Rania Ropes a Rancher

by Linda K. Hubalek

  “Well, what’s going on if you didn’t get stepped on?”

  Her pale face blushed to bright pink and she grimaced when another wave of pain seemed to hit her body and she clutched her abdomen again.

  Now Jacob’s suntanned face turned white with the thought of something feminine going on in front of him. “Uh… is it time for your monthly?” He looked back to her horse and realized there weren’t any saddle bags, so no chance of her having any bleeding rags or change of clothing with her.

  Jacob snapped out of his embarrassing thoughts because she was injured and needed help. “Look, I’m going to move you down by the river’s edge. There’s a cottonwood down there that will give us a little shade. Then I’ll get my extra shirt out of my saddle bag and…try to stop the bleeding.”

  “No way are you going to stop it,” she hissed through her clinched lips. “I want this…blood out of me now.”

  Jacob fell back on his seat, because her venomous words caught him by surprise. Now what should I do?

  Help her out. His ma’s words rang through his head like she had just slapped his forehead. Without hesitation, Jacob moved down on one knee and gently gathered Rania up in his arms. He hefted her against his chest, standing up and getting his balance while holding her weight. She started to protest, but Jacob’s arms held her tight against his chest, giving her no room to fight even if she wanted to. Rania, at six feet, was as tall as Jacob, so it was work to carry her the twenty yards across the grass and down the slope to the base of a cottonwood tree.

  Rania’s body tightened when another wave of pain hit her as Jacob laid her on the grass, but then she relaxed when it passed. She blew out a breath of air from her puffed cheeks, blinked her eyes several times, and then kept them open because she was in shade now instead of the glaring sun.

  Now that Rania was moved, Jacob went back for the horses. It was easy to catch the reins on Duncan, but Rania’s horse waltzed just out of reach for a few minutes until Jacob caught one rein by luck when she threw her head back. Jacob tugged on the reins and both horses obediently followed him down to the cottonwoods and nearby brush along the riverbank. He tied their reins on some scrubby plum bushes a few yards from where he had left Rania. Next, he opened up the flap on his leather saddlebag, pulled out his extra shirt and threw it over his shoulder. His water canteen, slung across the saddle pommel, was still full from when he left the other ranch, so Jacob slung its strap over his other shoulder. Lastly he unhooked his bedroll from the back of the saddle. Rania could use his blanket to either lie on, or shield her body from his sight, but he intended to help her, whether she liked it or not.

  Rania blew more air and opened her eyes when she heard him nearby again.

  “Is Rose okay?”

  “Your horse? Yeah, although she was a bit hard to catch.”

  “My brothers call her ‘a hard–headed woman’ but she and I get along just fine.” Jacob was glad to see the bit of a smile on her lips when she talked about her horse.

  “Want a little water?” She nodded, so Jacob uncapped the canteen, and then kneeled down beside Rania to gently lift her head. Some of the lukewarm water ran down her face and neck when the canteen was brought to Rania’s lips, but she greedily drank the water until Jacob pulled it away. After a few seconds Jacob gave her another drink before laying her head back on the grass.

  “Want to lie on my bedroll, or at least put it under your head?” Rania shut her eyes, gripped her abdomen again and nodded negatively.

  “How come you’re out here by yourself? Any idea how long you been lying unconscious?”

  Jacob shook his head in exasperation when she didn’t answer because he knew she was still awake. “Come on, Miss Hamner. I can’t help if you don’t let me know what’s going on.”

  Trying to keep his temper down, Jacob pulled his handkerchief from his back pocket, uncapped the canteen again to drizzle some of the water on the cloth. Rania jerked away when she felt him lay the wet cloth on her forehead. What he really wanted to do was wipe away the tears causing wet streaks down her dusty face, but thought the woman would really have a fit if he tried.

  Jacob couldn’t figure out why she didn’t want his help—well other than it seemed she had a female problem she was embarrassed about. He lived with his mother and sister so he knew what went on with women during their time, and in truth, they could get a little touchy then too.

