Shotgun Groom (28 page)

Joel added, “Wel , I could be wrong. He never mentioned a

safe or anything to April or Sep, so al 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 tel 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 al 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 cal ed out on his day

off. He arranged it so that I can stay with Sal y, 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 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 al the

repairs Joel’s been doing with this house, including this

room, he’s had his hands ful . 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 al his brothers stared

at her with their jaws hanging open, Tom final y blinked and

said, “Alright. Wel , 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 swal ow from

his cup before he put it down. He joined Tom and resumed

the task of putting up the wal s in the room.

Joel put his hand on the smal of April’s back and

whispered, “Did I ever tel you I love you?”

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

“Wel , I’m tel ing 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’l tel Sep to bring up the

paint when we’re back from the sleigh ride.”

As she left, Joel turned back to grab more nails and his

hammer to continue working.

***

the cast-iron safe they’d dumped on his desk at the

jailhouse. Joel glanced at April and Nora who sat by the

potbel y stove. Nora tried to stick a checker in her mouth

from the nearby table where a checker board sat, but April

stopped her and put the checker back where it belonged.

“Where did you find it?” Owen asked as he brushed off the

dirt that clung to its edges.

“Buried in the barn,” Richard said. “It took al of us a good

two hours, but we found it.”

Owen nodded. “It looks like the real thing.”

“Of course, it’s the real thing,” Tom replied, motioning to it.

“What makes you think we’d bury a safe for the fun of it just

to dig it back up?”

Dave rol ed his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, Tom. He means

that it looks like it belongs to the man it was stolen from.

Right, Owen?”

“Yes, that’s what I meant,” Owen replied.

In an uncharacteristic smirk, Dave added, “Though knowing

you, Tom, anything is possible.”

“So, you’re making jokes now?” Tom asked.

“I’m not serious al the time, contrary to what you al think,”

Dave said, giving Tom and Joel a pointed look.

Ignoring Dave, Joel turned his attention to Owen. “Does this

mean April and Sep no longer have to worry about Lou?”

Owen glanced up from the safe. “That depends on whether

or not Lou is real y after the money. For al we know, it could

be something else.”

“It has to be the money,” Joel said. “If he’s in trouble

because he owes someone money, then that’s what he’d

be after.”

“While that makes the most sense, we can’t say that for

sure,” Owen replied. “The reason why anyone commits a

crime, or tries to, can be anyone’s guess. You don’t want to

assume anything, and that includes assuming this safe

belonged to Randolph Hil s. I need to have his brother take

a look at it. When I know, I’l come out to your place and tel

you either way.”

“Wel , I feel better knowing it’s no longer on the property,”

Joel said.

“I don’t blame you.”

“I feel better, too,” Richard said, looking at Joel. “You might

irritate me at times, but you’re stil my little brother.”

“Thanks, I think,” Joel mumbled and then went over to April

who was letting Nora stack the checkers. “Owen wil let us

know what he finds out about the safe.”

“What’s there to find out?” she asked as she put the

checkers back onto the board where they belonged.

Nora protested what she was doing, so Joel picked her up

to distract her from trying to grab the checkers from her

mother. He shrugged while he rubbed Nora’s back. “I’m not

sure, exactly. He has to make sure it’s Randolph’s and take

it from there.”

After she finished putting the checkers back in place, she

straightened and nodded. “Alright. Is that al we need to

do?”

“It’s al we need to do in relation to the safe, but I thought we

could stop by the mercantile to pick up fabric to make

curtains.”

She took a deep breath. “I suppose I should put something

in that room to pretty it up.”

Noting her unease at the thought of doing anything with the

third bedroom, he softly said, “Once you get the room

looking the way you want it to, it won’t be so hard to think

about it.”

“I know. I have to do it, and I wil .”

“By the time we’re done with it, you won’t even recognize it.”

April indicated her agreement, and he led her over to his

brothers and Sep who were talking to Owen about the

timeframe it would take for him to know if it was Randolph’s

safe.

“I suspect I’l know before the day is up, but it depends on

how long it’l take to find his brother,” Owen said.

“Are you going to let everyone know you got the safe so that

Lou knows not to go to Joel and April’s place?” Richard

asked.

“I can tel Joseph Connealy at the paper we found a safe,

but you can’t be sure Lou has access to the newspaper,”

Owen answered. “We don’t know where he’s at. For al we

know, he might be out of Nebraska.”

