Shotgun Groom Read Online Free

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