A Change of Plan

Elizabeth studied the new arrival.

“You’re most welcome dear I hope you like our ranch. What’s your name?”

Dwaine interjected.

“Tell her your Crow name, perhaps she’ll understand as she knows some of the language. We’ve had tribals working for the family for generations.”

“My name is Biawacheeitchish.”

Elizabeth hugged her again.

That means Pretty Shield and it’s considered a beautiful name in your language.

Shirleyann beamed with pleasure and suddenly felt at ease in this environment so different to what she’d experienced since Anne Anderson died and the boys took over when their father’s health failed. She replied to Elizabeth.

“You can call me Shirleyann as that’s what the ranchers called me.”

Elizabeth put her arm around her and led her to the swinging seat on the porch of the ranch house.

“You will stay with us a while won’t you dear? I want to know all about you.”

Dwaine interrupted as he climbed the stairs with his and Shirleyann’s travel cases.

“Which guest room will I put her in mom?”

“The one closest to my room son. I want full access to her while she’s here though I’ll loan her to you to take for a ride around the ranch occasionally.”

“Well, we need to loan her from you for a while mom dad and I need her help.”

Shirleyann looked up in surprise. So, he addressed her.

“The guy who usually does this is in town Shirleyann and dad needs the big rig in the fields into the workshop to work on. I’m not sure I know enough about that to help him. Do you have any experience with those.”

Shirleyann looked interested not knowing this was a test.

“Can I take a look?”

“I’ll put your case in the guestroom and then take you to it in the field motor buggy so you can take a look. Be back in a minute.”

They sped out over the rough crop fields bouncing along while Shirleyann held tight to Dwaine behind him. She ran a practiced eye over the harvester and nodded climbing up into the cab and starting the engine checking the controls and flipping through the manual. Then turned to Dwaine.

“Where do you want me to put it?”

Dwaine smiled to himself, but she saw him smiling.

“You don’t think I can do this do you so you’re testing me and I’ll show you. It will never fit into that workshop no matter how big it is, but I’ll park it close and I’m not going to forgive you for not believing I can do it.”

“Oh, I certainly do believe you can do it and everything else you said you were doing on the Anderson ranch just follow me and we will get it as close as possible to the workshop.”

Dwaine took it slow on the way back knowing those harvesters are slow moving monsters. Shirleyann followed confidently parking it expertly where Dwaine indicated after doing a wide circle to turn the harvester prime mover into place. She got down confidently.

“I earned that hundred dollars you gave me with that little favour to your dad. Now how much are you going to pay me for the next job?”

They were moving back to the ranch laughing together while Elizabeth watched fascinated from her spot on the porch. They all turned as a car arrived and parked and Dwaine’s elder brother George who now ran the ranch with his Crow foreman got out with the worker who operated the harvester and ran the mechanic workshop. He ran to greet his brother and they hugged. They were a close family.

“I didn’t know you knew how to run the harvester Dwaine thanks for bringing it in from the field.”

Dwaine indicated Shirleyann at his side.

“This young lady did it for me George and I think you will find she can handle anything we have on this ranch.”

George turned and gave her a hug.

“Thank you. I think we could use you on this ranch where are you from.”

“I’ve been with the Anderson ranch since I was a child and know a lot about operating a ranch but was on the way to Billings when Dwaine found me hitchhiking and gave me a ride. I’m looking for a new challenge and thought I’d find one in Billings.”

“Then you’re hired don’t look for a challenge elsewhere. Why did you leave Andersons?”

“The ones who took over the ranch didn’t want me there anymore, so I moved on. It’s a long story I’d rather forget.”

“Well, we need you.”

“Thanks George do you mind if I think about it as it was not what I was planning. Your offer is generous and overwhelming. I have some unhappy memories to process first before I can face ranching again.”

George turned to his brother.

“Convince her amigo.”

Dwaine turned to observe Shirleyann’s reaction then back to his brother.

“I’ll do my best George.”

