Hilda Hogties a Horseman

by Linda K. Hubalek

  “Hmm? Sorry, I wasn’t following the conversation.” Marcus looked at Noah, but continued to rub his right thigh slowly back and forth, as he had done most of the evening.

  “I was just wondering about the chance of selling horses or mules to the military,” Noah repeated his question.

  “You’d have to contact the officer in charge of each post.” Marcus turned to look to the horizon, pulling himself out of the conversation again.

  “Ask around at the other ranches in the area too, Noah. Lots of new ranches building herds north of us this year, so there will be lots of horse trading and training to get in on.”

  “Thank you, sir. I appreciate your advice.”

  “Well, I was just thinking of what your father would have said, and he’d like your idea…and Hilda.” Was the twinkle in Isaac’s eye hinting of something else about Hilda, other than just working together training horses?

  Time for Noah to change the subject. “So Sarah, I hear the Paulsons’ new hotel is set to open the end of the month. Is your wedding going be the grand opening’s main event?”

  Sarah’s eyes slid to Marcus and then back to Noah before answering. “I suppose. It’s just been easier to let Ethan and his mother plan it.”

  Noah was taken aback by her blunt remark. “Sarah? I was joking. If you aren’t excited about getting married to Ethan, don’t do it.”

  “I need to get married, or else I’ll be an old maid.” Sarah said as she crossed her arms and stared at Noah.

  “Good grief, Sarah. You’re only twenty–one. This sounds more like a business arrangement rather than a marriage between two people who love each other.”

  He noticed Sarah glance at Marcus again. Noah hadn’t been around Marcus since his return home, but there seemed to be more sparks between his sister and Marcus, than Sarah and Ethan. How could he help his sister make the right choice for her mate? Maybe Hilda could fill him in on his sister’s love life.

  Huh. Now he was thinking about what kind of a woman would be right for his lifelong mate, instead of his sister’s spouse. Not another woman like Victoria, but someone who shares his passion for horses and the frontier life. Hilda’s grin and her blonde braid came to his mind, and not for the first time today.

  ***

  Hilda and Rania sat on the porch swing of their parents’ new house, watching their dogs play together. Rania and Jacob were staying here until the Hamners came back from Texas, so the newlyweds had privacy for the summer.

  “I’m not sure if King enjoys my dog’s visits, but Holy Terror loves to see him.” Rania’s huge white Pyrenees dog, King, had little to do these days except watch over his adopted “flock” of three, which were two sheep, and Rania. King had guarded a big flock over at the Bar E Ranch before the sheep were sold and moved to another ranch. Rania had needed a dog, and King was lost without something to do, so the dog and two yearling sheep had come to live with Rania in May.

  Rania watched Holy Terror bark at King, who was lying below the porch, with his eyes closed, ignoring the little dog. “How’s Noah’s dog getting along with Holy Terror and your bobcat?”

  Hilda snorted a laugh. “Poker is bigger than both and scared to death of them. I realize he’s still a pup but it’s so comical to watch.”

  “I bet he’ll grow into a big dog eventually, so maybe he’ll grow into his role of watch dog, too. Noah told us he had a rough life until he rescued him,” Rania said as they slowly swung back and forth in the swing.

  “Yes, with a collar too tight and his ribs showing, Noah said. I bet he lost money before he won the pup because Noah has a kind heart when it comes to animals. Poker still whines now and then, wanting to ride across the saddle in front of Noah—the big baby—but it sounds like Poker was too small and weak to walk on his own his first months of recovery.”

  “And Miss Kitty?” Rania smiled with her question.

  “Believe it or not, Poker sits beside Holy Terror and Miss Kitty now when the bobcat shows up. I think they’re both crazy because the cat could turn and claw them both in a second, but the three of them have an unlikely truce.”

  “And how are you and Poker’s owner getting along?” Rania asked her sister.

  Hilda sighed as she thought about Noah. “I really like him, Sis. Of course I knew I would because he has the same qualities as Jacob and Adam. Cate did a fine job of raising her children.”

  “You like him in what way, Hilda?”

