Rania Ropes a Rancher Read online

  He asked a question that had been on his mind since he met her.

  “You have the Texas drawl down pretty good, but you still have a little Swedish lilt to your voice. Do you still talk Swedish at home?”

  “We do, even though we’ve been in Texas for fourteen years. Most of the ranch workers came from Sweden, so it’s a given. But we children went to school so learned English there.”

  “So you still want a Falun Red home someday?”

  Rania turned and looked Jacob in the eye. “Oh, I don’t know. It just reminds me of home, you know?”

  Jacob opened the gate by the barn, and said, “Let’s walk over to the creek and check on the horses. Looks like your stallion Thor and his ladies are enjoying the shade of the few trees along the banks.” After Rania walked through, Jacob closed the gate behind them. He held out his big hand until she finally clasped it in hers. Jacob gave it a squeeze and started walking toward the creek.

  “Sunrise or sunset?”

  “Sunrise,” Rania answered as she stared at the far horizon.

  “Why? Give me an example,” prompted Jacob.

  “It may have been cold to get out of my bedroll before dawn on the trail, but seeing the very first hint of light on the eastern sky was always my favorite time of day.

  “It was Hilda’s and my task to get the remuda in before first light. The horses were fresh and it was always fun to see the horses kick up their heels for the heck of it. Sometimes, depending on the horse the rider picked for the day, we’d have a bronco ride or two to watch. It didn’t last long, and the riders knew to expect it, so they rarely got dumped off the horses.

  “Momma served breakfast by campfire light when just a thin strip of yellow light was starting to show behind her. By the time we got the chuck and supply wagons loaded up, we’d have a brilliant show of morning color as we took off for the day.”

  They continued walking across the pasture, looking at the sky, deep in their own thoughts.

  “I think I’m going to say sunset. Most evenings I stand in the middle of the yard when the sun is going down. I look toward the barn where multi–colored waves, be they bright or gray, fill the western horizon behind it, and I think about what I’ve accomplished out under the big sky since the last sunset. Then I can turn around, to view the outline of the house in the darkening eastern sky, and see a lamp lit in the house that’s waiting for me to come home. Right now it’s my mother and sister waiting for me, but I think they will both move out eventually.”

  “Then the house will be dark and there will be no one to greet you,” Rania sadly responded.

  Jacob gave Rania’s hand another squeeze. “I hope to have my own wife and children lighting the lamp and waiting to welcome me home soon.”

  Rania looked up when Jacob didn’t release her hand. His eyes held a hint of sparkle as he stared at her lips, and his mouth was turned up in a half grin.

  Her breath hitched with the feeling that Jacob knew who he wanted waiting for him at night—but did she deserve to be the one?

  She wondered what it would be like to be kissed by Jacob. The kisses by her attacker were sweet at first, but then turned forceful and punishing. Could she ever be kissed by someone like Jacob and not have those terrible memories surface?

  The horse herd lifted their heads from grazing when they heard her and Jacob. Thor snorted and the herd moved closer to him. Rania looked over the two mares that were about to foal. She loved baby animals and couldn’t wait to welcome the new arrivals to the herd.

  Rania rubbed her abdomen, wondering if she’d be welcoming a baby soon. Her mind said it was true, but her heart hadn’t accepted it yet. She knew her family would have no problem with an addition to the family, but Rania was afraid that it wouldn’t fit well with Jacob’s plans for the future.

  “Everything looks all right out here, Jacob, so we can go back to the house. I’m sure you have things to do at your ranch instead of spending time here.” Rania glanced at Jacob when she made the announcement and dropped his hand to turn around. He looked puzzled, but didn’t say anything.

  The time for telling Jacob about her pregnancy was advancing rapidly whether she was ready or not. But she’d wait a few more days before breaking the news to him. She wanted more walks and talks before he left her for good after hearing her news.

  Chapter 5

  Jacob chose sunset to ride over to the Bar E Ranch to talk to Dagmar. Hopefully Dagmar would be riding in from the range rather than staying out overnight. It was always a guess as to who was outriding the herd, but Jacob knew Dagmar took turns with the four hands who lived in the bunkhouse and worked on the ranch.