That evening Shirleyann observed the happy family at their evening leisure celebration. She met George’s wife Marjory a quiet and cheerful personality who instantly accepted her as one of the family and monopolised her for the evening. Marjory was fascinated with Shirleyann’s life story and urged her to stay on the ranch and be company for her. Elizabeth watched with enthusiasm and began to see this woman as a potential daughter in law, and she knew her undeclared secret too. Shirleyann certainly didn’t look like it, but Elizabeth had been raised in the Crow reservation where her parents were government teachers so could discern Shirleyann’s roots. She needed to work on her son Dwaine and make sure he realized what a boon it was meeting this woman. She’d fit right into the family. Elizabeth had been raised on the reservation and learned to speak the tribal language in her association with the children at school and play. When she reached the point of her education where she needed to be in a higher level school her parents had sent her to live with her uncle who lived in Billings and ran the expanding store business that had started small during the time of her pioneering great grandfather who’d followed the caravans west in those pioneer days. James had met her on his father’s frequent shopping expeditions to Billings and over time as he took over the ranch from his father, he indicated his interest in having Elizabeth as his wife. Contacts between James’s father and Elizabeth’s father were facilitated by her uncle and Elizabeth who’d secretly hoped James would ask her enthusiastically agreed to the proposal.

As her habit was Shirleyann was up early next morning and went to the kitchen where activity for the day had already begun. Elizabeth was supervising preparations for the family breakfast and talking with the Crow foreman’s wife while she did so her men could get to work early. The harvester needed to be stripped and inspected to see parts were not worn so it could be ready for the fields that were cultivated this year while the other fields stood in fallow. Shirleyann greeted Elizabeth and asked if she could help then whispered to the Crow woman in their tribal language as greeting. The woman nodded in approval and spoke to Elizabeth expressing her approval of the girl. Elizabeth turned to Shirleyann with a smile and addressed her in flawless tribal language telling her perhaps she could give Marjory assistance in the community kitchen. Her suspicions were now confirmed, and she was even more determined to keep the girl with them now.

Marjory was supervising food preparation for their workers in quarters scattered around the homestead in the common kitchen and as Elizabeth declared she didn’t need any help in the homestead Shirleyann headed for the community kitchen to assist with the preparations helping Marjory who was delighted for her company while they worked. Elizabeth then sent a small helper to fetch Shirleyann for the family breakfast and they each demolished their plate full of pancakes covered in fruit sauces and butter. Then Elizabeth took Dwaine aside and ordered him to take Shirleyann for an inspection of their property. He objected.

“Mom, we can’t possibly do that as the property is so vast we’d have to camp out at least one night to do that and she wants to go to Billings, so I said I’d take her there rather than see her hitchhike.”

Elizabeth called Shirleyann and indicated she should join them so Shirleyann went quickly to see how she could help.

“Dear I know you want to go to Billings, but I’d love you to look over our ranch before you go. Do you have time to do that?”

“Oh, I’d love to do that Elizabeth.”

“It’s a very large property so you may be camping out overnight would that be a problem?”

“No not at all I’m not in a hurry to get back on the road and I miss those trips into the mountains. But would you be taking me?”

“No Dwaine has offered if you’d feel comfortable to have his company.”

Shirleyann turned to look at Dwaine and sensed some discomfort there.

“I think he has other plans so perhaps I’ll thank you for the kind offer and say not this time as I don’t want to keep him from his work and he’s already been too kind to me.”

Dwaine realized what an opportunity he was missing and blurted out quickly.

“I want to take you Shirleyann but thought mom was strong arming you and you’d find that embarrassing.”

Shirleyann smiled. This man was an innocent. She suddenly found him very appealing. She knew she’d be treated with respect while they were alone together and now wanted to do this trip badly.

“I just wanted to hear you ask me Dwaine. I want you to take me please.”

Dwaine beamed happily. The more he was around this woman the more he felt attracted to her. His mother watched and spoke.

“I’ll get the food for the journey and the kit for you to take to sleep and cook on the trail. You take this lovely young woman to choose a horse she feels comfortable with and check the horse equipment to her taste.”

