Jacob gingerly opened the trunk latch, wishing he had stopped to wash his hands, but luckily there was on old wool blanket on top of the pile of bedding. He pulled the blanket out of the trunk and returned to the kitchen to wrap it around Rania’s shoulders.
After pausing to wash his hands and arms in the basin of water on the back porch, Jacob added more wood to the wood stove to heat water for their baths. The water reservoir was full, but he’d have to haul more water in from the well.
Jacob cautiously walked barefoot out to the well, carrying a tin bucket and his boots. He dropped the well bucket dangling from the rope into the middle of the well. After hearing the bucket hit the water level he turned the crank above the well’s opening to wind the rope back up. When the bucket came level to the opening of the well, Jacob grabbed the full bucket and poured the water in and over his boots. He always hated to put on wet boots, but he didn’t want to track more mud than he had to while going in and out of the house as he brought in water.
All the preparations took time, but he couldn’t stop because of his own exhaustion and soreness. The only other thing he did while the water was heating was walk out to the barn, take the saddle and bridle off Duncan and let the horse out in the pasture. His horse would have to wait to get rubbed down properly.
Jacob noticed King’s food pan still had the rabbit in it when he was walking out of the barn. He picked up the pan and put it in the tack room so it was shut away. He didn’t want King to finally wolf down the meal if it was poisoned.
The last thing Jacob did before going back into the house was to take off his soggy boots and drag the tin tub from the porch into the kitchen.
***
“Can I help you get out of your underthings?” Rania just nodded to Jacob, probably hurting so badly she didn’t worry about modesty now and him seeing her nude. Besides, the wet material stuck to her skin and showed all her female parts anyway. She sighed in relief when her wet undergarments were off, and again when she sunk down into the tin tub of steaming hot water that Jacob had just filled. The tears streamed down her cheeks again, like they had been doing on and off for the past hour.
“How bad do you hurt?”
“On a scale of one to ten—about twenty,” Rania whispered between quiet sobs. “I feel like a tree trunk rammed my body several times, but I think my heart hurts the worst, thinking about Rose.” She covered her face with her hands and started sobbing again from the stress of the kidnapping and grief for her lost horse.
Jacob knelt down beside the tub, lathered the soap in the wash rag and tried to figure out where to start on Rania’s body. She had bruises turning dark everywhere and scratches on her chest, back and extremities. It looked like one branch scraped up—or down—her face, barely missing her left eye.
“Is it okay if I start cleaning you up?” Jacob waited for her nod before gingerly touching her face. She grimaced as the wash cloth touched a bad cut. Even though it stung, they both knew her body had to be cleaned and treated to ward off infection.
Jacob slowly soaped and rinsed her body, wishing his hands weren’t so callused and rough. “I wish I would have ridden home with you this afternoon. Why didn’t Adam and I realize it was a set–up?”
Rania winced again before answering. “You couldn’t have guessed what he had planned. I don’t know why he was obsessed with me, but all this trouble is my fault,” she whimpered.
“No, Rania. Stop. Thinking. That. He caused all of this, never you.”
Rania stared ahead, her hands crossed around her chest. “When he joined our group in Texas, he was so polite to everyone. Then he started seeking me out after supper, always bringing a handful of flowers—usually bluebonnets—with him. Hilda always got the attention of men, so I was happy it was finally my turn. I was thrilled when we stole behind the cook wagon and I got my first real kiss.”
Jacob’s hand stilled a second, realizing Rania was finally opening up to him about her attack. He slowly moved to her shoulders, thinking that was the safest place to be touching her while she talked.
“Then one evening he took me up to a pretty little knoll that overlooked the campsite and herd. The full moon made it easy to see a long way. He started kissing me, but then he got rough, not stopping when I begged him to. Then he threatened deadly harm to my family, going into detail of how he’d make it happen, if I didn’t do what he wanted.”
Then she fell silent, and Jacob took his time to lather and rinse her hair. Unfortunately her braid had unraveled in the river, so it was full of mud, grass and twigs. It would take a long time to comb out her waist–length hair, but Jacob would carefully do it after her bath.