  The water seemed to revive Rania. Her eyes opened and focused on the tree above them, and she took some deep, calming breaths. Jacob rolled up his shirt and tossed it onto her stomach. She didn’t meet his eyes as she pushed the wadded shirt between her thighs.

  Thinking it would be better to avoid the obvious problem, Jacob decided to ask some other questions—in a roundabout way. “I was happy to hear your folks bought the Larson place on the west side of us. We sure hated losing young Sam, but we are glad your family will be our new neighbors.” Jacob tried not to shudder thinking how he found his friend that morning two months ago. Sam had been thrown from his horse, but his foot got caught in the stirrup and his horse drug him back to its home barn. Jacob thanked the Lord he hadn’t found Rania in the same shape.

  After Sam’s death, Jeb Henderson, the local lawyer, contacted Sam’s family who lived in Indiana. Sam’s father wired back to sell the place “as–is” and wire him the money. Sam’s funeral and burial was conducted with his neighbors in attendance, without his family’s presence.

  Out of curtesy—to the livestock rather than to Sam’s missing family—Jacob took care of Sam’s animals until they were sold. All farm equipment went with the homestead so no separate auction took place. Rania’s parents, who had traveled back and forth between Texas and Kansas for several years, decided they were ready to settle down and bought Larson’s ranch. The Hamners were at the right place at the right time to get a good deal.

  Rania didn’t make any comment yet, so Jacob tried again. “Is your family getting settled in?”

  After a long pause she finally gave in. “No, my parents and Leif just left on the train this morning for Texas to sell what belongings remained down there. They’ll trail back with another outfit with more cattle and the rest of our horse herd.”

  “Why didn’t you go along?”

  “It was decided that Dagmar, Hilda and I would stay here to get the place in shape.”

  “Now that you’re talking to me, why don’t you tell me why you’re out here alone?”

  Her cramping pains seemed to have lessened and she moved her hand from her stomach to across her eyes. She sighed before answering. “Dagmar heard about the foreman job at the Bar E Ranch and took off that direction to check on it.”

  “And your twin?”

  “Hilda went to the county land office in Ellsworth to see if there was any land available for sale. She got set in her mind that she wants her own home. And I decided to take a ride to get familiar with the area.”

  Jacob wet the handkerchief again and reached to wipe her face but still, Rania grimaced and tried to withdraw from his touch. Jacob got an uneasy feeling there was more than just a bad monthly going on with this woman. He draped the wet cloth across her hand so she could wipe her face herself.

  He sighed and asked, “What do you want me to do, Miss Hamner? I just want to help you now, and get you back home safely. You might have a concussion so you shouldn’t travel by yourself. Plus, I think that cut on your forehead needs to be stitched up.”

  Rania didn’t answer right away, kept taking deep measured breaths, still trying to calm herself. She blew out a slow breath and answered him without opening her eyes. “I can’t go home and have Hilda see me like this. Plus I feel like I’ll pass out again if I move an inch.”

  “Okay, maybe we stay here a while in the shade and let you recover. Could we…take off your shirtwaist and skirt and I wash them out in the river? I have a blanket you could cover yourself with.”

  That comment brought her eyes wide open.

  “Well, you said
you didn’t want Hilda to see you like this…” Jacob tried to reassure her. “It’s okay. I have a sister, so I’ve been around girls before, and my ma brought me up to be a gentleman.”

  Rania looked like she’d rather crawl in a badger hole and hide instead of let him touch her, let alone remove her clothing.

  Jacob sighed and tried another idea. “How about after you rest a while, I take you back to our ranch home and let my mother help you?”

  She relaxed, gave a little nod and shut her eyes again, leaving Jacob wondering why he wanted to get involved with this woman when she obviously had issues with trusting men. She didn’t seem that way last year.

  Yet, feelings for her beat deep in his chest when he looked down on her still body. He felt like this sleeping beauty was the one he’d been waiting for to complete his life, but unfortunately, it looked like there could be obstacles in his way.

