Shotgun Groom Read online

  She squeezed his hands and nodded. “I know, Joel. Even when you were at your maddest, you never did anything close to what Harvey did.”

  Bowing his head, he kissed her hands. “I love you, April. You’ve given me a place to call home. I never realized how empty my life was until you entered it. Though I’ll never admit it to my brothers, marrying you was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  She laughed and lowered her head so her forehead touched his. “You and your brothers have the funniest relationship I’ve ever seen, what with you teasing each other all the time and all. But you don’t have to worry about me saying anything. Your secret is safe with me.”

  His lips turned up into a smile before he kissed her. She responded to him and not because he was her husband and it was her wifely duty to allow him to kiss and touch her. She responded to him because she wanted to. It was of her own free will, and he appreciated that, especially after everything he learned about her first husband.

  Her lips parted, and he accepted her silent invitation and slipped his tongue into her mouth. She let go of him so she could cup his face in her hands, pulling him closer to her. She scooted back on the bed, and he got off of his knees so he could join her on the bed. He settled between her legs and nestled his erection against her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and shifted against him, creating a wave of pleasure that coursed through him.

  Ending the kiss, he left a trail of kisses from her cheek to her neck. “We need to get out of these clothes,” he whispered in her ear.

  “Yes,” she murmured as she ran her fingers through his hair and moved her hips seductively against him.

  She kissed his jaw and worked her way back to his mouth. This time, she was the one who traced his lower lip with her tongue, and when he parted his lips, she interlaced his tongue with hers. The fact that she continued rocking her hips under him even though their clothes were still on struck him as highly erotic, so he delayed getting up to remove his clothes.

  Resting his weight on one elbow, he brought his free hand down to her breast and cupped it. She moaned and held his face again while she deepened the kiss. He brushed his thumb along the area where he knew her nipple was and was rewarded by the feel of it hardening from his stimulation. His mouth left hers and he went back to kissing her neck and then went to her ear where he alternated between leaving butterfly kisses on her earlobe and brushing his tongue along the sensitive skin. She moaned and arched her back, an action that delighted him to no end.

  He had to get out of his clothes, especially his pants. His erection was demanding to be freed from the material that was far too restrictive. Before he could get up, she urged him onto his back. Intrigued, he obeyed and she kept her legs wrapped around his waist so she went with him. Straightening up, she gave him an aroused smile in the soft kerosene light as her hands moved over his chest.

  He shifted his hips, thinking the adjustment would calm the ache between his legs, but it didn’t. The action only teased him and made him further anxious to get inside her. “April, I need you,” he whispered, moving his hips again to let her know exactly in what way he needed her.

  She unbuttoned his shirt and said, “I know. I can feel how hard you are.”

  He groaned and worked on her buttons, his fingers faster than hers were on his buttons, testifying to the fact that he didn’t have the patience she did. “You’re teasing me.”

  With a shrug, she finished unbuttoning his shirt and then brought her hands beneath his undershirt so that she could feel his naked flesh. “Maybe,” she playfully replied in a soft tone.

  Her fingers brushed his nipples and he stopped moving his hands up her stomach as jolts of pleasure rushed through his body. He knew her nipples were sensitive, but he didn’t realize his were, too. To his surprise, she leaned forward and brought her mouth to his chest, lightly kissing his skin until she found his nipple, and when she did, her tongue brushed it. He shivered and voiced his pleasure. Now he understood why she squirmed whenever he caressed her breasts. While she continued to stroke his nipple with her tongue, her fingers caressed his other one, and he couldn’t help but rock his hips in rhythm to the tingles of pleasure that thrummed through his body.

  Breathing hard, she straightened up again and said, “Sit up.”

  Not bothering to ask why, he did and helped her remove his shirt and undershirt. Once they were off, he leaned forward and kissed the skin beneath her collarbone. She let out a slight gasp while he tasted her skin with his tongue. His hands slid under her chemise and found her breasts. She groaned and held onto his shoulders while he lifted her chemise and bent his head so he could taste her nipples, working in circles over the swollen pink buds. Turnabout was fair play. If she could tease him, he’d tease her, too.

  “I need you inside me,” she murmured.

  “What’s the hurry?” he rasped, a chuckle rising up in his throat. “We’ve got all night.”

  She groaned and pushed him so that he was lying down on the bed. Bringing her mouth to his, she kissed him, her actions hungry and demanding, alerting him that she didn’t have the patience to play anymore. And the male part of him wasn’t any more patient, but he was determined to toy with her a little bit more before he satisfied them both. His hand worked its way under her dress until he found the area between her legs, pleased to note that her undergarment was damp since it signaled that her body was ready for him.

  He found the sensitive nub waiting for him and rubbed it with his thumb while his fingers caressed the woman’s flesh covered by the thin fabric that quickly grew wet as she became more aroused. Gasping, she moved against him, her moans becoming more frequent and her body tensing. He smiled and continued to fondle her, wondering if he could get her to climax this way. By the increased rocking of her hips and heavy breathing, he guessed she was close to it.

  “Go for it, April,” he whispered, his arousal heightened by her excitement.

