No Place for a Lady (4 page)

Waning sunlight reflected its beauty against the silvery aspens,
in sharp contrast to the sapphire-blue sky. The summer breeze
sighed and sent a gentle shiver through the cinquefoil, a reminder that fall was on its way, and the alpine buttercups nodded in agreement. Luke breathed in deeply, savoring the pungent fragrance of
spruce and fir. He walked through the woods and away from the
noisy bunkhouse, where a game of cards was taking place.

He reflected on the past ten years of hard work. He'd scraped
every bit of pay to lay aside for the day he'd buy his own spread.
He already had his eye on a section south that had fertile land
fed by the Blue River along the Gore Range. One day it would
be his.

Not that he was complaining about the work. Kate was not
just his employer but his friend as well. She treated him like
the son she was never able to have. She'd taken him in when he
was fourteen, right after his parents died of typhoid fever. Since
then, there had been laughter and love to replace his sadness as
a young boy.

Realizing he had walked farther than he intended, Luke headed
back to the house. In the distance he could see Carmen lighting
the lamps. His stomach told him it was time for supper.

`Around here, we don't dress for supper except on special occasions;' Kate told Crystal as they made their way toward a sizable
dining room. Crystal admired a well-polished oak table that could
seat twelve people with ease.

"I'm a very informal person, and my ranch hands dine with
us, since we are small in number" Kate's blue eyes twinkled. "It
makes life much more interesting, and I can keep better track of
things. Go on over and sit down. The others will be along soon.
Carmen has just about got everything ready."

"It smells wonderful, and I'm hungry," Crystal said, seeing the
food on the table. Looks like a fried pancake stuffed with something
from the pasture, she thought. She just smiled.

"Once you've tried Mexican food, you'll wonder how you lived
without it;' Rusty declared, hurrying to her side and pulling out
a chair for her. He had washed up and changed his shirt to a
red-checkered one that emphasized his freckles, and he'd slicked
down his thick, unruly hair, which plastered his head like a wet
red dishcloth. Crystal grinned and thought it sweet that he would
try to impress her.

As soon as she was seated, there was a mad scramble and scraping of chairs as the rest of the hands appeared. Kurt and Curly
grabbed the chairs on either side of her. Jube sat across from her
and helped himself to a plate of enchiladas. His fresh-scrubbed,
boyish face and bashful look made him appear young. Rusty, she
noted, sat at the opposite end of the table from Kate. Suddenly
the room became quiet as Kate blessed the food and the hands
that had prepared it.

"Here, Miss Crystal, try these enchiladas. Carmen makes the
best in the West:" She wondered at the wink Kurt gave everyone
as he passed the dish to her.

"Si, es verdad. And these are tostados, made with beans, chilies,
and corn tortillas," Carmen said, while casting a look at Luke.

The look did not go unnoticed by Crystal. She watched Luke
stroll in and sit at the farthest end of the table with his hat slung
low over his forehead. It had a slight roll at the sides, blocking
the view of his eyes. You don't have anything to worry about from
me, she wanted to say aloud to Carmen.

Crystal figured that Luke wore his hat low on purpose. That way no one knew if he was staring. And he was staring-at her.
She wondered what he was thinking. She brought a forkful of
the enchilada to her mouth in dainty fashion. Carmen paused
with her serving and watched Crystal's face.

"Well, whaddya think?" Curly's Adam's apple bobbed when
he spoke.

Everyone in the room looked at Crystal. "Mmm;' she managed while chewing. Then tears stung her eyes as she swallowed
and choked and gasped, "Water, please!" She could feel her face
turning bright red.

Kurt hurried to her side and offered her water that she managed
to gulp down. Laughter exploded all around her from everyone
except Kate.

"Carmen! I thought I asked you to prepare a plate made with
mild chilies just for Crystal," Kate said, her voice rising.

"Si, senora" She scurried off toward the kitchen. "I was just
getting them:'

"It's my fault," Kurt said, trying to keep from laughing. "I
should've known not to pass those to her"

"Crystal, are you all right?" Kate's face showed concern. She
passed Crystal the sugar bowl. "Here, put a little of this on your
tongue. It'll stop the burning directly."

Crystal placed the sugar on her tongue. "I'll be fine;' she said
with more assurance than she felt. "Those were very hot. I guess
I'm just used to fried chicken and biscuits"

"Perhaps you'd like to treat us to your specialty sometime."
Luke spoke for the first time since he'd walked in. "I've heard
lots about Southern cooking. Maybe you could give us a sample."
He was shoveling in food like it was his last meal. He paused to wipe milk foam from his moustache and to give her a quick
wink.

Crystal flashed him an annoyed look. Was Luke flirting with
her? Probably not.

"Good idea," Kate agreed. "It's been too long since I've tasted
any.

"I guess I could do that," she said, helping herself to the special
batch of enchiladas that Carmen held out for her. I'll never pull
that one of Was that lying? Crystal knew she'd never be able to
whip up a full-course meal with the Mexican girl's ease. She wasn't
even sure she knew how to make the batter for fried chicken.