  He was nervous to talk to Dagmar, but Jacob didn’t have an option if he was going to do it right. His father always said the right way was always the best way to approach everything—whether working with a green horse, or maybe even a certain skittish woman he’d taken a shine to. Jacob needed to ask a male Hamner for the right to court Rania, and because her father wasn’t here to ask him, Dagmar would be the one to hopefully give his blessing.

  “Hey, Jacob! Tie up your horse and come into the house,” called Dagmar. Jacob rode into the yard just as Dagmar was knocking his boots off at the door.

  Jacob tied Duncan’s reins to the front hitching post and walked up the porch steps, his spurs jingling with each step.

  “Oh, please take off your boots Jacob, before you enter the house.”

  “Why?” Jacob teased, “Don’t you want to clean house, Dagmar?”

  “You got that right. I still don’t feel comfortable living in this huge house by myself. Plus I’m still tip–toeing whenever I go near a fancy crystal thing, so you know I’m walking on the balls of my feet most of the time.”

  Jacob laughed out loud at Dagmar’s blushing face and confession. Here’s this huge man, scared to death of some little glass objects. “Yes, this house is full of fancy stuff so I’m sure your boots aren’t touching those nice carpets. I assume you stay in the two rooms that the women fixed up for you?”

  “Yes, I’m still worried about the rest of the house, so I make a round through all the rooms before I go to bed, otherwise I’d never get any shuteye,” Dagmar sighed.

  “Okay, then let’s just sit on the porch chairs to talk, then, so I don’t have to take off my boots. How are things going otherwise on the ranch?” Jacob asked to get Dagmar’s mind off the fancy furnishings he was living among.

  “I feel comfortable outside. The ranch is ten sections, so we have over six thousand acres for the herd to graze on. The hands take turns staying with the herd at all times. Now and then we find a few cattle marked with other brands than the Bar E, but we’ll get them sorted out this fall when we round up the herd and brand the calves.”

  “How’s your help?”

  “Mr. Elison fired two hands, but I hired replacements who came around the first week. They are young boys, but they know how to ride and rope so they will work out—and are loyal to the Bar E brand. There’s an older man, Reuben Shepard living in the bunkhouse, who cooks and washes for the hands, I usually eat with them so I don’t have to dirty a dish in the house. He’s a good father figure for the young hands, so I’m glad there’s someone we can all lean on when we need him.”

  “Your sisters been around much?” Jacob was curious if Rania had been out riding by herself again.

  “No, I think they are both cleaning houses, but I wish they’d show up with some sweets now and then. Don’t tell them, I do miss their chatter too. You get used to women talking all the time, and then it gets real quiet when they aren’t in the house anymore.”

  “So Dagmar, since you’re the only Hamner man living here at the moment, I assume you’re in charge of your sisters’ care?”

  Dagmar snorted, “Are you kidding me? They’d thump both of our heads if they heard your question. Why do you ask for heaven’s sake?”

  Jacob straightened up and looked into Dagmar’s eyes. “I want to ask your permission to court Rania.”
There. He said it.

  Dagmar stared at him a moment as in shock. “Why?”

  “Because I like her,” Jacob said in exasperation, wondering why Dagmar would ask such a simple, but stupid, question.

  “Have you kissed her? Do I need to do something about her honor?”

  “Dagmar, no I haven’t kissed her yet—but I’d like to. And honestly I’m interested in asking for her hand in marriage eventually. Rania’s been awfully quiet compared to last year when we met, so I’ve been going slowly with my attentions toward her.”

  Dagmar rubbed a socked foot against the porch floor. “Something has been bothering Rania, but she hasn’t said anything to me or Hilda. She got downright spooky on the trail, but has settled down here in Kansas,” Dagmar agreed. “I think you’d be good for Rania, so please begin courting—and good luck.”

