Summary: The sequel to Maude; it’s short, but it’s Hoss’ turn for romance. If you read Maude and wondered about Greta, the answers should be here. If you haven’t read Maude, it’s probably not necessary to enjoy this short story.
Rating: PG  Word count: 2624

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Greta

The requests for help came often. Greta found that Hoss was the most cooperative when it came to getting the supplies she needed to organize activities for June and Robert. And she did need to organize activities. She had found that the best way to avoid situations in which June might act impulsively was to keep her involved in structured and supervised play and learning. She was surprised June’s parents had not discovered that, but eventually realized that both Adam and Maude were nearly opposite of June in personality. If they had been more like Joe, they might have had more insight into what was necessary to keep that active mind out of mischief. For them, a good book was all that was needed for hours of peace. So, when Greta asked for materials for activities, they added the items to the supplies list for the next trip to town. Hoss knew better.

“We don’t have that exactly, but I think we got something just like it in the supplies in the cellar or maybe in the storehouse.”

Sometimes Hoss would ask his father for things he knew he had or he would ask Hop Sing. Other times, he would make things for her to use. He was a godsend. She told him that many times in the first six weeks she was on the ranch caring for June and Robert. Then overcome with gratitude one day and feeling very comfortable with him, she kissed him on the cheek when he brought items she had requested.

“Oh, my Lord, I’m sorry. That was so forward of me. I shouldn’t have done that. Can you please forgive me?”

Now, Hoss had been wishing for weeks that he could find a way to kiss her or at least wrap an arm around her. Joe had been pursuing that too, and she was cool to all his overtures. That made Hoss reluctant to push. If she wouldn’t give in to his charming and handsome little brother, he thought she certainly wouldn’t have any interest in him. But now she had up and kissed him. Granted, it had only been on the cheek, but it was still a kiss. He saw how embarrassed she was. Her blond hair was pulled back in braids, but it was so fine that many tendrils were loose and framed her face which was pink as could be right now. He guessed his own light skin was probably a match for hers. He knew too that it was taking him so long to say something that he was adding to her misery.

“No need to feel bad. I been wanting to kiss you for weeks now. I never thought it was a possibility. Now you got me wondering if it could be. I mean, we’re only friends.”

“I guess it’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become.”

“I like the sound of that.”

Of course, at dinner, June told everyone that Hoss and Greta had been kissing.

Hoss objected.

“Now, June, that ain’t exactly what happened.”

Joe couldn’t help himself.

“Oh, then what did exactly happen?”

Hoss was caught in a trap and knew it. Looking helplessly at Greta, he saw how embarrassed she was. June decided she could clarify for her uncle.

“Well, I guess Greta was kissing Uncle Hoss.”

Adam exploded.

“June, go up to bed.”

“But it’s only six o’clock.”

“And you should have been in bed fifteen minutes ago.”

“But I haven’t finished my dinner, and I didn’t get dessert.”

“Talk back more, and you will be getting something else.”

Recognizing that dangerous tone in her father’s voice, June said nothing more. She didn’t even question why Robert, who was younger, was still allowed to stay at the table. Pushing back her chair, she said goodnight to her mother, her brother, her uncles, her grandfather, Greta, and then her father because she didn’t dare cross him by excluding him. Walking as slowly as she could hoping for a reprieve from her mother, she took a long time to get up the stairs and around the corner. No one said anything until she was out of sight. Joe had been diligent in holding back his grin but let it out as did Jamie. Even Ben’s mouth showed the hint of a smile. Adam turned to Hoss.

“I’m sorry that June embarrassed you.”

Turning to Greta, Adam offered the same apology.

“It’s all right. It is the truth, after all.”

Then they all grinned and chuckled. Hoss threw up his hands in surrender.

“Yeah, I wish it didn’t come out like it did, but I would like everyone to know I plan to spend time with Greta when she’s not busy with the children.”

With a smile, Adam had to comment.

“Or even when she is. We’ve noticed you’ve been quite a help to her.”

“Well, somebody had to.”

Maude grinned.

