Joel rubbed his eyes. It wasn’t his problem. All he was going to do was figure out how to get the man threatening them behind bars or to leave them alone. Then he was out of here.
Sep eyed him up and down with what Joel assumed was supposed to be an intimidating manner. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Not sure if he should laugh or roll his eyes, Joel said, “Oh good. I always wanted to spend all day in the kitchen where I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want.”
“You needn’t be sarcastic,” Sep muttered.
April cleaned up Nora with a wet cloth and soap by the sink and glanced at Joel. “Why don’t you go into the parlor and rest?”
“I’m not the type of person who wants to spend all of my time reading,” Joel replied as he stood up. “I’d rather fix something.” Sep and April stared at him as if he was crazy, so he added, “Is there something wrong with that?”
After a moment, April shrugged. “Well, no, but I didn’t think you’d want to fix anything in this house.”
“I’m not doing it because I’m going to marry you. I think we all should be clear on that point. The only reason I’m not heading out is because I’m giving the sun a little time to melt some snow. When the snow melts enough, I’ll be out of here.”
Sep shook his head and pointed to the gun.
Ignoring him, Joel continued, “I’m going to start on that window in the parlor. You got a draft coming in through a crack that needs to be sealed. Then I’m going to make sure that railing along the staircase isn’t wobbly anymore so when Nora starts walking down the steps by herself, the railing won’t come loose. I’ll do more after lunch. I assume you have supplies somewhere in this house or in the barn to do that kind of work around here.”
Another long moment passed with Sep and April staring at him, their eyes wide and jaws lowered. Nora fussed, bringing April’s attention back to wiping her mouth and chin.
Sep stood up and grabbed the gun. “Alright. I’ll get the stuff you need. It’s out in the barn. You stay in the parlor.”
“Fine,” Joel consented. “Just as long as you don’t take too long. I don’t want to die of boredom.”
With a glance at April who shrugged, Sep headed for the kitchen door and took his coat off the hook. “I’ll be back as soon as I check on the animals.”
Joel nodded and held his hand out to Nora and told April, “I’ll take her to the parlor so you can clean up in here.”
April placed the wet cloth on the table and led Nora over to him. She stood in front of Joel for a few seconds, her lips slightly parted as if she was about to say something. Joel waited, his hand wrapped around Nora’s. April’s eyebrows furrowed and she looked to the upper right corner of the room in an action that told him she ran through some things she might say to him. He couldn’t help but think it was cute that she did that, but as soon as the thought came to him, she sighed and shook her head. “Never mind,” she softly said and turned back to the table.
And just like that, the moment was lost. Joel wasn’t sure what the moment was about, really, except that he didn’t want a repeat of it. It made him feel somewhat queasy but excited at the same time, and he didn’t care for the uncertainty of what that meant. He picked up Nora and hurried out of the kitchen.
***
After lunch, April swept the parlor floor while Nora napped in her crib. Even though the house was silent for the moment, she could still hear Joel pounding nails into the staircase railing to make it sturdy. He finished before it was time to eat and then decided to work in the barn since he didn’t want to disturb Nora while she slept. Sep went out with him, mindful to take the shotgun. But she knew Sep didn’t need it.
When she finished collecting the dirt off the floor, she went out to the porch by the kitchen and dumped it on the ground. Her gaze traveled the length to the barn. There were some areas where she could see grass due to the wind that blew the snow up into drifts.
If Joel really wanted, he could take his horse on out of there. A casual observation of the property indicated that if he wound his way around the drifts, he could make it to town. So why didn’t he? Why did he choose to stay? The air wasn’t that cold, was it?
Her fingers tapped the broom handle. It’d been on the tip of her tongue to ask him why he hadn’t left that morning. She had the perfect chance to do so after breakfast. If she thought he’d give her a straight answer, she would have asked for it. But who knew? Maybe he did want to fix up the house. One thing was for sure, he knew what he was doing. Sep was so young that he was still learning, but Joel had experience and it showed. Until a couple days ago, she had no idea who he was, but she’d heard of the Larsons. Whether the family knew it or not, they had a reputation of being the kind of people who dealt honestly with others. On one occasion, her pa bought a horse from one of them and commented on the good quality of the horses they bred.
But it didn’t explain why Joel was staying. She sighed and shook her head. Whatever the reason, she’d take it. She wasn’t in the position to question her good luck. If he was staying for any reason, then he couldn’t be that opposed to the marriage, no matter how much he bellyached about it.