Shirleyann departed with Dwaine eager for this journey into the beautiful Montana countryside and particularly the mountains. They went to the stables, and she expertly felt the animals over to familiarize herself with them and spoke soothingly to the horses as they flicked their ears at her voice and she stroked them until she found one that responded to her eagerly. She pointed to that one then went to check on saddles and horse equipment choosing carefully. She was so deeply moved in her reacquaintance with horses that she began to sing a song her mother had taught her in her youth in the Crow tribal language. She felt at home she felt at rest. In the emotion of the moment, she turned to look for Dwaine who was preparing his own horse for the journey. She came up behind him and threw her arms around him in the thrill of reconnection and spoke in a low voice.

“Thank you, Dwaine, for bringing me back to my roots here.”

Dwaine froze for a moment trying to figure out what he should do. Then he slowly turned to face her and she looked up startled. He drew her to him and whispered.

“I’m glad you decided to stay.”

He turned away in embarrassment at what he’d done without thinking and muttered he was sorry. But when Shirleyann didn’t move away from his embrace he stood there looking at her. She was there holding on to him with her eyes closed. They stood without moving for some time then she opened her eyes and searched his face. Then she spoke softly.

“Does that mean you accept me as your woman?”

Dwaine could hardly believe his ears. He wanted her by his side for the rest of his life.

“Yes, of yes Shirleyann I can’t believe my good fortune please accept me as your man.”

She nodded and laughed.

“I’ve never allowed a man to get this close to me before. This is very new for me, and I don’t know what to do but I hope you mean what you just said to me because for the first time I feel I belong. I will never allow any woman but your family members to come near you now. My knife will always be ready.”

Dwaine laughed.

“I’m afraid that knife must go. I’m your protector now and I have no desire for any other woman but will handle that myself.”

They returned to the homestead leading their chosen horses fitted out for the journey and Elizabeth directed her home workers to carry what she’d prepared to the horses to be loaded. They consisted of bedrolls and food. She’d retrieved rifles from the locked gun cupboard and handed them to Dwaine and Shirleyann. She was confident the young woman would know how to use it and glanced at Shirleyann’s side where she had her hunting knife in its cradle tied around her waist. She smiled recognizing there was nothing to fear. This woman knew how to handle herself. Elizabeth had talked with white cloud the foreman’s wife and one of the Crow riders was already out on the trail to alert those sentinels manning the scattered observation huts on the borders of their property that Dwaine and Shirleyann would be travelling around the ranch and they should be alert to be unobserved in the background to watch for their safety from predators and the occasional hopeful gold prospectors and hunters who tried to sneak onto the property. The sentinels would catch most of them and send them packing but sometimes there’d be gun battles as the intruders sought to continue to achieve their objectives. The sentinels would be relieved by others when their time was up on the ranch boundaries watch. Dwaine would be unaware of their presence as they camped out at night but knew they were there unseen.

An hour later they were well clear of any evidence of a settlement and in the presence of wild horses that watched them pass from a distance. They passed ranch cowboys guarding large herds of red angus fattening for the markets. These cowboys camped out at night with the animals and were relieved periodically by others sent to take their place from ranch headquarters so they could spend time with their families. But there were large wild portions of the ranch as they proceeded mile after mile heading for the mountains. Now and then Shirleyann would give loud calls and look around in the remote areas to see if the animal or bird she was calling appeared to inspect. Some of the calls Dwaine was familiar with but he marvelled as she switched from one sound to another. She was obviously back in her element and proceeded without conversation concentrating on her summons to the animal kingdom announcing her arrival. She had seen them all in her upbringing among the Crow workers on the Anderson ranch as they protected that tiny child Biawacheeitchish seated proudly on her horse behind them. She learned to communicate with nature under their direction until taken into the ranch home by Anne Anderson where she learned paleface culture and was instructed patiently in the ranch administration by Earl under the jealous watch of his sons.

To be continued

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