Lifting her glass, she drank deeply, allowing the water to ease
the mild burning in her throat, and looked around the table. With
the exception of Kate, they were all eating like starved dogs. Table
manners, apparently, were not high on their agenda.

Crystal had a captive audience during the rest of the meal. She
saw Kate look down at the end of the table and wink at Rusty,
and he smiled back at her, rubbing his thumb back and forth
across his beard.

Kate pushed back her chair. "We're going to have a party on
Friday in your honor, Crystal, so you can meet our neighboring
ranchers."

"That would be wonderful," Crystal replied. "A party sounds
like fun. I want to know about your lives here. The countryside
is so vast and different from Georgia. I can't wait to get a better
look:"

"Do you ride?" Luke asked, with one raised eyebrow.

"A little:'

"Be ready at seven, then:" Luke stood up and doffed his hat. "Oh, and by the way, better ask Kate if she will loan you some of
her britches. Those full skirts won't do out here. Then I'll show
you a little piece of God's country"

Crystal squirmed in her chair. He'd just assumed she'd want to
go riding with him. "Why so early?"

"Well, we wouldn't want you to get sunburned the first day here,
now would we? We like to treat greenhorns special. Besides, the
days start at dawn and end at dusk around here"

"Oh, I see now, Mr. Weber. In other words, you go to bed with
the chickens;' she teased. The cowboys around the table laughed
at their banter.

Luke ignored her comment and walked toward the door.
"Thanks for those delicious enchiladas, Carmen."

Crystal thought that though Luke never appeared to be in a
hurry, his long legs crossed the room in just a few strides. Abruptly
the door closed behind him.

The rest of the cowpunchers took their cue from him, it seemed,
and in less than a minute they were heading back to the bunkhouse. That was it. No after-dinner conversation and retiring to
the parlor for coffee. Crystal already missed home-even Drew.
How in the world would she ever get up and be ready at daylight?
Before Papa died, she was used to sleeping until nine and having
breakfast with him. It was apparent to her that she'd have to fit
into their crude environment if she decided to stay. Oh, Papa,
why did you leave me all alone? her heart cried.

After Kate said good night, Crystal changed into her gown
and hopped under the quilts. She lay in the dark for a long time, listening to the silence and thinking about the cowboys and Carmen. She had to chuckle as she remembered the hot enchiladas.
It was all done in fun. They meant no harm. Life would definitely
be different here.

She slipped out of bed and walked to the desk. She pulled out
some paper and dipped her pen in ink to start a letter to Drew. She
told him that she had arrived safely, described the long ride to the
ranch and a few details of her aunt and the cowboys, and ended
with missing home and him. Does he miss me too? she wondered
as she folded the letter and addressed an envelope.

Briefly she held the letter in her hand and stared at it as if it
were written in a foreign language. She'd mail it in the morning
and deal with her feelings later. She was really too tired to think
about them now.

Crawling back under the quilts, she closed her eyes and thanked
God for her safe trip over the treacherous mountains. She prayed
that He would give her a willingness to learn this new way of life
and a heart to listen for His guidance.

Morning light spilled through the thin curtains, sending warmth
across Crystal's face. She felt a gentle nudge on her shoulder. For
a moment she thought she was dreaming.

"Honey, there's no sleeping in 'round here;' Kate said in her
usual cheery but gruff voice. "Time you got up. Breakfast is on
the sideboard. I brought you some britches. I'm afraid they'll be a
mite too big, you bein' so thin. And here's a flannel shirt you can
tuck in and belt. There're hats by the door, take your pick:' She
was a burst of energy, bustling around the room with such force that the floor creaked with her weight. "And here's warm water
for you to wash up with"

Crystal could barely get her eyes focused. "Is it really morning
already?"

"Sorry, dear. Rusty and me are riding over to Stillwater to look
at some horses. Enjoy your day and don't get overheated now, you
hear?" With a kiss on Crystal's cheek, Kate was already out the
door before Crystal could murmur her thanks.

Crystal yawned and stretched, then swung her legs over the
side of the bed. She could hear the dogs barking in the distance as
the buckboard rattled down the drive. Crystal had seen the tender
look Rusty had given her aunt last night at supper. Something's
going on with the two of them, or my name's not Crystal Clark.

She gingerly put her foot on the cold floor and shuddered.
The mornings were quite a bit colder than she had expected. She
skipped across the floor to keep her feet from touching the cold
pine boards any longer than necessary and pulled the curtain back
from the window. Kurt and Jube were leading horses out to the
corral, and Kurt waved as he saw her. She waved back and quickly
dropped the curtain. Kurt certainlywas handsome, but Crystal was
not interested in cowboys at all. No matter how good-looking.

By the time Crystal got to the dining room, everyone else had
already eaten. The sideboard held fried ham and something that
resembled scrambled eggs with green things in them. "Guess
Mexican food is all that Carmen can cook;" she said under her
breath. She chuckled as she remembered Luke's taunt about her
cooking up a Southern meal. Have to stall for time on that one.
She could cook delectable pies and decent biscuits-that was
about it.