Freya Finds Her Soulmate

There was excitement at the ranch. It was time for Running Squirrel’s delivery and one of the cowboys was dispatched to the Indian camp to alert the chief and his family. They rode quickly and the wife of the chief and the local Dakota midwife rode back quickly to respond.

Running Squirrel had been taken to Freya’s room to give her extra warmth as it was the approach to winter though the snows had not yet commenced. The midwife arrived after several hours travel hoping she was still in time to attend to her duties. Freya and the wife of the couple living in the ranch house were on hand to help. The other Swedish woman had experience in deliveries, but Running Squirrel was anxiously calling for the Indian midwife. She’d been in labour for several hours when the midwife arrived and was ushered into the ranch home which she approached with caution. This was a new experience for her to be in such a building and she felt uncomfortable in this environment.

She waved Freya and the other woman out of the room, but Running Squirrel demanded her sister Gentle Deer remain by her side much to the annoyance of the midwife who turned to the chief’s wife for instructions. The chief’s wife indicated Freya should remain chiding the midwife for trying to force out one of her adopted family members. The midwife set about her work while chanting incantations. One hour later she delivered a man child with distinctive Dakota features then turned her attention to Running Squirrel who was bleeding uncontrollably. Everything was done to try and control bleeding, but Running Squirrel gave her last breath holding tightly to her sister Gentle Deer.

The chief’s wife and the midwife began to chant in their grief and Freya wept uncontrollably. The Indian braves who’d accompanied the Dakota women realizing the significance of chanting inside began to join in the chant and Erik understanding the meaning of what they were doing rushed to beat on the closed door. The chief’s wife opened the door and handed him the baby which he took and cradled in his arms as he wept for his wife. His newborn son cried with him sensing danger. When Erik had calmed down after an hour, he was permitted to enter the room and lay down next to his beloved Running Squirrel clutching the baby. The chief’s wife gently extracted the baby from his arms and whispered they were taking the baby to the camp quickly. The baby needed to be weaned and mother’s feeding their newborn children in the camp would need to act as surrogate mothers until the child could be weaned and returned to Erik.

He reluctantly released the baby to the chief’s wife for a quick trip to camp to settle the infant. The chief and his men would return to collect the body of Running Squirrel as it was necessary to prepare her for the ceremonies to send her to the happy hunting ground in the sky. There was an altercation with Erik over this plan as he wanted to have her buried in the local resting place but eventually realized this would have been the wish of his wife and he needed to respect that.

Freya was unconsolable as she’d learned to love her adopted sister, and they were as close as sisters can be. She tried to console her foreman who’d now lost his second wife and was now incapable of showing leadership on the ranch while he endured his grief so while grieving herself, she took over the role and went to motivate the workers and take over the daily planning of schedules of work to be done. The workers responded to her leadership positively and followed her instructions without the usual complaints given to the foreman.

It took a month before Erik was able to control his emotions and return to his work as foreman which he put all his energies into to counteract his grief. He’d make frequent trips to the Indian camp to check on his son’s progress and delighted in holding him for the brief time he had to offer among his important jobs. Snow weather was beginning to show signs of coming soon, and he felt his son would be better cared for at the ranch. The child still required mother’s milk, so the chief chose a brave and his squaw who’d been nurturing the child and commanded they move to the ranch until winter had passed.

The camp had ample supplies to weather this winter as Freya had seen to that need and stockpiled all the things necessary to preserve their lives. The tribe acknowledged they were better off on the ranch than they’d been in the past when a lack of necessities had taken the lives of some of them and agreed that they should make this their permanent home for the future. Some of their women were now the wives of Swedes at the ranch site and were happy but they preferred their Tipis to the offer of constructed houses and had the advantage of unlimited supplies from the barns and storage sheds available to all. They had a deep love for Gentle Deer who they recognized as part of the chief’s family sent to protect them.

The Indian surrogate mother to Erik’s child was unhappy in the ranch house so a tipi was constructed for her and her brave and Erik made sure they were warm, and his child was being cared for properly. Eventually the child would be placed on solid foods and moved into the ranch house and Freya rearranged rooms to move Erik and his child into the ranch home. Freya treated the boy as her own son as he grew, and he gravitated to her as his substitute mother. Time went by and a deep bond developed between Freya and Erik as they shared the home and the child. Erik began to have feelings for this woman who was his boss but did not reveal this as he was ten years older than Freya and sensed his place as an employee and not an equal.

But there was chemistry between them and Freya was beginning to have feelings for her foreman too. So, when the pastor made one of his visits, he broached the subject of Freya’s need of someone in her life and inquired if she’d be open to him bringing someone to meet with her who had long ago indicated an interest in Freya while she was in her college teaching years. She was reaching an age where time for her to have children of her own may pass her by if she didn’t think seriously about this. Freya thanked him for his concern but said she was happy enough with the ranch family and would let him know if she changed her mind.

Then one day over supper she noticed Erik studying her thoughtfully. She asked him if there was something wrong. He blushed and looked away indicating there was something on his mind and he apologized if she’d been irritated by his staring at her. He then looked at her and smiled.

“I was just thinking about how kind you have been to all of us Freya. We are so indebted to you for your interest in each person on the ranch including the Dakotas.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you Erik. You are a very important part of my world, and I appreciate everything you do to help me. I hope you never feel the urge to leave our ranch and take your son to the city.”

“I would never do that Freya. What are you saying? I’d be lost without you.”

Freya’s heart skipped a beat. She paused from eating her fork in the air as she processed what Erik had just said.

“Do you really mean that Erik?”

Erik paused to study her. Was she hinting at what he wished for?

“My heart is in this ranch and with you Freya.”

He trembled waiting for her to chide him for being so forward. But she continued to study him and smiled.

“Erik if there’s something on your heart, you’d like to share with me I’m sure you’d have my full attention and a positive response.”

“Freya I’d ten years older than you and realize I should have no expectations of a positive outcome to what is in my heart.”

Freya nodded and smiled. She was sure of her feelings now.

“Perhaps my answer would be very positive Erik why not quit talking in circles and ask me.”

“If you’d accept me, I’d like to ask for your hand in marriage Gentle Deer but if that is not on your heart, I promise to keep to the boundaries I’ve always kept in my relationship with you Freya.”

“Yes, Erik lately I’ve been hoping you’d ask me that question and the answer is a definite yes. I’ll send a message and ask the pastor to marry us on his next visit here if that’s OK with you. Now can I have a hug as your prospective bride?”

Erik needed no further invitation. He rushed around the table and took her in his arms, and she felt at peace at last. It would be a good team to run the ranch and perhaps there may be some children to grace their marriage.

The next day they announced their engagement, and the ranch workers erupted in happy congratulations. There was joy in the Indian camp too. White Wolf and Gentle Deer were part of their Dakota nation, and they knew this ranch was their permanent home now.

Conclusion.

Copyright Notice

© Copyright 2024Ian Grice, “ianscyberspace.” All rights reserved.