Shotgun Groom (7 page)

turn it, but it was locked. Disappointed, he stepped back

from the door and wondered what kind of door that was

inside a house had the lock on the outside of the room?

Upon closer inspection, he realized the doorknob was

newer than the door. So someone switched the doorknob

with the intent of locking the door from the outside. Why

would someone do that? The answer was obvious.

Whoever did it wanted to keep someone in the room. That

explained why Sep was ready to toss him in there. And

maybe it explained something about April’s husband and

why she didn’t miss him.

A slight chil crawled up his spine. Alright. He got it. The

man who married April was a jerk, and the room scared her

because he used it. From what she said about the

moonshine, Joel guessed her husband used to get drunk.

Maybe he used the room when he was drunk?

Joel shook his head.
Forget it.
Whatever happened, it had

nothing to do with him. Her husband was dead, which

meant he wasn’t coming back. And since he wasn’t coming

back, April and Sep had nothing to worry about. So there

was no reason Joel needed to stick around to make sure

no one used the room for whatever it had been used for.

Grumbling, Joel headed for the stairs. Sticking around

wasn’t an option. At al . He needed to get that idea out of

his head. April and Sep were keeping him here against his

wil . Maybe he wasn’t stuck in that room, but he was a

prisoner until he could leave. When the weather calmed

down, he could go to town. Then he’d put this weird

experience behind him and live his happy life as a

bachelor. And if Nora got sick again, Doctor Adams could

make the house cal !

Chapter Six

April mashed the potatoes while Sep bounced Nora on his

leg. Glancing at the hal way, she decided to talk to her

brother. She picked up the large bowl and set it on the table

so she could sit next to Sep. “I don’t know if making Joel

marry me is a good idea,” she whispered.

He stopped bouncing Nora and looked at the empty

doorway before he returned his gaze to her. “How else are

we going to make sure Lou doesn’t come back?”

Reluctant, she consented to his point. “We can’t. Lou was

watching us in town and fol owed us out here.”

For a moment, he remained silent, as if considering her

words. Final y, he shook his head. “If he’s making it a habit

to watch us, then you have to marry Joel. We stand a better

chance if Lou knows there’s an adult man here. Who else

are we going to get?”

She stopped mashing the potatoes and sighed. “There has

to be another way.”

“Wel , maybe next time he shows up, I won’t miss when I

shoot him. That is, of course, if I can get here in time. What

if I don’t? What if he succeeds and you end up expecting

another child? I bet he’l be coming out with the preacher to

make things right.”

She shuddered and turned her attention back to the bowl,

this time pounding the food with more force than necessary.

Despite her brother’s young age, he was wise to the ways

of the world. But she supposed that couldn’t be helped after

al the things Harvey had done. And the last thing they

needed was another Harvey living with them. A tear slid

down her cheek and she brushed it away with the back of

her hand.

Nora grew restless so Sep bounced her on his knee again.

“I don’t like forcing Joel to stay any more than you do, but

it’s for the best.”

“He hates us.”

“He doesn’t hate us.”

“Yes, he does, and he’l never forgive us for what we’re

doing.”

“Whether he forgives us or not isn’t important. What’s

important is that you’re safe.”

“It’s important that you’re safe, too. You’re the one that had

to go into that third room.” She took a deep breath to settle

her nerves and resumed mashing the potatoes. “I don’t

want to go through that ever again.”

“And I don’t want to come into the kitchen and find Lou

trying to take advantage of you.”

Nodding, she stood up and took the bowl to the work table.

“You’re right. Even if Joel hates us, we’re better off with him

than with Lou.” Joel had no idea how awful a man could get

if he expected her to toss him out of the house because he

was a blowhard who made a mess in the house and snored

loud enough to wake the dead. “Joel doesn’t seem to be

capable of doing real harm.” And that’s what made him the

right type of man for her to marry.

She finished cooking the rest of the meal in silence, and by

the time Sep helped her set the table, Joel trudged into the

kitchen, his shoulders slumped and a look of resignation on

his face. He plopped into the chair next to Nora and let out

a weary sigh. April fought the urge to rol her eyes. Being

with them couldn’t be so bad that he had to mope around

the house.

“If we hadn’t been cleaning up the mess somebody made, I

would have made something for dessert,” she said as she

sat down. When Joel didn’t answer or make eye contact

with any of them, she took a couple of biscuits and set one

on Nora’s tray. “Dig in before it gets cold.”

With another sigh, Joel took the ladle sitting in a pot and

scooped up a good portion of bean soup for his bowl

before he put some mashed potatoes on his plate. He

reached for a biscuit and tore it open as if he barely had

any energy. Noticing Joel’s exaggerated behavior, she

stopped rubbing honey onto Nora’s biscuit and glanced at

Sep who shook his head in disbelief. Joel dipped his

spoon into the soup and stirred it. His gaze turned to the

window and he sighed, yet again.

April gritted her teeth and finished dividing up the portion of

the meal between her and Nora. The best thing she could

do was ignore Joel. She knew what he was doing, and it

wouldn’t work. However much it pained him to be here, it

pained her and Sep a lot more to have to deal with Lou. As

long as she reminded herself of this, she could focus on

what real y mattered. At least with her and Sep, the worst

Joel had to worry about was being bored to death.

