Shotgun Groom (13 page)

worship you?”

He blinked and shook his head. “Don’t be absurd.”

“Wel , I’ve had al I can take of you moping around here. So

we got married. It’s not the worst thing that can happen to

you.”

“How would you know?”

“Because you’re a man. You now have a woman who’l

cook, clean, and do laundry for you. I’d say more to the list

of benefits you’l be getting from this arrangement, but in

light of who else is in the room, I won’t.”

“I did just fine on my own.”

“As wonderful as I’m sure your single life was, you wil do

even better now. Just think of it. You can come home at the

end of the day, kick your feet up and wait for bedtime. That

is, unless you’re the type who enjoys the saloon.”

His face turned red and he scowled. “What kind of man do

you think I am? Going to a saloon? I’ve only been to a

saloon once and that was to tend to a gunshot wound

someone incurred while cheating at a poker game. As

soon as I bandaged him, I was out of there. I don’t know

what you take me for, sweetheart, but going to a saloon is

not something I do with my free time.”

“No?”

“No! Believe it or not, in my spare time, I read the medical

books Doctor Adams gives me. I plan to be a doctor

someday, and I can’t be a doctor if I waste my time in a

saloon. I started out with so little knowledge of healing

people that the doctor almost didn’t take me under his

wing. I had to show him I was serious. Why do you think I’d

jeopardize that?”

His passionate words surprised her. She’d never seen a

man so dedicated to his job. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think of it like

that. I assumed it was normal for a man your age to go to

the saloon, regardless of what you did for a living.”

“You shouldn’t assume al men do the same thing. None of

my brothers go to the saloon either. Did your pa go there?”

“In his younger days, before he married my mother.”

“And then your husband?”

“Yes, Harvey did.”

This time when he sighed, there was a note of sympathy in

it. “Now I understand why you assume what you do, but

there are some men who don’t go to the saloon. Some of

us find a better use for our time.”

She glanced at Sep and wondered if he might be one of

those who found a better use for his time when he grew up.

She’d like to think he would. Maybe Joel’s example would

influence Sep for the better.

“I’m going to have to leave this house and talk to Doctor

Adams at some point.” Joel’s attention went to Sep. “And I

hope you don’t feel the need to keep a gun on hand

whenever I’m about to leave the house.”

Sep shrugged. “If you run off, I’l get Tom or Rick to bring

you back.”

“I’m not going to run off. A man is only as good as his word,

and if there’s one thing I aim to be, it’s a man who honors

his word.”

April hoped Joel meant that. In silence, they finished the

rest of their meal.

***

After April put Nora down to bed, she changed into her

nightgown. Usual y, she stayed up for another hour or two

after Nora went to sleep, but the day left her exhausted and

al she wanted to do was have it end. She didn’t know

whether she was relieved or disappointed when Joel

headed out to the barn to do some more repairs. Sep went

with him, probably to make sure he real y was going to stay.

April wondered how Sep and Joel worked together in the

barn. She knew Sep didn’t think Joel treated him very wel ,

but she suspected part of it stemmed from Sep being used

to taking on so much of the adult man’s role around the

place. Joel slipped into the role now, and that meant Sep

had to move aside and let Joel lead. It had to be hard for

Sep. He grew up much too fast.

She went over to the dresser and brushed her hair, looking

at her reflection in the mirror. The dim light of the kerosene

lamp created a soothing glow to the room, something which

relaxed her each evening as she got ready for bed. Once

she finished working through the tangles, she put her brush

down and pul ed her hair back to get ready to wrap it into a

bun to keep it as tangle-free as possible.

To her surprise, Joel opened the door. Her hands grew stil

as she turned in his direction. “What are you doing here?”

she asked, immediately chastising herself for asking such

a ridiculous thing. She’d been married before. She knew

what men expected on their wedding night, and to think he

wouldn’t expect it when he opposed the marriage was

foolish of her.

Joel sat on the bed and pul ed off his shoes. “I’m not going

to spend one more night on that sorry excuse for a bed your

pa used to sleep on. There’s a spring that keeps poking my

back, and I can’t get comfortable. If I’m married—” he rol ed

his eyes—“then I might as wel get a good night’s sleep.”

Gulping, she nodded and turned back to the mirror. Who

could blame him? Men had needs that had to be satisfied.

As his wife, it was her duty to make sure she pleased him.

Even so, her hands trembled as she pul ed her hair back

into a bun. She tried to ignore him as he took off his pants

and shirt but he was built better than Harvey. Harvey had

been thick and tal . He towered over her and Sep. And

while Joel didn’t necessarily have more muscles than

Harvey had, he was shorter and had a lighter frame. He

wasn’t imposing when he came into the room.

Granted, he had a way of sighing and whining that grated

on her nerves at times, but she’d rather be annoyed than

scared. If she didn’t already dread the marital bed, she

wouldn’t be trembling right now. She glanced at him again

and saw that he pul ed back the covers and settled into

what had been Harvey’s side of the bed.

He sighed, this time in relief and closed his eyes. “Final y.

Nothing is poking me.”

Reluctant, she turned down the lamp knob until it was dark

in the room and checked on Nora who was sound asleep.

Unable to delay the inevitable any longer, she reached the

bed and joined Joel under the covers. Her heart pounded

and a cold sweat broke out across her forehead. It would

be over soon. Within minutes, real y. She just needed to

close her eyes and think of something else, like what she’d

be making for tomorrow’s meals.

