearm in sympathy.

  Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow at her husband, but he didn’t answer with words but with a nod. Must have been one of those married signals between couples.

  “Sir, are you Mr. Adolph Bjorklund?”

  Adolph looked down at the woman standing directly in front of him. How long had she been there since he’d been surveying the crowd?

  “Yes, ma’am,” Adolph said as he acknowledged the woman with a slight tip of his hat.

  The woman stuck out her hand toward him. “Nice to meet you. I’m your mail-order bride, Miss Poppy Beavers.”

  Adolph stared at the woman instead of grasping her hand. This woman looked absolutely nothing like her portrait.

  Instead of the smooth, dark hair showing in the photograph, this woman’s hair was as
bright orange as a freshly-scraped carrot and frizzy.

  The woman’s eyes were close-set, and her crooked nose was too big for her face. And when she’d spoken, Adolph noticed she was missing a tooth on the lower left side of her mouth.

  Good Lord, what shall I do?

  “You don’t look anything like your photograph,” Mrs. Reagan politely stated what Adolph was too scared to ask.

  “And I want to apologize for that. I didn’t have money for both the advertisement and to have a portrait taken, so I cut out a picture of a magazine advertisement and pasted it on a piece of cardboard,” Miss Beavers apologized.

  “The woman in the Castile Soap advertisement! I knew the face looked familiar,” Kaitlyn said, getting over her shocked reaction faster than Adolph was.

  “I’m Kaitlyn Reagan, and this is my husband, Pastor Patrick Reagan,” Kaitlyn said as she took the hand still posed in front of Adolph and gave it a warm squeeze and shake.

  “It is nice to meet you after the nice letter of recommendation you sent for Mr. Bjorklund. That put my mind to ease.”

  “I’m glad it helped your decision then. How was your trip?” Kaitlyn asked Miss Beavers as Adolph tried to come to terms with the woman’s deception.

  “Uh, long. I’ve never been past the county line until I made this trip. I didn’t realize there was so much world past Collard’s Cove,” Miss Beavers said in an accent that was hard to understand.

  Nervous perspiration beaded on Adolph’s forehead and trickled down his temples. He clawed at his shirt collar as his vision narrowed. Why was his shirt collar suddenly too tight?

  “Mr. Bjorklund are you deaf or mute?” Miss Beavers asked as she motioned to her mouth and ears and pointed to Adolph.

  “Adolph, take a deep breath, then come to your senses. You ordered a bride, and now you’re responsible for her,” Pastor Reagan whispered in Adolph’s ear after moving to stand behind him. If Pastor’s words didn’t snap Adolph from his stupor, the Pastor’s slap on his back sure did.

  “Uh, I’m p-pleased to m-make your acquaintance, Miss Beavers,” Adolph stuttered as he gingerly grasped the woman’s extended hand. Her ungloved hand was rough with callouses and dry skin.

  Adolph stared at the woman, realizing she was trying to put on a brave front as she stood before him. The poor woman didn’t know a soul here and was hundreds of miles from home. Her dress, close to threadbare, was ill-fitting on her thin body and dirty from traveling. Besides no gloves, she didn’t wear a hat, and Adolph could see she wore a pair of worn-out boy’s boots under the too short hem of her dress.

  Instead of a carpet bag, her belongings were stuffed in two flour sacks, now sitting on the ground beside her.

  Was this woman really this destitute, or was it an act so she could fleece him of his money as soon as the ink was dry on their marriage license?

  She met his eyes, even though her blue eyes were close to overflowing with tears and she was biting her bottom lip to keep from sobbing…or begging?

  Miss Beavers put her trust and life in his hands because Adolph chose her to be his bride, and he would honor his commitment.

  “Welcome to Clear Creek, Kansas, Miss Beavers,” Adolph firmly stated while giving her hand a reassuring squeeze and thrusting out the daisy bouquet in his left hand. “I’m glad you’re finally here. Would you like to have a meal at the café before we go home?”

  ***

  Poppy released the breath she was holding and squeezed Mr. Bjorklund’s hand, as she thanked the heavens above. After her deception, he could have quickly turned his back on her, and then what would she have done? Poppy literally didn’t have two bits to her name.

  The pastor and his wife seemed nice enough, but Poppy could tell they also were shocked at her appearance.

  Poppy knew her homely face, scarred and permanently discolored through the years by her abusive father, wasn’t pretty. Pappy’s a mean man, especially when he was liquored up, which was about every evening.

  Poppy tugged at the skirt of her dress, vainly trying to make the dress length longer. Pappy had money for moonshine, but not enough to give her money for a decent dress or a pair of shoes that fit. Poppy was still wearing her deceased mamma’s dresses, even though she’d been gone for years and Poppy was taller than her mother had been.

  Poppy wore a pair of her pappy’s old boots. Rags were stuffed in the toe of the boots, so her feet didn’t slide in them, but she had blisters on her little toes and heels anyway.

  Poppy’s growling stomach answered Mr. Bjorklund’s question before she could manage to speak up.