“It tastes good, sis,” Sep said, eating his meal with

surprising gusto.

“Thank you, Sep.”

Nothing else was said during the meal, except for Nora’s

hearty babbling. April didn’t have much of an appetite. After

they got Lou out of the house, she could barely eat anything,

and keeping Joel here against his wil wasn’t making it any

better. But she did feel safer now and judging by the way

Sep was eating, she guessed he felt better having Joel

there, too. Knowing that a long night loomed ahead of them,

she forced down as much of the meal as she could. It

helped to see that Joel was at least eating everything in

front of him. The more he ate, the better off he’d be if Lou

returned. Not that Lou would return tonight. The temperature

and wind would keep him away.

This time she turned her gaze to the window. It was getting

dark. Joel wasn’t going anywhere tonight. But what about

tomorrow? She wondered how quickly Sep could get a

preacher out to the house or if they could get Joel to the

preacher. And would the preacher marry them, knowing ful

wel that Joel was opposed to it? Maybe if she explained

the situation to the preacher, he’d understand why she

needed to marry Joel. Now it was her turn to sigh. If only

she knew of a good man who was wil ing to marry her!

After the awkward supper was over, Sep went out to check

on the animals and Joel reluctantly went to the parlor. April

did what she could to entertain Nora while she washed the

dishes, but Nora kept getting into the dishes and making a

bigger mess for April to clean up. April threw the bowls

back into the sink ful of hot water and grabbed the pot from

Nora before she could put it on her head.

“Forget it. I’m putting you in the highchair. Come on, Nora.”

Nora giggled and shook her head.

April groaned. “Don’t do this to me, Nora. I have to get the

dishes done.”

As April stepped forward, Nora hurried toward the hal way

just in time for Joel to stop her. “I’l watch her,” he said as he

picked her up.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“I’ve got nothing else to do since I’m trapped in this jail.”

April considered going after him as he carried Nora into the

parlor but decided against it. Whatever she might say at

this point could make things worse. He wasn’t ready to hear

her out. Maybe tomorrow, he’d be more wil ing to have an

open mind about marrying her. Maybe. Hopeful y.

***

glanced at Sep who was sound asleep. Good. Now was his

chance. The wind final y died down, so he might be able to

get back to town. Easing out of bed, he made his way as

quietly as possible across the room so he could retrieve his

dry clothes. He slipped into them, hoping the whole time

that Sep wasn’t a light sleeper. Once he buttoned up his

pants, he breathed a sigh of relief. Sep was stil asleep.

He gently opened the door and waited. The house was stil

quiet. He tiptoed down the steps, hating each little creak

and squeak the old floor made beneath his feet. By the time

he made it to the bottom of the steps, his heart was racing

in dread that he’d turn around and see the barrel of a

loaded gun pointed right at him. When he glanced back

and didn’t see anyone at the top of the stairs, he thanked

the good Lord above and crept to the kitchen where his

coat and boots waited for him.

He didn’t waste time putting them on. Grabbing his hat from

the hook by the door, he looked back and was relieved,

once again, to see that no one had caught him. He just

might make it. Bracing himself, he opened the kitchen door

slowly and peeked outside. There was a biting chil in the

air, but the wind had died down. The trip to town wouldn’t

be pleasant but it would be doable. He pul ed his gloves out

of his pockets and put them on.

Wel , it wasn’t going to get any warmer until the sun came

out. Reminding himself that he could sit by a nice fire when

he got home, he slipped out of the house and closed the

door which gave a slight click as it shut. The moonlight

bounced off the snow, giving him al the light he’d need to

get to the barn. He was ready to go down the porch steps

when he noticed dried blood on the rail. Frowning, he went

over and inspected it. The blood stain didn’t look that old.

At least, the weather hadn’t worn it down. Taking a step

down, he noticed a bloody handprint. It was definitely from a

male, but it was too large to be Sep’s hand. He took off his

glove and placed his hand over it. Almost the same size but

a little bigger. Why hadn’t he noticed it when he went to the

barn yesterday? Probably because the blowing snow

distracted him. Wel , there was no blowing snow now, and

he saw it plain as day.

He glanced at the kitchen door. There was no blood on the

doorknob. Whatever happened, it started from inside the

house. Curious, he retraced his steps and opened the

kitchen door. He should see something in the house that

would give him a clue as to what happened. He went to the

table and lit the kerosene lamp, careful to keep the light dim

enough so he wouldn’t give himself away.

What exactly was he looking for? More blood? Chances

were unlikely traces of blood would stil be in the house. He

took a deep breath and considered his options. Most likely,

a clue would be in the kitchen since there was blood on the

porch railing just outside the kitchen door. So what was he

looking for?

He scanned the kitchen. There were a couple of things in

the house that might cause a man to bleed. A fistfight, a

knife, and a gun. Considering the size of the man’s bloody

handprint and the lack of wounds on Sep or April, Joel

dismissed the fistfight idea. So that left a knife or a gun.

April would be likely to use a knife, but he doubted she

could overcome a grown man. She had a wil owy frame.

She was no match for someone with the size of a handprint

that he saw on the railing outside. That left Sep. Sep would

have used a gun, and if he was any good at shooting it, he

could overpower a grown man as long as the man wasn’t