A Noble Groom (Michigan Brides #2)(22)

He dragged in a deep breath, and the frigidness tickled his lungs. Overhead, the stars spread across the widest expanse of sky he’d ever seen. His scientific reasoning told him the stars only appeared brighter because there were no city lights to diminish their clarity. Even so, the waning gibbous moon and Ursa Minor with Polaris were more brilliant than he’d ever seen them back home.

On the path leading away from the Bernthal cabin he could make out the form of Annalisa hurrying away and Gretchen’s legs pumping hard to keep up.

He started after them. “Annalisa.”



She halted and peered over her shoulder.

“Wait.” He hastened to a jog, hoping she would wait but afraid he would spook her into running away from him.

He easily overtook her. “You shouldn’t be out alone at night. Allow me to walk you and Gretchen to your home.”

She started quickly forward. “We’re safe here. I’ve walked this path many times, even in the dark, and I’m still alive.”

“But Gretchen’s tired.” He touched the thin blanket draped over the girl’s head. “I’ll give her a ride on my back.”

Gretchen pulled away from Annalisa and looked up at him. The moonlight reflected the curiosity in her eyes. “Ride, Mama?”

Carl knelt. “Climb on. You can pretend you’re the princess and I’m your magic talking horse.”

Gretchen smiled and in an instant was upon his back amidst Annalisa’s protests.

He straightened and hoisted the girl up, blanket and all. She weighed little more than his coat. “Now all you need to say is ‘Move along, horsey’ and I’ll be at your command.”

“Move along, horsey” came her sweet reply from behind him.

Annalisa peeked at Gretchen and then pivoted to face him. Even in the moonlight he could see the surprise that rippled across her features.

He grinned. “Gretchen cannot possibly traverse the difficult trail without her trusty horse.”

“Move along, horsey,” the little girl called out again.

He cocked his head, waiting for Annalisa’s acquiescence. “Besides, I wanted the chance to talk with you and make sure you’re in agreement with the plans your father and the pastor made.”

Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something but didn’t know how to begin. For a long moment her gaze tangled with his, and she studied him like he was a riddle.



Finally she started forward with long strides. “I don’t know quite what to make of you, Herr Richards.”

“Carl,” he said. The name Herr Richards only served to remind him of his deception. The less he heard it, the better.

“Does it really matter what I think of the plans my vater and Herr Pastor have made?”

“Of course it matters,” he said, increasing the length of his footsteps in order to keep up with her. “It’s your life and your farm. I think you should have some input into the decisions being made.”

“They’re only being wise and trying to do what’s best for me.”

“Then you agree with their plans to utilize my help with your farm work until your groom arrives?”

“If it will help me save my farm, then I really have no choice.”

“Save your farm?”

“The payment on the loan is due after the fall harvest. If I don’t pay the remainder, then I’ll forfeit the land.”

“Won’t your father help you?”

“Nein. He’s in the same situation as me and all the other immigrants. We must all repay the loans on our land by the end of the five years of living on it. If we can’t, then we must leave.”

The eerie hoo-hoo hoo-hoo of a great horned owl came from overhead. Even though he knew the sound was nothing more than a proud declaration of strength, he peered with unease into the dark woods surrounding them.

Seemingly unconcerned by the potential for danger, Annalisa navigated around the deep ruts and puddles that comprised the road.

“So what you’re telling me,” he said, scrambling to make sense of her predicament with her farm, “is that if you don’t have help, you might lose your land?”

“Ja. I’ll have to default on the loan.”



From his back, Gretchen gave a noisy yawn.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to pursue the matter any further, but he couldn’t seem to stop his next question. “If I’m not here to help you, will you find someone else?”

She hesitated in front of a large puddle, which looked more like a pond.

Holding the weight of Gretchen with one arm, he reached to steady Annalisa with the other.

But the moment his fingers came into contact with her elbow, she jumped back as if he’d stung her. “I’ll be fine,” she said, skirting around the mudhole. Then her foot slid down the slippery edge, and before he could catch her, she was up to her ankles in muddy water.

She gasped and looked down at her submerged feet.

He bit back a smile. “I can see that you’ll be very fine.”

She tossed him a glare.

He couldn’t keep from grinning.

“I will be fine.”

“I can see that you’re a strong woman.” He tried to rein in his humor and add gentleness to his tone. “But I’d like to help you—if you’ll let me.”