Shotgun Groom Read online

  Shotgun Groom

  Ruth Ann Nordin

  Shotgun Groom - Smashwords Edition

  Published by Ruth Ann Nordin at Smashwords

  Copyright © 2011 by Ruth Ann Nordin

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. If you would like to share this book with another person, please do. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cover made by Dara England http://mycoverart.wordpress.com/

  Ruth Ann Nordin Books

  http://www.ruthannnordin.com

  Dedicated to April Mitchell. May God richly bless you!

  Other Books by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Nebraska Series (Historical Romances)

  Her Heart’s Desire (coming soon)

  A Bride for Tom (novella)

  A Husband for Margaret (novella)

  Eye of the Beholder

  The Wrong Husband

  Shotgun Groom

  To Have and To Hold (coming soon)

  His Redeeming Bride

  Isaac’s Decision (coming soon)

  South Dakota Series (Historical Romances)

  Loving Eliza

  Bid for a Bride

  Bride of Second Chances

  Virginia Brides Series (Historical)

  An Unlikely Place for Love

  The Cold Wife

  An Inconvenient Marriage

  Romancing Adrienne

  Native American Romance Series (Historical)

  Restoring Hope

  Brave Beginnings

  Bound by Honor, Bound by Love (coming soon)

  Other Historical Romances

  Falling In Love With Her Husband

  Meant To Be (time travel: from present to past)

  A Chance In Time (novella that intersects Restoring Hope and Meant To Be)

  Omaha Brides (Contemporary Romances)

  With This Ring, I Thee Dread

  What Nathan Wants

  Across the Stars Series (Contemporary Romances)

  Suddenly a Bride

  Christian Sci-Fi Thriller

  Return of the Aliens

  Chapter One

  Omaha, Nebraska

  December 1878

  April Edwards bounced her thirteen-month-old daughter, Nora, on her hip in hopes of settling her down. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. As if coming into town wasn’t bad enough, her little girl wouldn’t stop crying. Closing her eyes, she released her breath slowly. The doctor would be done with the other patient soon. She opened her eyes and paced the small room which had two chairs and a window.

  “Hush, sweetie,” April whispered. “The doctor will know how to make you feel better.” She hoped. Oh how she hoped!

  Nora quieted for a moment, but before April could breathe a sigh of relief, Nora’s lower lip trembled and she let out another wail.

  The door opened a few feet from them and a young man carrying a medical bag entered the room. He stomped the snow off his boots on the rug. Glancing in her direction, he put the bag on the small table by the door and took off his coat. “Is the doctor here?”

  Rubbing Nora’s back, April nodded. “He’s almost done with a patient.”

  He put his coat and hat on the coat tree. “Mind if I see her?”

  Shaking her head, she handed Nora to him. “Are you a doctor?”

  “No, but I assist him.”

  “Oh.” She brushed a wisp of her dark brown hair from her eyes. “I hear Doctor Adams is the best there is.”

  “I won’t argue that.” He touched Nora’s forehead. “So, you’re not feeling well, huh? Usually, I’d say that’s because you’ve been around my brother Tom. He’s been known to make people sick.”

  April felt a smile tug at her lips from his joke. She watched as he sat down and hummed to her daughter.

  He turned his attention to April. “How long has your daughter had a fever?”

  Noticing that Nora quieted down, she lowered her voice, relieved she no longer had to talk over the girl’s wails. “The fever started last night. It was a minor one, and she wasn’t fussing much. I figured it’d be gone by morning, but it wasn’t.”

  “Is she eating anything?”

  “No. She’ll take small sips of water but that’s about it.”

  He glanced back at Nora whose eyelids were growing heavy. “Her breathing sounds fine. Does she have diarrhea?”

  “No.”

  “I don’t think this is anything serious but to be sure, Doctor Adams needs to look at her.”

  Her gaze went to her daughter. Besides the wonderful silence in the room, she was impressed with his ability to calm Nora down. “You have a way with children.”

  He shrugged. “My folks find a way to get the whole family out to their place, so I see my nephews and nieces often enough. Now, the little tykes can’t tell you I’m their favorite uncle because that would make their other uncles feel bad, but it’s true.”

  At that, she chuckled. “That’s nice of you.”

  “I do what I can to shelter my brothers from the harsh reality,” he joked.

  “You mentioned nephews and nieces. Don’t you have any children of your own?” Sure, he looked young, but she was nineteen and had a child. It stood to reason he might, too.

  “No,” he replied. “I don’t have children or a wife.”

  A woman and a young boy with a bandaged arm came out of the other room. “Thank you, Doctor Adams,” she said.

  “Anytime,” the doctor said with a wide smile. Looking at the boy, he continued, “Streets aren’t a safe place to be playing.”

  “Yes, sir,” the boy replied, his cheeks pink.

  Ruffling the boy’s hair, the doctor laughed. “I remember what it was like to be young, but you needn’t worry your mother.”