“Fine,” Richard said with a heavy sigh. “We’l just have to

hope he finds out from the paper or someone who reads

the paper that the safe is no longer on their land.”

“Ideal y, he won’t be in Nebraska,” Dave replied. “Then

there’s nothing to worry about.”

Richard nodded his agreement, and as Joel’s brothers

headed out, Owen promised Joel he’d be out either that

evening or the next day with news on what he found

regarding the safe. Joel indicated that he understood and

led his family out of the jailhouse so they could go to the

mercantile.

Chapter Twenty-Two

It was close to four-thirty when Joel pul ed the sleigh up to

the house. Nora had fal en asleep as soon as they left the

mercantile, and April had snuggled up to Joel with the intent

of closing her eyes for a moment. The next thing she knew,

the sleigh had come to a stop and Joel nudged her.

“We’re home, sweetheart,” he said.

Blinking, it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the sun that

was about to set below the horizon. She yawned and

noticed that Nora was stil sound asleep. Glancing at Sep

who was getting out of the sleigh, she straightened up. “I

can’t believe I fel asleep.”

“It’s been a long day.” Joel got out of the sleigh before he

turned to help her. “I’m glad you got a chance to rest.”

“I don’t know. I stil feel groggy.”

“That’l soon pass.”

Sep took the blankets and began folding them. “I can take

the sleigh and horses into the barn.”

Joel turned his gaze to Sep and nodded. “Alright. I’l take

those blankets into the house.” April watched as Sep

handed him the blankets and the fabric he purchased to

make curtains. “I want to see what I can do with the room.

Now that the wal s are up, I want to paint.”

April’s eyes widened in surprise. She thought for sure he’d

want to rest since he and his brothers started working on

the room at seven that morning. “When you set your mind to

something, there’s no stopping you.”

“No, there’s not.” He leaned forward to kiss her on the

cheek. “Now come on into the house before our daughter

gets cold.”

While Sep got back into the sleigh, April fol owed Joel up

the porch steps. “You got al the wal s up. That’s enough for

today.”

Tucking the items in his hands under one arm, he fished in

his pocket for the key. “I know, but painting won’t take long.

Besides, Sep wil help, and he might not look like much

since he’s young, but that boy is quick and good at what he

does.”

Pleased, she smiled. “I’m glad you two are getting along.”

He pul ed the key out and inserted it into the lock. “Wel , the

way I see it, he’s my little brother, and if there’s one thing

Larsons do best is stick together, even if we can get on

each other’s nerves.”

Laughing, she walked into the house when he opened the

door and motioned for her to go in. The house needed

warming up, but she figured they’d be comfortable enough

in no time. She set Nora down on the chair while she

slipped out of her coat.

Joel set down his things and took off his winter clothing.

“You want to start on the curtains tonight or wait until

tomorrow?”

April pul ed off her scarf and hat and shrugged. “Might as

wel start tonight.”

He nodded and put the fabric on the fireplace mantle.

Bending down, he added more wood to the fire. “I think

we’l have that room done in no time, but we won’t move

Nora there until you’re ready.”

“Thank you, Joel.” Truth be told, she wasn’t ready yet. But

she was able to walk into the room with less hesitation than

she did yesterday, so things were slowly getting easier for

her.

He picked up the blankets which were next to him and

grinned at her. “You’re a lovely sight.”

Thinking he should say such a thing while she was taking

care of Nora’s coat, she chuckled. “I’m just doing what I do

whenever we come back from town.”

“I know, and there’s something nice about watching a

mother taking care of her child.” He ruffled Nora’s hair and

smiled when she rubbed her eyes. “Hopeful y, she won’t

give you too much trouble while you make supper.”

“Considering her nap was later than usual, I expect her to

have a hard time sleeping tonight.”

“Hmm… I hadn’t thought of that. I reckon we’re in for it.” He

headed for the stairs, whistling as he went along.

April watched his retreating figure, thinking that this was

what she once thought marriage would be like before she

married Harvey. Being with him had been a shock, for she

soon realized having a husband was nothing like she

imagined. She learned fast that just because some men

were nice to their wives in public, it didn’t mean they were

that way in the privacy of their home. But with Joel, how he

handled himself in public mirrored how he was when it was

just the two of them, and she appreciated that the most

about him.

She brushed back Nora’s curls and whispered, “Your pa is

a good man.” Now that was something she could never tel

her daughter when it came to Harvey, but as far as she was