Shotgun Groom (18 page)

dishes of food around. Around them people began laughing

and talking in a casual manner befitting a huge get-

together.

As Joel handed her the mashed potatoes, he whispered,

“We should start saying grace when we eat.”

“Alright, as long as you don’t sigh while you do it,” she

whispered back while she placed a spoonful of potatoes on

her plate. “I wouldn’t want to put the Good Lord through the

aggravation you put me through at least twenty times a

day.” She handed the bowl to Sep who sat on the other

side of Nora.

“Look, it’s a habit,” Joel said. “Most of the time, I don’t even

know I’m doing it.”

“I can’t recal anyone having such a peculiar habit.” She

took a portion of turkey from the large plate he handed her

and put it on her dish. “I’ve heard of people cracking their

knuckles, biting their nails, or tapping their foot out of habit.”

She handed the plate ful of turkey to Sep, and Joel said,

“It’s a different kind of habit.”

“Different indeed.” She grabbed two of the many rol s from

the next dish and handed one to Nora so her daughter

would stop fussing before she could start feeding her from

her plate. “You have to be the strangest person I’ve ever

met.”

“You want to know what’s strange? Strange is locking up a

perfectly good bedroom so I can’t give Nora her own

bedroom.”

Her body tensed. Not this topic again! “I told you, I think

she’s just fine where she’s at.”

Leaning closer to her, he whispered, “No she’s not, and I’m

not getting close to you with her right there in the room.”

So that was why he hadn’t bothered to touch her. She

assumed he wasn’t interested. Not that she could imagine

a man who wasn’t, but he was strange in other ways so why

not this one, too?

“It’s going to happen at some point,” he continued as he

handed her a dish of cornbread. “I might be patient, but I’m

not a saint.”

Her cheeks grew hot and she scanned the table.

Fortunately, no one heard them or noticed they were having

a private conversation in a very public setting. Even Harvey

for al his faults kept talk of intimacies to the bedroom. Not

that, “Rol over, honey. I’m home,” from a drunk man who

stumbled into bed was tactful, but at least he did it where no

one could possibly hear him.

Joel, not seeming to be the least bit embarrassed by what

he’d just said, took a plate of dumplings from the person

next to him and gave himself a hearty portion before

holding the plate in her direction. Blinking, she quickly took

a slice of cornbread for her and Nora and handed her plate

to Sep so she could take the plate of dumplings from Joel.

Keeping his voice low, Joel continued, “And be reasonable.

There are enough bedrooms so everyone doesn’t have to

be crammed into one space. It’s not like we live in a one-

room house.”

She debated on how much she should tel him, especial y

since she didn’t know him that wel yet. “I don’t like to think

of that room.”

“Why?”

She dished out some dumplings for her and Nora and

cleared her throat, hoping her unease wasn’t apparent for

al to see. “I just don’t.” When she saw him open his mouth,

she added, “And especial y not in front of a lot of people.

Some things are private.”

At that, he shut his mouth and gave her a good look. “You’re

right. We shouldn’t be talking about it in front of others. I’m

sorry.”

Blinking back the tears in her eyes, she broke eye contact

with him and gave the plate of dumplings to Sep. Seeming

to understand her need to drop the subject, he turned his

attention to his meal and started eating. Thankful, she

turned to Nora and made sure she got enough to eat.

***

in a crib Mrs. Larson put in one of the bedrooms.

“Ma loves to have babies in this house, so she has this crib

available for when her kids bring her grandbabies over,”

Joel explained while he pul ed the blanket up to Nora’s

neck. “You’l notice she also has children’s beds so the

older ones have a place to sleep when she watches them

for a night or two. I think my brothers, sisters and I growing

up was the worst thing that ever happened to her.”

Unable to stop herself, April giggled. “She seems happy

with the eleven grandchildren she’s got running around the

place today.”

“Twelve. You forgot to count Nora,” he said as he turned

from the crib so he could face her. “It’l be thirteen once

Mary has her child.”

With al the people in the house, she didn’t remember

seeing a pregnant woman. “Which one is Mary?”

“The one who made the three apple pies everyone fought

over.”

“Wel , at least you got the last slice.”

“Sure, after I nearly tackled Tom to get it.”

Amused, she shook her head. “I don’t understand why

grown men would make a show of fighting over a piece of

pie.”

“Didn’t you get a slice?”

“No. I let Sep have the one offered to me.”

“Next time don’t be so generous. No one makes a pie like

Mary.”

She shrugged. “I don’t care how good a pie is. I wouldn’t

jump on top of the table to snag the last piece from my

brother.”

“Now that’s ridiculous. I didn’t jump up on the table.

Besides, Tom already had a slice. He was being greedy.”

“Why don’t you just admit that you love it when Tom gives

you a hard time?” she teased.

“Are you kidding me? I don’t like it when he does that.”

“Though you fight with him, you also have a goofy grin on

your face, Joel. Granted, I didn’t think you two had a good

relationship when he brought Rick out to marry us, but I see

how the two of you messed with each other today. You’d be

lost without him.”

Rol ing his eyes, he said, “I don’t know how you got al of

that from me wanting a piece of pie.” He paused and gave

her a good look. “How did we get to talking about pie

anyway?”

“I asked you which one Mary was.”

“That’s right. She’s the one who makes the pies everyone

fights over.”