  The boy nodded as he and his mother left.

  The doctor walked over to April and the man holding her child. “What’s wrong with this little one?”

  April cleared her throat. “Nora got a fever last night, and she’s not any better today.”

  The doctor held out his arms. “Let me see her, Joel.”

  Joel carefully placed the sleeping child into Doctor Adams’ arms.

  The doctor motioned for April to join him in the other room, so she did. As he examined Nora, she glanced out of the room and saw that Joel was straightening the picture on the wall. His dark blond hair fell partly over his eyes so he brushed it back. He was a handsome young man. Broad shoulders, slender, half-a-foot taller than her, blue eyes, full lips that curled into a wonderful smile… Perhaps he wasn’t married because he wanted time to sow his wild oats? That’s what all men did before they settled down, after all. She sighed in disappointment.

  “I think your daughter will be fine,” the doctor said.

  Dragging her attention away from Joel, she looked at her sleeping child.

  “I’ll give you something to make her more comfortable so she can rest,” he continued. “You live out at your father’s farm, correct?”

  “Correct.”

  “I’ll have Joel come out to your place tomorrow morning to check on you.”

  “Alright,” she replied. “He was real good with Nora. I couldn’t get her t
o settle down, but he held her and it did the trick. I can’t remember seeing a man that good with a child.”

  Doctor Adams chuckled. “Yes, he’s good with children. It makes my job easier.”

  “I’m sure it does.” She cuddled her daughter to her chest. “Thank you, Doctor.”

  “Anytime.”

  As she headed for the front door, Joel hurried to it and opened it for her. “I can help you into your wagon.”

  “Oh, my brother said he’d be back once he picked up some supplies from the mercantile.” Looking at the empty spot in front of the small building, she sighed. “I suppose he’s still there. I’ll just walk down there and find him.”

  “It’s awfully cold out today.” He glanced at Nora as April wrapped her coat around her so she could hold her closer for extra warmth. “The doc’s buggy is right out there. Let me take you over.” He grabbed a folded up blanket on the table and motioned for her to go to the buggy.

  She hesitated for a moment, but she took a good look at Joel and knew she was safe with him. “Alright.” She stepped through the doorway and waited for him to join her so they could walk to the buggy.

  With one arm cradling Nora, she held her hat down with her free hand so it wouldn’t blow off her head. When they reached the buggy, Joel took her by the elbow and helped her into the seat. He wrapped a blanket around her legs.

  She watched as he went to his side of the buggy and hopped in. Clearing her throat, she said, “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Despite the cold air, her skin warmed when he glanced in her direction before he picked up the reins and urged the horse forward. “I see Nora is still asleep.”

  “Yes,” she replied as she glanced at her contented child. “It’s a relief. Not just for the quiet but also because I hope the rest will be what it takes to get rid of the fever.”

  “I hear you there. You know, when my brothers and sisters had a fever, our mother would give us a lukewarm bath. I’m not saying medicine doesn’t have its place, but I prefer to try more natural remedies if I can.” He motioned to the overcast sky. “I suspect we’re due for snow. Do you still have snow out there where you live?”

  “Parts of the land are still covered with snow. The wind blew some snowdrifts. Once that wind gets started, it doesn’t know when to quit.”

  With a laugh, he nodded. “That’s why I like living in town. The buildings help buffer places from the snow. My parents built a shelter belt around their farm, but sometimes the wind blows in the opposite direction so the trees do no good.”

  “My pa never saw fit to make a shelter belt. Said it was a waste of time.” She shrugged. “Guess he knew what he was talking about.”

  “Did your family come out here because of the Homestead Act?”

  “Yes.”

  “Mine did, too. My parents thought all of their boys would be farmers.” He rolled his eyes. “I had to purposely do a poor job to get them off that notion.”

  She chuckled. “That’s a wicked thing to do.”

  “It was either be lazy or get stuck building a sod house I’d be living in while tending to a farm I didn’t want to manage.”

  “Your parents enjoy farming?”

  “They do, and so do all of my brothers except for the oldest, but he went into construction back when we lived in New York.”

  “I do some farm work, and I don’t mind it.”

  “I’ve heard of a couple women who ran farms of their own. It’s not common, of course, but it’s been known to happen.” Motioning to Nora, he added, “You’re not doing much farming these days, though.”

  “I assist my brother almost as much as before. I just strap Nora to my back like the Indians do with their young.”

  He frowned. “But what about your husband? Surely, he’d rather have you tending to the child if your brother can lend a helping hand.”

  “Oh, well, he died in March.” She decided to leave the detail of the saloon and gunfight out of the discussion. It’d been a long time since she had a good conversation with someone, and she didn’t want to waste this opportunity by bringing up unpleasant topics. Clearing her throat, she continued, “It’s alright. My brother and I get along fine. My pa taught us everything we needed to know, and last year, we had a good crop at harvest.”