Mental y prepared, she waited for Joel to make his move,

but he stayed on his side of the bed. Opening her eyes, she

looked at him. In the moonlight that filtered through the worn

curtains, she saw that he was staring at the ceiling. Was he

waiting for her permission? Harvey hadn’t but if Joel had no

experience with women, perhaps he didn’t know it was

standard for the man to just get started.

As she opened her mouth to speak, he asked, “What’s in

the locked bedroom?”

She shut her mouth. She wondered when he was going to

ask about that room but didn’t think he’d be thinking of

anything besides sex while in bed with her.

“Are you going to tel me?”

Licking her lips, she said, “I’m surprised you’d bring it up

when…” She struggled to think of the best way to word

things but couldn’t seem to come up with anything.

“Nora can’t sleep in here forever,” he replied after a tense

moment of silence passed between them. “It’s fine when

she’s a baby, but she’l be old enough for her own room

soon. She can’t be in the same room with Sep. It’d be

different if she was a boy, but since she’s a girl, she needs

a separate room. I want to put her in the third bedroom.”

Gripping the blanket in her hands, she shook her head. “No.

She’l be fine in here.”

“No, she won’t. Not forever. And let’s be realistic. Sooner or

later, she’l have brothers and sisters. Do you want al of

them in here?”

Her face grew warm and it wasn’t necessarily because of

the locked bedroom. “Then let’s worry about it when she

has brothers and sisters. For the time being, she’s just

fine.”

Turning to face her, he softly asked, “Why do you lock the

door? What’s in there that’s so horrible you refuse to open

it?”

She tried to blink her tears away, but one slid down her

cheek.

His gaze went to her trembling lips and then to her cheek

where another tear fel . Sighing, he rol ed onto his side so

that his back was to her. “Alright. We’l let the matter drop

for tonight.”

She brushed away another tear and forced her mind off of

the memories of the screaming and yel ing that used to

come from within that room. It was al in the past. There was

nothing to fear anymore. Wel , there was Lou, but Joel was

here to take care of him and she had no doubt he would if

Lou dared to show up on the property again.

Taking a deep breath, she shoved the unwanted memories

back to the recesses of her mind where she didn’t have to

deal with them. Nothing could change what happened.

Reliving it was pointless. What she needed to do was let

that part of her life die with Harvey.

In the next few minutes, her swirling emotions calmed and

she was able to ful y come back to the present. She took in

the details around her that she often missed. The shadows

that danced on the ceiling as the wind blew the tree

branches outside the window. The gentle breathing from

Nora. The wisp of stray hair that tickled her neck. The

warmth from Joel’s body which was barely touching hers.

When he started snoring, she frowned and sat up so she

could peer over his shoulder and see whether or not he was

pretending to be asleep. But why would he pretend to

snore? Baffled, she settled back into the bed and pul ed the

blankets up to her chin. Why didn’t he initiate lovemaking?

Wasn’t he interested in it? Shrugging, she turned onto her

side, facing away from him, and snuggled into the pil ow

and mattress. Who cared why he decided not to pursue the

physical side of their relationship? It meant she was off the

hook, at least for tonight. Relieved, she closed her eyes.

Oddly enough, for the first time since she married Harvey,

she was able to sleep straight through the night.

Chapter Eleven

As Rick promised, he and Sal y arrived with Joel’s

belongings the next day. April experienced a wave of

apprehension as they walked through the front door,

fol owed by their son who inherited his father’s dark hair.

Sal y, however, had the same blond hair that Tom and Joel

did. She wondered if the children she and Joel would have

would have brown or blond hair.

She turned her attention back to the people walking into her

house. Nora waddled over to her and held her hands up.

Picking her up, April rubbed her back and whispered, “It’s

alright, honey. These are your aunt and uncle.” She might

as wel get used to thinking of them as her new family.

While Rick set the trunk on the parlor floor, Sal y squealed

and ran over to hug her, careful not to squeeze too much

because of Nora. “I’m so excited to meet you!” Sal y patted

Nora’s head and added, “And you, too. April, your daughter

is the cutest little thing!”

“Thank you,” April replied, surprised by the woman’s

friendliness.

Sal y motioned to Rick and her son. “You’ve already met my

husband, and that’s our son, Greg. He’s eight.” With a sigh,

she added, “It wasn’t too long ago he was as smal as your

daughter. What’s her name?”

“Nora.”

“What a pretty name. If I ever have a girl, I think I’l name her

Laura.” She giggled and nudged April in the side. “Laura

rhymes with Nora.”

From where he stood next to Rick and Sep, Joel rol ed his

eyes. “Everything amuses you, Sal y.” He pointed to the

trunk. “Is that everything I own?”

Rick nodded. “We cleared everything out from the boarding

house.”

“What did Doctor Adams say when you told him I was

forced into getting married?” Joel asked as he lifted the

trunk.

April bit her lower lip so she wouldn’t spout off that it wasn’t

exactly a good deal for her either. How long was he going

to keep harping on the forced marriage thing? One would

think the groaning and sighing he did al through the

ceremony would be enough. She took a deep breath and

reminded herself that he hadn’t been so bad during supper

or in bed. It was actual y better than she thought it would be.

He wouldn’t be running around, gambling and visiting