[Desert Roses 03] - Beneath A Harvest Sky (2 page)

“We need to move out,” Sonny called, putting an end to Rainy’s reflections. “Why don’t you gather your dudes and let me get back in the driver’s seat?”

“Only if you think you can keep us out of the sand,” Rainy said, sliding from the seat. “I honestly don’t know what gets into you sometimes, but maybe you could tell me about it over dinner. We can start with where your mind was when you put us in that hole.”

Sonny shrugged and positioned himself behind the wheel, suddenly growing sober. “We should talk, but right now isn’t the time.”

His serious tone caused Rainy’s imagination to run rampant. Was something wrong? Did he have some word about their jobs? Was the company about to fold? There had been all kinds of rumors suggesting major changes. Maybe Sonny had more information than she realized.

Plastering a smile on her face, Rainy went to the overweight matronly mother and her two teenage daughters. “We need to get everyone back in the touring car,” she announced. The woman, red-faced and perspiring fiercely, nodded and motioned to her brood.

“Mother, tell Miss Gordon to let me sit up front with Sonny,” the elder of the two girls whined. The girl had made eyes at Sonny all day long. She’d even tried to throw herself into his arms by faking a fall from a ladder, only to have her sister bear the brunt of her descent.

The woman looked to Rainy as if to comply with her daughter’s request, but Rainy gave her no chance to speak. Instead she moved forward to take her place. “Let’s hurry, folks. Santa Fe is just over the hill. We have supper waiting for us at La Fonda, and let me tell you, the fare there is not to be missed. Tonight they’re offering a variety of choices including some wonderful Mexican dishes, broiled salmon steaks, and roast larded loin of beef with the most incredible mushroom sauce.”

She positioned herself inside the front passenger door without actually taking her seat. “And for those of you who haven’t yet stayed at La Fonda, you are in for a treat. The hotel has been completely renovated 5 and offers some of the nicest rooms along the Harvey line.”

The plump mother consoled her daughters and shooed them into the backseat of the touring car as an elderly couple took the seats directly behind the driver’s place. Had the girl not insisted on pouting and causing a scene, the older pair might not have robbed her of at least sitting behind Sonny. Rainy fought to hide a grin as she did a final head count and climbed into the car.

“We’re all here,” she told her brother.

“Good thing too. We’re losing the daylight.” Sonny put the car into gear and headed down the road.

Rainy breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled up to La Fonda. The adobe hotel was a home away from home for her tourists, and she was only too happy to turn them over to the Harvey House for the evening.

In order to save Sonny as much grief as possible, Rainy rounded up her charges and led them into the lobby without giving them a chance for argument.

“Your luggage will be delivered to your rooms,” she told them.

“I wanted to tell Sonny good-bye,” the elder of the teenagers pouted. She threw Rainy a look that suggested the guide had just separated the child from her true love.

“Sonny’s very busy arranging for the luggage. You may see him around the hotel later,” Rainy replied.

She turned her guests over to the registrar and hurried back to the car to help Sonny with their things. “Give me your bag,” she told her brother. They shared a two-room apartment at a boardinghouse very near to La Fonda. Many of the couriers and a few other drivers lived there as well. It was inexpensive and the food was good. Still, it wasn’t home. Home was in Albuquerque with her mother and father. She had cherished their little adobe house for as long as she could remember. Her mother had planted a lush garden in the courtyard and Rainy loved to spend hours there just dreaming of the future and all the plans she had.

“Pedro is already taking care of the dudes’ luggage,” Sonny said, handing her his small bag. He pulled his cowboy hat off and used his oversized kerchief to wipe his brow and sweat-soaked auburn hair. “I thought that tour would never end,” he declared.

Rainy leaned into him good-naturedly and giggled. “But you’re soooooo handsome,” she mimicked in the voice of the teenage tourists. “Your eyes are dreamy.” She batted her lashes at her brother and both of them burst into laughter.

“You’d better behave. Seems to me you get more than your share of attention when those dudes come in the unmarried male variety.”

Rainy shrugged and hoisted her own bag to balance Sonny’s. “If God would just tell me which one He has in mind for me to marry, I’d happily take their attention.”

Sonny sobered. “How can you be so sure your husband will come by way of the tourists?”