  ***

  Rania insisted on getting herself in the saddle, and luckily the mare was patient with Rania’s weak mounting. Jacob kept a close watch on Rania, noticing that her posture kept deteriorating with every mile they rode. By the time they went three miles to his wooden–framed two–story ranch house, she was clutching the saddle pommel with both hands and her face was awfully pale.

  Just as they got to the hitching post by the front door, Rania’s chin hit her chest and she started sliding sideways out of the saddle—in the opposite direction of Jacob on his horse.

  Jacob jumped off Duncan, sidestepping around the two agitated horses to catch Rania and place her waist gently over his left shoulder before she could fall from the saddle, just as his mother Cate opened the front door.” Her long torso and arms extended down his back like an oversized sack of feed. Jacob clutched her knees tightly against his chest to hold her in place. He was attracted to this tall Swedish woman, but right now he wished she was a little petite thing instead.

  Cate’s eyes flashed wide when his bloodied shirt fell off Rania’s backside and draped across Jacob’s arms that circled the woman’s legs. “Let me put some old towels across my bed and you put her down there,” she told him as she left the door wide open for him. Jacob was thankful his mother’s bedroom was not upstairs as he eased down the hallway to her room. It would be heck to balance Rania as he walked up the steep, narrow stairs to the bedrooms on the upper floor.

  “What happened to her?” Cate burst back in the room with a pitcher of water and towels.

  “I found her unconscious a couple of hours ago on the ground near the river. She had a bloody gash on her forehead, besides the other bleeding. Luckily her horse stayed by her, otherwise I never would have seen her lying in the grass.”

  “What took you so long to bring her here if you found her a while ago?” his mother asked sternly, as she started to unbutton the side buttons of Rania’s split skirt. Jacob turned his head to give the women some privacy but didn’t leave the room because he needed to answer his mother’s questions.

  “She woke up for a bit and insisted she just needed to rest. Said she felt faint before blacking out and apparently sliding off her horse. She must have hit her forehead on a rock when she collapsed. I moved her under some trees for shade and a drink of water. We talked a little before getting her back on the horse.”

  “Well it looks like the woman has a bad monthly or is losing her baby.”

  Jacob was shocked at his mother’s observation. “Uh …this is Miss Rania Hamner, one of the daughters of the couple who just bought the Larson place. I worked with them last year in Ellsworth when they trailed a herd up from Texas. And she was adamant that I not take her to a doctor or home to her family.”

  “Fine. I’ll deal with Rania. You go change your shirt and ride over to the Hamners to let them know Rania’s staying overnight.”

  Jacob looked down and saw Rania’s blood smeared on the front of his shirt. It isn’t how he hoped his first visit would go with the woman he was interested in courting.

  Chapter 2

  “Hello the house!” Jacob felt strange yelling this to a neighbor’s house he had visited many times over the years, but it had changed ownership so he needed to respect the new owners.

  Jacob flinched at the constant yelping some insistent little dog was making inside the house. Larson had lived in a sod house for a few years before putting up this wooden–frame structure that now graced the homestead. So far it was a small single–story home, but built ready to add on to the west of the house. Sam had planned to expand the house this spring, but that didn’t happen because of his demise. Jacob wondered what Sam would think of the current noisy dog and the new owners.

  The door opened and Jacob recognized the young man who lowered his head a bit to clear the doorway so he could step out onto the porch. He had to be over six and a half feet tall. Looks like the first thing this Swedish family needed to do was make the door frames taller.

  “Hello. I’m Jacob Wilerson from next ranch over. Your sister Rania is over there with my mother, so I thought I’d let you know.”

  Jacob blinked twice when a young woman looking a lot like Rania stepped out behind the man and walked out to stand by Duncan. “We’ve been worried about Rania when we found she wasn’t at home. I didn’t think she’d be stopping at one of our new neighbors by herself because she’s rather shy.

  “Good to see you again, Mr. Wilerson,” she continued. “To refresh your memory I’m Rania’s sister, Hilda and this is my brother Dagmar. We appreciated your help last year at the Ellsworth rail yard when we sorted and loaded our longhorns.”

