Shotgun Groom (10 page)

and then once the vows were exchanged, it didn’t matter

what his kin did; the marriage would be a done deal.

“Good morning,” the blond said as he took off his hat. “My

name is Tom Larson. I’m Joel Larson’s brother, and Doctor

Adams is concerned that something bad happened to him

during the storm we had two days ago. Did Joel make it out

here to check on your child?”

April swal owed the lump in her throat. This was it. She had

to lie. Even if it was wrong, she had to do it for the sake of

her family. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Sep

spoke up.

“Yes, he made it, but then he left and we haven’t seen him.”

April swore her heart stopped beating in the tense moment

that fol owed. Would Tom believe Sep? Would Tom want to

come into the house and see if they were lying?

“Hmm.” Tom glanced at his horse. “Did Joel happen to say

where he was headed before he left?”

Sep shrugged. “I assume he’d go back to town, unless

Doctor Adams sent him to check on another sick person.”

“Dave checked the route Joel usual y takes to town, and he

didn’t see him,” Tom said thoughtful y.

“Dave?” April asked.

“Our brother,” Tom replied.

April’s gaze turned to Sep. Another brother. Clearing her

throat, she asked, “How many brothers do you have?”

“There are four of us boys al together.” Tom put his hat

back on his head and smiled. “Wel , thank you.”

Just as Tom turned to go down the porch steps, Nora ran

over to the doorway and cried out, “Joe!”

Shooting a frantic look in Sep’s direction, April let out an

uneasy laugh and picked Nora up. “No, sweetie, that’s not

Joel.” She patted Nora’s back and told Tom, “You two look

a lot alike. If it weren’t for the age difference, I’d swear you

were the same person.”

“You’d be surprised by how often we hear that.” Tom

chuckled and indicated to Nora. “She’s as cute as a button.

Reminds me of one of my little girls. Have a good day, and

I’m sorry to have troubled you.”

As Tom stepped down the porch, Nora stretched her arms

out. “Joe!”

April had to restrain her from jumping out of her embrace.

She had no idea Nora had become so attached to Joel in

such a short time. He real y did have a way with children!

Sep was in the process of closing the door when Joel

cal ed out he was almost done. Sep paused and Tom

turned back to them. April silently cursed her luck that Nora

had to yel out for Joel when she did. If she’d waited just a

few more seconds, they would be in the clear.

Tom narrowed his eyes at them and returned to the

doorway.

“I can explain,” April quickly said, her eyes pleading with

him to hear her out.

“Be careful on what you say,” Sep warned her before he

took Nora and rushed for the stairs.

Taking that as her cue, she motioned for Tom to come into

the house. “Please hear me out first?”

His gaze went from the hal way then to her and then to the

couch in the parlor.

“It’s important,” she added, trying to keep the desperation

out of her voice but not sure she succeeded.

After a tense moment passed, he took off his hat and

wiped his feet on the rug by the door before he sat on the

couch. Placing his hat on his knee, he said, “Alright. What

is my brother doing here and why were you lying about it?”

She pul ed up her chair to the couch and sat down. The

knots in her stomach tightened but she ignored them.

Gripping the ends of the arms on her chair, she began, “We

need a man who can protect us.”

“Us?”

“Me, Sep and Nora. Sep is my brother, and Nora is my

daughter. You saw them just now.”

With a hesitant nod, he indicated for her to continue.

Licking her dry lips, she thought of the best way to proceed.

“Alright. Wel , you see my husband has this brother who

wants something from us, and I don’t know what that

something is.”

“Your husband? I thought it was just you, Sep and Nora.”

“Oh, it is. My husband’s dead. He got shot in a saloon back

in March. He wasn’t the most savory character around.”

She paused and wondered if that was too much

information. Choosing to err on the side of caution, she

continued, “My husband’s brother isn’t any better. In fact, he

came by here three days ago and um…” She shifted in the

chair, trying not to remember the details of Lou’s visit so

she wouldn’t cry. “Um, he wasn’t pleasant, to say the least.”

Tom leaned forward, his eyebrows furrowed. “He wasn’t

pleasant?”

She swal owed the lump in her throat and forced the words

out. “He was drunk, for one. He didn’t knock. He barged in

here. And when he saw I was alone…” Tears came to her

eyes and she quickly blinked them back.

“Did he…?” He waved his hand for her to answer.

“No. Thank goodness Sep stopped him, but there was

some gunfire and I don’t’ think Sep would stil be alive if

Lou’d been sober.”

“And Lou’s coming back?”

“He wants something. I don’t know what, but I believe he

was trying to force me into a position where I’d have to

marry him so he could get it.”

“You think he wants the land?”

“Could be. I don’t think there’s anything worth having in this

house.”

Tom leaned back and tapped his fingers on the couch.

“You’re scared.”

It was the truth so she didn’t deny it. She just wasn’t aware it

showed as much as it did. As she waited for him to tel her

whether he’d support her or not, a bead of sweat trickled

down her back. This was one of the hardest things she’d

ever asked anyone to do for her, and the fact that Tom was

a stranger didn’t ease her nerves.

“How old is Sep?” Tom softly asked.

“Fourteen. He’l be fifteen soon.”

“Do you know how old Lou is?”

“Twenty, I believe.”

He nodded and stared at his hat for a long moment—a very

long
and tense moment.

She heard Nora laugh at something Joel said but didn’t

take her attention off of Tom.

Tom glanced in the direction of Sep’s room. “It sounds like

they get along.”

“Not Sep and Joel. But Joel and Nora do.”

“Why doesn’t Joel get along with Sep?”

