Page 14 of Willing to Wed the Rancher
Eric couldn’t be dead. He was young and healthy and happy with his new life in America, here in Colorado.
But even as Franz denied the possibility of Eric’s death, he only had to glance at the faces of Eric’s family to realize the truth.
His brotherwasdead.
A strange hollow emptiness inside him echoed with the realization. Franz was ashamed to admit that in those early months following Eric’s betrayal, he’d sometimes hoped Eric would have hardships and that God would punish him for what he’d done.
But he’d never wished death upon Eric.
He met Clarabelle’s gaze. “How long ago?”
“One week.” As she hugged herself, this time he noticed the gun belt around her waist and the pistol holstered at her side. Did all women in the area wear guns, or was she carrying one because Dieter hadn’t been playing when he’d said that a killer was still out there?
“What happened?”
“Father was murdered.” Dieter offered the news solemnly before Clarabelle could speak.
Bianca’s face was just as grave. “The bad guy hit him on the head.”
Clarabelle was gazing off to one of the fields beyond the cabin, and her eyes held a faraway look, as if she was reliving all that had happened.
He was tempted to feel sorry for himself for coming all the way to Colorado and failing in his mission to see Eric and restore a semblance of peace. But his predicament was nothing compared to the children and Clarabelle’s and all they’d experienced. If Eric really had been murdered, then it must have been traumatic—likely still was traumatic.
Even though he didn’t know the first thing about Eric’s new wife—other than that he was drawn to her—he could only imagine just how hard it would be to marry a man only to lose him and then have to raise his children.
She seemed to shake herself out of the past and waved him forward. “Where are my manners? My name is Clarabelle. Please. You must come in. I’ll start a fresh pot of coffee.”
He couldn’t resist the invitation. He needed to hear all the details of what had happened to Eric. And he wanted the chance to get to know the children and Clarabelle.
He walked with them down the rest of the lane. When he ducked inside the cabin, he was surprised at how clean and orderly the interior was. It had a main front room with a table and benches, corner stove, and a small sitting area with a sofa and two chairs. A bedroom branched off the back of the house, and a loft opened up above where he guessed the children slept.
Franz took a seat at the table, and the children sat on either side of him while Clarabelle brewed coffee. Between the three of them, he was able to piece together the full story of Eric’s attack in the strawberry patch and how they’d found him lifeless. The funeral had been five days ago, and now they were trying to adjust to not having Eric.
A strange sense of grief and regret settled inside Franz. Although Clarabelle seemed sad about everything, she didn’tseem to be grieving too greatly. It confirmed his suspicion that his brother had only been married a short time and that perhaps the marriage had even been born out of a need for a mother for the children. Certainly, Clarabelle did care for them. It was evident in how she interacted and spoke to them that she was a good mother.
But the longer he talked with them, the more burdened he felt. How would she be able to provide for herself? She couldn’t possibly manage the hay and other crops and all the other work involved in trying to eke out a living while at the same time being able to properly take care of the children.
In addition to worries about Eric’s family, Franz also needed time to sort through all that had happened to Eric and what he ought to do about it. Apparently the sheriff had investigated the murder as much as he could, but without finding any evidence or even any motivation, the sheriff didn’t know where to begin searching for the killer.
Franz was grateful he didn’t have to rush back to Germany and his teaching position. When he’d taken the leave of absence, he hadn’t specified a return date, hadn’t known how long he’d want to stay in Colorado. He guessed he’d been waiting to find out how Eric would receive him. He’d hoped Eric would be happy to see him, but he hadn’t known exactly how things would go.
The truth was, he could stay for a while in Summit County and make sure Clarabelle and the children were secure. At the same time, maybe he could do some probing of his own to find out more about why Eric had been murdered.
“Thank you,” he said as Clarabelle refilled his mug.
The children had finally tired of all the talking and had moved out of the house, into the front grassy area to play where Clarabelle could watch them through the windows and open front door.
Franz knew he needed to go, that he’d likely overstayed his welcome. Clarabelle probably had a dozen tasks requiring her attention and didn’t need him there distracting her from her work. But he hadn’t been able to make himself get up from the table.
Somehow, being in Eric’s home, sitting there and sipping coffee, he could almost feel connected to his brother again. At the very least, he could picture Eric’s life in America in a way he’d never been able to do before. The life hadn’t been easy and had been so different from the luxury and ease they’d known growing up, but from what Franz could tell, Eric had been happy and had loved living here.
As Clarabelle returned the coffee pot to the stove, he followed her every move, all too aware of how her presence in the house seemed to light it up more than the sunshine coming in through the windows.
Even from behind, she was much too attractive, with her braid hanging down her back drawing attention to her gracefulness, her slender waist, and her perfectly rounded backside.
When she reached the bench across from him, she halted and brushed at her skirt, clearly sensing his scrutiny. “I’m sorry I’m not more put together today. If I’d known you were coming, I would have taken more care to be presentable.”
During the whole visit, all he’d been able to think was that she was incredibly beautiful without even trying or knowing. And a small part of him had been jealous of Eric again. What did Eric have that he could so easily win not only Luisa but now Clarabelle?
