No Place for a Lady (3 page)

Kurt nudged between the two of them and took Crystal's hand
to kiss it. "A real pleasure, ma'am;' he said without releasing her
hand, "to meet a Southern belle, and a most exquisite one at
that."

Crystal noted his obvious good manners and Eastern accent,
but she pulled her hand away from his. "It's my pleasure to meet
y'all" They were quite a grubby band of boyish riders to her way
of thinking, and she couldn't help but notice that they all wore
spurs. What a racket.

"What y'all gawking at?" Kate gestured with her arms and
fanned herself with her apron. "Rusty, get those bags in. Carmen, please bring us a glass of cool lemonade as soon as Crystal's freshened up a bit. I'm sure she's about to parch. Crystal, this is Carmen." Kate pulled forward a lovely Mexican girl, who flashed a
suspicious look from her brooding dark eyes. Her large silver
earrings glinted in the sunlight.

"Si, senora" Carmen turned on her bare feet to do Kate's bidding.

Jube stepped up to help Rusty unload Crystal's suitcases.
Curly and Kurt carried them to the porch, and the worn planks
creaked under their weight. Luke stared at the big trunk and
threw Rusty a quizzical look, but Rusty just rolled his eyes
upward.

Kate laughed. "Well, I see you didn't bring enough change of
clothes"

"That trunk has my gowns, what's left of them. Y'all do have
parties out here, don't you?"

Jube looked at Curly, who reached down to pick up an oddshaped case, and then over to Luke, who shrugged his shoulders.

"We have a barn dance every now and then," Kate replied.

"Oh .. " Disappointment sounded in her voice, but she wore
her brightest smile. "I guess well have to do something about
that then, won't we?"

Curly slammed her black case down, and Crystal rushed toward
him. "Land sakes! Please be careful with that. It's my Autoharp,
and it's easy to damage."

"Your what?" Curly's face turned the color of a southwestern
sunset as he shuffled his feet.

Crystal immediately set him at ease. "You couldn't have known." She lifted the case and patted it. "It's a musical instrument. I promise to play it for y'all sometime, Curly. How would that be?"

"That's a deal:" Curly smiled and pulled the last suitcase to
the door.

The drovers just about fell all over themselves in an attempt to
help with her baggage. A faint trace of gardenia hung in the air
as Crystal moved past the cowboys. Rusty and Luke just stood
back and leaned against the fence to watch.

Crystal supposed she should be flattered by all the attention, but
now she didn't think there would be much stimulating conversation or many parties way out here without neighbors for miles.
And the dust. She hated it along with the dry heat. Luke, who
looked amused by her very presence, was not what one would
call sociable. He didn't seem to want to be bothered with her any
more than she wanted to be in this part of the world.

Crystal fanned herself with her lace handkerchief and followed
her aunt into the ranch house. Lord, what have I gotten myself
into? What did I expect?

The cool water felt refreshing on her face and neck and revived
Crystal's tired, dusty body. Patting herself dry with a thin towel,
she noticed the room's simplicity. A small fireplace stood opposite
the bed with a crude rocker placed to one side. On the ancient,
scarred, cherrywood bed were piled several colorful patchwork
quilts, and atop the dresser was a pitcher cradled in a cracked rose
bowl. A small lady's desk sat beneath the window. Blue gingham
curtains fluttered against the window frame. Someone had picked
wild columbines and placed them on the nightstand, but now their petals drooped. Though different from her normal surroundings,
she decided somehow this room seemed rather cozy.

She was determined to make the best of the situation. This was
better than having everyone back home feel sorry for her.

She missed Lilly, and tears threatened to fall. No more Lilly
pulling the covers back and laying out her nightgown. Crystal had
begged her to come along, but Lilly wouldn't think of leaving the
South and her family. All of a sudden, Crystal felt homesick. She
sighed deeply then and wandered out into the narrow hallway.

The large front room was decorated with fine Indian pottery.
Beautiful colored blankets adorned the walls, while an enormous
fireplace of fieldstone boasted a huge elk head mounted above.
Wood floors gleamed as afternoon sunlight spilled through spacious windows. Delicious smells wafted through the house and
made her aware of her rumbling stomach.

By the time Crystal stepped out onto the porch, just Kate and
Carmen were sitting in rocking chairs. The ranch hands apparently had gone back to their respective chores. She assured her
aunt that she felt human once again.

Carmen stood and offered her a tall glass of lemonade. "Thank
you." She took the glass and smiled at Carmen, but the Mexican
girl lowered her head. Crystal wasn't sure if the dark-haired beauty
was bashful or just couldn't speak English.

Carmen took a chair nearby, but Crystal felt her dark stare
and sensed Carmen's discomfort. Crystal smoothed her blue cotton skirt with its fitted shirtwaist. She noticed Carmen's hurried
movement to tuck her bare feet underneath her skirt. Crystal
bent down to give her aunt a brief hug with her free arm before
taking her own seat.

"I see you've changed your traveling clothes to something a bit
more comfortable;' Kate commented.

"Yes, I did. It was pretty dusty on the trail coming here" Crystal
felt much cooler in the light-blue sprigged cotton dress.