Lowering her voice, she said, “Sep thinks he’s an adult.

He’s gone through a lot for a boy, but he’s not an adult yet

and Joel understands that.”

“A fourteen-year-old is no match for a twenty-year-old.”

“Not when they both have guns and are sober when they

shoot.”

“Did Joel try to leave here?”

“He did on the first day, right before the worst of the blizzard

came.”

“What about yesterday or today?”

“No. He’s been fixing things around here.”

Tom nodded again, and Joel said something else that

made Nora laugh. Tom’s gaze swept the room and he

stood up.

Startled, she also stood, afraid he was going to bolt for the

stairs and grab Joel and haul him out of there. She clasped

her hands together and wondered if she should warn Sep.

Tom put his hat on his head and said, “I’l get Rick.”

“Rick?” she squeaked.

“My brother-in-law. He’s a judge. I can bring him out here to

marry you two.”

She swore her heart stopped beating. “Wh-what?”

“No one can fake being as afraid as you are, and Sep isn’t

a real threat. I don’t know if Joel is either since he’s so thin.

Ideal y, you’d get someone with a more imposing stature,

but I don’t know of any single men who fit the bil and I’m

already married so it’s got to be Joel.”

“You’re going to help me?” She struggled to comprehend

her good fortune as he strode to the door.

“Yep. Sure am. I’l go to town and explain everything to Rick.

He’s a reasonable man. I’l tel him what I learned, and we’l

be here later today. Just keep Joel here.” Another round of

laughter came from upstairs and the hint of a smile graced

his lips. “Not that I think you real y need to force Joel to stick

around, but hey, why let him admit it?”

She wondered what he meant by that, but he opened the

door and left before she had the chance to ask the

question. She couldn’t believe it. Tom hadn’t barged up the

stairs and demanded they let Joel go. He said he was

going to help them. Did he mean it? Maybe he said it to

throw her off guard. What if he was going to bring the sheriff

out? Could she and Sep be sent to jail for kidnapping?

She rushed over to the window and pushed the curtain

aside. Tom was already on his horse and heading off the

property. Wherever he was going, he was sure in a hurry.

Uncertain of what to do, she let the curtain fal back in place

and turned back to the parlor. Should she and Sep find the

preacher or wait and hope Tom meant what he said?

Taking a deep breath, she calmed her thoughts so she

could gauge her gut feeling about Tom. He seemed nice

enough. There was nothing seedy in his smile like there

had been with Harvey and Lou.

If she could judge Tom by how Joel was, then she was safe

in assuming he was sincere. That decided it for her. She’d

take her chances and believe him. If she could get Joel’s

brother to help her, then she’d have an easier time getting

Joel to marry her. It was worth a shot. And if it turned out

Tom wasn’t tel ing her the truth, then what? She slowly took

off her hat and sighed. If Tom wasn’t tel ing her the truth,

then she’d deal with that scenario when the time came. She

only hoped she didn’t have to. Putting her hat on the coat

tree, she unbuttoned her coat and glanced at the clock. If,

by three, Tom didn’t bring the judge by, then she and Sep

would take Joel to the preacher. Feeling better, she

climbed the staircase.

The laughter got louder, and her lips turned up into a smile.

It was nice to hear Nora having so much fun. When she

reached the top, she saw Joel tickling Nora. Sep stood to

the side, a glint of mirth in his eyes that she hadn’t seen

since their pa was alive.

Her gaze met Sep’s, but since Joel was right there, she

couldn’t tel him what transpired downstairs. Hoping he

understood her hint, she told him, “Why don’t you go back

to the barn and take care of those horses?”

“Seigh!” Nora cheered, running over to Sep and holding her

arms up to him.

“No, we’re done with the sleigh, at least for now,” April said,

giving Sep a meaningful look.

She had to admit her brother was quick to catch on, for he

nodded. “Maybe later today.”

Joel brushed his hair with his fingers. “You trust me enough

to leave me alone in the house?”

“No,” Sep replied. “We were going to take you along.”

“Why?” Joel asked.

“I assume you already know why we wouldn’t leave you

here, so I’l answer it the way that makes the most sense.

We like to get out of the house from time to time. Nora gets

restless.”

That much was true, April thought. Nora got into everything,

and it was getting harder to keep her out of trouble. She

looked forward to when the warm weather returned so she

could take Nora outside.

could take Nora outside.

Joel’s eyebrows furrowed. “You brought out the sleigh to

give Nora a ride and went through the trouble of bundling

her up. But then you decided you’re not going out?”

April’s face flushed and she shrugged. “The wind is blowing

more now. It’d be better to keep her inside rather than risk

another fever.”

“It’s not that windy,” he said, his eyes piercing through her.

Avoiding further eye contact, she shrugged. “It’s windy to

me.”

“You have a strange definition of windy for someone who’s

used to Nebraska.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sep said. “Maybe we’l go out for a ride

later. Besides, it’s warmer in the afternoon.”

Nora’s lower lip trembled, so April hurried over to her and

picked her up. “Would you like a cookie, sweetie?” Nora’s

frown turned into a smile, and April breathed a sigh of relief.

Good. Al she needed was for Nora to cause a big fuss and

further arouse Joel’s suspicions.

“Would you like some cookies?” she asked Joel.

“I’m not going to be won over by treats,” he replied.

Blinking, she asked, “Who said that’s what I planned?”

“I know what you women think. You think the way to a man’s

heart is through his stomach. Wel , I’m not that simple.”

She huffed and shook her head. “You have a higher opinion

of yourself than you have a right to. I was just being nice.

Sep knows the offer’s open to him, too.” Since Joel looked