Page 9 of Willing to Wed the Rancher
The slender man slipped into the room. Before he could close the door, Mr. Grover pushed his way inside. Next to Mr. Irving’s thin and tall frame, Mr. Grover was much shorter and stouter, with a fleshy face devoid of any facial hair.
As he closed the door, Clarabelle had to flatten herself against the log wall to make room for the newcomers in the tiny space. Even then, they all stood rather stiffly together in front of the bed.
Mr. Grover visibly blanched at the sight of Eric. “What’s the prognosis, doctor?”
The doctor shook his head sadly. “Unfortunately, he didn’t survive the injury.”
Mr. Irving leveled his severe gaze upon Clarabelle. “As your fiancé, Mr. Meyer gave you everything, including the children.”
He wasn’t her fiancé.
As the eyes of each of the men shifted to her, including Maverick’s surprised gaze, Clarabelle wished a portal would magically open and allow her to escape.
But the gazes upon her didn’t waver, and she was stuck under the weight of them.
Maverick was the first to speak. “You didn’t tell us you got engaged.”
“Eric proposed to her three days ago,” Mr. Irving answered before Clarabelle could offer an explanation. “He said they were planning to get married very soon. He’d hoped within a few weeks.”
“Is that true?” Maverick’s brows rose.
Clarabelle swallowed her rising panic. Eric might have been making plans, but she hadn’t agreed to anything. How could she clarify the misunderstanding with all the men staring at her?
“Well?” Maverick persisted.
“He did propose.” She hesitated, trying to find a plausible explanation. “But we didn’t make any solid plans.”
“They were apparently solid enough for Eric.” Mr. Irving pulled an official-looking paper out of his inner coat pocket. “He had me draw up his Last Will and Testament and named you as his only beneficiary.”
For heaven’s sake. Could this situation get any worse?
The only good thing was that at least she could take care of Bianca and Dieter without anyone questioning her right to do so. Not that she planned to be with them forever, but after all that Ryder and Tanner had gone through as orphans and living in orphanages before running away, she could hopefully spare Bianca and Dieter more upheaval and heartache than they were already bound to feel.
“I didn’t know you were interested in Eric Meyer.” Maverick was now searching her face, as if looking for the same love and adoration that he had for Hazel. Her brother could search forever and wouldn’t find it.
But at the moment, she was too embarrassed to admit it in front of everyone. Instead, she gave what she hoped was a nonchalant shrug. “He was looking for a mother for his children.”
“Hazel said he approached you about it at Ma’s funeral, but I told her you wouldn’t want to marry a man you didn’t love.”
“Some people get married for convenience,” Mr. Irving interjected. “I’ve seen it happen plenty of times, especially here in the West.”
Mr. Grover was stroking his gold watch chain. “I’ll admit that’s how Mrs. Grover and I got our start.”
Dr. Howell nodded as though he’d seen marriages of convenience a million times over and there was nothing to it.
But Clarabelle wanted more to it. Love. And she still wasn’t willing to give up her dream of having a man who was so in love with her that he’d do anything to be with her.
“It’s neither here nor there now.” Mr. Irving unfolded the will and handed it to Maverick. Clarabelle bit back her irritation that the gentleman hadn’t given the document to her first, as though she wasn’t smart enough to read it for herself.
Mr. Irving pointed to a section of the will. “You’ll see here that Eric even gave Clarabelle access to his bank account. He didn’t disclose his financial situation, but he said he’d make sure there was enough so that she wouldn’t have to struggle.”
Mr. Grover leaned forward, straining to see the will.
The doctor, on the other hand, stifled a yawn, the exhaustion on his face a testament to the strenuous nature of his work at all hours of the day and night.
He needed to be on his way. And she needed to speak to the children. She would have plenty of time later to sort out Eric’s will and financial situation. “At least for the time being, the children and I can live here until I can figure out what we’ll do.” Hopefully the money Eric had in the bank would carry her over for a few weeks. If she were lucky, maybe it would see her and the children through the summer.
Maverick frowned. “You can’t stay here. Not alone.”