Laughing, she said, “You already said that. I get it. People

wil clobber each other to get a slice of her pie. I stil think

it’s ridiculous they’d do that, but I saw it with my own two

eyes a half hour ago so I believe you.” She turned toward

the door. “I was told to get to the parlor where the gifts wil

be opened. I have no idea where I’m supposed to sit. That

parlor is spacious, but it’s not big enough for the amount of

people in your family.”

He fol owed her out the door. “Wel , if you can’t find a seat,

you can sit on my lap.”

Even though she knew he meant it, the comment struck her

as so funny, she stopped in her tracks so she could give

him a good look. “That’s the strangest thing I ever heard.”

“Is it? Jenny and Sal y have been known to sit on their

husband’s laps if there’s no room.”

“What about Tom’s wife?”

“Oh, he sits on her lap.”

At that, she burst out laughing. “Surely, you jest.”

“Maybe a little bit, but if it weren’t for her, he’d probably

never have got up the nerve to court her. You didn’t see

them when they were courting. He was bumping into

everything. Al you had to do was say her name, and he’d

trip on the rug or spil a drink at the table.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Fine. Then ask Jessica what he did to her hair at a square

dance.”

“What did he do to her hair?”

“Got it stuck right here.” Holding up his hand, he pointed to

the cuff on his shirt sleeve. “And then her friend had to cut

her hair to free her from it.”

Curious, she cocked her head to the side and tried to

gauge if he was kidding or tel ing her the truth. “That sounds

too absurd to be true, but you sure seem sincere.”

“Ask her. She’l tel you. Tom felt so bad, he went out and

bought a whole bunch of hats and ribbons and whatnot to

make up for it.”

“Wel , that was sweet of him to make amends like that, if it

real y happened.”

“I can’t believe you doubt me.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone’s hair getting caught in a button

to the point where they had to cut their hair.”

He looked as if he was ready to argue but then took her

hand. “Come on.”

Surprised that he was touching her, she mutely fol owed

him down the stairs and to the parlor. Stil holding her hand,

he headed right for Tom and Jessica. Jessica was sitting

beside Tom on one of the couches while their daughters

scrambled for a place to sit on Tom’s lap. Without saying a

word, Joel brought his wrist near Jessica’s hair so the

button of the cuff on his shirt sleeve was facing her. Jessica

shrieked and leapt onto Tom’s lap. Their girls protested as

they cried that they wanted to sit on their father’s lap.

Tom glared at Joel. “Wil you stop doing that? The button

incident only happened once, and it was because the

thread was loose.”

Touching her hair, Jessica got off of Tom’s lap and settled

back on the couch. “It’s not funny, Joel.”

Chuckling, Joel said, “That depends on who you ask.”

Turning to April, he added, “Believe me now?”

“I can’t believe it,” Tom replied. “You told April how clumsy I

was when I met Jessica?”

On the other couch across the room, Dave shook his head

and cal ed out, “You’d think you’d get bored of that, Joel.”

“That wil never get boring, Dave,” Joel replied. “Just as

Mary’s pies wil never get boring.” He shot Mary a grin while

Dave and Mary’s three-year-old son settled on Dave’s lap.

His attention returning to April, he lowered his head toward

her ear and whispered, “If Dave hadn’t come home

laughing about the whole incident when it happened, I

wouldn’t have even known about it. So if you think about it,

it’s his fault.”

April noticed that he stil held her hand as he wove around

his parents who headed for the tree in the corner of the

room. As he said, most of the seats were taken, so when

he sat in a chair close to Sep, he pul ed her down onto his

lap and held her around the waist. She blushed from

embarrassment. She thought he was joking about sitting on

his lap!

As the seats fil ed up around them, she saw Sal y sit on

Rick’s lap and Jenny sit on Owen’s lap. Knowing that she

wasn’t the only woman sitting on her husband’s lap helped

to relax her. Richard and Amanda sat up front with the older

children who sorted through the wrapped presents. She

couldn’t believe it. Everyone managed to find a place to sit

after al .

Joel’s father stood up and opened his Bible, and Joel

whispered, “Every year before we pass the gifts around, he

reads the nativity story from the Gospel of Luke.”

She nodded, even as she became acutely aware of his

strong arms. She hadn’t experienced such a tender

embrace before, and she certainly didn’t expect something

so pleasant from her husband. As she scanned the room,

she noticed that al of the husbands were either holding

their wives or had their arm wrapped around their

shoulders. It was a lovely scene, something she didn’t think

possible in a family. Sure, her father loved her mother and

was tender toward her, but it was just her and Sep al their

lives. There was no large gathering such as this. No wonder

Joel’s mother looked forward to having the grandchildren

over. It meant her children were there as wel , and that

made for a cozy family gathering.

She glanced at Sep who had a slight smile on his face and

knew he noticed the same thing. For the longest time, it had

been her and Sep against the world, doing what they could

to not upset Harvey and to take care of Nora. And now they

were a part of this family. She relaxed and settled in Joel’s

arms.

Chapter Fifteen

By the time they got home, Joel had to admit his mood had

improved. He reasoned it was because of the festivities,

but his mind kept going back to the conversation he and

April shared in the bedroom after they put Nora down for a

nap. For the first time, he saw a side of her that was rather

charming. She’d been laughing and relaxed. It was

probably the atmosphere in the house. Al the merriment

was bound to improve anyone’s mood, including April’s.

As he led the horses onto their property, he took note of the

sunset and wondered if this day would be the only one