Shotgun Groom (12 page)

“Thanks for the details, Tom,” Joel said, rol ing his eyes.

“There’s no need to be sarcastic,” Tom replied.

“That has nothing to do with this horrible mistake,” Joel

said, motioning to April who crossed her arms and glared

at him. “I mean the wedding is a mistake,” he told April.

“Not you. Though, come to think of it, women are trouble.”

“You’l be lucky if she doesn’t swat you for that one,” Tom

said. “I could do it for you, if you’d like, April.”

Rick cleared his throat and stood between Tom and Joel.

“Both of you are downplaying how serious this is. Lou might

be younger than Harvey, but word is, he’s nastier. I agree

with Tom. April and Sep need someone who is skil ed with

a gun and quick on his feet.”

“Owen can do it,” Joel said.

“No, he can’t. They need someone who is going to live

here,” Rick replied.

Tom looked at Joel. “April said Lou came into this house

without knocking and he threatened her and Sep. In al

good conscience, you can’t back down from this, Joel. You

have to do the right thing.”

“The right thing is having the law taking care of this mess.

They’ve dealt with riffraff many times,” Joel snapped.

“They can only do so much, Joel,” Rick calmly stated. “A

man who is head of the house is going to be a bigger

deterrent than a sheriff or deputy who comes by to check on

things. You’re the logical choice. Everyone else we know is

already married.”

Realizing he was losing the argument, Joel decided to

change tactics. “Wel , the bride’s made it clear that she

doesn’t want to marry me.”

“I can’t blame her on that one,” Tom quipped. “But even if

she’s getting the bad end of the deal, she’s wil ing to make

the sacrifice.”

Joel glared at Tom. “Rick, wil you please step outside for a

moment?”

“Why?” Rick asked.

“Because I don’t need a judge to witness what I’m about to

do to my brother,” Joel replied, not taking his eyes off of

Tom who didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the threat.

Rick opened the book, and Joel realized the piece of paper

he inserted into it was a marriage certificate which hadn’t

been signed yet. Rick tucked the paper between two other

pages in the book and motioned for April to join them.

“We’l get this ceremony started.”

Though April appeared hesitant, she joined them and

clasped her hands in front of her, so Rick began performing

the ceremony.

“I can’t believe this,” Joel muttered as Sep raised the rifle.

Exactly where did Sep think Joel was going to go? He

might be able to get away from Tom or Rick, but he wasn’t

stupid enough to believe he could tackle both of them,

especial y since they were older than him. Letting out a loud

groan, he lifted his eyes to heaven and wondered what

awful thing he did to deserve this fate. Rick went on and on

about something that had to do with this disaster, but Joel

refused to pay attention. Why would he care to listen to the

words that sealed his doom?

Beside him, April said “I do” in a tone that indicated she’d

rather not but had no choice.

Joel rol ed his eyes. That was just great. His bride showed

as much enthusiasm for this marriage as she did for the

dust she wiped up when she cleaned. Oh yes. This

marriage was going to be just the thing he needed to

complete his life. When it was his turn to say “I do,” Tom

nudged him in the side and pointed to Rick.

Narrowing his eyes at Tom, he refused to speak the

dreaded words.

“Come on, Joel,” Rick said in a gentle voice. “It’s not as

bad as you’re making it out to be.”

“How would you know?” Joel snapped.

“Because I’ve been there. Wel , not with a gun and a judge

like this, but I didn’t think I’d fal in love with your sister when

we first met. And look at us now. I can’t imagine my life

without Sal y. Sometimes love takes a while to develop.”

Joel shook his head, but Tom nudged him again. “Say it,

Joel. Let’s complete this wonderful event.”

A gun clicked from across the room where Sep stood, and

Joel made sure to groan before he muttered the words that

sealed his future for the worst. “I do.” He winced and

blinked back tears. He used to be a happy man, and now…

Rick let out an exasperated breath and asked, “I don’t

suppose you’d like to kiss the bride?”

“No!” Both Joel and April shrieked at the same time.

“But that’s the best part,” Tom said.

Joel scowled at him, but Tom’s lips curled up into an

amused smirk. “You need a heart, Tom.”

Sep lowered the gun and relaxed. “It’s done, right Judge

Johnson?”

Rick nodded and placed the marriage certificate on the

table. “Al I need are your signatures, but it’s a done deal.”

“Oh good!” Tom rubbed his hands together and hurried

over to the table where Rick handed him the fountain pen

that was tucked inside his suit jacket. “I’ve been waiting for

this day for years! I can’t wait to tel everyone Joel’s a

married man.”

“You live to torture me, don’t you?” Joel cal ed out, unable to

believe Tom went so far as to give a little leap before he

signed the certificate.

“I’l notify Doctor Adams of the marriage, and Sal y and I wil

bring your things out tomorrow. Sal y wil want to meet you,

April,” Rick said.

Joel glowered at his brother-in-law. “Doesn’t Sal y have

anything better to do than to stick her nose in everyone’s

business?”

“She’l want to welcome April into the family,” Rick clarified.

“Which is another way of saying she’l want to see April so

she can tel everyone else what she’s like. She does it

whenever anyone new comes into the family. Next thing I

know, I’l have to take everyone to a family get-together.”

“Wel , now that you mention it, Christmas is coming up.”

Tom walked over to Joel and handed him the pen. “That’s

right. April and Sep, you’l love Christmas at the Larson

household. Ma and Pa like to make it a special day.”

