Rose: Book One in Suitors of Seattle Read online

  Rose nodded. “Mama loves flowers if you couldn’t tell by our names. We each have our own section here.” She gestured around her. “This is mine, of course.” She’d always been proud of the rose garden. It was her favorite place to sit.

  “I’ve never known a family quite like yours.”

  “We are different. Mama and Papa made an agreement before they married that she would get to name all the girls and he would name all the boys.” She shrugged. “We have a lot of flowers now.”

  “What would you father have named the boys?”

  She grinned. “He says he would have named all of them ‘Fred’. He wanted a dozen boys named ‘Fred’.”

  Dr. Shawn shook his head. “Judging by the girls’ names in your family, I almost believe he’d have done it.”

  She giggled softly. “Probably.”

  He eyed her for a moment, before sliding his hand into his pocket. “I talked to your Papa today at the bank.”

  She gave him a questioning look. “You did?”

  He slid off the bench and onto one knee. Thankfully the weather had been unseasonably dry and he didn’t get mud all over. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  She stared at him a moment, before nodding emphatically, tears pricking her eyes. “Oh, yes!”

  He opened the ring box for her and showed her the ring. “Is this okay? Do you like it?”

  She held her hand out for him to place it on her finger, trying to keep from shaking. “It’s perfect!”

  He stood and drew her to her feet, kissing her softly on the lips, his tongue tracing them for the first time. When she didn’t open her mouth, he pulled back, knowing there was plenty of time for that later. “When?”

  “Whenever you want!”

  “This weekend?” he asked. That seemed like a reasonable length of time to him.

  She shook her head. “Oh, no! That’s not enough time to plan the wedding, or have a gown made, or anything!”

  He sighed. “Okay, what’s the bare minimum amount of time you need?” Please let it be less than a month. If she said six months, he’d leave right there and then.

  She thought to everything that would need to be done. The local seamstress would put her dress on a rush order, and she could use the church. There were no weddings coming up. They could have a reception right there in her own backyard. “A month?”

  He nodded reluctantly. “I can wait a month, but just barely.” He leaned down and kissed her again briefly, glad the courting time was over. “Four weeks from Saturday?”

  She nodded slowly. “I’d love that, Dr. Shawn.”

  He smiled, brushing another quick kiss across her lips. “We’re engaged now. You don’t have to keep calling me Dr. Shawn.” He didn’t add how much he liked it, though. It was nice having her respect him so much.

  She hugged him tightly, surprised by her own forward action. “I like calling you Dr. Shawn. It suits you.”

  He nodded. “Call me Dr. Shawn, then.”

  She took his hand and pulled him toward the house. “Let’s go tell Mama. We’re going to need to get started planning right away.” She sighed. “The only bad thing is, if we plan a wedding that quickly, we won’t be able to see much of each other, because I’ll be too busy.”

  “It’s more important that we’re always together sooner, though, isn’t it?” he asked, relieved that he would be able to get out of coming over every evening. She’d be too busy. That sounded good to him.

  She nodded. “It’s so much more important.”

  Chapter Four

  For the next month, Rose was in her element. She decided to have the five sisters following her in age be her bridesmaids, and each would carry their namesake flower in their bouquet. Thanks to a local greenhouse, they would have no problem getting them. Her bouquet would, of course, consist of roses of every color she could find, but mainly red. Red roses were her signature flower.

  Violet and Iris would each be flower girls, and they’d carry their own flowers as well, but they’d also carry a single rose at the center of their bouquets.

  She would have roses covering the church, with a small basket of red roses on each pew as she walked down the aisle.

  The day after Dr. Shawn proposed, she went to the seamstress and described the dress she wanted. She wanted a white dress with her shoulders bare and the dress form fitted through her waist, so form-fitting she’d have to cinch her corset as tightly as she ever had. She would wear white slippers and have a single rose in her hair.

  She saw very little of Dr. Shawn during that month, because she was so busy making sure everything would be just perfect for their wedding day. He came over twice, at her request, and both times she asked him his opinion on different parts of the ceremony. He finally told her that he just wanted to be told what to wear, when to arrive, and where to stand. She didn’t mind, because she didn’t care to have to change anything about her plans to please him.

  She wished she had more time to spend with him, but he didn’t seem upset with her for not having time for him.

  Her sisters were each wearing identical dresses that worked well with their coloring. She had thought about making them all wear the same color, but thought the different colors would be good, because they’d each be carrying a different flower in their bouquet anyway and didn’t need to match exactly.

  Mary and Rose spent hour after hour working on the menu for the reception and planning each minute detail. At first Rose tried to get Lily to help, because she would be the maid of honor after all, but Lily finally told her if Rose made her sit through another hour of wedding planning, she would wear her pants and a shirt she usually wore for hunting to the wedding, so they left her alone.

  On the morning of the wedding, Mary went to Rose and Lily’s room and asked Lily to leave, so she could explain about the marriage act to Rose. Rose wrinkled her nose in distaste at the information, but resolved herself to it. If she had to go through that to be married to her Dr. Shawn, then it would be worth it. She didn’t have to like it, but she had to do it.