“I don’t know that he will, but it seems as logical a conclusion as any,” Rainy replied. “Should I wait to have dinner with you?”

Sonny nodded his head. “Yeah, save me a seat. I’ll need to get the car to the garage and get cleaned up. How about giving me an hour?”

Rainy nodded. “Sounds good.” She made her way to the two-story adobe-over-brick boardinghouse and made her way upstairs.

“You look exhausted,” Maryann, one of the newer couriers, declared as she passed Rainy on the steps.

“It was a tiring group today. Lovesick girls mooning over Sonny . . . and Sonny putting us in the sand.”

“I think Sonny is the bee’s knees,” another girl declared as she came down the oak stairs to join Mary-ann. “He’s so sweet.”

Rainy laughed. “That’s pretty much how the dudes saw it. Anyway, I need to get this stuff upstairs and get over to La Fonda for dinner.” The girls nodded and stepped out of her way.

“We’re heading to a party over at Teresa’s place,” Maryann added. “You and Sonny would be welcome. It’s mostly just couriers and drivers.”

“I’ll think about it,” Rainy replied, knowing she and Sonny wouldn’t be attending. Neither one was big on parties all that much—unless, of course, it was with family.

Rainy trudged down the long carpeted upstairs hall. The housekeeper, Mrs. Rivera, kept sparsely furnished but very clean quarters and Rainy appreciated it greatly. Juggling the bags, she slipped her key in the door and stepped inside with a sigh.

She deposited her bag by the door and tossed her hat to the bed. Crossing the room, she opened the door that adjoined her space to Sonny’s. She left his bag on the bed and went to open the window. Sonny liked it crisp and cool at night, and the warmth and stuffiness of the room would only serve to give him a headache.

Stretching her arms overhead as she walked back to her own room, Rainy couldn’t suppress a yawn. Indeed, this tour had seemed so much longer than most of the others. Rainy pulled off her silver bracelets, then removed her squash-blossom necklace of turquoise and silver. She placed the items on her dresser, noting her reflection in the standing mirror. No matter how careful she tried to be, it always seemed her fair skin managed to get burned and, in turn, add a few freckles to her already dotted nose.

“Oh, bother,” she said, unfastening her braid. “If I didn’t come back burned and freckled, I’d run to the doctor to see what was wrong with me.”

Her long red-blond hair rippled down her back. “Why couldn’t my hair be as dark as Sonny’s?” Her twin brother had the most beautiful shade of auburn hair, and for some reason he tanned easily and never freckled. It was simply unfair.

Noting that time was slipping away from her, Rainy hurried to clean up and dress for dinner. Even though she was no longer required to share her dinner with the tourists as the staff had been in the early days of the Detour program, Rainy was still expected to dress nicely to represent the coveted Harvey name. “You are still an ambassador of the Harvey Company!” her supervisor would often say.

“But for how long?” Rainy murmured aloud. She pulled on a clean black skirt and tucked her frilly white blouse into the waistband. First rumor and then newspaper articles had revealed that the Harvey Company was planning to sell the Detours. In fact, it would most likely be Major Clarkson, the manager of the transportation company from its inception, who would buy the company and run it.

With the financial uncertainty of the day, everyone saw the necessity for a bit of belt tightening. Taking the train to the American Southwest and hiring the expensive Indian Detours, as the Harvey Company dubbed the guided tours, was a luxury most couldn’t afford. When it came to deciding between keeping food on the table and taking a vacation, travel went way down on the priority list. Yet Clarkson knew a good thing when he saw it. He wouldn’t disassociate the company too far from the Harvey reputation. The Detours would still spend their nights in Harvey hotels, eating Harvey food.

Making her way downstairs, Rainy suddenly realized how hungry she was. Her thoughts, however, didn’t drift far from the question of whether or not she’d have a job in another six months. No one could be certain of work—especially women. After all, why should a single woman be given gainful employment when a man supporting a family was turned away? It was all a matter of being sensible in a time that seemed to reject all pretenses of sense and sensibility.

“Are you eating with us tonight?” Mrs. Rivera questioned as she rounded the corner with a tray of tortillas.

