Shotgun Groom Read Online Free Page B

not kil you, but I can do
    some damage.”
    A tense silence fil ed the room, and April made another
    attempt to take the gun, but Sep stepped to the side. She
    grunted. For a fourteen-year-old, he sure was quick on his
    feet!
    “Look, my sister needs a husband,” Sep began, keeping
    his gaze level with Joel’s, “and she needs a good one. I’m
    sick of watching men mistreat her. So, you’re going to
    marry her whether you like it or not.”
    It was then April understood what her brother was doing.
    Chances were good that Lou would be back, and next time,
    he might not be drunk. Her stomach knotted up at the
    memory of his hands on her body. He had no intention of
    stopping. Thanks to Sep and the fact that Lou was too
    drunk to shoot straight, Lou didn’t succeed. But they might
    not be so lucky next time unless they had a man Lou’s age
    to stand up to him.
    Joel shook his head and looked at her. “You’re not going to
    let him keep that thing pointed at me, are you? It’s not a
    toy.”
    She bit her lower lip and glanced from Nora to Sep whose
    worried expression pierced her heart. Next time, Lou might
    not miss when he shot Sep.
    “You can deal with me,” Sep snapped. “Now, sit!”
    Nora’s lower lip trembled before she cried.
    “Sep, you’re scaring her,” April softly pleaded. “Wil you
    stop?”
    Sep ignored her, his finger stroking the trigger of the gun
    which was aimed for Joel’s arm.
    Glancing from April to a wailing Nora, Joel sat down.
    “Hands where I can see them!” Sep demanded.
    Joel raised his hands in the air, and Nora settled down.
    Gulping the lump in her throat, April asked Sep, “Wil you
    please get your finger off the trigger?”
    Sep did and she breathed a sigh of relief.
    Joel threw his hands on the table and groaned. “This can’t
    be happening.”
    Her heart stil beating loudly in her chest, she turned her
    gaze to the flour and bowl. No doubt the water in the pot on
    the cook stove was warm enough to mix the ingredients in.
    “We can discuss it…after breakfast.” She offered a weak
    smile at a bewildered Joel. “Did you eat yet?”
    “I’m not eating anything in this house,” Joel snapped.
    “Then you already ate?” she asked, forcing a cheerful tone
    in her voice.
    “No,” Joel replied.
    “A man shouldn’t venture out to a farm without a ful
    stomach.” Her hands trembled as she opened the sack of
    flour. “We’re having pancakes this morning. I’l get the
    coffee going in a bit.”
    Joel grunted and rol ed his eyes. Nora giggled in response.
    He glanced at her and shook his head again as if he
    couldn’t believe this was happening. Sep pul ed out the
    chair across from Joel and sat down, keeping his rifle
    directed at him.
    April concentrated on getting breakfast ready while the men
    waited in a tense silence. Had it not been for Nora’s playful
    squeals, April wouldn’t have been able to keep on working
    as if nothing was wrong. She avoided eye contact with Joel
    and Sep for the most part because it was easier to pretend
    the gun wasn’t in the middle of the room that way. At least
    she had the assurance that her brother was steady with a
    gun, so he wouldn’t pul the trigger by accident.
    She started humming to herself like she often did while
    cooking, but recal ing the company in the room, she
    stopped. Once she got the coffee ready, she poured it into
    the cups and placed them in front of Sep and Joel. Daring a
    glance in Joel’s direction, she caught his piercing stare and
    quickly looked away. Alright. To say he was upset would be
    a slight understatement. He was much more than upset. He
    was furious.
    And who could blame him? He was one of the few people
    who’d been nice to her and Sep in the past year, and this
    was how they treated him? She turned her gaze to Sep, but
    his attention was on Joel.
    She cleared her throat and looked back at Joel. “It’s not that
    Sep wants to force you into a marriage.”
    “Then don’t,” Joel