No Place for a Lady (24 page)

"I won't be going back;' Crystal said calmly, but her heart was
hammering against her chest. Why did April make her feel this
way? "At least not for a while. I'm beginning to like it here. It's
such a challenge for me, and I have made some good friends in
such a short time:"

"Excuse me, April said abruptly. "They're waiting for me" She
threw Crystal a sharp look, tossed her golden curls, and sashayed
in the direction of her table.

Crystal gave a sigh of relief, and Josh apologized for his family's interruption.

"Crystal, you have more manners in your little finger than April
has in her entire frame" Josh's voice held obvious pride.

His comment warmed her heart. "Shall we have some coffee?"
she asked. She wanted to forget the encounter, but inside she was
boiling. How dare she talk to me like that? If she thinks I'm some
simpleton, she has rocks where her brains should be.

Crystal needed to work on her temper where April was concerned. Lord, please control my mind and tongue. I've already forgotten my promise to You. Her hands shook as she placed the cup
before Josh, but if he noticed, he said nothing.

Later that evening after josh left, Crystal changed into her
nightgown and dragged her rocker close to the fire, watching
the flames dance around its burning logs. The fire, along with a
cup of coffee to warm her after the ride back from town, was just
what she needed on a chilly night. She was beginning to enjoy
this ritual that she had started shortly after Kate's death.

After the day's chores were completed, she loved to curl up with
a good book or her father's Bible, but today her mind was swirling
with the confrontation with April. She read the same passage of
Matthew three times before giving up. Gripping the coffee cup
tightly, Crystal wondered if she was mad because April was just
a disagreeable human being or because she belonged to Luke. It
wouldn't be long before April would be his wife, in his embrace,
and-oh, it was too unbearable to think about ...

Since Luke was the trail boss, he had positioned Crystal with
Curly on flank. Their job was to keep control of the moving cattle
and chase back any strays. Kurt and Rusty were placed on drag,
the worst position to hold because of the dust and the lamed or
orphaned yearlings. Jube rode point with another hired cowboy
to open the trail for the cattle. Luke scouted ahead for pasture
and water. A young man named Slim was the wrangler. His job
was to drive the remuda and have fresh mounts available to the
drovers on night guard.

By the end of the first day of the trail drive, every bone and
muscle screamed out for relief in Crystal's small body. Rusty told
her that he calculated that they had covered ten miles across the
valley today. She was too tired to stand up when Sourdough, the
cookie, heaped beans and biscuits onto her tin plate. With his
toothless grin, Sourdough urged her to sit down and brought
her a cup of hot coffee. Gratefully she did as she was told. She
found a clump of rocks and steadied her plate on her knees and
watched the cookie at work.

Rusty had told her when they hired him that Sourdough had gotten his nickname years ago because he made the best
sourdough biscuits on the trail. He was always the first man to
rise in the morning. Not only did he drive and pack his chuck
wagon, he cooked three hot meals a day and doctored cuts and
sometimes stitched a tear in a drover's shirt. His last chore of
the evening was to point the chuck wagon in the direction of
the North Star in order to let the trail boss know the direction
for the morning.

Sourdough had been surprised that a beautiful young girl
would even consider a trail drive, much less know how to drive
the dogies and ride from sunup to sundown alongside the other
cowboys with nary a complaint. Crystal knew that the cowboys
admired her for her determination. If he expected her to comment on his cooking, though, he would be disappointed. She
was too tired to eat and picked at her food.

Kurt sat down cross-legged next to her. "You doin' all right,
Miss Crystal?"

He pushed his hat back off his forehead so he could look at her.
She noticed Luke watching from his place in the grub line.

"I don't know if I have ever been this tired in my life;' she
answered. She choked down a forkful of beans. "But a hot bath
would be a dream come true:"

"Know what you mean. Maybe when we make it to Denver
you can have one and sleep in a real bed"

Curly strode over with his plate and squatted down on one
leg. Between bites he told her that he was right proud of how she
handled her horse. "You really kept right up there with us:" His
face shone with approval.

"I had a very good teacher" Crystal smiled at Rusty. She knew Rusty felt proud that she had done as well as she had the first day.
He tipped his hat to her in thanks.

"Better get Sourdough to give you something for that sunburned
face;' Luke commented. "Or else you'll be hurting tomorrow."