“The abuse finally ended when Hilda caught the snake with his trousers down when I went to fetch water at the creek. Between a blow with a tree limb from Hilda, and my mother’s cocked gun, he took off. I never told my mother or twin—back then—that it wasn’t the first time Sid had unbuttoned his pants. He threatened to trail us and kill everyone if I mentioned it.”
Jacob stood, picked up the towel he had earlier placed over the back of a kitchen chair, and tossed it over his shoulder. “Well, you never have to worry about Narker again since the river took care of him and his horse.” He carefully helped Rania stand up in the bath tub, wrapped the towel around her body, helped her step out of the tub, and to sit down in a chair.
“Thank you for telling me, Rania. After I left here upset this morning I went straight to my ma to talk out my frustration. She told me ‘Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and do what you have to do to protect the ones you love’.” Jacob gently squeezed Rania’s shoulders. “I know that’s what you did for your family, and I’m proud of you for it.”
Rania nodded with just a faint smile on her lips. “Thank you, Jacob. You don’t know what that means to me for you to say that.”
“Feel better now?”
“Thank you for taking care of me, Jacob. I feel a little better, but I can’t get the smell of that stank river water out of my nose.” Jacob thought about her comment. Did the second bottle of Lilac Water get smashed in today’s ruckus, or was it still intact?
Jacob looked down, realizing he was still parading around in his drawers. No wonder Rania was keeping her eyes averted. But he needed to take a bath before dressing again.
“Did you keep Sam’s clothes? I need something clean to put on after my bath.”
“Yes, his clothes are in the box under the bed. And please bring me my blue wrapper, too.”
Stupid! Jacob thought as he retrieved her things. He had left her sitting wrapped up in a towel and hadn’t thought about how she needed to cover up.
“How about I bring some food out to King while you finish drying? Can I give him a jar of canned meat from the cellar to tide him over? Surely he’d enjoy that.” With her nod, Jacob opened the cellar door and went down the steps to scan the shelves for jars of beef. He grabbed two before climbing back up the stairs. He’d heat one up later for their meal.
After putting his soggy boots back on, Jacob retrieved a shovel from the barn and buried the rabbit in the manure pile behind the barn. After thoroughly washing the dog’s pan, he filled it with the canned beef. The dog was going to have to make do until he could go hunting for a rabbit.
King had followed them home from the river, but Jacob forgot to shut the gate to the sheep’s pen in all the rush. So after a drink of water, King too off back north, presumably to guard Rose. He knew King would come home eventually and the dog would find his meal then.
Duncan’s saddle, thrown over the stall side earlier, didn’t reek of perfume. It was hard to believe for all the hard riding and work he and Duncan had been through that day, but the bottle of Lilac Water was still intact. He could give his second betrothal gift as planned, plus clear Rania’s nose of the river water.
Jacob almost dropped the bottle of Lilac Water when he walked out of the barn and looked north. The bleating sheep were almost back to the ranch yard, but what caught Jacob’s
surprise was King, still a distance way, dragging a saddle, and Rose slowly limping behind him.
***
“Rania! Come out here, now!”
Lord, now what was wrong? Rania pushed her way out of the chair, limped to the door and stepped outside. Jacob had his hands on his hips and a big smile on his face as he looked toward the river. Seeing her, he rushed up to the porch, practically picking up her feet and shoving them in her muddy boots.
“Come on! You’ve got to see this!” Jacob put his arm around her waist, helping her down the steps and around to the back of the house.
“Rose!” Rania couldn’t believe it! Her horse had survived the horrible flood! “I’ve got to take care of her, Jacob.”
But King dropped the saddle, stalked back to Rose, and turned and growled when Rania and Jacob started toward the horse.
“What’s he doing?” Rania turned to Jacob in surprise.
“I’m guessing he’s in full guard mode now. Or he feels bad that he couldn’t help you—one of his flock—so he’s going to be sure that Rose gets back to the barn instead.”
“And why is he hauling back the saddle?”
