No Place for a Lady (12 page)

"Mornin, Kate:" He nodded at Crystal. "Been hot enough for
ya?" He placed the broom against the wall, appearing grateful for
an excuse to stop and visit.

"Boy howdy!" Kate replied, mopping her face with a handkerchief. "Never thought I'd say I'd be glad for cold weather, but this
year's an exception"

John turned to Crystal. "Miss Clark, you never look wilted in
this heat. Want to let us in on your secret?"

"Pshaw! If y'all think this is hot, you wouldn't be able to
stand the humidity in the South. You'd think a wet dishrag had slapped you in the face." Her green eyes sparkled with
playfulness. "Besides, Mr. Franklin, you don't seem to be any
the worse for wear."

John flashed a warm smile at Crystal's teasing and Crystal felt
instant approval from him. It was obvious that he and his wife
were Kate's best friends, and this pleased her immensely.

"Come on in and let me holler for Mary. She's upstairs cleaning
the breakfast dishes:"

They entered the store, and a huge calico cat slipped from its
perch on the wooden countertop and wound itself around Crystal's
petticoats. She reached down to stroke the cat's fur and scratch
the top of its head. "What's its name?"

"That's Bandit. But don't let the name fool you. She's fat and
near to burstin' with a litter:' John snorted.

"She's beautiful. I had a cat back in Georgia;' she said.

Mary swept into the room with a ready smile, spectacles low
on her nose. "I thought I heard voices. How's life treating you?"

"Fair to middlin', Mary. How'bout you?" Kate answered, giving
Mary a quick hug.

"Just fine, Kate. I'm making up a fresh pot of coffee and would
love it if you two would stay and have some. Unless you'd rather
have tea?"

"Sure, we could stay. Coffee would be fine, and we've got the
whole day. Me and Crystal needed a change of scenery. Not much
a body can do in this heat"

Mary led the way to the back and up a stairway into a sunny,
spotless kitchen in the living quarters above the store.

"Indeed. Besides, I need to pick up my boots, and I'd like to
look at some fabric for a new dress;' Crystal said.

"Oh, you're making one for April's birthday party? I hear it's
going to be the biggest party ever!"

"Well ... no, I didn't know she was having a birthday. Maybe
I'm not invited"

"Oh yes!" Mary bobbed her dark head up and down. "Just about
everyone around for miles is invited. In fact, I placed your invitation in Kate's mailbox myself just yesterday. And you have another
letter postmarked Georgia. Masculine handwriting, I'll wager."

Crystal's heart skipped a beat. Drew. It has to be. She was looking forward to a letter from home. It seemed so far away.

Mary prattled on as she placed her best china on a fine lace
tablecloth amid a platter of warm muffins. "Kate, if you'll pour
the coffee, I'll run and get your mail, and you can look it over if
you want"

"It can wait;" Kate said.

"Oh, it's no bother." With her high-buttoned shoes ringing out
on the hardwood floor, Mary hurried out and returned breathless
in a few moments. There were several pieces of mail for Kate, the
invitation, and a letter from Drew for Crystal.

Kate and Mary watched as Crystal read the letter. When she
laid it aside and bit into a muffin, both women said in unison,
"Well?"

Crystal laughed. She now had two mothers. It would be hard
to have privacy while she lived here.

"Oh, the usual. Hot and humid. He asked about my welfare,
and he said he's getting married to Amy VanCleeve . . "Her voice
grew quiet, and she looked wistfully out the window. There was
a sharp intake of breath from the two older ladies as they held
their cups in midair.

"Dear me!" Mary said.

"My goodness! I thought he was waiting for your answer once
you had time to consider;' Kate said.

"Don't worry. I'm fine. I already told you, Aunt Kate, that I
couldn't see myself married to him;" Crystal replied with more
confidence than she felt.

"Then why the long face?" Kate said.

"I guess I didn't want him to be with anyone else. Isn't that
silly of me? I guess I always thought he would be there for me.
We were fairly close. But I'm surprised I didn't figure out that
Drew would marry someone else so soon. I've been away too
long for him to wait, I guess." She tried to pretend that she
wasn't hurt and absentmindedly smoothed the wrinkles in her
dress. She laid the muffin back on her plate and sighed. "I'm
not sure what I expected. Deep down I knew I didn't want to
be a politician's wife. But it hurts to think he's forgotten me so
quickly. I haven't been gone that long. I guess my pride is hurt
more than anything."

"I'm sorry, Crystal" Kate reached out and patted her hand.

Mary popped to her feet. "Come. Let's find you the best piece
of goods I have in stock for a dress worthy of a princess. I know
I have just the thing for your dark hair and green eyes:"

She dragged Crystal to her feet and pulled her in the direction
of the store. Behind them, Kate waved at them to go ahead without
her and said, "I've a personal errand to run:"

The morning soon vanished as Crystal looked over the many
bolts of material and patterns with Mary. The older woman had an eye for color and fashion that was surprising, and by the time
she had settled on a cream silk, Crystal knew she had made a
dear and wise friend. Mary told her how she had always wanted
children, but God had not seen fit to allow her this pleasure.

