Shotgun Groom (3 page)

trickling down her cheeks. “Stop.”

He brought his lips to her mouth and kissed her, his tongue

thrusting between her lips and she nearly gagged. His

mouth stayed firmly on hers, his tongue sweeping across

hers. She shuddered and pushed at him, but he held her

around the waist and brought his other hand to her breast.

She tried to scream but couldn’t since his tongue was stil

roaming inside her mouth.

Tears slid down her cheeks. He was going to rape her, and

there was nothing she could do to stop him. He was too

strong. She hadn’t thought anything could be worse than

enduring Harvey’s pinching hands and forceful movements,

but now she knew there was. As a last ditch effort, she

kicked at his shin, hoping her boot was sharp enough to

catch him off guard, but she missed his shin and hit the air.

The action caught her off balance and she would have fal en

back if he hadn’t had her securely pinned against him.

His mouth left hers. “I told you to be nice,” he snapped,

pushing her to the table. He shoved her onto it and held her

wrists above her head with one hand. He wedged his body

between her legs and ripped the top of her dress and

chemise. She wiggled as much as she could to get away

from him, which proved to be a pitiful attempt since she only

gained two inches. He grasped her bare breast and

squeezed it.

She screamed for Sep, hoping he’d be done taking care of

the animals.

Lou slapped his hand over her mouth. “Next time you

scream, I’l knock you unconscious. I’l have you either way.”

She screamed again, deciding she’d rather not be awake

when he did what he intended to do. He let go of her mouth

and raised his fist to strike her, but a gunshot echoed

through the kitchen before he could do it. He stumbled and

fel to the floor. Seeing her chance, she rol ed off the table

and ran to her brother who was holding a rifle.

“It’s Harvey’s brother,” she told Sep though her voice shook

so badly she could hardly speak.

“Get up you sniveling coward,” Sep barked, his rifle aimed

at the table.

Gulping, she waited for Lou to get off the floor. Her stomach

rol ed and she swore she was going to throw up.
Just don’t

think about it. He didn’t rape me. He came close, but he

failed.

The click of Lou’s gun echoed through the smal kitchen.

Shrieking, she ducked and her brother fired as Lou

emerged from the side of the table and shot at him. She

placed her hands over her head and squeezed her eyes

shut tight. A loud thud and shattering plates erupted amid a

scuffle. Someone was going to end up dead. She just knew

it! She just prayed it wasn’t her brother.

When someone threw the door open, she dared a look up.

She caught sight of Sep chasing Lou out of the house.

Trembling, she got to her feet and hurried to the doorway.

Sep stopped on the porch and fired a couple of shots, but

Lou was already hightailing it out of there on his horse.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to inspect the damage

in the kitchen. The table was on its side and two of the

dishes on one of the shelves lining the wal were scattered

in pieces al over the floor. Upon closer inspection, she saw

a bul et in the table leg, so Sep had gotten close to

shooting Lou. Lou, however, hadn’t gotten close to Sep.

The bul et on the wal was so close to the ceiling that April

realized how drunk Lou was. She pressed her hand to her

forehead and closed her eyes. Thankful y, Lou was too

drunk to shoot wel .

She opened her eyes in time for Sep to come back into the

house. “I can’t believe I missed. The rat should be dead

after what he was about to do.”

Remembering her torn dress, she moved the fabric in place

to cover her chest. “I’m glad you came when you did.” She

took a deep breath to calm her stomach. As long as she

kept her thoughts clear, she should be alright.

“Why did he come here anyway? Did he come to take

advantage of you?” Sep asked, bitterness in his tone.

“He expected to walk right in here and be my next husband.

I suppose he thought if he took advantage, I’d have to say

yes.” Bile rose in her throat again and she swal owed. “I

can’t talk about it, at least not until I can think about it

without being sick.”

“I understand,” he softly said.

Nora’s cries broke through the awkward silence, and April

was glad to think of something—anything—other than Lou!

“I’l get Nora.”

He nodded. “While you do that, I’l clean up the kitchen.”

She could tel he wasn’t happy. And who could blame him?

If someone had threatened him, she’d be mad enough to

shoot a gun, too. Lou had always given her the creeps, but

she didn’t honestly think he’d try to rape her. She grimaced

as her stomach rol ed again.
Don’t think about it.
She

hastened up the stairs until she reached the crib where

Nora was standing with her arms raised up.

“I’m here, honey,” she whispered as she lifted Nora in her

arms. Kissing her forehead, April judged how warm her

daughter was and found that she was cooler than before.

Tears sprang to her eyes and she laughed. “You know, with

al that crying you were doing, you had me scared.”

She laid Nora on her bed and changed her cloth diaper,

throwing the soiled one into a bucket ful of ammonia. Nora

giggled and grabbed for the blanket which was folded on

the bed and put it in her mouth.

April brushed her tears away and smiled. “Sil y, girl. You

can’t eat that.” Removing the blanket from Nora’s hands,

she asked, “Are you hungry?”

Nora sat up and sucked on her fingers.

“I’l take that as a yes,” April replied.

As she put Nora on the floor, she saw herself in the mirror

above the dresser. Her hair was untidy and she had a

scratch on the top part of her breast from where Lou had

ripped the dress. Hands shaking, she went to the basin on

the smal table by the dresser and poured some water into

it. Taking the cloth off the hook hanging on the wal , she wet

it down and rubbed the bar of soap on it until she worked

up a good lather.