“Maybe King thinks he’s leading her with it? I have no clue, but I’m glad he saved the saddle too,” Jacob chuckled while grinning at the peculiar scene in front of them.
Rose stopped walking, collapsed down on her side, but got her legs tucked back under her to sit up straight. King sat down in front of her like no one was going to get past him.
“Let’s just leave them be. Rose may lay there an hour or two before getting up again. Once she goes back into the barn, King will settle down and we can clean and check Rose over.”
Relief flooded Rania’s mind, realizing that they had all survived. She was finally free of Sid’s threats. She slid a hand down to her abdomen, gently rubbing it, thinking that her baby had survived and was safe now too.
Chapter 11
“I just about forgot,” Jacob said, as she and Jacob returned to the house. Jacob picked up a paper-wrapped package he must have set on the porch when he grabbed her boots. “I went out to the barn to retrieve this from my saddle bag and then got side tracked when I saw King and Rose.”
Rania took the package that Jacob held out to her. “What is it? Feels like a glass bottle.”
Jacob looked down, blushing when he said, “It’s a gift for you that I’ve been carrying around. I hadn’t found the right moment to give it to you with all that’s been going on.”
Rania carefully unwrapped the paper to reveal a bottle of Lilac Water. “Well its perfect timing now to clean the river smell out of my nose. Thank you Jacob. It’s a thoughtful gift.”
“You’re welcome. You said you liked the smell of the lilac bushes around my house, so I thought …you’d enjoy it.”
Jacob paused, looking at the bottle, and Rania wondered if he was going to explain the reason for the gift, but then he seemed to change his mind. “Mind if I clean up myself now?” Jacob asked. I feel too dirty to put ointment on your scratches.”
“How about I move to the bedroom and start combing through my hair while you’re doing that? I’ll put this Lilac Water to work, too.”
Rania didn’t have the strength to work on her hair, but she needed something to do while Jacob exchanged water in the tub, took off his muddy drawers and slipped into the bathtub.
If she hadn’t been so distraught earlier, she wouldn’t have let Jacob see her naked, but she needed help, just as simple as that. His touch was tender and sweet, worrying over her cuts and bruises. She blushed when she heard Jacob rise out of the water in the other room. He had taken a quick scrub, and would soon be seeing her body again. But she was okay with that, knowing this man would never hurt her.
Jacob appeared in the bedroom doorway, now wearing Sam’s old clothes. They didn’t quite fit, but Rania was sure he appreciated the clean and dry clothes.
“I hope you have some ointment in the pantry?” he asked.
“Yes, but I don’t think it’s enough to coat my body, let alone your scratches.”
“We’ll start with the worst cuts and go from there.”
Jacob retrieved the salve, screwed off the lid and dipped his fingers into the jar while Rania walked back into the kitchen. After just a moment’s hesitation, Rania took off her wrapper, laid it on the table, and stuck her arms out. Jacob carefully dabbed salve here and there on her arms, before moving to her shoulders, neck and back. “Want your nightgown on now? You can do your front and legs yourself.”
But his touch was a comfort to Rania even if they weren’t married. “Just go ahead and finish. My fingers are stiff and sore too.”
Jacob paused at the scratch across her abdomen. “Do you feel like little Linnaea is okay?”
“Who?” Rania looked up into Jacob’s eyes, and then down to his hand.
Jacob smeared the salve across the scratch, and then his big hand cupped what would become her baby bump. “Um, I’ve been thinking of names for our baby, and thought your middle name would be nice for her first name.”
Rania sucked in her breath and stared up at Jacob’s face. “Actually my middle name is Marie. I wrote the wrong middle name on the letter to give Hilda a clue.”
“Well, Linnaea Marie would be a beautiful name for our daughter.” He had a tentative smile on his face. “I think we need to go with a flower theme.” He leaned forward and gave her a petal soft kiss on her lips. “Linnaea and Lilly would match for twins, although I bet we’d end up calling them Linny and Lilly.”
Rania was thrilled with Jacob’s kiss and names. He was ready to commit to her and the baby. She sighed in relief that the nightmare of the last months was finally over, and realized she was ready to grasp her dream of a family again.