“And we appreciate it very much. Tonight, we will get the children to bed so that you and Greta can have some time to talk.”

From that day forward, that was the usual routine; most nights, Adam and Maude got the children into bed, although Greta frequently helped. However, with the three of them, it went quickly, and Greta had time to visit with Hoss. Joe missed the checkers matches and was still a little jealous that Greta had picked Hoss over him. Ben was a willing opponent, but he preferred mixing it up with cribbage and chess, but the matches gave him time to chat with Joe about his brother’s romance and smooth things out.

Meanwhile, Hoss learned more about Greta’s background. She told him the same story she had told Adam and Maude when they had hired her.

“I don’t like to talk about it because the whole story makes me feel cursed, or at least it did until I started working for Adam and Maude. They had a right to know everything because I was going to be taking care of their children. My family lived in Minnesota. That’s where I was born. Our home was nice with lace curtains Mama had made herself. Papa had planted yellow roses in front of the porch that was painted all white. But we weren’t doing very well so Papa suggested maybe he and a couple of my brothers could go try their luck in the gold fields. The rest of us would stay behind in New Ulm to maintain the property until they were successful or if not, they would come back. That was the spring before the Sioux attacks. I survived, but no one else in the family did. Most of our neighbors and friends were killed too. I couldn’t manage alone so I headed west to find my father and brothers. All I found were graves. It was cholera. There had been an outbreak. I’ve been on my own since then trying to survive.”

“What kind of jobs have you had?”

“Cook, cleaner, nanny, nurse, dishwasher, maid, or any job that let me look in a mirror without shame. I had to quit some because men who hired me made assumptions about what I would do to survive.”

“I’m so sorry your life has been such a tragedy. No matter what happens, your life will be better from now on. I promise.”

Greta had a bit of a smile then.

“What makes you smile now?”
“Oh, I was remembering something Adam said when I told him what jobs I had held. He said prison guard or sheriff’s deputy would have been helpful considering what his daughter was capable of doing. I laughed at the time, but now I know what he meant.”

“Aw, June don’t mean no harm. I remember Joe at that age. He was always getting into things too. He just had too much imagination and curiosity. I think June’s like that too. She don’t mean no harm. She just has too much energy and wants to do too much with all that gumption she’s got.”

“And not much common sense?”

“She’s the spitting image of her Uncle Joe right there.”

“Thank you for getting this conversation to a lighter note.”

“I didn’t want you to be so sad.”

“I can’t be sad with you by my side.”

“I feel the same way.”

They ended their walk and conversation the way they did every evening now. They kissed and walked hand-in-hand back to the house where they shared a light snack together in the kitchen before going to their separate bedrooms. Hop Sing made sure there was something light and sweet waiting for them each night.

Walking in the garden area behind the Ponderosa ranch house a few nights later, Greta and Hoss were able to enjoy peace and blessed quiet. The children were in bed, and thankfully, neither was ever a problem once they were in their beds at night. They talked about the children again. Robert wasn’t usually a problem, other than occasionally having too much confidence in his abilities. June, however, as Joe had said, could make St. Peter give up his job at the Pearly Gates and become a permanent resident of a saloon. Hoss recalled a conversation that he had with his brothers about June.

“Joe, she’s not that bad.”

“Adam, your daughter is impulsive. She doesn’t think before she acts. She’ll try any fool thing she gets in her head to do. She thinks she ought to be able to do what grownups do, and she’s not even eight years old yet. She says anything that’s on her mind without thinking about how it could affect other people. Oh, and when she gets that look in her eyes, you know she’s scheming to do something too.”

Grinning when they heard that, Adam and Hoss didn’t say anything. Joe stared at them in annoyance.

“You think it’s funny?”

“No, younger brother, it’s that me and Adam got lots of experience dealing with that type of behavior. We kinda figured out some ways to deal with it. The problem is that some of our ways ain’t exactly right to use with a girl.”

“Hoss, you know Maude would skin us alive if we tossed her in the horse trough for misbehaving or took the ladder away from the hay loft and left her up there to stew about her behavior until she figured out what she had done wrong.”