She meant to clean the wound, but before she knew it, she

was scrubbing her breasts and crying. No matter how much

soap and water she used, she stil felt dirty. The bile rose

up in her throat and she leaned forward to throw up into the

basin. When her heaving subsided, she remained over the

basin, unable to stop crying.

Nora tugged on her dress and cal ed out, “Ma,” which made

her sob harder. She had to be strong for Nora and Sep.

She was the oldest one in the house. It was up to her to

keep things going.

Gathering al the strength she had left in her body, she

straightened up and took a deep breath, aware that Nora

stayed with her. She could do this. She could go downstairs

and make supper. It was just a matter of taking it one step

at a time and doing what needed to be done.

She took the washcloth that was beside the basin and

wiped her face. The cool cloth and familiar scent of honey

soap provided a strange sense of comfort. Maybe it was

because her mother used honey soap. It was one of her few

memories of her mother who’d died giving birth to Sep.

“Ma?” Nora asked, once again tugging on her dress. “Eat.”

Right. Supper. She put the cloth down and turned to her

daughter. “Yes, sweetheart. I’l make you something to eat. I

need to change my dress first.”

When she had another dress on, she picked Nora up and

left the bedroom. She’d empty the wash basin and clean it

later. At the moment, she had to take care of her family.

Cuddling her daughter, she headed down the stairs to

make supper. Her daughter was feeling better, and as long

as she focused on that, she’d be just fine.

Chapter Three

Early the next morning before Nora woke up, April got to

work on sewing the ripped dress. The chemise was beyond

repair, but she could fix the dress so that she could wear it

again. She certainly didn’t have the money required to

replace it, and she only had this dress and the one she had

on. Pul ing the needle and thread through the dress, she

glanced out the parlor window. She enjoyed sitting by it.

This morning, the snow was fal ing softly from the sky. Sep

had put more firewood into the fireplace before he left to do

the morning chores, and besides the crackling fire and the

creaking of the rocking chair as she rocked back and forth,

it was quiet in the house. It was the most peaceful time of

the day.

She continued working on the dress, nothing particular on

her mind. She’d glance out the window to monitor how

much snow they were getting. From time to time, she saw

Sep as he made his rounds on the property. By the time

she heard Nora babbling upstairs, she had finished

repairing half the damage done to the dress. Gathering her

dress and her sewing kit, she took them upstairs. Once she

entered her room, she smiled at Nora who was pul ing

herself up on the bars of the crib.

“You look good this morning,” April said as she set her

things on the dresser. “I think the fact that you were able to

sleep al night helped.”

Nora lifted her arms, so April picked her up and changed

her diaper. By the time she had her dressed for the day, the

front door opened and Sep cal ed out that he was done with

the morning chores.

“It’s time to get breakfast going.” She took Nora in her arms

and carried her down the stairs. When she reached the

kitchen, she set her girl in the highchair and turned to the

shelf to grab the flour. “Do you want pancakes this

morning?” she cal ed out to Sep who brought in a bucket of

water from the wel out back.

“That sounds good.” He placed the bucket on the work

table. “The temperature’s dropping out there. I think we’re in

for a snowstorm. Hopeful y, the doctor’s assistant wil make

it here.”

“Even if he doesn’t, Nora’s on the mend.”

“I’d stil like for him to come out here.”

Surprised by the determined tone in his voice, she eyed

him. “What’s going on with you?”

He shrugged and turned to the cook stove. “I already put

cow chips in there.”

She placed the sack of flour and large bowl on the table.

Putting her hands on her hips, she walked over to Sep as

he placed a pot on the range. “I’m your sister. I know when

you’re up to something, so you might as wel spil it.”

“I’m concerned about Nora, that’s al .” Avoiding eye contact

with her, he retrieved the bucket of water and poured some

of it into the pot. “Want me to start coffee?”

“Sep,” she said, a warning tone in her voice.

A knock at the front door echoed through the house, and

she caught the relieved look on his face before he scurried

out of the kitchen to answer the front door. With a sigh, she

grabbed the apron from the hook by the kitchen door.

She’d get breakfast for everyone, and that included Joel.

She couldn’t send him off into the snow without a ful bel y.

As she finished securing the strings on her apron, Joel

entered the kitchen with a smal bag. She frowned. Where

was Sep? For someone so concerned about Nora, he was

nowhere in sight. Her brother was definitely up to

something.

Joel smiled as he walked over to Nora who was banging

her hands on the tray in front of her. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” April replied, her gaze shifting to the hal way.

From where she stood, she couldn’t see Sep.

“I’d ask how Nora’s doing, but the color’s back in her face

and she’s happy.” He touched her forehead. “The fever’s

gone.”

Forcing her attention off the hal way, April looked at Joel

and nodded. “Yes. After you helped her settle down

yesterday, she had a real good nap, and when she woke

up, she was much better.”

“Good. I’m glad I made the trip for nothing.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Sep said.

April’s eyes went back to the hal way and she gasped. Her

brother came to the kitchen entrance with a rifle in his

hands.

“Sep, what are you doing?” she asked.

Instead of answering her, Sep stepped further into the

kitchen and motioned for Joel to sit down.

“Now look here, you can’t go threatening people with a

gun,” Joel said in a soothing voice. “Put it down, and we’l