“What if it’s a boy?” Rania softly asked.
“Wilersons have a tradition of naming children after people in the Bible. I’ll like our girls to be named for favorite flowers, but the boys could have strong biblical names, like Jonah or John.”
“And if we have twin boys?” Rania was smiling through shining tears now.
“Of course David and Goliath comes to mind first,” Jacob chuckled, “and with your luck of family, I’m sure one of our twins would turn out with Hilda’s fire.”
Rania covered Jacob’s hand with her own and searched his eyes. “Are you sure about this? Your two conflicts with me were that I had been with a man, and had a child on the way. What changed?”
“I love you,” Jacob brought her hands up to his lips for a quick kiss, “and Ma bluntly pointed out the things that happened to you were not your fault. Will you give me another chance, Rania? Can I be your husband? Please?”
Rania blushed pink and reached for her nightgown. She knew Jacob was waiting for an answer, but her sense of modesty came back, thinking about their wedding night. After Jacob helped her slip the soft, clean cloth over her sore body, she sighed—and tried not to wince as she put her hands around his neck and her lips on his. “Yes, you may,” she whispered before sealing their commitment with a firm kiss.
Chapter 12
A Week Later…
Jacob stood back and looked at the wash house as he waited for Rania and Hilda to arrive to the Wilerson ranch. His last gift to Rania was done and ready for her to see. It was the week past Rania’s kidnapping, but the events of that evening and the following days kept passing through his mind. Jacob wasn’t going to be at peace until they were married and together.
That evening a week ago, after he—and Rania in her night gown—tended to an exhausted Rose, Jacob rode to Hilda’s, who immediately rode over to stay with her twin. Only then did Jacob return to his home and get some sleep himself.
The next morning Jacob rode into Clear Creek to report Rania’s kidnapping and the accident at the river. Ellsworth County lawmen scoured the river for several miles before finding Narker’s horse, bloating among some jammed logs. Narker’s body was not found, so they assumed he suffered the same fate as his horse. T
own marshals downriver were notified so they would know the identity of the body if it showed up. And just in case Narker was alive, a wanted notice was also issued for his kidnapping of Rania.
Hilda spent the week with Rania, as her twin healed from her ordeal. Jacob stopped by each evening, after the day’s work at his ranch. Rania boldly told Hilda to stay in the house while she and Jacob checked Rose, giving them private time for some passionate kisses and talks.
Now Jacob was ready to give his third gift to his future bride. He knew it wasn’t needed, but decided Rania would enjoy his version of the Swedish tradition leading up to their betrothal, and their wedding on Sunday. Today’s dinner was sort of an early Midsummer’s Day theme too. Rania and Hilda talked about many of the Swedish traditions and holidays they remembered as children, so tables and chairs were set up outside between the garden and the wash house to eat the meal outside, like their Swedish summer holiday meal.
Now everything was ready and he was waiting for his bride–to–be. Hilda was to bring Rania a half hour later than the other guests so everything could be set up ahead of time. And it turned out there were two extra guests that they didn’t know were coming, but his mother took it all in stride.
Isaac Connely brought his nephew Marcus Brenner, an Army officer recently discharged because of an injury he received in a skirmish. It was interesting that Marcus and Sarah kept stealing glances at each other—when they thought the other wasn’t looking—even though Ethan was deep in a conversation with Isaac, right beside the pair.
The other surprise guest was Miss Cora Elison—who arrived from Boston yesterday—without giving Dagmar any notice. Not only had Cora settled into the Bar E Ranch house, but she invited herself to this family dinner, too. Cora seemed to be a spunky young woman who rattled easy–going Dagmar into stiff silence.
Still missing from the dinner was Noah, but he had wired saying he was heading home. Rania’s parents also wired they would not be coming in until late summer, so Rania and Jacob decided to go ahead and get married now. Adam had stayed in town, waiting for the elusive Miss Millie Donovan who was supposed to arrive on the train this week.
Rania Ropes a Rancher Page 9