“No, Sonny and I will be dining at La Fonda.” Rainy gave the older woman a smile and bent to inhale the aroma of the freshly fried tortillas. “Although I’m tempted to stay. You are far and away the best cook in all of Santa Fe, Mrs. Rivera.”

The old woman grinned. “I’ll save you some
sopa-pillas
on the back of the stove. You might need a late-night snack.”

Rainy laughed. “I know Sonny will appreciate that.”

She took her leave and walked back to La Fonda, where the bustle of tourists and workers was always a wonder to behold. The cool stone interior welcomed her with wonderful artistic drawings and the flavor of old Mexico. The hotel, rich in the furnishings and interior design of Harvey’s cherished architect, Mary Colter, was the most sought-after establishment in all of Santa Fe. The rooms were lavishly furnished, the suites incomparable to anything else in the state, and the hotel food was up to the Harvey standards: huge portions and rich ingredients fashioned by the hands of some of the finest chefs in all the world.

Rainy was shown to a table for four in the back corner of the hotel restaurant. It was her favorite place to enjoy her meal. She was rarely pestered by the tourists, and she didn’t have to deal with old friends . . . unless, of course, she wanted to. The early evening rush had cleared out, and now there were more local diners and Harvey employees than tourists. Rainy sighed and leaned back against the oak chair. It felt so good to be off duty.

She’d no sooner taken her seat at the elegant table than she spied Duncan Hartford. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as she studied his handsome face and thick dark hair. How she wished she could get to know him better.

Since Sonny planned to join her soon, Rainy reasoned that it wouldn’t seem out of line to invite Duncan to join them. He might as well have been one of the Harvey employees since he worked at one of the museums where the company arranged tours, allowing Rainy to see him on a regular basis. He was practically family, she told herself. Never mind that Rainy found herself attracted to this man of archaeology and Indian research.

Her breathing quickened as she tugged on the sleeve of her Harvey waitress. “Would you do me a favor and ask Mr. Hartford if he’d like to join me for dinner?”

The young woman beamed Rainy a smile. “Sure thing.” She wove in and around the tables and guests to where Duncan was just about to be led to another table. Rainy watched as the girl appeared to explain the situation.

For one horrible moment Rainy feared he’d reject her offer.
Why did I do that?
She’d never before gone running after a man for company.

She wanted to bury her face in her hands and pretend it had been a mistake.
Maybe if I pretend to read the
menu . . . then I won’t seem so desperate
. She picked up the menu and considered her choices.

“It was very kind of you to invite me to join you this evening.”

Rainy looked up to meet Duncan Hartford’s deep brown eyes. She swallowed hard. “I hope it didn’t seem too . . . well . . . forward. I mean . . . we know each other . . . pretty well, and my brother will be watching—I mean, he’ll be joining us.”

He laughed and the sound was deep and throaty. He pulled back the chair while the Harvey waitress filled their glasses with ice water. Rainy felt rather silly. Her words seemed all jumbled, and while they made perfect sense in her head, they didn’t seem so accurate when they came out of her mouth.

“Would you like to order now?” the Harvey Girl questioned.

“My brother should be joining us shortly,” Rainy indicated. “But I’d very much like to go ahead and start with some tea.”

“That sounds good to me,” Duncan replied.

The waitress disappeared, leaving Rainy feeling rather uncomfortable in the silence. She’d long admired this man, but how could she make that clear without sounding like one of Sonny’s young admirers?

“Oh, there you are,” Sonny suddenly said, coming from behind her. “I can’t stay. I need to help a friend of mine get his car running. Do you mind?” He looked from Rainy to Duncan.

Rainy swallowed hard. When she’d thought Sonny would be a part of their company, she hadn’t felt quite so awkward. “You still have to eat.”

“I’ll grab a sandwich at home,” Sonny replied. He extended his hand to Duncan. “You’re Mr. Hartford from the Indian museum, right?”

Duncan shook his hand. “Yes, but please call me Duncan.”

“I’ve seen you at the museum, but since I generally wait with the touring car, I haven’t had much of a chance to get to know you.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m sorry, Rainy. I really need to get over there.”

Rainy nodded and unfolded her napkin to keep from having to meet Duncan’s expression. “That’s all right. You have a good night and I’ll see you in the morning. Oh, and Mrs. Rivera is leaving you some sopapillas on the back of the stove.”