MB02 - A Noble Groom by Jody Hedlund Read Free Book Online

understand she couldn’t farm her land without help. Already she was behind the others, who had begun to prepare their soil for sowing the spring wheat. While the other farmers were building fences and clearing more land and sharpening their equipment, she was making maple syrup.
    And syrup wouldn’t plow the hard soil. Syrup wouldn’t repair the fences that would keep the foxes from stealing chickens. Syrup most certainly wouldn’t pay off the loan by the October thirtieth deadline.
    Ja, she had to get remarried if she had any chance at all of planting and harvesting an abundant crop—a crop that would hopefully help her earn the balance of what she still owed on the farm loan, which was a little over one hundred dollars. Even with a decent crop, she would be hard-pressed to pay off the remainder when it came due.
    If only Hans hadn’t been so wasteful.
    She lumbered a few awkward steps. The bucket bumped her leg painfully. She tried hefting it higher.
    “Wait.” Carl charged to her side. “Since I cannot do the honor of delivering your message to Ward this afternoon, the least I can do is carry your bucket.”
    “I don’t need any help.”
    “Oh, I can see that.” An edge of humor tinged his voice. “Butsince I’ve always dreamed of carrying a large vat of . . . of . . .” He peered into the bucket and raised his eyebrows as if trying to identify what was inside.
    “Maple sap.” Gretchen supplied the words.
    “Yes.” He showered a bright smile upon the little girl. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to tote an enormous bucket of maple sap.”
    Gretchen gave him a hesitant smile in response.
    “I’ll actually be quite disappointed if I cannot experience this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.” His grinned turned lopsided and made Annalisa’s heart do a funny flip.
    She lowered the bucket to the ground, quite sure he was teasing her, but completely unprepared for how she ought to respond.
    “If you deny me the opportunity, I may have to hide myself behind that big tree and have a good cry.” He cocked his head toward the largest oak near the road.
    Gretchen’s eyes widened.
    He winked at her.
    “Mama will let you carry,” she said earnestly. “Won’t you, Mama?”
    Annalisa’s grip on the handle loosened. The thought of giving up her burden was tempting. Her tired muscles wouldn’t mind the break.
    The look in his eyes pleaded with her to allow him this offer of assistance.
    Her stomach did another flip. “I suppose just this once.”
    His grin spread.
    She glanced away, trying to prevent the smile that tugged at her lips. “Especially since we can’t have you crying behind trees.” He would be her husband before the day’s end anyway. What difference would it make if he came back to the cabin and saw his new home? That’s likely what he wanted.

    “I can see that you’re a wise woman.” He lifted the bucket and stumbled under the weight of it. “And you’re obviously strong too. This is very heavy.”
    This time she couldn’t keep from smiling.
    He fumbled at the handle and repositioned his grip.
    “Have you changed your mind already?” The teasing question slipped out unbidden. At the brazenness of her words she caught her breath, reached for Gretchen’s cold fingers, and wrapped them in her own. She tugged the girl forward, moving ahead of her groom before he could see the strange effect he was having on her.
    She led Gretchen around a lump of muddy snow that had hidden from the sun in the shadows and had escaped thawing. The thin soles of her boots squelched in the dampness of the decaying leaves. Their moldy odor rose with each step, shaming her, reminding her that marriage was a serious and unpleasant affair.
    She wanted to believe this stranger was truly helping her out of the kindness of his heart, but she’d learned long ago that men—husbands—didn’t go out of their way to be helpful unless they wanted something in return.
    No matter how much this