No Place for a Lady (34 page)

Crystal walked to the door and looked out. It was as if some
magical fairy had sprinkled fine confectioner's powder on the
entire world. "Oh ... it's so beautiful:"

"Good night, all:" Kurt headed out. "Stay warm now."

"Good night." Carmen turned to Crystal. "I'm going to go work
on those dishes I left soaking" She headed in the direction of the
kitchen.

Luke carried in a stack of logs and placed them by the fireplace,
then turned to Crystal. `Anything else you need, just holler. I have
a feeling it will snow all night long:'

"Thanks, Luke. We had a good time just the five of us, didn't
we?" Standing this close to him, Crystal felt her heart thumping
wildly in her chest.

"It was a fine evening. Good way to start the winter off"

"Luke, I didn't receive the invitation list from April yet for the shower. Will you be seeing her, or do I need to just ride over there
and pick the list up?"

Luke pursed his thin lips into a straight line. He shifted from
one hip to the other and shoved his hands in his coat pockets.
"That's something I wanted to talk to you about:" He cleared his
throat. "Me and April just don't seem to see eye to eye ... The
wedding's been called off."

His eyes searched hers. Crystal wanted to jump up and down,
but she remained outwardly unfazed. "Oh ... Luke, I am sorry.
Do you care to talk about it?"

"Let's just put it this way-we want different things in life. I
want a family, and that's not what she wants. She's too enamored
with material things and what she can get with her name to give
any thought to raising a family. April likes to be in charge of almost everything. Besides, I'm not too crazy about living with her
mother and daddy. I guess that piece of land near the Blue River
will never belong to me now." His face showed more relief than
sadness, which surprised Crystal.

She held his blue eyes with a steady look. "I'm sorry." Her
palms felt moist.

"You already said that"

"But I mean it. I know how it feels when you plan for your
marriage and then decide that it's not the right thing for you:"

Luke shot her a quizzical look. "Does this have anything to do
with that feller Drew?"

"How do you know about him?"

"That night after the tornado, you called out his name a few
times while you were unconscious:"

I did? I must have been talking out of my head:' Crystal was embarrassed. "Well ... it seems that once I came here, he lost no
time in finding someone to replace me"

"No, he's the one who must have lost his senses" Luke still stood
an arm's length away, and Crystal found herself wanting to touch
the bronze face that held genuine concern for her.

"I'd like to think so" She wondered if he was feeling this strong
attraction she was experiencing or if he was just being nice. Then
she remembered his kiss the day she'd been crying, and she felt a
tingle flow over her just at the thought.

"What about josh?"

His question startled Crystal. She hadn't given much thought to
Josh in a while, even though she liked him. "What about him?"

Luke hesitated. "Well, I guess I was just wondering if you two
are an item. He seems to like you, Crystal."

Crystal thought a moment before answering. "Are you asking
as a friend, or because you'd like to court me?" Oh boy, now I've
gone and done it. He's going to think I'm brazen and bold.

"Could be I'd like to know where I stand:" He moved closer
to her and lifted her hand. "I don't want to waste any more time
than I already have. I think you have feelings for me too, unless
I'm misreading you. And yes, I'd like to see more of you than just
across from the supper table."

Crystal felt her heart miss a beat. Her hopes had been dashed
when he became engaged to April. Now here he was caressing her
hand with his thumb, and she couldn't think straight. Her hand felt
small and helpless in his large one. Her tongue felt thick and dry,
and she swallowed the lump in her throat before answering.

"Luke, are you sure it's over between you and April? I never
wanted to get in the way of you two:" Crystal was still skeptical about his true motives. Until the trail drive, he had always treated
her like someone to joke around with but not be serious with.

"Trust me. It's definitely over. And it's for the best, believe me. I
think you stole my heart that very first day you arrived, but I just
didn't want to believe it. It was me that placed those columbines
on your nightstand:" Luke's voice was husky as he locked eyes
with Crystal. Her heart slammed against her chest. She had just
assumed the flowers were from Kate.

Luke's manly scent, mingled with soap and aftershave, was
making it hard for her to breathe. At that very moment, Carmen
walked in, and Luke dropped Crystal's hand and stepped aside.
Crystal's face flushed, but Carmen politely announced that she
was going to bed and then left them alone again, for which Crystal
was grateful.

"You think about what I said," Luke said. "I best be going. I'll
check on you first thing in the morning, in case the snow gets
worse."

He opened the door, and snow blew in and sprinkled the hallway floor. She watched him fade into the swirling whiteness until
she could no longer see him. Crystal felt her heart beat wildly in
her chest. He does care about me, her heart sang as she twirled
around the room. She could hardly believe it. Luke really liked
her, Crystal Clark!

Abruptly she stopped dancing and came to her senses. Something was nagging her. Isn't this what she wanted? Yes, she believed
he was attracted to her, but what about his wanting the ranch?
Maybe that was what he wanted most of all. Another thing-he's
not a believer. She could still hear her mother's voice telling her
not to become unequally yoked with an unbeliever.

ButI don't know for a fact that he isn't, she reasoned with herself.
He did attend church, and he did have good morals. But that's all
she knew. She just needed to slow down and take this one day at
a time, even though her heart was saying something different.

