An Untamed Heart by Lauraine Snelling Read Free Book Online Page B

animals.
    Ingeborg checked the garden daily for sprouts, but so far the only things growing in the garden were the weeds. Hoeing weeds was always good for the soul.
    “Did she really say that?” Gunlaug paused her hoeing and stared in horror. Gunlaug had volunteered to help Ingeborg hoe—an excuse to have a chat.
    Ingeborg nodded. Even after all this time she was still thinking about her mother saying she’d rather go to the birthing by herself. When her daughter stuttered “Why?” Mor had just shrugged and said, “We won’t discuss this further.”
    Ingeborg locked her jaw. Did Mor think her daughter would do a bad job? All the thinking and rethinking she’d done about the last birthing to figure out what she had done wrong or not done right. Had she somehow endangered the mother or the baby so that it took so long to be born?She knew Mor had taken her along because she suspected problems.
    “Ja.” Ingeborg fought to tamp down the anger that threatened to erupt. “I thought she wanted to teach me, but she won’t say any more about that birthing, and now I don’t know if she wants to continue with our lessons or not.” She chopped viciously at a weed.
    “What are the lessons like?”
    “I guess I learn by doing.”
    “Then how can you learn if you don’t go along?” Gunlaug dug her hoe into the ground. “That makes no sense whatsoever.” She tipped out a seedling weed with her hoe and paused again. “And she hasn’t brought it up since?”
    “No. And that was a couple weeks ago.”
    “Was there a problem with this last birthing?”
    “I don’t know. I think she is mad at me.”
    “She’s not told you?” She looked at Ingeborg, who shook her head. “Did you ask?”
    Ingeborg shook her head again. “I can’t wait until we get to the seter. I just want out of here. Life up there is free and without contention.” She knew what she really meant was without her mother, but loyalty or some other misplaced emotion kept her from saying it. But she knew Gunlaug knew what she meant. They were close enough friends for that assumption.
    Gunlaug bent back to the task. “So what do we do next?”
    “Start packing? Have you taken your loom apart to haul up there?”
    Gunlaug broke out into a big grin. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Far made me a new one that we can leave up there. He just finished it last night. He will remove the bolts so we can load it and then set it up again in our seter house.”
    “That is perfect. I’ll be taking up the spinning wheels, and I have last year’s fleece all washed and bundled up. After shearing there will be plenty of fleece there. How is our yarn supply?”
    “Almost nothing left. We’ll all have to spin to catch up.” Gunlaug paused and looked off into the distance. “If only Ivar could come, it would be perfect.”
    “Oh, that would be a big help. His mor would probably come check on him once a week or send him a message that he is needed at home.” Ingeborg made a face and rolled her eyes. “‘I need you, Ivar, my son, my only son. I cannot get to town without you.’” Ingeborg knew she was able to mimic others, and Ivar’s mor was so easy, especially the whine in her voice.
    Gunlaug tried to stifle her snort, but her attempt at a stern mien crumbled into laughter.
    “Ingeborg?”
    Hjelmer’s voice cracked on the call, sending the two cousins into rib-holding laughter.
    “Ingeborg, where are you?” His call was coming closer.
    “Out in the garden,” she called back and hoed out another couple of weeds. Why did they sprout so much faster than the vegetable seeds? And grow three times as fast?
    Hjelmer leaned against the fence. “Why didn’t you answer me? Mor is asking for you.”
    “All right. I didn’t realize school was out already.”
    “I just got home.”
    Gunlaug propped her hoe against the fence rail. “I need to get home before my mor starts calling too. See you tomorrow.”
    Ingeborg watched her head across the pasture. If she