  “Welcome, Mr. Wilerson. I assume you remember which twin is not shy?” Hilda looked back at Dagmar smiling when he spoke up. She scrunched her nose at her brother before turning to Jacob. All four siblings had identical blond hair and facial features. Their older brother, Leif was a match in height to Dagmar too. Hilda was a half foot shorter than Rania’s six feet. Even if the twins had been identical, you could tell Rania and Hilda apart by their opposite mannerisms. Rania was quiet and reserved, Hilda was chatty and outgoing.

  “Why didn’t she come with you, Mr. Wilerson?”

  “Please call me Jacob. I came across Rania on my way home from the Cross C Ranch east of here. Rania’s horse stepped in a hole—or something—and Rania fell off. She had a big gash and goose egg on her forehead that I thought might need stitches. I took Rania to our ranch so my mother could tend to her since it happened nearby.

  “I’m sure Rania will be fine with a little rest, but my mother loves to fuss over people. Rania happened to mention you were both gone and not sure when you’d be home, so that cinched the deal for my mother. Rania really has no choice but to stay overnight.”

  Jacob hated lying, but it seemed like he had no choice. He’d have to remember the details and repeat them to his mother and Rania to keep the story straight. His mother was wonderful, instead of the pushy person he just made her sound like, but the Hamners would eventually find out that Cate Wilerson would be a good neighbor to them.

  Jacob was wracking his brain to make conversation, to make it sound like Rania was sitting and chatting with his mother in their parlor—instead of bleeding in one of their beds. “Dagmar, Rania said you went over to the Bar E Ranch today about the foreman job. Any luck?”

  “Yes! Good news, I got the job and I move over to the Bar E house anytime. It’s a big ranch, very similar to the Texas ranch near Austin where we’ve worked. Both ranches have cattle and sheep, so it will be a good fit for me. It sounds like this ranch has had some management problems though.”

  “Who’d you talk to?” Jacob inquired.

  “The owner himself, Mr. Elison. He came from Boston to check on his sons and realized the place was going under with their neglect. He sent the sons back East last week and Mr. Elison stayed here to sort through the mess.”

  “Well, just so you know what you’re getting into. Lyle and Carl Elison were sent out to Kansas because of their expensive habits in Boston, but all they did here was race horses, set up a
gambling room in the house and ignore the ranch work. Most of the ranch hands left because they were given no direction—let alone their pay on time.”

  Dagmar nodded in agreement. “Mr. Elison told me about it, so I’m prepared. He said my father and brother could work there too. That will give me help on the ranch plus provide funds to establish our family ranch.

  Hilda interrupted them, “Excuse our manners, Jacob. Our momma would have our heads for not inviting you in for coffee. Please give your horse to Dagmar to put in the barn for a bit, and come into the house.” Jacob did as he was bid because he wanted to know more about Rania and her family, even if he had to put up with that yipping dog.

  ***

  The coffee was strong enough to stand a spoon up straight in the cup, and the dried sweet bread hard enough to break a tooth. After Jacob saw Dagmar dip the bread in the coffee before eating it, he tried again and found the bread delicious, melting in his mouth this time. New neighbors, new ways of doing things he surmised. Plus Jacob needed to learn a few Swedish words if he was thinking about courting the immigrants’ daughter.

  Jacob scanned the kitchen as he sipped his coffee. This room had been cleaned a bit, since they had starting cooking and eating in here recently. Everything in the front room he had walked through was exactly where it had been when Sam left the house the day of his accident. It was kind of eerie to see his things, covered with dust and cobwebs. Rania and Hilda had a lot of cleaning and sorting to do to get the place in shape again.

  Besides the front room and kitchen, there were two bedrooms, one larger built for Sam and his intended bride, and one smaller bedroom, for the young children Sam had longed to father one day. Sam planned to add on a parlor, a second story of bedrooms, plus new front and back porches when his family grew.