Shotgun Groom (23 page)

better.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

“Unless you want to try to do it now.”

“I can tel you’re ready,” she replied, moving her hip so that

it pressed more firmly against his erection.

He groaned and kissed her again, this time letting his

tongue trace her bottom lip until she parted her lips for him.

Accepting her silent invitation, he slipped his tongue into

her mouth to deepen the kiss. She let out a soft sigh and

brought her arms around his neck, pul ing him closer to her.

He loved having her in his arms. She was absolutely

wonderful. Soft and warm and welcoming. Nope. He

couldn’t think of anything better than doing what he was

right now.

Unlike last night, she responded to him right away. She’d

been hesitant before, but she wasn’t today, and he took that

as a very good sign. He didn’t know the specifics on her

relationship with Harvey, but he understood enough to know

that Harvey hadn’t treated her wel , in or out of the bedroom.

But she was quick to adapt to Joel, and that was something

he didn’t take for granted. He vowed he wouldn’t give her a

reason to ever be hesitant to be in bed with him.

He lightly squeezed her breast, and she arched her back so

she was more ful y inside his palm. In the dark of the night,

he hadn’t been able to see her bare flesh, but he could now

as the day was starting. Letting go of her breast, he moved

the blanket so it settled around her waist. His mouth left

hers, and he left a trail of kisses down her neck,

encouraged by her soft moans which told him she wanted

him to keep going.

His hand slipped back under the blanket and traveled from

her abdomen to the dark patch of curls that would take him

to her entrance. Her legs parted for him and his fingers

teased her. She murmured for him to put his fingers inside

her, and he was ready to comply when his lips reached the

top of her breast. Blinking, he stopped what he was doing

and brought his head up so he could get a better look at the

scratch above her breast. From the looks of it, it happened

recently.

“Did you scratch yourself?” he asked, bringing his hand up

to the mark, trying to judge the size of the nail that made the

wound. She grabbed his hand and kissed him, but he

pul ed away from her. “You didn’t do this.” If she did, she’d

just tel him. But she was hiding something. “Who did this to

you, April?”

“I don’t want to think about it.”

“Wel , I do. Look, you’re my wife, and because of that,

you’re a part of me. If someone hurt you, they also hurt me.

Do you understand?”

Furrowing her eyebrows, she nodded.

He brought her in his arms and kissed her temple. “It’s

alright, sweetheart. You’re with me now. I’l do everything I

can to protect you, but I have to know what I need to protect

you from.”

She took a deep breath and softly said, “It was Lou.”

“Lou?”

“Harvey’s brother.”

“I know who he is. I was just surprised. I thought al he did

was come into the house before Sep made him leave.”

She cleared her throat. “Sep did make him leave, and if

Lou hadn’t been drunk, he would have kil ed Sep. He’s a

good shot.”

“Sep got him somewhere because I saw blood on the

porch.” After a moment of silence, he asked, “So when did

the scratch happen?” He knew he wasn’t going to like the

answer, but he had to know.

“He came into the house while Sep was in the barn. He

tried to take advantage of me. I said no, but he was drunk

and… Um… He was trying to, but Sep stopped him.”

Joel breathed a sigh of relief. “Why didn’t you tel me he

tried to rape you?”

“I thought about it, but Sep didn’t want me to so I didn’t. It

wasn’t easy for him to see Lou doing that.”

“I imagine it wasn’t easy for you either.”

“No,” she softly replied, snuggling closer to him.

He tightened his hold on her. Now he understood why Sep

held a gun to him when he came out to check on Nora. The

kid was only fourteen and just watched an adult attack his

sister. Sep was acting out in fear. If it’d been him in Sep’s

shoes, he would have done anything to protect his sister.

“You and Sep are close,” he commented, rubbing her back.

“It’s been just the two of us taking care of Nora and the farm

for almost a year.”

“Didn’t anyone from your church or any neighbors help?”

“Harvey drove them away.”

“That’s a shame.”

She shrugged.

“If you want, we could go to the church my family attends.

You saw the size of my family. They make up a fourth of the

congregation.”

Chuckling, she said, “Why am I not surprised?”

Sensing the change in tone, he cupped her face in his

hands and kissed her. Nora stirred from behind the divider

he set up, so he ended the kiss. “I think she’s tel ing us it’s

time to get the day started.”

Before he could get out of bed, she held onto him and

asked, “Do you stil want to be intimate with me, even

knowing what Lou did?”

Surprised she even had to ask the question, he stroked her

cheek with his thumb and looked into her eyes. “Of course, I

do. What Lou did was awful, but it doesn’t change the way I

feel about you. You’re my wife, and I care about you.”

Blinking back her tears, she smiled and whispered, “I care

about you, too.”

Nora cal ed out for her mother, so Joel gave her a quick

kiss. “As much as I was hoping to get intimate before she

woke up, something tel s me I’l only want you more after

you teased me this morning.” He got up from the bed and

picked up his pants.

“I teased you?” she playful y asked as she eased out of the

bed, her hair fal ing in soft waves over her shoulders.

He noted where her hair ended at the top of her nipples.

Then his gaze fel lower to the dark patch of curls between

her legs. He hadn’t gotten a good look at her last night, but

now that he did, he wanted nothing more than to get her

back into bed so he could make love to her. But that would

have to wait. Nora was awake, and there was no way he

could be in bed with April unless Nora was sound asleep.