  Jacob’s heart swelled in his chest as he thought of kissing Rania, and then his head caused it to skip a beat. “Uh, got any suggestions on how to gain her confidence?”

  “Jacob, I’m a man and clueless, so you best ask another female…”

  ***

  “Hey, Ma. Enjoying the evening air?” His parents had enjoyed sitting on the porch swing at the end of the day when the weather was nice. After his father died of cancer, his mother continued the ritual. Jacob and his siblings left her alone at first, often hearing her talk to their father like he was still alive. She shared her worries, telling his ghost what was going on around the ranch, and with their children. Eventually he and his siblings took turns sitting in the porch swing to give her company. His ma had survived her grief and looked forward to life again.

  “Come sit down and enjoy the spring air with me. Where’d you go this evening?” She scooted over to one side of the swing, barely stopping the motion with her foot until Jacob sat down and his foot took over the rhythm she had started.

  Jacob took a breath before making his announcement, hoping his mother would like it. “I went over to see Dagmar and asked his permission to court Rania.”

  Back and forth, back and forth…Jacob kept the swing moving but became worried when his mother wasn’t answering immediately.

  “She’s a fine match for you Jacob, but there are issues you’ll have to discuss before marriage.”

  Jacob was surprised by her answer. “Like what?”

  “It’s a lifetime commitment, and you’ve heard the vows. You have to give and take, accept the other person as they are—and what they may become decades later—and be ready for what life throws at you.”

  Jacob took his mother’s hand between his. “Don’t you think I’m ready for marriage? I expected you to jump for joy at my choice of wife.”

  His mother squeezed his hand and smiled at him. “Yes, I think you’re ready. Rania will make a fine wife, but you’re going to have to accept her as she is first.”

  “You’re talking in riddles, Ma.”

  “Tell her what’s in your heart and ask her to be honest with you. I think it will work out.”

  “Okay, well I didn’t think this conversation would turn so serious. I meant to ask you what I should do to win her over. Any gift ideas?”

  “Oh where shall I start?” she beamed, back to her usual self. “You ask her questions all the time. What’s her favorite color, flower, any hobbies she’d like to try? And don’t buy her a dust pan for goodness sake. Make it a personal item for her to enjoy, not related to housework.

  “Your father only made that mistake once before I shed tears—and then told him off.” She chuckled with a memory. Jacob was almost afraid to ask what the item was, just couldn’t resist.

  “What did Pa give you?”

  “He gave me a mouse trap for my first birthday after we were married. Not a fancy pin or book, but a trap to catch the filthy mice that were taking over the house. The poor man thought he was helping me, but it was so disappointing to open up the little box and see a trap. A cat with a pretty ribbon around its neck would have better, but no, it was a trap I had to bait, hear its deadly snap, take the dead mouse outside to dispose of it, set the trap again…” Jacob’s hands were being squeezed hard with his mother’s memories so he shook her hands off.

  “Okay, okay. I won’t ever do that then. What are some ideas for gifts?”

  She folded her arms, and then tapped a finger against her chin. “The twins were talking about the tradition of gifts when a couple was going to get married in Sweden. Three Sundays it was announced in church and gifts to go with it. You don’t have to do any announcing in church here, but a gift each week is a nice idea, and I think she’d appreciate the sentiment.”

  “Wasn’t that when the couple became betrothed?”

  “Yes.” His mother stared him in the eye like she was thinking the same thing. Then she continued, “What’s her favorite flower?”

  “Ah, I get points for asking her that question already. Her favorite flower in Sweden was the twin flower, only an inch tall that had two fragrant pink flowers per stem, but only grows in the shaded forests. When I asked what her favorite American flower was, Rania said she loved the scent of the lilac bushes that bloomed around our house the first time she came here in early May.”

  “You have some good clues to start with then. Instead of giving her flowers, give her a pretty glass vase, and then take her for a walk and pick flowers with her to fill the vase.” He could do that since they were already taking walks and the prairie was starting to sprout wildflowers.

