A Noble Groom (Michigan Brides #2)(102)

He finally pulled back and drew in a shaky breath. His hair was gray with ashes and stuck up in disarray. His shirt was drenched with sweat. His eyes were bloodshot, his hands blistered. He’d obviously worked just as hard to survive the fire as they had.

“Is Eleanor all right too?” she asked.

“Yes. She and Dirk are both unharmed. But how did you survive?”

Relieved to hear that Eleanor was safe, she wiped her hand across her cheeks to dry the tears. She then glanced over her shoulder to where Carl stood. “Carl saved us.”

Carl had picked up Gretchen, and the girl had her arms wrapped around his neck with her head resting on his shoulder, as if that were the most natural place in the world for her to be.

At the sight of Carl, Vater took a step back and his face grew tight.

She wanted to reach out to Vater and hold on to the new connection she’d made with him. For the first time in her life he’d opened up and shown the depth of his feelings. She wanted to cling to that and make it last.

But his eyes narrowed on Carl, and the muscles in his face twitched.



“If not for him, we’d be dead,” she offered quickly. “He helped us into the well and kept us safe the whole time.”

Vater didn’t say anything for a long moment. Finally he looked Carl in the eyes. “Thank you for saving my daughter and her children. I’m grateful to you.”

Carl nodded. “I only did what any man would have.”

Vater started toward him, a battle waging across his features. His eyes revealed a touch of gratefulness, though his face was still hardened from the years of mistrusting any nobleman.

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Vater repeated. “But it doesn’t change who you are.”

A heavy weight settled in her stomach. “Carl’s a good man, Vater. Bitte, give him a chance—”

“I see what you’ve done,” Vater continued. “By paying off her loan, you thought to win back her affection.”

Paying off the loan? What was Vater saying?

Her mind raced with a hundred questions. “How? When—?”

“I’m sorry, Annalisa,” Carl said. “I didn’t have time to tell you. But the farm is yours now. No more worries about losing it—”

“But I signed the land over to Ward.”

“You did what?” Vater shouted.

“I didn’t have a choice,” she rushed to explain. “He trapped me in the barn. He had a gun. And he was threatening Sophie—”

“Don’t worry.” Carl glanced toward the road to Forestville, and his eyes flashed with anger. “You own the land free and clear. Everyone in town knows I went to the bank first thing this morning. Even if the money doesn’t arrive for a few more days, Ward won’t be able to get away with this. I’ll make sure of it.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Vater said stiffly. “While we appreciate your help today, Annalisa doesn’t need it anymore. We’re here. We’ll help her now.”



“I’m not running away again, Peter. I’m here to stay. As long as Annalisa will have me.”

“She won’t.” Vater held out his hand to Annalisa. “She’s an obedient daughter. She’ll do as I tell her. Just like she’s always done.”

“She’s a grown woman. She can make her own decisions.”

Annalisa’s gaze ricocheted between Vater and Carl.

“Come now.” Vater waggled his fingers at her, and his eyes beseeched her.

Carl stood with his feet apart, Gretchen in his arms, determination etched in his face.

How could she choose between them? Especially now, after Vater had embraced her? How could she go against his wishes when she knew how deeply he cared about her?

And yet how could she walk away from Carl?

“I love Annalisa.” Carl’s declaration rang out over the barren land, wafting through the smoke and the ashes. “And I will love her for the rest of my life.”

“You may have saved her life today, but that doesn’t change all that happened in the past,” Vater said. “Go home where you belong.”

Carl clutched Gretchen tighter. “No. I want to make a new life for myself here in America first. And I want to begin my new life with Annalisa by my side—as my wife.” He turned then to face her, and the earnestness of his love reached out to her.

He wanted to marry her. Truly. Not out of obligation but because he wanted to stay, of his own free will.

A thrill fanned the embers of all the hope in her heart. She could see the promise in his eyes—the offer of the deepest kind of love a man could give a woman.

As much as she honored Vater, how could she turn away from Carl again?



“Come, Annalisa,” Vater commanded.

Carl’s dark eyes watched her with longing. But he didn’t motion to her or pressure her. Did he want her to come to him freely, the same way she’d wanted him?

“Bitte. Don’t make me choose,” she pleaded, reaching a hand to Vater. “Can’t we live together in peace?”

Sadness churned in his eyes. “You know what his father did to Erik,” Vater said. “You know the pain he’s caused us. It’s unforgivable.”

She couldn’t take on Vater’s pain. She had already forgiven Carl. That was enough for her.