eating?”
She sat next to Nora who was reaching for the food. Nora’s
lower lip trembled, and April knew that in another minute,
she’d start bel owing if she didn’t get something to eat. “We
might as wel dig in,” she told Sep and gathered food to put
on her daughter’s plate. “If he wants to eat, he’l come
down.”
Halfway through the meal, she was beginning to believe
Joel chose to go without supper when he trudged into the
kitchen, his shoulders slumped and looking as if he lost his
favorite horse. He col apsed next to Sep and languidly took
one of the rol s and plopped it on his plate. He proceeded
to take his portion of the potatoes and pemmican. With
what could only be construed as a total lack of energy, he
slowly lifted the cup of coffee to his lips and spent a good
thirty seconds on sipping it before he placed the cup back
on the table. He picked up his fork and poked one of the
potatoes but spent a moment, stil as a rock, before he
final y lifted the potato to his mouth.
April’s sympathy for Joel flew right out the window. She shot
Sep an “I can’t believe this” look. Sep tapped his temple
and crossed his eyes in a manner that told her he thought
Joel wasn’t al mental y there. She shook her head to
protest. That was just sil y. Of course, Joel’s mental ability
was fine. Joel was just putting on a show like a kid throwing
a tantrum because he didn’t get his way.
Figuring that paying attention to him would only encourage
his behavior, she ignored him and focused on feeding
Nora. The meal was as awkward and tense as every single
meal had been ever since he showed up at their house, so
that was nothing new. But toward the end of it when he let
out a long and drawn-out sigh for what had to be the
twentieth time during the meal, she lost her temper and
slammed her fork on the table. Startled, Joel and Sep
stared at her with wide eyes.
Placing her hands on her hips, she set her irritated gaze on
Joel and snapped, “If you sigh one more time, I’m going to
dump what’s left on your plate into the sink. I’ve had enough
of this. You are a grown man, not a little kid. Now act your
age!”
For a long moment, he stared at her. Then something in
him sparked to life, and he threw his cloth napkin on the
table. “Since I am now the head of the household, I demand
to be treated with respect.”
“When you act like a reasonable adult, I’l treat you with
respect.”
“And I suppose throwing my food into the sink is an action
that would prompt me to respect you?”
“I don’t care if you treat me with respect or not. I just want
my brother and daughter to be safe.”
“Then you’d better start treating me with respect.”
“Exactly how do you want me to do that? Sit at your feet and
worship you?”
He blinked and shook his head. “Don’t be absurd.”
“Wel , I’ve had al I can take of you moping around here. So
we got married. It’s not the worst thing that can happen to
you.”
“How would you know?”
“Because you’re a man. You now have a woman who’l
cook, clean, and do laundry for you. I’d say more to the list
of benefits you’l be getting from this arrangement, but in
light of who else is in the room, I won’t.”
“I did just fine on my own.”
“As wonderful as I’m sure your single life was, you wil do
even better now. Just think of it. You can come home at the
end of the day, kick your feet up and wait for bedtime. That
is, unless you’re the type who enjoys the saloon.”
His face turned red and he scowled. “What kind of man do
you think I am? Going to a saloon? I’ve only been to a
saloon once and that was to tend to a gunshot wound
someone incurred while cheating at a poker game. As
soon as I bandaged him, I was out of there. I don’t know
what you take me for, sweetheart, but going to a saloon is
not something I do with my free time.”
“No?”
“No! Believe it or not, in my spare
She sat next to Nora who was reaching for the food. Nora’s
lower lip trembled, and April knew that in another minute,
she’d start bel owing if she didn’t get something to eat. “We
might as wel dig in,” she told Sep and gathered food to put
on her daughter’s plate. “If he wants to eat, he’l come
down.”
Halfway through the meal, she was beginning to believe
Joel chose to go without supper when he trudged into the
kitchen, his shoulders slumped and looking as if he lost his
favorite horse. He col apsed next to Sep and languidly took
one of the rol s and plopped it on his plate. He proceeded
to take his portion of the potatoes and pemmican. With
what could only be construed as a total lack of energy, he
slowly lifted the cup of coffee to his lips and spent a good
thirty seconds on sipping it before he placed the cup back
on the table. He picked up his fork and poked one of the
potatoes but spent a moment, stil as a rock, before he
final y lifted the potato to his mouth.
April’s sympathy for Joel flew right out the window. She shot
Sep an “I can’t believe this” look. Sep tapped his temple
and crossed his eyes in a manner that told her he thought
Joel wasn’t al mental y there. She shook her head to
protest. That was just sil y. Of course, Joel’s mental ability
was fine. Joel was just putting on a show like a kid throwing
a tantrum because he didn’t get his way.
Figuring that paying attention to him would only encourage
his behavior, she ignored him and focused on feeding
Nora. The meal was as awkward and tense as every single
meal had been ever since he showed up at their house, so
that was nothing new. But toward the end of it when he let
out a long and drawn-out sigh for what had to be the
twentieth time during the meal, she lost her temper and
slammed her fork on the table. Startled, Joel and Sep
stared at her with wide eyes.
Placing her hands on her hips, she set her irritated gaze on
Joel and snapped, “If you sigh one more time, I’m going to
dump what’s left on your plate into the sink. I’ve had enough
of this. You are a grown man, not a little kid. Now act your
age!”
For a long moment, he stared at her. Then something in
him sparked to life, and he threw his cloth napkin on the
table. “Since I am now the head of the household, I demand
to be treated with respect.”
“When you act like a reasonable adult, I’l treat you with
respect.”
“And I suppose throwing my food into the sink is an action
that would prompt me to respect you?”
“I don’t care if you treat me with respect or not. I just want
my brother and daughter to be safe.”
“Then you’d better start treating me with respect.”
“Exactly how do you want me to do that? Sit at your feet and
worship you?”
He blinked and shook his head. “Don’t be absurd.”
“Wel , I’ve had al I can take of you moping around here. So
we got married. It’s not the worst thing that can happen to
you.”
“How would you know?”
“Because you’re a man. You now have a woman who’l
cook, clean, and do laundry for you. I’d say more to the list
of benefits you’l be getting from this arrangement, but in
light of who else is in the room, I won’t.”
“I did just fine on my own.”
“As wonderful as I’m sure your single life was, you wil do
even better now. Just think of it. You can come home at the
end of the day, kick your feet up and wait for bedtime. That
is, unless you’re the type who enjoys the saloon.”
His face turned red and he scowled. “What kind of man do
you think I am? Going to a saloon? I’ve only been to a
saloon once and that was to tend to a gunshot wound
someone incurred while cheating at a poker game. As
soon as I bandaged him, I was out of there. I don’t know
what you take me for, sweetheart, but going to a saloon is
not something I do with my free time.”
“No?”
“No! Believe it or not, in my spare
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