  She moaned and urged him to use more pressure on her nub, so he obeyed, and soon he was rewarded with a gasp as her body stilled. Using less pressure, he continued to stroke her until she stopped groaning and her body relaxed. “I had no idea that was possible,” she finally said, though her breathing was irregular.

  Chuckling, he gently rolled her onto her back so he could take off her dress and undergarments. “I suspect we have a lot of learning to do about what else we can do in the bedroom.”

  She smiled and let out a contented sigh.

  He took off the rest of his clothes and tossed them aside. Taking a moment to study her body in the dim light, he stroked the inside of her thighs. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, thinking there was nothing sexier than a satisfied, naked woman.

  “I still want you inside me,” she said and lowered her gaze to his erection. “By the looks of it, you want it, too.”

  “Let’s try it with your legs on my shoulders. What do you say? Want to try something else that’s different?”

  “Sure. It all feels good with you.”

  She lifted her legs and he positioned them on his shoulders so that she was comfortable. Leaning over her, he entered her and closed his eyes to absorb the initial pleasure he always experienced whenever he entered her. She moaned and shifted so that he was deeper inside. He pulled slightly out of her and then slid back in, thinking that nothing felt more wonderful than a woman’s body.

  He proceeded to thrust into her, building up momentum as he worked to prolong the inevitable. And she worked with him, her hips rocking in unison with his and her flesh clenching around him. Toward the climax, his body grew impatient and his thrusting came faster and more demanding, and he was assured by her moans that she was enjoying it so he didn’t stop. And then, when he was at the edge, he tensed and gave one last powerful thrust into her. His body stilled as he released his seed, only half aware that her flesh continued to clench around him, keeping him suspended in his state of bliss for a little bit longer.

  When the last wave of pleasure ended,
her legs went back to his waist and he collapsed on top of her. Light-headed, he stayed in her arms, eyes closed and a content smile on his face. After a couple minutes passed, he got off of her and pulled her into his arms. She snuggled deeper into his arms, and he kissed the top of her head.

  “I’m glad we’re married,” he whispered.

  “I am, too,” she replied.

  The day had been a long and emotionally exhausting one, but it was done and now they could finally move forward. And in time, April and Sep would be fully healed from the past. As April drifted off to sleep, Joel stayed awake for another hour, glad there were no more secrets between them.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Three days later, Joel and his brothers went into the third bedroom to put up the new walls. Before they got started, Tom shook his head and examined the missing walls. “I don’t understand you at all, Joel,” Tom said. “Why would you just take out the old walls to replace them with new ones? Wouldn’t it make more sense to paint over the old ones?”

  “Sure, it would,” Joel replied as he picked up his hammer and some nails, “but why shouldn’t I get all the work I can out of you since I had a hand in building your entire house. Well, houses. The sod one and then the new one you got. You’re lucky I’m only asking for one room.”

  “I don’t mind doing the work. I’m just saying it doesn’t make any sense,” Tom clarified as he retrieved his own hammer. “But then again, since when do you make any sense?”

  “I often think it doesn’t make any sense why Jessica married you, but I reckon there are some things in life we’ll never understand,” Joel quipped.

  Richard groaned and picked up one of the plywood boards. “Don’t you two ever stop? I swear, I don’t know if I’m fixing a room or babysitting.”

  “You’re only saying that because you’re the oldest,” Joel said as he helped Richard place the plywood against the support beams.

  “No, he’s not,” Dave replied as he and Tom moved their plywood board over to the other side of the room. “I wish you two would stop it, too.”

  Joel rolled his eyes. “Dave, you have to be the most boring person I’ve ever met. All you do is work and eat. You never have any fun. I honestly don’t know how Mary stays awake when you’re around.”

  “Well, she does have Isaac to watch,” Tom said.

  Joel nodded. “That must be it.”

  Richard placed a nail at the top of the plywood and hammered it into a beam. “What? No quips about me?”

  Joel shrugged. “You’re rarely around. I don’t know enough about you to make a judgment. I assume you’re just as bland as Dave is, but who knows?”

  “I know you’ll find this hard to believe,” Dave began as he lined up his side of the plywood so it was straight with Tom’s side, “but Richard and I lead exciting lives.”

  At that, both Joel and Tom laughed.

  “As exciting as a rock,” Joel teased.

  “Oh, come on,” Richard argued.

  “It’s true,” Joel said. “Every time we get together, Dave’s always serious. I don’t think he’s ever laughed.”

  “Just ignore them,” Richard told Dave. “These two wouldn’t know how to be grown up if their lives depended on it.”

  Joel pounded a nail in the plywood and glanced at Richard. “Well, I think you skipped childhood, which is where you learn to have fun.”

  “That’s not fair, Joel,” Tom said after he hammered a nail into his board. “When Richard was ten, I saw him playing marbles.”

  Joel’s eyes grew wide and he looked at Richard. “You played a game? I think Tom’s joshing because I just don’t believe it.”

  “You men sure do chat a lot.” The four brothers stopped working as April carried a tray with a coffee pot and cups into the room. She set them down on the table Joel brought up from the parlor. “People say women gab a bunch, but you four have women beat.”