  Hilda thought for a moment before she answered. “We work well together and can talk about whatever pops up in our minds. He’s pretty well accepted the fact I own the homestead, knowing it was his fault that it was available for me to buy.”

  “Is he getting used to your accent? It was hard for Jacob at first to always understand me, but now he uses some Swedish words too. I still say ‘socker’ for sugar, and ‘kaffe’ for coffee, and now he does too.”

  “Noah quizzes me about Swedish words and he’s slowly learning the basics. I don’t do it very often but the other day I was so mad when I broke the shovel handle I swore in Swedish. Noah didn’t ask what I said, because he knew I was frustrated and let it go.”

  “Sometimes I get frustrated too, but I haven’t resorted to swearing in Swedish—yet. I came close when I attempted cinnamon rolls and burned them, but luckily Jacob prefers my kringler instead.”

  “Well you’re a good baker so I’m sure Jacob is well fed. Does he ever compare your Swedish specialties to his mother’s?”

  “He’s very good about not doing it, intentionally, and I love him for that. Cate is an exceptional woman, and I value her advice—in the kitchen, and about other things. There are some things I just haven’t been able to talk to Jacob about—for example, he wouldn’t know how to handle morning sickness—but she treats me as an equal, adult woman. Our mother will always see us as daughters, no matter how old we are.”

  “I know. I miss Fader, Moder and Leif. Ha. I’m lapsing back into Swedish again thinking of them. You know, we’ve never been apart from our parents before. We’ve always been on the trail with them, or in Texas,” Hilda mused.

  Rania gently rubbed her tummy. “And now I’m going to be a mother soon. More than once I thought about us leaving Sweden and how hard it was knowing we’d never see our grandparents again. Thank goodness Moder will be here when I need help with my firstborn.”

  “You’ll have Cate and the rest of us, too, so you’ll be fine,” Hilda said as she took Rania’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

  They rocked back and forth in silence for a while, watching Holy Terror chase a fly, trying her best to snatch it with her mouth.

  “I hope Leif comes back with the folks, but I’m not sure he can leave his wife’s and son’s graves. He needs to be with the rest of us, instead of staying down in Texas with only his memories.” Hilda’s heart pinched, thinking of what their brother went through losing his young family all at once. Leif had emotionally cut himself off from his siblings then, and when they last saw him, still hadn’t come out of his grief.

  “And then there’s our carefree brother, Dag,” Rania said with a laugh. “Do you think he’ll ever settle down and marry?”

  “Probably, and I wish it’s with Cora,” replied Hilda, grinning. “It’s fun to watch those two together, bantering like magpies back and forth. She’s learned some Swedish, so they can talk without the hands knowing what they are saying, too.”

  “I’d love to have her as a sister–in–law,” Rania agreed. “And how about Noah as my brother–in–law?”

  “He’s already your brother–in–law,” Hilda blushed knowing what she meant.

  “So…would you like Noah to be your husband?”

  Hilda stalled, to think how to answer her sister’s question.

  “You know I’ve been ready to marry and have a family for years. We’ll be twenty-four years old this winter. I’ve longed to put down roots instead of being nomadic on the trails. I’ve met men on the trails and towns we’ve gone through…but I’d be li
ving someplace away from the rest of you, or still on a trail if I married a trail boss.”

  “You always drew the men with your flirting,” Rania said with just a touch of envy.

  “Oh, I got men to talk to me—but half the time they were more interested in Nutcracker and the races. Don’t be jealous, Rania,” Hilda bumped her shoulder against her sister. “You got married first and to a wonderful man who adores you—for being yourself.”

  “I know Noah admires you, for being true to yourself, and the goals you’ve accomplished, even if your home was his place first.”

  “That’s been the sticky part of our relationship, if you can call it that. Noah’s kept it clear I’m the boss and he’s the hired man. Um…I hinted today we could ‘partner’ together on land and livestock and he agreed, but we haven’t really gone further on how we’d do it. He’s over at the Cross C now getting advice from Isaac.”