  He pulled the buggy up to the mercantile and set the brake. “There’s a patch of ice over on your side. I’ll help you out.”

  She waited for him to come to her side before she pushed the blanket aside. He took her by the elbow and her skin tingled. It was such a strange sensation that she hesitated. It was nothing like being touched by her husband. When Harvey touched her, she had to fight the urge to shudder. But with Joel, she found that she didn’t mind it one bit. In fact, she found his touch…pleasant.

  “Your timing is perfect, sis. I just finished getting the groceries.”

  She looked over at her fourteen-year-old brother who came out of the mercantile with a box full of things they needed. “Good, Sep.” After she got out of the buggy, she told Joel, “My brother’s full name is September. My name is April. Guess which months we were born in?”

  A big smile crossed Joel’s face. “No kidding?”

  Chuckling, she said, “Our parents couldn’t agree on a name, so they decided to name us on the month we were born. My brother doesn’t like to be called September, so he goes by Sep.”

  “I don’t blame him. April works fine if you’re a girl, but September doesn’t fit for a boy.” Keeping his hand on her elbow, he helped her onto the boardwalk which was clear of all remaining snow. “But as I think about it, I can’t think of a month that fits any boy.”

  “I can’t either.”

  Her brother set the box in their old wagon and said, “Lucky me, huh?”

  “Now hold on,” April said. “August is a man’s name.”

  “True. I didn’t think of that,” Joel said before he turned his attention to Sep. “Do you have any more boxes to load into the wagon?”

  “Three more,” Sep replied.

  Looking at her, Joel said, “I’ll get you into the wagon and then help your brother.”

  Joel led her a few steps to the edge of the boardwalk and then to the wagon. Once she was settled in her seat, he went into the mercantile with her brother and came out with a box.

  Nora let out a happy sigh, and April grinned. “He is a keeper, isn’t he?” she whispered to her daughter as she watched Joel set the box in the wagon.

  After her brother put the last box into the wagon, Joel helped him secure the items. “I’ll be out tomorrow to check on your child,” he called out to her.

  “Thank you,” she replied.

  Her brother hopped into the wagon. Her attention stayed on Joel as he went into the mercantile, and her brother must have noticed since he chuckled. “I thought you said you didn’t need a man.”

  Forcing her gaze off the door as it closed behind Joel, she rolled her eyes. “I told you I don’t need a man who’ll give me grief. My marriage to Harvey lasted two years too long.” And those two years felt more like twenty when she looked back on them.

  “Who was he?” Sep asked as he urged the horses forward.

  “Joel. He helps Doctor Adams.”

  “You like him.”

  “Of course, I do. He was very nice. He even helped you with the heavy boxes.”

  Giving her a knowing look, he said, “I meant, you’re interested in him, as in you’d let him court you if he asked.”

  “Be serious, Sep. He has better prospects than a woman with a rundown farm and a daughter to care for.”

  “It’s because of Harvey that the farm is in the shape it is.”

  The bitterness in his tone didn’t surprise her. With a shrug, she said, “Give us a couple of years and we’ll have that farm in tip-top shape. We’ll even replenish the animals Harvey sold.”

  “You’re right. We need to be patient.”

  “Fortunately, we don’t have anyone preventing us fr
om getting the farm back to how it was when our pa was alive.”

  He nodded. “Fortunately, indeed.”

  She examined Nora and saw that her daughter was still asleep. With any luck, the fever would be gone when she woke up. She kissed Nora’s forehead and thought of their future. It was going to be a good one. She and Sep would make the farm one they could be proud of soon enough. All it was going to take was time, and time was something they had in their favor.

  Chapter Two

  After they returned home, Sep headed out to the barn to take care of the few animals they had left. As Joel suggested, April gave Nora a lukewarm bath and fed her as much as she would eat before giving her the medicine from the doctor.

  Once Nora settled into a nap, she started making supper. She placed the beans into the pot of seasoned boiling water. The front door opened, so she called out, “Done already, Sep?”

  Instead of Sep’s reply, she heard footsteps in the parlor. Frowning, she wiped her hands on her apron and went to see what her brother was up to. She made it halfway down the narrow hallway when a familiar man came out of the parlor. Her steps came to an abrupt stop and she debated whether Harvey’s younger brother was worth greeting. What she really wanted was for him to get out. From the moment she met Lou at her small wedding to Harvey, she didn’t care much for him.

  “Well, if it isn’t April. I wondered if anyone was still living here,” he drawled as he stumbled toward her, his eyes scanning the length of her body with more interest than he had a right to.

  Swallowing the bile that rose up in her throat from the smell of alcohol on his breath, she backed up until she was in the kitchen. “What are you doing here?”

  “I heard my brother died and I came to check on his grieving widow. You are grieving, aren’t you? I don’t see you wearing black.”

  She glanced at the kitchen door. As she headed for it, he darted in front of her and leaned against it.