  “Another idea…a woman always feels feminine when given scented water, especially if you comment you like the scent of it on her skin or hair. You probably haven’t noticed it on the shelf in the general store but it comes in variety of scents like rose, and lilac…”

  “That’s two gifts. What shall I do for the third?”

  His mother grinned at him, “You figure out yourself what the final gift should be to win her heart.”

  ***

  Jacob rode into town early the next morning and was waiting at Taylor’s General Store when they opened their doors. The lilac water was easy to find, but then he had to make a choice on which vase to pick. He wracked his brain; trying to think what style of vase Rania liked the most when they had been in the Elison house that first visit. He finally told Mrs. Taylor who the gift was for, and she immediately picked up the vase that she said Rania had looked at once. He carefully packed the paper–wrapped gifts in his saddle bag, rode to Rania’s, and now stood on her porch with the first gift behind his back.

  Jacob knocked on the front door—and there was no answer. But then King “woofed” behind him, almost causing Jacob to drop the present as he spun around to face the dog, and of course Rania.

  “Good morning, Jacob,” Rania smiled, trying to hide her amusement at his sudden jump when she and King surprised him.

  “Hello, Rania. Nice to see you.” Jacob rocked back and forth on his boot heels, not quite sure if Rania saw the package he held behind his back, and what he should do next.

  “Uh, this is for you, Rania.” Jacob blushed, not believing how tongue–tied he felt all of a sudden. And then realized he hadn’t handed her the present yet, so thrust it at her.

  Rania took the package, now blushing too. “Should I open it now?”

  “Yes, please. But be careful, it’s…maybe you should open it on the kitchen table.” Jacob gestured to the front porch, turned the door handle and gestured again for Rania to enter first.

  Rania walked in, and glanced back at Jacob as he followed her into the kitchen. He sat down in a chair, folded his hands on the table, and gripped them tightly as she turned the brown paper–wrapped package around and around in her hands.

  “What is it?” Rania teased as she probed the paper and watched Jacob grit his teeth while he tried to smile.

  She slowly, and carefully, turned the item in one hand and pulled the paper off an inch at a time with the other hand. Jacob released his held breath in relief as Rania gasped and smiled at the vase she held in her hand. “This is be
autiful, Jacob. Is this really for me?”

  “Do you like it?” Jacob was so happy with her surprised explanation; he felt seven feet tall instead of six. He rose, and took her hand, “How about we take a walk and find some pretty flowers to put in your new vase?”

  When Jacob got to the front door, he reached for his hat that he usually put on the wall peg when he came into her house, then felt his face flush when he realized his hat was still on his head. He hadn’t taken off his hat when he came in. Good grief. He needed to calm down, or he’d never be able to ask to court her.

  The sky was blue, the wind calm and Jacob had never seen so many wildflowers in his life now that his world was looking rosy. Rania flitted from one bunch of flowers to the next, barely containing her excitement at filling her new vase with fresh flowers. Jacob felt like a hero, following Rania around with his pocket knife, cutting the stems she pointed at, and felt like a prince when he handed the cut flower to her outstretched hand. Her arm was full of so many flowers when they walked back to the house that he wished he could have bought a crystal bucket to hold the bouquet instead of a little vase.

  “I think I picked enough flowers for several arrangements. I’ll put the best stems in your pretty vase to view from the kitchen table, and put the rest in a pitcher to set on my bedroom dresser.” Rania looked so happy right now that Jacob knew it was time for his big announcement. But first, he’d try for a kiss—after she got her flowers arranged like she wanted them.

  When Rania walked back from the bedroom Jacob stood and took her hands. “Like your gift?” He returned her big smile and changed his hands to hold her waist. “Maybe enough to give me a little thank–you kiss?” Jacob teased.

  He felt Rania tense up a moment, but then relax. “I like that you’re tall, Rania. I can look you straight in the eye instead of having to bend down. And it’s so handy to kiss you, too.” Jacob softly touched Rania’s lips for a second, and then backed off to look in her eyes. Why were they squeezed shut? Then Rania opened her eyes and leaned up and touched her lips to his, making him forget his worry.