Fingers of ice had formed on the window when Crystal peeked
out the next morning, and snow was still gently falling, covering
everything in its sight. The outdoors was as dazzling as the bright
morning light that broke through the snow-laden clouds.

Crystal had had a hard time going to sleep after Luke shared
his heart with her the night before. To think that he had liked her
all this time. Still, she wondered why he had not declared that
until after she owned Aspengold. Maybe I'm not being fair about
this, she thought, but the nagging idea stayed with her until she
finally fell asleep.

In the morning she slipped on her heavy robe and slippers to
start a fire in the main room. She could hear Carmen moving
around in the kitchen, and Crystal could smell fresh coffee brewing. Once the fire was going, she stood warming her outstretched
hands when Carmen entered with a cup of coffee. She was already
dressed for the day with several layers of clothing.

"You are too good to me, Carmen:" She gratefully accepted
the cup.

"No, senorita. It is you who have been good to me and called
me your friend as well."

Crystal dismissed her comment with a wave of her hand. "I
would hate to think of living here alone and trying to feed this
hungry bunch."

"You know, one day Aspengold will become even larger, and
you will have grandchildren to inherit it."

"That's a nice thought, Carmen. I hope you're right"

"The ranch will prosper, Crystal. I just know it. You have
worked very hard to see to that, and you treat everyone more
than fair."

"Thanks. But you flatter me. A lot of the work on this ranch
was done by my aunt and Rusty" Her voice wavered. "But I am
honored to call you friend:"

Carmen smiled. "Looks like the snow is here to stay for a few
days. I'll have Kurt bring in more firewood right after breakfast"

Crystal moved away from the fire, her backside thoroughly
warm now. "I'll go change and be right back out to set the table.
What shall we do with the weather like this?"

"We can sew those curtains that you wanted in the kitchen.
How about that?"

"Good idea. I'm glad I'll have a project to keep me busy"

"When it stops snowing, perhaps I could go spend some time
with my mother and check on my new nephew, if that's all right
with you?"

"That would be fine. I know you're anxious to see them. A new
baby is always irresistible:"

Crystal heard footsteps on the porch and hurried to get the
door. Rusty, Kurt, and Luke hurried in and made their way to
the fire.

"It's bone-chillin' cold this morning, Crystal." Rusty rubbed
his rawboned hands together over the blazing fire.

"The thermometer measures three degrees and falling out by the bunkhouse;' Kurt informed them, blowing on his bare hands.
"I couldn't find my gloves this morning."

"These?" Carmen held up a pair of brown leather gloves.

"Yes, those are mine, thanks." He took them from Carmen's
hands, his eyes focusing only on her.

"That boy would leave his head if it wasn't attached. Got your
mind on something else, have you?" Rusty teased.

"Aw, leave 'em alone, Rusty. I'm hungry. Breakfast ready, Carmen?" Luke said, but his eyes were on Crystal, who felt her face
warm under his gaze.

The snow had stopped but blanketed every inch of the valley,
and the wind created deep drifts that piled high against the north
side of the ranch house and the outlying buildings. The punchers bedded the milk cows in the barn. Rusty and Carmen had
teamed up weeks ago and butchered and dressed a few of the
Herefords, which were needed for meat during the long winter.
Luke and Kurt cleaned the stalls daily and kept the barn swept.
Jube mostly stayed near the line cabin with his pregnant, happy
wife and checked for any breaks in the fence.

Crystal spent her days sewing bright red gingham curtains
for the kitchen windows and poring over a catalog she'd found,
while Carmen kept a hot pot of coffee in constant readiness for
the men. Afternoons became a highlight of the day with freshly
baked apple cookies or cinnamon bread shared with the men when
they trooped into the warm kitchen for a little respite from the
cold. Crystal looked forward to the break in her day and anticipated each time Luke walked through the front door. By now it
was apparent that there was a mutual affection growing between
Crystal and Luke, although no one said anything aloud.

In the evenings after supper when the men had grudgingly
returned to the bunkhouse, Crystal would read Scripture out
loud while Carmen worked on their mending. It was a fine way
to end the day, cozied in the horsehair chairs next to the fire with
a cup of steaming hot chocolate.

Today the snow had stopped, and the bright sun turned the
glaring whiteness into thousands of glittering diamonds. Crystal
stepped out into the cold, brilliant day. Rusty, snow shovel in his
weathered hands, sliced away at the mound of white stuff to clear
a path from the house to the barn.

Crystal had tied a woolen scarf around her hat to keep her ears
warm and donned her aunt's heaviest coat, finishing with long
handles beneath her woolen skirt. Although it was very cold, she
was exhilarated at just being outdoors again. She danced around
on the porch, clutching a cloth napkin in her hand.

"Watch yer step now, Crystal. There's ice underneath the path
I'm making:" Rusty paused to lean on his shovel and chuckled at
Crystal's antics.

Crystal half slid down the steps and reached up with her free
hand to pat Rusty's red-cheeked face. "Isn't it a glorious day,
Rusty?"

"I think you've been cooped up too long, missy. Most women
are crank horns after a few weeks of being snowed in" Rusty's
bushy eyebrows furrowed.

"You need to remember that I've never seen this much snow
in one place:" She laughed. "It's an adventure:" Crystal suddenly
stopped her little dancing gig, embarrassed, when she saw Luke
approaching from the bunkhouse.