"I'm indeed sorry, but I'll bet if you treat everyone as you have
me, Mary, then you have many children:" Crystal reached out to
touch her hand and saw Mary's eyes shine.

Mary wrapped the fabric and the work boots and neatly tied
a string around the two parcels, then set them aside until Kate
returned. "I'm going to love getting to know you better:"

Crystal warmed at her new friendship with the older lady.
"Thank you." She glanced at the watch pinned to her blouse.
"Please tell Aunt Kate that I'll meet her at Flo's for lunch at 12:30.
That gives me just about a half hour to take a look around:"

Crystal decided to peruse the rest of what the town had to
offer. She stepped out onto the plank walk and opened her parasol
against the sun. The town was rugged looking, but new businesses
were beginning to spring up and flourish.

Entrepreneurs had hurried to open the new shops. According
to Kate, some had hoped to get rich serving the community of
miners, ranchers, and farmers. A weather-beaten sign boasted
both doctor and dentist next to a bathhouse, where a bath and
shave cost $1.50. Farther down the street was an attorney-at-law,
but Crystal's eyes latched on to a shop across the street, whose
gleaming window glass was painted with the words "Millinery."

She strode quickly across the street and stepped into the tiny
shop. A bell tinkled softly above the door. The store clerk, a woman in her midthirties, paused in her paperwork behind the counter and greeted Crystal with a warm smile. When the clerk approached her, Crystal detected a slight limp in her walk.

"I'm Ruth Stibble, and you must be new to Steamboat"

"My name is Crystal. I'm Kate Morgan's niece. Nice to meet
you, Ruth"

"Is there anything special that you'd like to see?"

"Maybe I could take a look at your hats:"

Ruth invited her to take all the time she needed.

Crystal was bursting with excitement at the prospect of finding
a new hat to match the cream dress she was going to make. But
she must be frugal with the bit of money she had. She didn't have
much money. Watching every penny was something that she had
to learn after selling her family home.

After examining every single hat in the shop, Crystal noticed
the lateness of the hour, so she settled on a beautiful ivory hat
trimmed with tiny mauve roses and covered with a mantle of
netting. Drew would have loved this hat ... and Luke will hate it.
She giggled.

Ruth told her she had made an excellent choice. As Crystal counted out the last of her bills, she wondered if she had
made an overly impulsive purchase. Hatbox in one hand and
parasol in the other, she left the shop and walked straight into
Josh McBride.

"This is a pleasure" He steadied her elbow and took the hatbox
from her. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" His brown eyes
crinkled at the corners when he smiled at her. Under his warm
gaze, so different from the brooding way Luke often looked at her,
she felt small and pretty. Josh kept his hand on her elbow.

"I've tarried too long at the millinery's. I promised to be at Flo's
Cafe ten minutes ago" She felt a little flustered by his firm hand.

"May I escort you?" Without waiting for her answer, he steered
her in the direction of the cafe. As they walked, he talked about
how much he had enjoyed dancing with her. "Later I tried to find
you for another dance, but you were nowhere around."

"To be quite honest, I was beginning to have a headache and
decided to sit the rest of the dancing out" She had indeed had
a headache the next morning. Crystal did not want to tell him
how his sister had hurt her feelings, or that she had been outside
making a fool of herself with Luke.

"I'm so sorry." Then he added, "I hope you've received April's
birthday invitation. I told her I wanted to escort you:' He smiled
at her again. He was so cheerful, and he had the warmest brown
eyes that shone every time he smiled, Crystal noted. His sandy
brown hair curled just under the edge of his fine Stetson hat.

So ... it wasn't April who had invited her. Well, no matter,
she was going. Let it be known that Crystal Clark never missed
a party. No siree.

"I'd enjoy that very much, josh." She smiled at him, thinking
how much shorter he was than Luke. At least she didn't have to
crane her neck up just to talk to him. "But I must go now and
meet Aunt Kate:"

They parted, and josh stood watching her go. Crystal was anxious to show Kate her new hat.

Crystal and Kate lingered over their coffee longer than usual
while talking with Flo, who rested with her feet propped up on a nearby chair. Most of her customers had eaten, and the cafe was
almost deserted.

"I really like your new hat. It suits you." Kate admired her niece
from across the table. "Guess we'd better be moseyin' on back,
Crystal. I told Rusty we'd be back before dark."

"I'm so full, I don't know if I can even move;' Crystal moaned.
She stood, gathered her packages, and followed Kate out to the
wagon. Kate looked up at the ominous sky, now a dark blue-gray
that lay to the northwest.

"Is something wrong?"

Kate covered the parcels with a tarp in the back of the wagon.
"I expect we might get the much-needed rain after all. I just want
everything covered up in case," she said.