  The wedding wasn’t until two in the afternoon, but she’d risen at dawn to begin getting ready.

  She descended the stairs at half past one, her hair perfectly styled. She’d thought about wearing a veil, but decided against it. She wanted just the one rose in her hair. Her sisters were all in their individual gowns waiting for her in the parlor when she got downstairs. Even Lily had her hair styled beautifully and pulled high atop her head. She carried a yellow lily in her hands that matched her dress to perfection.

  Rose’s eyes looked over each of her sisters, and she inspected them as a general inspects his troops. Everything would be perfect for her wedding and that included her seven sisters. She turned Iris’s bouquet in her hands so a flower she’d crushed would be in the back instead of the front. Other than that, they looked good.

  Finally satisfied, she turned to her father, who wore a red rose in his lapel. “Oh, Papa. You wore my flower!” She’d expected small symbols of love from her mother and sisters, but not from her father. She couldn’t believe he’d thought of such a thing.

  Fred smiled at his eldest daughter whose eyes were filled with tears. “Of course, I did. How could I do anything else for my beautiful Rose?”

  Rose flew into his arms and hugged him tightly, knowing she wouldn’t spend much time under his roof any longer. She couldn’t have asked for a more loving and hard-working father. After a moment, she pulled away, and wiped away a single tear. “Are we ready to go?”

  Mary pushed the girls out the door quickly. The church was less than a block away, so they’d decided to walk, and thankfully the weather had cooperated. Rose had worried daily that it would rain on her special day. She and her father waited a full five minutes after the others left before going themselves.

  “Are you nervous?” Fred asked her. He watched her as they walked, obviously d
isbelieving that his daughter was old enough to be marrying.

  Rose nodded. “A little. I just want everything to be perfect.”

  “I’ve never seen you look more beautiful. I feel like a prince escorting my beautiful young lady to the ball.” He sighed. “I don’t think I’m ready to give you to another man, Rose.”

  Rose laughed softly. “You have to, Papa. Dr. Shawn is going to take good care of me.”

  Fred nodded, still worried, but not saying anything else. Time would tell.

  When they arrived at the church, they stayed at the back. Everyone was in place, and Dr. Shawn was standing with Uncle Max at the front of the church. He was new enough in town that he had no one to stand up with him, so Uncle Max had offered.

  Rose watched her sisters file up the aisle one after the other, wishing she was able to see their faces from the front of the church. Her only complaint about the wedding was she wouldn’t be able to see the whole thing through another’s eyes. After little Iris, Rose took as deep a breath as her tight corset would allow, and she straightened her shoulders. She was about to be Mrs. Dr. Shawn Henry, and she couldn’t be happier.

  The music changed, and she knew it was her time to walk with her father. She clung tightly to his arm as she marched down the aisle toward the man she loved. He stood at the front looking extremely handsome in a black suit that matched Uncle Max’s. She heard a few gasps as she came into view from the people watching, and she knew she looked her absolute best. She had eyes only for Dr. Shawn, who waited for her at the front of the church. No other man would ever compare to him in her eyes.

  Dr. Shawn was smiling at her from the front of the church, and when her papa placed her hand in his, she felt loved and protected. When Pastor Roberts asked, “Who gives this woman in marriage?” Papa answered a bit too loudly, causing everyone to laugh. Rose was embarrassed, but it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t be any less married because her Papa had a loud voice, would she?

  She barely heard the questions asked of her, but managed to squeak out, “I do,” when the time came. Dr. Shawn’s words were much calmer as he said them.

  Finally, Pastor Roberts said, “You may kiss the bride,” and Rose turned her face up to Shawn’s for her first kiss as a married woman. Then they turned to face the congregation. She clung tightly to Dr. Shawn’s arm, so happy to be his wife.

  Most of the guests had walked to the wedding, so they started a procession to go to her parents’ house, and she and Dr. Shawn thanked them for coming as they passed them at the back of the church. There was still a long line of people waiting when Dr. Shawn dropped his lips to her ear. “I’m ready to be home with my new bride.”

  Rose understood his meaning and blushed profusely. She loved him, but she wanted every minute she could have before she started that aspect of their life together. “We have a huge dinner and reception planned at my parents’ house,” she whispered back. She wasn’t willing to end her day just yet.

  He sighed heavily. “I know.”

  Rose was in no hurry to give up being princess for the day and start being a wife. She smiled for the photographer her parents had hired and clung to Dr. Shawn’s arm as much as she could.

  After they’d eaten and the cake had been served, they sat and talked for hours with the wedding guests. Finally, Mary whispered in Rose’s ear, “It’s time for you to go home with Shawn now.”

  Rose nodded briefly, already missing the attention bestowed upon her by the wedding guests. She’d only get to be the center of attention like that once in her life, and she was sad to see the day end.

  As they left, her eyes met her Aunt Harriett’s. She was sitting off to the side of the room, watching the party go on around her. She slipped away from Shawn and went to her aunt’s side, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “This never would have happened without you, so thank you, Aunt Harriett.”

  Harriett smiled, touching her cheek gently. “Be happy, Rose.”