  “I believe that’s a yes, so let’s walk over to Clancy’s Café for a hot meal,” Mrs. Reagan took charge as she looped her arm through Poppy’s. “The men can take care of your belongings,” she added as Poppy stooped to pick up her sacks. She packed so quickly she only brought the things she cherished the most, items that had belonged to her mother and a few personal things.

  Mrs. Reagan stopped on the boardwalk in front of a dress shop. “Do you have a dress for your wedding, Miss Beavers?” the older woman asked.

  Poppy felt her skin flush from her neck up to her hairline. “Uh, no ma’am. I’m wearin’ all the clothes I own.”

  “After we get some hot coffee and food in your stomach we’ll go to Mary Jenkins’ dress shop to get you outfitted.”

  “I can’t afford to buy a dress, ma’am.”

  “Your wedding dress is a gift from a benefactor of the town. Years ago, Mrs. Cora Hamner’s mother, Elizabeth Elison, started shipping slightly used dresses from Boston to Clear Creek for the new brides in town. Mary Jenkins takes care of the shipments of clothing now, so it’s your turn to pick out the dress you want to wear for your wedding.”

  Poppy used her free hand to wipe away the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. Was this town for real, or was she dreaming?

  Mr. Bjorklund stepped around them to open the door of the café for her and Mrs. Reagan to enter first. Poppy stopped a second, unused to polite manners and Mr. Bjorklund gave her a tentative smile and waved his hand for her to enter.

  “Come on. Let’s see what Nolan Clancy’s special is today,” Mrs. Reagan announced as she escorted Poppy to an empty table.

  Poppy looked around, glad the noon rush was over, and there were few people in the café. Those that were there openly stared at her, knowing she was an outsider.

  Now Poppy wished they had stopped at the dress shop first, knowing how ragged she looked.

  “Miss Beavers?” Mr. Bjorklund asked behind her, and she realized he’d pulled the chair out from a table for her to sit down.

  “Thank you, sir,” Poppy said as she hastily sat down, embarrassed because she hadn’t been around men with decent manners before. Her pappy treated their dogs better than her, Poppy realized, watching the two men at their table.

  A woman with jet black hair and dark tan skin walked up to their table with a stack of cups and a coffee pot. Poppy had never seen anyone look like her at home. Was she an Indian?

  “Hello. Does everyone want the special today? It’s beef stew, biscuits, and apple cobbler.”

  “Yes, please,” Mrs. Reagan said after conferring with everyone at their table. “Holly, I’d like you to meet Miss Poppy Beavers from Tennessee. Holly is Nolan Clancy’s wife, and she’s formerly from the Montana Territory.”

  “Nice to meet you, Miss Beavers. Are you visiting the Reagans?” Mrs. Clancy asked her.

  Poppy stole a glance at Mr. Bjorklund, unsure of how to answer that.

  “Miss Beavers is my mail-order bride, Holly. She just arrived on the train,” Mr. Bjorklund announced without any hesitation.

  “Welcome to the community,” Mrs. Clancy said as she set the coffee pot down and reached out to grasp Poppy’s hand “If you have any questions—about anything—please come to talk to me. I was new in town a few years back, so I know what it’s like to start over in a new place.”

  “Thank you, Ma’am. I might be at your door as soon as I
learn where you live,” Poppy answered, relieved to find a kindred spirit.

  “Actually, we live across the street, so I look forward to seeing you soon,” Holly Clancy laughed as she picked up the coffee pot and walked back to the kitchen.

  Poppy glanced at Mr. Bjorklund, knowing he was studying her. She tilted her face down, trying to hide the yellowing bruise on her chin. And Poppy prayed Mr. Bjorklund wasn’t the type of man to add new bruises to her face.

  Chapter 2

  Adolph tried not to stare as Poppy ate her meal. She lacked basic table manners, but the thing that bothered him was Poppy trying to eat without cringing in pain. Apparently, her bruised jaw and missing tooth were a new injury. She cut her stew up into small pieces and only chewed on the right side of her mouth. Adolph added a mental note to take Poppy to see Doctor Pansy today or tomorrow.

  He didn't expect Poppy to arrive with a carload of furniture, clothing, and personal belongings, but he assumed she’d have the usual things a woman would take with her when she moved to a new home. He'd heard Poppy's confession to Kaitlyn about her lack of clothing in her meager belongings.

  When Poppy stopped to talk to Holly as they were leaving the café, Adolph quietly asked Kaitlyn to go to the dress shop and Taylor's Mercantile to get the basics for Poppy, including toiletries. The woman needed new clothing after taking a bath.

  The pastor suggested they postpone the wedding ceremony until this evening or tomorrow, then he walked back to the church, leaving Adolph alone with Poppy.

  "We're here," Adolph said as he motioned to the light yellow two-story wooden-frame home in front of them. He had escorted her to his house so they could talk before Kaitlyn arrived with Poppy's needs.

  "This is your house? Oh, my...it's so big," Poppy exclaimed after she thought to shut her dropped jaw.

  Adolph had added on to the house over time, working to make a lovely home for his future bride. As the years went by, he kept updating it inside and out. Since receiving Poppy's letter of acceptance, he added a porch swing and wicker rockers to the wrap-around porch to make the house look more inviting.