April glanced at Sep, and Joel couldn’t decide if April was

pleased or apprehensive about the idea of meeting the

Larson family. Given that it would be just April, Sep, and

Nora, he figured they might be overwhelmed with the size of

the Larson family. Six siblings who were married and had

children of their own to bring out to the house. It was going

to be a hectic day. But maybe that was good. He could run

off and hide for a while. With any luck, he’d find a hiding

place so good that April wouldn’t be able to find him and

drag him back to this prison.

“It’s your turn to sign,” Tom said, giving Joel a harder pat on

the back than necessary.

Trudging to the table, Joel scrawled his name and then

shoved the pen at Tom. “There. Your dirty work is done.”

Tom held the pen to April and said, “You’l have to forgive

Joel. He wakes up on the wrong side of the bed every day. I

assure you, the rest of us Larsons are much more amiable.”

Joel crossed his arms and watched in dread as April and

Sep signed the certificate. This was it. He was now a

husband whether he liked it or not. After Rick recorded the

marriage in his book, he wished them health and

happiness, adding a “Be patient. Joel wil come around,” to

April who didn’t look convinced.

Once Tom and Rick left, Nora woke up from her nap and

cried. If there was one saving grace in this whole travesty, it

was that Nora was a part of it. April seemed to be more

than happy for an excuse to run upstairs to get away from

him.

Figures.
Not that Joel cared. Maybe now that he was

strapped to her for the rest of his life, she’d leave him

alone. Ignoring Sep, Joel decided he might as wel make

the best of it and looked for something else to fix around

the house.

Chapter Ten

April didn’t know if Joel would come downstairs to eat

supper or not, but she set out his plate and cup, just in

case. Sep had told her he was upstairs again and finding

more furniture to fix in her room. Most likely, he was hiding

from them and mourning the loss of his freedom as a

carefree bachelor.

She, on the other hand, didn’t know how to feel about the

whole thing. Granted, the situation wasn’t ideal. Having

Tom and Rick force the marriage while Sep stood there

with a gun was hardly a woman’s dream wedding. And if

she was Joel, she wouldn’t like the way the marriage came

about either. So she couldn’t blame him for being upset.

She didn’t relish the thought of living with someone who

resented her. She’d gone from one miserable marriage

right into another. But al of these thoughts conflicted with

the relief she experienced at knowing Sep no longer had to

fol ow Joel around with a gun if Joel so much as got near

the front or back door.

When it was time to eat, she went to the hal way and cal ed

for the men to come to the kitchen. From where Nora sat in

the highchair, she impatiently motioned to the food and

whimpered. “Patience, honey. It’s coming,” April said while

she set the large dishes in the center of the table.

Sep entered the kitchen and took his seat across from

April. “It looks good, sis,” he said, motioning to the boiled

potatoes, pemmican, and slices of bread.

“Do you think Joel’s coming?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Last time I saw him, he was standing in the

hal way and staring at the wal . Maybe he’s not right in the

head.”

“No, he’s fine in the head. I think he’s in shock.”

“Maybe.” He glanced at the hal way. “Do we start eating?”

She sat next to Nora who was reaching for the food. Nora’s

lower lip trembled, and April knew that in another minute,

she’d start bel owing if she didn’t get something to eat. “We

might as wel dig in,” she told Sep and gathered food to put

on her daughter’s plate. “If he wants to eat, he’l come

down.”

Halfway through the meal, she was beginning to believe

Joel chose to go without supper when he trudged into the

kitchen, his shoulders slumped and looking as if he lost his

favorite horse. He col apsed next to Sep and languidly took

one of the rol s and plopped it on his plate. He proceeded

to take his portion of the potatoes and pemmican. With

what could only be construed as a total lack of energy, he

slowly lifted the cup of coffee to his lips and spent a good

thirty seconds on sipping it before he placed the cup back

on the table. He picked up his fork and poked one of the

potatoes but spent a moment, stil as a rock, before he

final y lifted the potato to his mouth.

April’s sympathy for Joel flew right out the window. She shot

Sep an “I can’t believe this” look. Sep tapped his temple

and crossed his eyes in a manner that told her he thought

Joel wasn’t al mental y there. She shook her head to

protest. That was just sil y. Of course, Joel’s mental ability

was fine. Joel was just putting on a show like a kid throwing

a tantrum because he didn’t get his way.

Figuring that paying attention to him would only encourage

his behavior, she ignored him and focused on feeding

Nora. The meal was as awkward and tense as every single

meal had been ever since he showed up at their house, so

that was nothing new. But toward the end of it when he let

out a long and drawn-out sigh for what had to be the

twentieth time during the meal, she lost her temper and

slammed her fork on the table. Startled, Joel and Sep

stared at her with wide eyes.

Placing her hands on her hips, she set her irritated gaze on

Joel and snapped, “If you sigh one more time, I’m going to

dump what’s left on your plate into the sink. I’ve had enough

of this. You are a grown man, not a little kid. Now act your

age!”

For a long moment, he stared at her. Then something in

him sparked to life, and he threw his cloth napkin on the

table. “Since I am now the head of the household, I demand

to be treated with respect.”

“When you act like a reasonable adult, I’l treat you with

respect.”

“And I suppose throwing my food into the sink is an action

that would prompt me to respect you?”

“I don’t care if you treat me with respect or not. I just want

my brother and daughter to be safe.”

“Then you’d better start treating me with respect.”

“Exactly how do you want me to do that? Sit at your feet and