  “I will.” Rose hurried back to Shawn’s side and didn’t see the worry in her aunt’s green eyes.

  They walked the short distance to Dr. Shawn’s house, which Rose realized then she’d never even seen. She would be living there from that day forward and had never looked at it even once.

  He used a key to open the front door, which surprised her. “Where are the servants?”

  “They were all at the wedding. They were the guests I asked you to invite for me.” He shrugged. “I don’t really know anyone in Seattle yet.”

  She nodded. “Oh.” That meant they were truly alone in the huge house. Was she ready to be alone with him?

  He sensed her nervousness. “Would you like a tour?” he asked.

  She nodded gratefully and followed as he showed her their three downstairs parlors , the kitchen, and formal dining room as well as his study. “I use this as a home office at times.”

  “It’s very nice.” She looked at the books on the shelves hoping there would be some frivolous novels, but apparently he only read boring books about science. She wrinkled her nose. Why hadn’t she known that about him? What did she know about him?

  He led her up the stairs and showed her the four bedrooms there as well as the bathroom with indoor plumbing. She was pleased to see she would have that convenience in his home. He led her through the last door. “This is our bedroom.”

  She swallowed hard, staring at the bed. She was going to be expected to share that with him, wasn’t she? She closed her eyes for a moment as she felt him come up behind her. She could do this. She knew she could.

  Dr. Shawn’s hands rubbed over her shoulders and down her arms as he kissed the side of her neck, nibbling it gently.

  Rose felt a shiver run up her spine at the touch of his lips. She tilted her head to the side to give him access to her neck and stood while he stroked her arms.

  His fingers went to the tiny row of buttons on the back of her dress, and she stood as he freed them from their holes. He was undressing her, but her mother had said what they did would be done in bed. Did he already plan to sleep? It was only seven in the evening! “Are you tired?” she asked.

  “Not at all.” He pressed another kiss to the side of her neck. “Why do you ask?”

  “You’re undressing me. I thought that meant you were ready for bed.” Her voice indicated her confusion.

  He smiled against her neck. “Oh, I’m definitely ready for bed, but I’m not at all sleepy.”

  She blushed, understanding his meaning. “But shouldn’t we wait until we’re ready for sleep?” Was it really okay to do this whenever they felt like it?

  He laughed softly. “I’m not waiting another minute.” He continued unbuttoning her dress and finally pushed it down over her hips until she stepped out of it. She stood before him in petticoat and corset, embarrassed that a man was seeing her unmentionables. She’d expected him to wait until after dark to do this and then let her get undressed on her own. Why was he in such a hurry?

  He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around so she faced him. Her breasts spilled out over the top of her corset, and she moved her hands up to cover them. He caught her hands and put them at her sides. “I want to see you.” His eyes traveled up and down her body, before he smiled and pulled her into his arms, kissing her softly. His tongue stroked against her lips, and when she kept them tightly clamped shut just as she always had, he whispered, “Open for me.”

  She pulled away, startled. “Open what?” The door? Why would he want the door open while they did this?

  He grinned. “Your mouth, sweet.”

  She frowned. “Why?”

  “So I can kiss you properly.” He leaned down again, his tongue moving across her lips and this time she opened her mouth to his probing tongue. He kissed her soundly, his tongue exploring her own.

  She was stunned when he put his tongue into her mouth, not having ever heard a man would do that to a woman. Was he doing
something he shouldn’t? Or was it okay?

  After a moment, he pulled away, breathing heavily. “We need to get all these clothes off of you.” She blushed as he walked around behind her and untied her corset, loosening it enough to push it down and off her hips. “Step out of it, love.”

  She did, standing before him in just her petticoat of light cotton. She knew her body was visible through the white fabric, and she blushed profusely. He quickly removed the last bits of clothing shielding her from his gaze and stared at her as she stood before him in just her slippers and silk stockings. He took her hand and led her to the bed. “Sit.”

  She sat on the edge of the bed and watched as he knelt at her feet removing first one slipper and then the other. He slowly rolled each stocking down and off her legs, dropping them to the floor before standing and pulling her to her feet again.

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace, kissing her. It felt strange to be completely naked in the arms of a man who was still fully clothed, but she imagined it would feel even stranger once he took off his clothing. After a moment, he swung her up in his arms and carried her the few feet to the bed, setting her down gently before stretching out beside her, his hands stroking her bare flesh.

  She shivered as his hands cupped her breasts in his palms, and he gently toyed with her nipples. He was pressed against her and she could feel the fine linen of his pants against her legs. Never had she wanted to be touched so badly in her life. His touch made her feel alive and sent a tingling from her breasts all the way to her toes.

  After a moment, she felt it was unfair that he was still fully clothed. She wanted to be able to touch him as well, but he hadn’t taken off even his shirt or tie. Her fingers went to his tie, and untied it, throwing it to the floor. She made quick work of the buttons parading up and down the front of his shirt. Once she had it unfastened, she tried to spread it wide, but it was tucked too tightly into his pants. She reached down and pulled his shirt from his pants, finally able to spread it wide and move her hands along his chest.