The lemonade was delicious, and the conversation grew animated as Crystal told Kate of her excursion from Atlanta through
the Rocky Mountains.

"I have to admit, Aunt Kate, the mountains are even more
beautiful than I could have ever imagined:"

I tried to tell you, Crystal. They are indeed incredible. Wait
until you've had a chance to explore them"

After Carmen slipped back inside the house, the conversation
turned serious. Crystal learned that since her uncle's death, Kate
was struggling to hold on to the ranch.

"Last year was a hard one with low beef prices, and rustlers
were stealing my cattle, trying to add to their own herd. I lost a
few head to drought, because there wasn't enough grass to fatten
em up.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Kate. I didn't know."

"Without Rusty's support and hard work from my ranch hands,
and the good Lord. . . " She sighed. "Honey, last year might have
been a very bleak one indeed. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to start up
complaining" Kate gazed out into the front yard. Her shoulders
slumped forward. Her stern face softened a bit, and she looked
worn out. Crystal reached over to hold her hand.

"Problems always appear to be larger than they are, especially
when they're your problems." Crystal remembered her own burden of straightening out her father's bills and dealing with the
creditors. "The hardest thing I ever had to do was sell the family home, and I certainly didn't want pity. My parents taught me that
God has a purpose in our lives, and I'd like to believe that. I'm
just not sure what that purpose is yet"

"You're just like your mother, never down for too long. It is
such a pity that her life was shortened by cholera-and you just
ten years old. You are just like her" A shadow crossed Kate's
worn face briefly, but then she straightened, and her face lit
up. "With that attitude, you're gonna be good for me, dear.
I know it was hard for you to leave, but perhaps in time you
will grow to like it here, Crystal. I'd love for you to stay. To tell
you the truth, from your pa's letters before he died, I thought
you would be settling down with Andrew Franklin, unless I
missed my guess."

Crystal rocked the chair back and forth in agitation. "Drew did
propose, but I just couldn't give him an answer. Not yet. I'm still
not sure if I want to spend the rest of my life with him, let alone
have his mother dictate our every move."

"You would be set for life, Crystal. His family wields a lot of
power in Georgia, although a political lifestyle would not be my
choosing"

"Comfort is important;" she said, not looking straight into her
aunt's eyes. "But, Aunt Kate, I've never been interested in power.
Although I care for Drew, I'm not sure it's the kind of love that
will last forever. I worry sometimes that he is too involved in
himself to be devoted to anything but his career. Perhaps time
apart will answer many questions in my mind and his. I want to
follow God's leading for my future, and quite honestly, I don't
know if Drew figures into that plan."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. You have matured in more ways than one, and I know that my sister wanted a secure future for you, sweetie. Now, I'm gonna see to it that your future
is brighter."

Crystal's heart warmed with her aunt's comments, and she
was glad that she had someone to count on. It felt good not to be
alone anymore, despite the new surroundings.

The bunkhouse was bustling with excitement at the arrival of
the newest unmarried female within a twenty-five-mile radius.
Luke watched the rest of the cowpokes with a taciturn yawn.
He leaned back in his chair, stretched out his long legs, and
propped them up on a nearby bunk. He began whittling on a
piece of wood as he listened to the raucous cowhands. They
seemed unaware that they had the chance of a columbine in a
hailstorm, yet they were busy comparing notes on how to win
Crystal's affections. Luke wondered if she had even noticed the
columbines that he'd placed on her bureau. Now he felt foolish
that he had put them there at all. Surely she was used to exquisite
roses-at the very least.

"Well, you saw how she took to me right off, being the friendliest." Curly lay in his bunk, chewed on a piece of hay, and folded
his arms under his head to gaze at nothing in particular.

Kurt strolled over to the cracked mirror, examined his rugged
good looks, and smoothed back his thick hair. He twirled the ends
of his handlebar moustache, impeccably groomed, between his
forefinger and thumb.

"My dear boys, a lady of her upbringing bristles at such friendliness. However, she will all but swoon at the display of charming
good manners" Kurt squared his shoulders, tugging at his vest.
"I should know."

"Aw, cut it out, you two! I hear she has a beau back in Georgia.
I bet more'n one," Jube said, dusting his hat off against his leg.
"I overheard Kate and Rusty talkin, and I don't 'spect she'll stay
too long:'

"Way I hear it, she doesn't have a home to go to. Had to sell
out because of debts her father left behind when he died. No lady
reared in a fine lifestyle is gonna have nothin' to do with the likes
of us," Curly informed them.

"What do you think, Luke?" Jube asked. Luke knew they valued his opinion in just about everything from calf branding to
selecting prime horseflesh.

Luke set down the wood he was whittling. He pushed back
his chair, grabbed his hat, and in two short strides was at the
bunkhouse door. "What I think is that we have better things to
do than chew the fat'bout some blasted female that's got her nose
in the air and whose deepest thought is whether or not she'll get
to wear her ball gowns. Go back to your card games and quit
wasting your time. See ya back at the main house for supper:"
The door slammed behind him. He heard Curly ask the punchers, "What's eatin' him?"