As she turned to go back into the house, the railing on the porch steps caught her eye. Frowning, she stepped toward it and saw the bloodied handprint on it. Her breath caught in her throat. It had to be Lou’s! Her gaze went back to the barn. Did Sep see it? Sep didn’t say anything about wounding Lou, and Sep had no blood on him. Too bad the wound wasn’t fatal, but if Sep got him, maybe Lou would think twice about coming back. Just as she began to be hopeful about this turn of events, another thought came to her, a morbid one that made a chill go up her spine. Or maybe—just maybe—Lou wouldn’t mind returning the favor when he did come back out.
Tightening her grip on the broom handle, she returned to the house and closed the door behind her. No. Lou wouldn’t hurt Sep, and he wouldn’t touch her again. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Joel was still here, and that meant her task of getting him to marry her would be easier.
She put the broom away before she grabbed some paint to hide the blood. Every time she saw the blood, she’d remember Lou and how his filthy hands had been all over her body. Shivering, she finished painting the small section of the railing and hurried back into the house. There. She might not be able to do anything about the bullet holes in the kitchen table leg or wall, but she didn’t need the blood to be there.
Forcing the thoughts aside, she returned to her housework. A half hour later, Joel and Sep came into the house. While they took off their coats and hung them by the door, she poured them a cup of coffee. Sep still held the gun, but Joel didn’t seem to notice. She handed them their cups. Sep sat down at the table, but Joel took it and headed for the parlor. Pretending she didn’t notice the way he avoided eye contact with her, she called out, “I even put a bit of honey in it,” in the sweetest tone she could muster, and sat across from Sep with her own cup.
“What did you two do out there?” she asked.
“He didn’t think I did a good enough job repairing the damage he did to the barn yesterday, so he redid it.” Sep rolled his eyes and lifted the cup to his lips.
Unable to avoid grinning at his sarcastic tone, she said, “To be fair, he did the damage. It’s his due to fix it.”
He took a drink and set the cup down. “I did it just fine. He doesn’t think I can do my job around here. I’m not a little kid.”
“No, you’re not.” In the two years she’d been married to Harvey, Sep had to grow up fast. Sometimes she forgot he was fourteen. “He’ll learn you can hold your own.”
“The sooner he does, the better.”
She lowered her voice. “You don’t like him, do you?”
“I don’t like being treated like I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“That’s understandable.”
A moment’s silence passed before he spoke. “Do you like him?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know
. He’s good with Nora. I don’t know many men who have a soft spot for children.”
“No. I guess there aren’t many.”
She took a drink of her coffee and set the cup on the table. Brushing her thumb along the rim of the cup, she asked, “So when should we get the preacher involved?”
“It’s too cold today. If it’s warmer tomorrow, then we’ll have to do it. He can’t go anywhere today.”
Deciding not to argue that if Joel really wanted to leave, he would, she cleared her throat and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Do you think the preacher will perform a marriage Joel doesn’t want?”
“Joel will do it as long as there’s a gun pointed at him.”
“We can’t hold a gun to him with a preacher in the room.”
“Why not?”
“Because the preacher is a man of God. He won’t tolerate a man being forced into a marriage.”
“He will if the story is right.”
It took her a moment to figure out what he meant. She gasped and whispered, “No. We can’t do that, Sep.”
“Who’d know any different? It’d be Joel’s word against ours, and the preacher will believe you since you’re a woman.”
“No. It’s wrong. Joel’s nothing like Harvey or Lou. He wouldn’t take advantage of the situation. I can’t sully his reputation like that.”
Sep leaned forward and kept his gaze focused on hers. “Sully his reputation? You are aware that it’d be your reputation we’d be sullying, right? No one thought anything of Harvey catting around, but if it’d been you—”
“Yes, it would sully his reputation. And it’s important his reputation remains clean. He assists the doctor. People need to think of him as a healer, not a…a…”
Before she could think of the right word, Sep shook his head. “I didn’t think you were so naïve. After all you’ve been through, you honestly think people care if a man fools around?”
“Yes, they do. Good, honest people care, Sep. Our problem is that we’ve been far removed from that type of people. We haven’t even gone to church since Pa died. It’s just been us.”
“Those people knew about Harvey and didn’t bother warning us before you married him,” he replied in a bitter tone that surprised her. “Why should we go to church? Those good and honest people, as you call them, didn’t speak up when they should have.”
“That’s not fair.” She lowered her hands into her lap, shoulders slumped. “Most of them didn’t know. And the others… Well, I suppose they believed he changed for the better.”
“You’re too trusting of people, April. Even now you believe the best in everyone you come across. You think Joel wouldn’t take advantage of the situation if you invited him into your room?”
