A Noble Groom (Michigan Brides #2)(92)

Carl figured that putting distance between himself and those he’d hurt was the only sensible option. It wouldn’t ease the constant ache in his heart at the thought of leaving Annalisa and the girls, but at least he wouldn’t have to chance seeing them or thinking about them all the time—which was what would happen if he stayed.

He tipped up his hat and scanned the buildings along Main Street. “Unfortunately I need to leave on the Clayton Belle. But before I leave, I have one last piece of business to attend to.”



He crossed the swirling dust of the street and peered up at the big, bold letters painted across the second floor of a building.

E. B. Ward.

He couldn’t leave town without issuing one last warning to Ward—the warning to leave Annalisa alone. The man needed to know the land was finally Annalisa’s, that in a matter of days she would own it free and clear, and there was nothing more he could do to take it from her.

“What in the name of all that’s holy?” The old farmer pushed himself up from the crate he’d used as a seat and stared openmouthed toward the western edge of town.

A doe and her fawn hobbled down the street, heedless of the townspeople who had halted to watch. They meandered at a steady pace, their noses tilted up and sniffing the air.

Carl didn’t stop to make sense of the unusual sight. Instead he opened the door of Ward’s office and entered. He’d made a mess of things with Annalisa. The least he could do was make sure she was safe before he left.

The thin clerk he’d met the last time was bent over a drawer and paging through a stack of papers. For a moment, even with the opening and closing of the front door, the clerk continued to browse through the documents as if he couldn’t be bothered.

Carl pressed his lips together and started toward the man.

The clerk glanced at him sideways and then quickly rose and took a step back. “Ah, Mr. Richards . . .” The man’s voice shook. “Or should I say Baron von Reichart the third?”

“Go get Ward for me.” Carl pinned the man with a hard glare. Obviously the news about his identity had reached Ward. The clerk stumbled backward and plastered himself against the edge of the desk.

Carl didn’t care if he scared the clerk witless. He figured the more intimidation the better where Ward was concerned.



The clerk pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his perfectly dry brow. “Ward isn’t here.”

“That’s not true.” Carl tipped the brim of his hat higher so the man could see the seriousness of his expression. “I saw him enter the front door of this building about an hour ago.”

“He just left. He was in a big hurry.”

Carl closed the distance, letting his boots tap a hard, hollow rhythm across the floor.

“I’m telling the truth.” The clerk bent over backward in his attempt to move away from Carl.

“Where did he go?”

“He didn’t mention anything to me.”

Carl didn’t stop until he was standing directly in front of the clerk. “You better start talking. Now.”

“I don’t know anything,” the clerk squeaked.

“I don’t believe you.” Carl grabbed the man’s crisp white shirt and balled it into his fist.

The clerk’s eyes darted to the door. “All I know is that one of his friends from the bank came in and mentioned you were in the process of paying the remainder of Mrs. Werner’s loan.”

“Then what happened?”

“Then he said he was going to be out of the office for a few hours, and he left.”

Carl’s thoughts whirled with a gust of dread. Had Ward gone out to visit Annalisa already? What if the man thought he still had a chance to threaten Annalisa into signing over her land to him, before the money arrived and the loan payment became official?

And what if Annalisa gave in this time? With the drought, the poor crops, and the prospect of losing the farm, maybe she’d just agree to sign everything over to Ward.

But what if she didn’t?



His mind reeled with the picture of her sitting at the table, Ward wrenching her arm behind her back, and the pain that had tightened her features.

What would Ward do to her this time?

Carl released the clerk and pushed away from him. “How much of a head start does Ward have on me?”

The man took his watch out of his pocket and with shaking hands attempted to read the time. “I think he’s been gone for about twenty minutes.”

Carl stalked to the door, flung it open, and strode outside. Twenty minutes was too long, especially since Ward had a horse and he didn’t.

He had to get to Annalisa. And fast.

It didn’t matter if Dirk was there or not.

She needed him.

“Lord, I guess I won’t be running away today after all.” If he rode out to Annalisa’s farm, he’d miss his passage on the Clayton Belle.

Had Pastor Loehe been right? Did he need to stay and make things right somehow? Was he running again because he was afraid?

His boots slapped the dusty plank sidewalk. “Anyone got a horse I can use?” he called to a group that had congregated outside the general store.

But no one glanced at him. Instead they stared and pointed at the far end of Main Street. Several foxes and hares had wandered into town. The creatures didn’t seem to notice each other but were hurrying toward the water’s edge, where more wild animals, both large and small, had gathered.