Not being able to make love to her, however, didn’t stop

him from watching as she got dressed. He wanted to

memorize how she looked so he could think of her during

the day. When she was ful y dressed, he slipped on his

pants.

“I’l get the coffee going,” he told her as she picked Nora up

from the crib. He ruffled the little girl’s hair. “Good morning

there.”

Nora giggled and held her arms out to him.

“Wonderful,” April said. “I’m being replaced.”

“No one ever takes the place of a mother.” He kissed

April’s cheek and told Nora, “I’l hold you when you get

downstairs, alright?”

“Go on. We’l be down in five minutes,” April replied as she

carried Nora to the dresser and grabbed a clean cloth

diaper.

“You know, it just occurred to me that there’s a good

amount of time during the day when she takes a nap.” His

eyebrows rose suggestively. “We don’t have to wait for

tonight.”

Though her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink, she

winked at him. “I’l let you know when I put her down for a

nap.”

Counting down to how long that would be, he left the room

and headed down the steps.

Chapter Eighteen

Two days later, Joel took April, Sep, and Nora to Sal y’s.

As he pul ed the sleigh to a stop, he asked Sep, “Do you

want to join me in making my rounds with Doctor Adams? I

promise to treat you like an equal.”

From where he sat next to April, Sep gave Joel a skeptical

look.

“I know I’ve been treating you like a little kid,” Joel said. “On

the way here, I recal ed how my brothers and sisters treated

me like I couldn’t do the job right because I was the

youngest. I didn’t care for it back then, and I reckon you

don’t care for it now, given the punch you gave me on

Christmas day.”

Surprised, April glanced between her husband and her

brother. “What?” Turning to Sep, she asked, “You punched

Joel?”

His face red, Sep shrugged. “It just happened. I was upset

and didn’t think about the consequences.”

She studied Joel, wondering if he was as angry as Harvey

had been when Sep punched him. Sep hit Harvey when he

caught Harvey throwing a bowl of hot soup at her. Harvey

was drunk and wanted a sandwich, and even though she

reminded him that he asked for soup, he referred to her as

an insolent whore and threw the bowl at her. Sep got up

from the table and decked him. The problem was, Sep had

been thirteen and was no match for him. That was the first

time Harvey took Sep to the third bedroom. Heart racing

from the memory, she swal owed and asked Joel, “What

happened when he hit you?”

“Nothing,” Joel said. “Wel , I told him to get the coffee

going.”

Turning her gaze to Sep, her eyes begged him to tel her

whether that was true or not because she had to know if

Joel struck back. Even if it would break her heart because

she’d fal en in love with her husband, she had to know what

kind of man he real y was.

“That’s how it happened,” Sep softly told her. “He wanted

me to stay inside the house while he took care of the

animals because it was too cold, and I argued that I was old

enough to handle it. I hit him, he told me to make the coffee,

and I did.”

“That was it?” she pressed, trying to find any clues that he

was tel ing her what she wanted to hear instead of the truth.

“Yes,” Sep replied. “You came down shortly after that and

asked me why I was making coffee.”

Relieved, she exhaled. Thank goodness Joel hadn’t acted

like Harvey did. She returned her attention to Joel and said,

“Thank you.”

Joel’s eyebrows furrowed. “Al I did was have him make a

pot of coffee.” His gaze shifting to Sep, he added, “This

time I’l explain why things must be done a certain way when

we assist the doctor. I’ve been expecting you to know the

ins and outs of the job, but I have to remember that I didn’t

start out knowing everything. The doctor was patient with

me, and I need to give you the same respect. So, what do

you say? Want to join me instead of hanging around a

group of cackling women?”

April huffed in indignation, though a slight smile betrayed

her. “Cackling women?”

“Sure,” Joel said. “Sal y and Jenny can get downright loud

when they’re together.” Leaning toward her to give her a

kiss on the cheek, he added, “You don’t cackle. To be

honest, I don’t know how you bear with them al day when I

help the doctor.”

“I know you’re jesting,” she playful y admonished as she

brushed back a lock of Nora’s hair from her face. “Your

sisters are very sweet.”

“And noisy,” Sep muttered under his breath. “You can hear

them from a mile away.”

April thought to protest, but Joel laughed. “Trust me, April.

No man wants to be around a group of women if he doesn’t

have to. One of you at a time is fine. If they’re young like

Nora, fine. But adult women visiting each other? No way.”

“It’s a wonder I manage with a group of men around me al

the time,” she teased, glancing at the men on either side of

her.

“Men are different,” Joel replied. “We’re easy to get along

with.”

“That depends on the men,” she began, “but I agree that

you and Sep are easy enough.”

Joel held his arms out to Nora who reached for him.

Holding her, he told April, “Sep and I wil be assisting the

doctor, and we’l stop by to get you after we see if Owen

found out anything about Lou. I’d like to put that matter to

rest.”

She would, too, but at least she didn’t feel so afraid with

Joel around. As she stood up, she told Sep to have a good

day and then took Joel’s hand as he helped her down from

the sleigh. On their way to Sal y’s front door, she said,

“Thank you for being good to Sep.”

“I suppose I let our shaky beginning get in the way of doing

right by him, but there’s no reason why we can’t set things

as they should be.” They stopped at the door and he

smiled. “He’s a good kid. He just needs direction. I don’t

expect things to go smoothly al the time, but we’l get

there.”

She kissed his cheek. “He needs a good man to guide him,