Her cheeks warmed. “I wouldn’t do such a thing, and if he really wanted it, he wouldn’t wait for an invitation. One thing I do know about men is that they don’t ask; they take what they want, even if the woman says no. Joel’s a decent man. And that’s why I won’t lie to the preacher.”
Not looking convinced, Sep asked, “So what are you going to tell the preacher?”
“The truth. Harvey’s brother wants to hurt us and we need a man who can protect us.”
“Good luck on getting the preacher to care.”
With a sigh, she stood up and went to the sink where she dumped out the rest of her coffee. Even if there was a teaspoon of honey in it, she didn’t feel like drinking it. It seemed that nothing could get rid of the bitter taste in her mouth whenever she thought of Harvey and Lou.
“I’m going to tell the preacher whatever I have to if it means Joel’s staying,” Sep quietly said. “I don’t care if you back me up or not.”
Putting her cup aside, she returned to the table and leaned over her brother. “It won’t come to that.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I just am.”
“That makes no sense.”
She took a deep breath and shrugged. “It doesn’t have to. Call it women’s intuition if you want.”
He let out an exasperated sigh, but Nora cried from her crib upstairs so April figured that was God telling her to leave the matter alone. She hurried down the hallway and saw that Joel was inspecting the area he’d repaired by the window earlier that day. She turned and went up the stairs. Things were bound to be rough as they all adjusted to each other, but she hoped, given time, they might at least get along well enough where they could sit around the kitchen table and have a pleasant conversation. One day at a time. Just take it one day at a time, April.
Chapter Eight
The next morning, April’s stomach was a mass of knots. She pulled back the curtain in the parlor and watched as Sep entered the barn. This was it. He’d be bringing out the horses and sleigh so they could go to the preacher’s house. The day was warm enough where the snow was starting to melt. There would be little keeping Joel here if he got bored of fixing things around the house. She could only hope the preacher would sympathize with her plight and marry her and Joel in case Joel protested it.
From beside her, Nora tugged on her bonnet. Letting go of the curtain, she turned to her daughter and tightened the bonnet around her head. “Stop trying to pull it off,” April whispered. “Your ears will get cold, sweetie.”
Nora gave a cry of protest but kept the bonnet on her head.
“It won’t be much longer now. We’ll be back in an hour.”
She glanced at the hallway which was empty. Picking up Nora so she’d stop fussing, she waited until she could determine where Joel was in the house. She heard footsteps in Sep’s room and breathed a sigh of relief. Good. He was still working on the hole in the wall. Thankfully, he didn’t ask how that hole got there, but she wondered if he noticed it was the size of a man’s fist. She shivered and turned her attention back to the window. Harvey was no longer a threat, and in a matter of an hour, Lou wouldn’t be either.
Sep left the barn with two horses and an old sleigh. Maybe she should have felt better now that the marriage was finally going to happen, but her stomach was twisting into an awful assortment of knots. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in hopes of calming her racing heart but it was no use. This was one of the toughest things she ever had to do in her entire life. She opened her eyes and waited for Sep to pull up to the front of the house before she opened the door.
He stomped his feet on the porch and entered the house. “I see you and Nora are ready. I figure it’s time to get the groom ready, too.”
As he went to the corner of the parlor to grab the rifle, she noticed a rider coming onto their land. Still holding the door open, she hugged Nora closer to her and glanced at her brother. “Someone’s coming.”
He grabbed the gun and hurried over to her. “Who is it?”
“I don’t know.”
She carried Nora to the rug by the couch and gave her the toy blocks to play with. “Stay put, sweetie,” she whispered.
She returned to Sep who waited for the stranger at the open door. As the rider approached, she tried to get a good look at him, but it was hard to do from a distance. Glancing at Sep who placed the gun against the coat tree, she wondered if this was going to be good or bad. Sep looked back at her, his expression as uncertain as she was sure hers was. They turned their gazes to the rider who stopped in front of the porch and tied his horse’s reins to the post.
The blond man appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He bore a striking resemblance to Joel, and that worried her. She and Sep might manage to get Joel to a preacher if he was alone, but if one of his brothers came to get him, then there was no way she and Sep would succeed.
Thankfully, Joel was still upstairs fixing that hole in the wall. Maybe they could deny Joel was even there. It might get Joel’s kin to back off long enough for her to get married, 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 swallowed 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 followed. 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 usually takes to town, and he didn’t see him,” Tom said thoughtfully.
“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 all together.” Tom put his hat back on his head and smiled. “Well, 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 really did have a way with children!
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