Sep was in the process of closing the door when Joel called out he was almost done. Sep paused and Tom turned back to them. April silently cursed her luck that Nora had to yell 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 hallway 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 pulled 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. Well, 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 swallowed 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 still 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 tell 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’ll 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’ll 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. Ideally, you’d get someone with a more imposing stature, but I don’t know of any single men who fit the bill 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’ll go to town and explain everything to Rick. He’s a reasonable man. I’ll tell him what I learned, and we’ll 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 really 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 fall 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 telling her the truth, then what? She slowly took off her hat and sighed. If Tom wasn’t telling 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 tell 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 mea
ningful 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’ll 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.
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’ll 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. All 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. Well, 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 doubtful, she muttered, “Blowhard,” and headed for the steps, figuring it best to leave the conversation on that note. It was just as well Joel didn’t have a treat in the kitchen. Now she could tell Sep about the latest developments.
Chapter Nine
Joel couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach that something bad was about to happen. The problem was, he didn’t know what it was or when it would happen. April and Sep were even quieter than usual during lunch, and he didn’t think they could get any more quiet than they already were. If it weren’t for Nora, the entire house would have been stuck in a strained silence.
Since he’d taken care of Sep’s room, he thought he’d check out April’s room but didn’t dare without her permission. So after lunch, he waited until she cleaned up the kitchen before he approached her. “Do you have anything that needs fixing in your room?”
“No, the walls and windows are fine,” she replied from where she sat in the rocker with Nora settled on her lap.
“What about the furniture?”
Blinking, she directed her attention to him. “Furniture?”
“I can fix more than walls and windows. I figure before I leave, I’d get you and your brother’s things in good shape. Then I’ll see the deputy about taking care of that brother-in-law of yours.”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“Don’t know what? Whether you got furniture that needs fixing or about the deputy?”
“The deputy. I don’t suppose this is someone who’d be willing to marry me?”
For some reason, the notion that she’d marry anyone—not just him—bothered him, but he shoved the concern aside. What did it matter to him? He wasn’t marrying her anyway. “The deputy is married to my sister.”
She frowned in disappointment.
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he added, “I meant that I can get you some help.”
“You will get me some help. That help will be a husband.”
“So I keep hearing, but up until now, you’ve been pretty insistent that it’s going to be me.”
“That’s because you’re the only one here.” She looked at him then, and there was no denying the challenge in her eyes. “You’ve made it perfectly clear how you feel about the arrangement, and I agree with you. It’s not ideal. But when you’re backed into a corner, you take what you can get. If you know of another man I can marry, preferably one who is more agreeable, then I’ll be happy to swap you two.”
His jaw dropped. “One who is more agreeable?”
“Yes. One who doesn’t feel the need to make clever little retorts about how my scheming ways won’t win him over. Not that I’m trying to win you over, mind you. As far as I’m concerned, you’re like my brother, except I actually like him.”
He stared at her for a long moment, unable to believe she—someone who needed his help in the worst possible way—would have the nerve to talk to him like this. Then he recalled what he said upstairs when she offered him some cookies and chuckled in disbelief. “Is this because I wouldn’t eat cookies earlier today?”
“What? Oh, good heavens, no. It has nothing to do with cookies. It has to do with the games you’re playing.”
“Games?”
“Yes. Games. You keep saying you want to get out of here, but when you get the chance, you don’t. Then you spend the day grumbling about how miserable it is to be here while you go around the place fixing everything you can find that needs repairing.”
He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her. “Well, it’s nice to know my hard work has been appreciated around here.”
“I do appreciate you fixing things. Sep can only do so much. He’s got his hands full around here. But I can only take so much bellyaching from a grown man before I start to wish Doctor Adams had someone helping him who was a little more accepting of marriage.”
“Well, isn’t that a fine how-d’ye-do! I get forced out here with a kid who keeps pointing a gun in my direction if he so much as thinks I’m heading out of here. Even now!” Rushing to the window, he pulled aside the curtain and saw Sep pacing up and down the porch with a rifle in his hand. “Even now, your irrational brother is out there making sure I can’t leave. I might be older than him, but I can’t outrun a bullet and I’ve seen him hit a moving target with that coyote yesterday. I’m not here because I want to be. I’m here because I have no choice.”
She let out a slight chuckle and shook her head.
“I don’t care what you believe. It’s the truth.” Deciding he’d had enough of this conversation, he stormed up the stairs, muttering, “This is the thanks I get for helping people. Unbelievable.”
No wonder he thought it was smart to avoid marriage completely during the whole fiasco when his sister Jenny married the wrong man. Sure, it turned out well for them in the end, but what a bunch of grief it caused in the meantime. The whole family went into an uproar when they thought their new brother-in-law was a wanted man. Then, as if Jenny’s fiasco wasn’t bad enough, there was his brother Tom who ended up with a frilly pink buggy after he got married to Jessica, and now his life was run by all things feminine. He had four children, and every last one of them were girls. What were the chances? And now Tom talked about his feelings from time to time. Joel shook his head as he reached the top of the stairs. Why would he want to end up tearing up because his daughter said she loved him?
Then there was Sally, his other sister, who pretty much schemed and lied to Rick to get him to marry her. Why Rick didn’t catch onto what she was doing, Joel never understood. And his brother Dave had to go across state lines when his wife was abducted. Who needed that headache? It just seemed to Joel, with the exception of his brother Richard’s wife, women brought too many problems or made men weak. That was something he didn’t need.
Nope. He was
happy being a bachelor. Life was less messy that way, and if nothing else, the situation he was now stuck in proved it. He’d have to be insane to want to stick around here for the rest of his life.
Satisfied at the reminder of why he decided to avoid marriage two years ago, he glanced at his surroundings and tried to decide what he might do to pass the time until enough snow melted so he could slip on out of this prison. His gaze went to the third bedroom. No one ever went in it. It was always locked. He knew that because he checked on it from time to time, just to see if anyone did anything with it. And sure enough, they didn’t. What was in there? Grunting, he shook his head. What did he care? The third bedroom only meant this family wasn’t right in the head. No one locked up a room in their house.
He turned to April’s bedroom and figured he might as well go in there and see if there was anything he could fix. If he didn’t, he’d end up resting on the flimsy second bed in Sep’s room, and if there was one thing he hated, it was doing nothing. Granted, he pretended to be lazy while he was growing up, but that was for a good cause. There was no reason for him to go into farming so why waste time doing any more chores than he had to? And that was another excellent reason why he shouldn’t marry April. This house was on a farm, and if he married her, he’d be expected to farm. Grimacing, he pushed that notion far from his mind and examined her room.
After a casual inspection of the place, he started hammering in the side of the loose headboard of April’s bed when April entered the room with a sleepy Nora. “I don’t need you to do anything in here.”
Biting his tongue, he finished hammering in the last nail. He glanced at April who set Nora into the crib and bundled her up with a blanket. Nora let out a soft, contented sigh and shut her eyes. April smiled at her and gently rubbed her back before she added more coal to the box stove. He hated to admit it, but he did enjoy watching women take care of their children. There was a certain tenderness in their actions that reminded him of his childhood when his mother took care of him.
From downstairs, the front door opened and Sep called out to April. April jerked and turned her startled gaze in Joel’s direction. Furrowing his eyebrows, Joel strode toward the door. Something was going on, and by the anxious look on her face, he gathered it wasn’t something good.
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