  Hilda lifted her face to the evening breeze and shut her eyes, wondering how the conversation was going over at the other ranch. Would Noah come back with ideas for how they could work together, or nix the idea she’d finally been brave enough to suggest out loud to him?

  “Oh”, Hilda said as Holy Terror jumped onto her lap. Looking out to the pens she saw King had moved out to his sheep, probably tiring of her little dog’s company.

  “You really should throw your dog in the horse trough now and then, Hilda. She stinks,” Rania said leaning away from the squirming dog.

  “He’ll just get dirty again, so why bother?” Hilda countered back.

  “Maybe it doesn’t matter to you because you wear trousers, but I like to keep my dress and apron clean,” Rania said, brushing a fluff of dog hair off her lap.

  “Holy Terror’s been happy being in one place, instead of traveling in a saddle bag or wagon all the time. Who knew when we found this tiny wet ball of fur on the trail, she’d still be with me three years later?”

  “It’s a wonder Fader didn’t toss the pup in a river to get rid of the noisy thing.”

  “Oh, Fader and Moder spoiled her just like everyone else, giving her scraps and carrying her around. I think it made us all feel like we had a pet, a normal family thing, you know?”

  “Yes, it did, and I’m so glad she lives with you now, and I have King,” Rania said as she ruffled Holy Terror’s matted fur.

  “Jacob’s coming in from the barn, so I better go,” Hilda rose, tucking the dog under her arm.

  “Do you want Jacob to ride with you?”

  “Thanks, but I’m on the alert so I’ll be fine,” Hilda said as she waved at Jacob and stuffed Holy Terror into the saddle bag. Her little dog settled in, sticking her paws on the top of the leather and looking out at the world, like she had done for hundreds of miles on the trail. “I’ll see you on Sunday,” she called out as she swung onto Nutcracker’s back.

  Nutcracker trotted down the lane a ways, until Hilda twirled him around to go back. She forgot to ask them about trading pork for beef. But Hilda pulled up on the reins to stop her horse when she saw Jacob in the swing seat she had just vacated. His big arms were lovingly wrapped around Rania, and he was ravishing her with noisy kisses between Rania’s giggles.

  Hilda reined to go back home, wishing she could find a love like her sister had. Would Noah ever show love and affection like that to her? Yes, she was a woman, but she was brought up to think like a man, and work like a horse—and she smelled like it some days too. But that’s who she was, so Noah—or whoever became her husband—would have to accept it. She was not changing to please a man. But oh, how she hoped that man would kiss her like Rania was enjoying right now.

  Chapter 9

  “No, I don’t think where you’re standing will make the pen big enough. We need enough space to work two horses at once.” Hilda stood where she wanted to put the corner post of the work pen.

  “No, I’ll only be riding one bronco at a time,” Noah raised his voice—to be certain she heard him—not that he was getting irate with her, yet.

  “So, are we going to build a second pen for me and the horse I’m working with, or shall I just plan to ride the bronco out in the pasture? Which I am capable of doing, if need be.”

  Noah, shook his head and walked away. There was no use talking to Hilda because she was bound and determined to do it her way. She reinforced the term “stubborn Swede” he heard Jacob use the other day to describe his wife.

  He turned back because they were not done talking about this. “I just don’t think you’ll be working with the horses much.”

  “So what am I going to be doing? I’m not raising a family yet.”

  “Well, maybe you should be,” Noah shot back. If Hilda was his wife, she’d be staying off of green horses while she was carrying his child.

  Hilda opened her mouth, then shut it again.

  Was she ready to start a family? Was he—with her?

  Hilda was sweaty and dirty from working in the summer sun alongside him. She also cooked most of the meals, did their laundry and found time to hoe the weeds in the garden. She had become “his wife” in almost every way—except the way, Noah guessed, she wanted the most.

  Noah’s thoughts drifted back to Victoria as he compared her to Hilda. Noah was sure he’d loved Victoria, but maybe it was more that he was in love with the thought of starting a home together.

  Now, he was glad they hadn’t married. Victoria would have cringed with the first glimpse of the crude sod house he was so proud of back then.