Crystal looked over at him in surprise. That was about the first
time he'd said anything to her the entire day. Since he was riding
lead with the chuck wagon, she had not seen much of him. When
they stopped for lunch he had avoided her, but she felt his eyes on
her. No matter. She was too tired to even think about him at all.

One of the new hired hands started collecting plates for the
cook and reached to take hers. She murmured her thanks. Sourdough was always the last to take a plate, making sure everyone
else was served first.

The red ball of fire was fast slipping behind the majestic mountains, and the now-crackling fire was a warm welcome. One of
the cowpokes pulled out his harmonica and began to play. Some
sat around talking in low voices, and others began to pull out
bedrolls. Kurt struck up a conversation with a drover from Texas
who sat rolling a cigarette. Others, like Crystal, slumped in sheer
exhaustion. Luke assigned three of the boys to take the first watch,
three more at midnight, then three others after that.

"Miss Crystal, looks like you'd better turn in for the night. I'll
get your bedroll and a quilt," Curly said.

"I appreciate your help, Curly. But without a pocket watch, how
will the boys know when to relieve the first watch?"

"Well now, they just look up at the Big Dipper, and it'll tell them
exactly what time it is" He pulled her to the edge of the camp,
pointed to the sky, and told her to look for the North Star. "The
Big Dipper rotates around the North Star, so when the North Star is right below the Big Dipper, we know that it's ten p.m. When it
gets right above the dipper, it's midnight, and just a little above
the ladle part, it's two a.m., and so on" They gazed up into the
magnificent expanse of black sky dotted with twinkling stars.

"Yessiree, God had it all figured out, even for a fool." Curly
continued to stare at the stars. In the western sky, clouds were
moving in.

"I never knew all that ... but it's so very simple isn't it? Simple,
just like the truth of God" Her voice was reverent and hushed.
"Guess I'll turn in now. Dawn will seem just a blink away."

"Yes, ma'am. It shore will"

Luke loved sleeping out under the stars. The sky was incredibly
beautiful dotted with twinkling stars. He had overheard Crystal's
comments about God, but he wasn't certain what she meant. He
was a little curious. He knew in his heart there was a God out there
somewhere like those stars high above, maybe watching. But that
was as far as it went. Something about her made him feel like he
was not good enough for her. What was it? Her education? He
couldn't put his finger on it. She certainly never made him feel
inferior. Except the night that he had come from the McBrides'.
Crystal's disapproval had been very evident. He had let his feelings for her take over and wanted to kiss her. What an oaf... and
him an engaged man. No wonder she was disgusted with him.
She had more respect for April than he did.

It was strange lying here just a few feet away from Crystal and
thinking about her, when he was about to be married to April.
He knew that night when April insisted on kissing in the garden that there was nothing deep between them. McBride had made
it apparent that he would help Luke acquire his property, but
Luke was surprised that he would even let a mere foreman court
his daughter, however strong willed she was. He struck Luke as a
man looking out for himself, and Luke wondered what he hoped
to gain.

He was getting a headache just thinking about all of it. Time
to get some sleep. He had second watch. He pulled his hat over
his eyes to shut out the light of the campfire, lay back against his
saddle, and crossed his arms. The familiar yet pleasant sounds
of the night were vaguely comforting. There was a gentle breeze
carrying the smell of Kurt's cigar. Soon he was lulled to sleep by
Kurt's distant song:

"Last night as I lay on the prairie,
and gazed at the stars in the sky,
I wondered if ever a cowboy
would drift to that sweet by and by.
Roll on, roll on,
Roll on little doggies, roll on, roll on.
Roll on, roll on,
Roll on little doggies, roll on."

Crystal thought she was dreaming but groggily realized shouting had awakened her.

"Miss Crystal! Here, put this slicker on. It looks like a hailstorm
may be heading our way!" Jube shouted above the wind. "We're
gonna have to ride. Slim is saddling our mounts."

Crystal struggled to a sitting position. "What's going on?"

"The cattle got spooked with the lightning:"

She snatched the slicker from his hands and felt the cold, pelting rain. She was wide awake now. She slammed her hat on her
head and flattened the brim to keep the rain off.

The campsite was bustling with activity, as all the cowboys,
including the cook, staggered to their mounts. A jagged bolt of
lightning lit up the dark sky. Slim hurried over with Crystal's
horse, Rebel.

Slim swore under his breath. "The remuda has stampeded with
'em! I barely managed to hold some back!" he hollered.