“Hey, that’s some of the stuff you two did to me!”

Realization dawned. Joe huffed before stalking away. His brothers chuckled.

Hoss was smiling as he stood by Greta in the garden. Even in the dusk, she could see it. She had to ask why and got the full explanation.

“I don’t mind her being the way June is. It’s why I got this job, and this job is how I met you.”

Hoss was a little embarrassed by that, but still thanked her for saying it. Then he had more.

“I had a talk with Maude. I thought I loved her once.”

“Before Adam?”

“Well, sort of. I’ll tell you that whole story later. Right now, I want to talk about love with you. I thought I was in love a bunch of times. The course of true love never did run smooth for me. Those weren’t true loves. But this time I know I’m in love. It took me some thinking, but I know what real love is. It’s not just being attracted to someone and wanting them to be with you. True love is wanting to share everything. It’s wanting someone by your side for whatever you do from now on. It’s wanting that person to support you as you support her, and to trust, respect, and understand each other.”

“I feel it too in my heart, mind, and soul.”

Hoss pushed the blond hair that liked to slip across her cheeks. She smiled too.

“I wasn’t being completely honest with you. Maude told me the story about you and her and Adam, and how it was a mess that took some time to straighten out.”

“Why did you want me to tell you then?”

“To hear if you saw it the same way she did.”

“Probably. We’ve talked about it.”

“Maybe you could have a talk with Joe about us then. He’s very disappointed I did not fall under the spell of his charms. Perhaps you could explain it to him.”

“Unless you would like to explain it to him like Maude did to me?”

“No, I don’t know him well enough to talk to him about this like Maude talked to you.”

“Yeah, that’s true, and maybe I should talk with him. Adam said the same thing cause Joe’s moping around saying I won. It wasn’t a contest, but he seems to think it was. Maude was honest enough to lay it all out for me. I guess I ought to talk to him before the wedding.”

“Wedding?”

“Oh, yeah, uh, it wasn’t supposed to come out like that either. I guess I ain’t so good at this romantic stuff. Greta, would you do me the honor of marrying up with me, that is, would you be my wife? Please? It would make me the happiest man in the world if you was to say yes.”

“It’s not how I expected to be asked, but you do just fine with the romantic stuff. Yes, I will marry you.”

So, when Adam and Maude decided it was time to set up their own household, and that it would be in Carson City, they needed a new nanny. In the city, hopefully, there would be more supervised activities and there would be school too for June so less need for constant supervision by a nanny. They would still need to be diligent in watching over her though, and Greta reminded them to watch over Robert as well.

“In my experience, it’s best to remember that Robert needs supervision too. He’s not impulsive, but he’s smart and keeps things to himself.”

Maude punched Adam in the arm on that one, but he whispered he wasn’t the only one.

Greta continued.

“His plans are usually appropriate, but he can be overconfident thinking he can do it by himself when he needs adult help.”

“Like with his book project?”

“That’s a good example. He thought he could do it all. He’s gifted but not all powerful. He forgets that.”

“Maude and I won’t forget. We’ll watch over both of them.”

Hoss was proud of how his future wife could speak so confidently to Adam. Ben was amazed. Joe was shocked. They both asked her later that evening how she did it without getting him angry.

“I don’t know what you mean. I spoke with logic and facts. He respects that. He and Hoss talk like that all the time.”

With a smirk, Hoss offered his fiancée his arm and escorted her outside for their usual walk. Two months later, the two said their vows to each other. The house was decorated with yellow roses and white lace. Hoss had heard stories of Greta’s mother making lace curtains and how her father planted yellow roses in front of their house in New Ulm. Her family couldn’t be there for the wedding, but with Maude’s help, he made sure they were there in spirit. It was one more reason Greta knew she was marrying the best man. They didn’t leave for a honeymoon because neither could think of a better place to be than on the Ponderosa. They began planning their own family. Ben looked forward to the future and the house alive with grandchildren. He didn’t miss a chance to remind Joe that it was his turn.