  What would Victoria have thought of the dirt floor, or the snake Hilda calmly swept out the door yesterday when the reptile found its way inside the soddie? Nope, Victoria wouldn’t be helping him on the other end of a fence rail or carrying a Colt on her hip in case she needed to kill something quick, man or beast. Victoria would have demanded they move back to Illinois immediately…probably after the first look at a frontier town, actually.

  Wait. Noah wiped his face again and wondered when his mind had made the transition of mourning the loss of his sweetheart to being glad she wasn’t here. Now, he was comparing the bad points of Victoria against the good ones of Hilda.

  And it had gone beyond that, too. The nearby structure had gone from his soddie, to her house, and now our home.

  He had sworn he’d remain a bachelor instead of being hurt by love again, but Hilda would make a perfect partner in life. Noah looked at Hilda again, seeing the sweat drip off her chin as she jabbed the shovel into the hole again. Hilda would be the perfect wife for me.

  But Victoria’s rejection kept him from committing to another woman.

  And he didn’t own this land. Noah was still the hired man, even if they called it “partnering”.

  Hilda shoved her shovel into the ground and walked towards him, her gloved hands clinched like she’d love to take a swing at him. “You brought home four horses from the Cross C—and now we need pens to hold and work them.”

  Noah knew she almost added, “Without asking me first” because he did bring home four young geldings the other night after he visited Isaac. The older man had horses which needed to be ready for working with cattle, and he offered to pay Noah generously to do the job. If the horses came back trained well, Noah knew Isaac would spread the word to suggest other ranchers use his services.

  He could see the pasture full of young galloping horses, full of energy, and it gave him a thrill to know he’d be working with them, joining their “spirits” in a way, to make them ready for the work they needed to do as ranch horses. He shook his head, thinking he almost settled for working inside Victoria’s father’s bank. That life would have left him bitter, and he would have eventually taken it out on Victoria, because they weren’t suited for each other anyway.

  “What are you shaking your head about, Noah? Thinking you don’t want to work with me?” Noah looked at her, seeing worry and pain mixed with her fury.

  “No, we have a deal. But it’s your land—and I’m just the hired hand—so we’ll do it your way and make the pe
n larger,” Noah said, but he noticed Hilda looked a little surprised by his answer.

  Hilda wrapped her arms around her waist and looked at the ground instead of him when she said, “If you don’t want to train horses here you can do it elsewhere. Isaac made the deal with you, not me,” she said softly.

  Her remark drained the starch out of Noah. Why were they fighting when they wanted the same thing?

  Because it was back to her owning the land, and him feeling like he couldn’t provide for a family without it. Maybe it would be better for him to stake a new claim further west in the state—but then he wouldn’t see Hilda, and she had become an important part of his life.

  It was time to remember she was a woman and had feelings. “Hilda…Isaac knew you’d be working with the horses, too. It was just a given when I made the deal with him. Your training might be a little different than mine, but the horses will benefit with both of us working with them.

  “Of course I want to stay working for you,” Noah swallowed hard to get the next part out, “and the Cross C will pay you, and then you can pay me. Okay?”

  Noah was relieved when she nodded in agreement and went back to start digging the post hole she had marked. This is how it had to be, but dang was he getting tired of it. And he wanted to be sleeping back in his bed in the house—with her—instead of the hot hayloft alone.

  Noah looked at Hilda, struggling to cut through the sod to get the first shovel of dirt out of the hole. It might take her longer than it would take him, but she would get it done. This was her land, and she was committed to make a living on it. Where did it leave him in the long run? A year from now? Five, and ten years from now?

  Noah picked up his shovel and moved to the opposite end of the outlined pen to start digging in another spot, knowing what he should do to end this misery for both of them.

  He’d break down and ask his mother for advice tonight. She helped his brothers with their mates and it turned out well for each of them. Deep down he knew Hilda was the right woman for him, but the land situation kept them from taking the next step towards marriage. Poker lifted his head from where he lay nearby to listen to Hilda muttering. Noah recognized that she was swearing in Swedish again as she pounded the shovel into the ground. Maybe he should just quit here and move on.