  “It’s Tom’s fault,” Joel said, motioning to his brother who rolled his eyes. “He thinks everyone wants to hear what he has to say.”

  Richard patted Joel on the back, using more force than necessary. “And of course, baby Joel can’t do any wrong.”

  Dave snickered but continued to hammer his nail in.

  “Baby Joel?” April asked.

  “Ma called him that for the longest time,” Richard said. “She had a hard time letting him go. She was rocking him to sleep until he was five, and—”

  Joel groaned. “She gets it, alright. There’s no sense in boring her with my past.”

  “Oh, I’m not bored,” she replied. “I’d like to know more about his past.”

  “You should talk to Ma sometime,” Dave said. “She’ll talk your ear off about her darling, precious baby boy.”

  “You’re all a big hoot,” Joel told his brothers who snickered at him as he strode over to April. “Don’t pay them any mind, April. They’re just upset because I was a better son than they ever were.”

  “You just keep telling yourself that, Joel,” Richard said.

  Sighing, he poured coffee into his cup and lowered his voice. “Maybe I should have left them at their homes and did this with Sep.”

  She giggled and poured coffee into the other cups. “Come now. You’re having a good time, just like you did at Christmas.”

  He shrugged. Granted, he was, but he’d never openly admit it to anyone. “Where’s Sep?”

  “Getting Nora ready for the sleigh ride we’re taking.”

  “You’re going without me?” he asked.

  “We thought we’d get out for a bit to get some fresh air.”

  “What if Lou’s hanging around?”

  “We’re not going far. We’re just circling the property,” she assured him as she finished pouring coffee into the last cup.

  That made him feel better. He didn’t know how much longer Lou would wait before trying to find the safe that had to be somewhere on the property. A thorough inspection of the house told Joel it wasn’t there. Perhaps it was in the barn? But where would someone hide a safe in a barn?

  “April,” he began as his brothers joined them to get their cups of coffee, “did Harvey spend an unusual amount of time in the barn shortly before he died?”

  “Not that I noticed,” she replied. “But then, he didn’t make it a habit of coming home till around four in the morning, so he could have spent time out there without me knowing about it.”

  “What are you getting at, Joel?” Dave asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

  “I think Harvey brought the safe out here and hid it, and now Lou’s probably looking for it,” Joel replied.

  Richard sipped his coffee before asking, “Did you tell Owen?”

  Joel shrugged. “I don’t know he hid the safe for sure. There’s no evidence he did.”

  Shaking his head, Richard said, “Did you at least tell Owen you think it’s out here?”

  “I didn’t want to waste his time in case I’m wrong.” When Richard shot his brothers a ‘can you believe him?’ look, Joel added, “Well, I could be wrong. He never mentioned a safe or anything to April or Sep, so all I have to go on is what I think happened. Rick’s always talking about how important evidence is in court.”

  “Alright,” Dave consented, “we understand why you hesitate to tell Owen, but if Lou’s as bad as you say he is, then we need to get the safe off the property if it’s here. You’re putting everyone at risk by letting it sit here.”

  Joel’s face warmed at his older brother’s admonition.

  “Now hold on,” April said, stepping between Joel and Dave, “Joel’s doing all he can to protect us. He keeps a check around the property and takes us with him to town every time he goes to work, even when he’s called out on his day off. He arranged it so that I can stay with Sally, and Sep joins him on the job. None of us know if there is a safe out here, and to be honest, I thought Lou was here to get this land. That’s what Harvey wanted when he married me, so it stood to reason his brother would be the same way. And for al
l we know, the safe isn’t anywhere near here. Harvey could’ve put it somewhere else. That is, of course, if he took it. We just don’t know everything, and with all the repairs Joel’s been doing with this house, including this room, he’s had his hands full. A person can only do so much at a time.”

  Joel wondered if he should interrupt her at some point during her spiel, but the surprised looks on his brothers’ faces stopped him. April came off as such a quiet thing around strangers, and he didn’t think she was comfortable enough with his brothers to say more than a few words to them. But there she was, giving him an earful similar to what their mother used to do, and he enjoyed every second of it.

  After a long moment passed where all his brothers stared at her with their jaws hanging open, Tom finally blinked and said, “Alright. Well, let’s get back to work. Great coffee, April.” He put his cup back on the tray, and Joel noticed that he’d only taken a sip of it.

  Richard, who wasn’t as easily shaken as Tom who was already pounding more nails into the plywood, finished his coffee before putting his cup on the tray. “After we finish this room, we’re going to see if we can find that safe. The sooner we get it off the property, the better.”

  “If it’s even here,” Joel said.

  “Fair enough,” he conceded. “If it’s even here.”

  Dave, who’d never been much for words—at least not that Joel ever noticed, shrugged and took another swallow from his cup before he put it down. He joined Tom and resumed the task of putting up the walls in the room.

  Joel put his hand on the small of April’s back and whispered, “Did I ever tell you I love you?”

  Blushing, she said, “Yes, last night.”

  “Well, I’m telling you again.” He kissed her cheek.

  “I love you, too,” she softly said, glancing at his brothers who didn’t look in their direction. “I’ll tell Sep to bring up the paint when we’re back from the sleigh ride.”