An Untamed Heart (31 page)

Authors: Lauraine Snelling

BOOK: An Untamed Heart

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He was a good man. Never did she see any sign of anger. Sadness, ja. It was to be expected. And she thought she could see in him great concern for those around him. Or perhaps that was just her imagination.

He was a good man. And industrious. He worked hard and efficiently. He got things done. She knew from watching Far that an industrious man was much more than just a nice thing to have around a farmstead. He was an absolute necessity.

And then another thought, a new thought, struck so suddenly her fingers stopped, and she lost the thread. Never, not even once in her whole life, had she felt about a boy the way she felt about Nils. Never. If true love comes once in a lifetime, hers had come and gone.

She had loved and lost, and it was gone forever. Gone. The thought brought hot tears to her eyes.

Roald did not come up to the seter again. As the weeks passed, she found herself thinking not about him but about the little boy with the fjord-blue eyes. How would Roald manage if he did not find a wife? Or what if the woman he married did not love his son? Some women were like that, especially when they had children of their own. What about Thorliff?

There were two letters from him when Gilbert brought up supplies and the mail in August. Ingeborg answered with one letter and said they would be back to the valley by the end of the month. Unless it snowed and they returned sooner.

But the snow held off, the days stayed warm, and they could graze the sheep in the high pastures right up to the last moment. Still, the summer ended all too quickly, in fact, before she could sufficiently think about all these things. The summer had been warmer than usual, the grass greener and more lush. The cows produced so much milk that they had nearly as much cheese as they had made last year.

The wagons came, they loaded and departed, and it was over. The trip back down was as uneventful as the one up. Almost. She walked down the track behind the cows and sheep, as usual. As they passed Onkel Kris’s place, he was working outside. He stopped and looked at them. And nodded! Was he ready to bury the hatchet? She could only hope and dream.

And then she saw Gunlaug looking out the window. She waved at Ingeborg, her arm swinging in an arc over her head, a huge smile on her face. Ingeborg waved back and then ducked her head, afraid to look at her father. But her heart rejoiced.

She walked into the farmyard and stepped over the threshold into the house. Seter was over for another year. She was home.

A letter from Roald waited for her. As soon as she could send a message, he would come. She did so.

True to his word, he rode into their farmyard with his son in the saddle in front of him. Far greeted him at the door. Mor and the girls laid out a supper that was more a feast. They ate in a strained politeness. They all gathered afterward before the fireplace as Mor served coffee.

In the nervous, palpable silence, Mr. Bjorklund asked a question. Far answered, but Ingeborg was not really listening. Her mind was leaping off elsewhere. She had made her decision.

This would not be so much a wedding as a business arrangement. She would promise to honor and obey her husband, and he would promise to provide and care for her. But her true vow would be to the small boy with the big blue eyes who had stolen her heart. Him she would love and care for, and if God blessed them with other children, then she would rejoice. But no matter where they went, she knew deep down inside that God was calling her to help bring babies into this world and help them and their mothers live. To that she could give her wholehearted vow. God had not taken His eyes off her, even when she thought He had. He loved her. Perhaps there would be love too between the man with the fjord-blue eyes and the woman who would marry him.

And now Roald was kneeling in front of her. He took her hands into his. “Ingeborg Strand, will you marry me?”

“Ja, Roald Bjorklund, I will marry you.”

Her heart was filled with more tears than smiles. “Ja.”

I loved you, Nils. But you are gone, and my life must go on. Good-bye.

Acknowledgments

Gunlaug Noklund and Sandy Dengler deserve thanks and praise for their unfailing wisdom and perseverance with this, Ingeborg’s early story.

I have the most wonderful friends, including all the staff at Bethany House publishers, who always work so diligently and wisely in helping my ideas and dreams become reality. Sharon Asmus, you have been one of my heroes for years. Dave Horton, I am so grateful I get to work with you. My BHP family—wow! I am blessed by you all.

Thanks too for all my readers who have pleaded through the years, wanting to know where Ingeborg came from. I wanted to know too, and in
An Untamed Heart
we find out.

Thank you, Heavenly Father.

Lauraine Snelling
is the award-winning author of over 70 books, fiction and nonfiction, for adults and young adults. Her books have sold over 2 million copies. Besides writing books and articles, she teaches at writers’ conferences across the country. She and her husband make their home in Tehachapi, California.

Books by Lauraine Snelling

An Untamed Heart

R
ED
R
IVER
OF
THE
N
ORTH

An Untamed Land • A New Day Rising

A Land to Call Home • The Reapers’ Song

Tender Mercies • Blessing in Disguise

R
ETURN
TO
R
ED
R
IVER

A Dream to Follow • Believing the Dream

More Than a Dream

D
AUGHTERS
OF
B
LESSING

A Promise for Ellie • Sophie’s Dilemma

A Touch of Grace • Rebecca’s Reward