No Place for a Lady (33 page)

"Yes, but I love starting my day on the porch while it's still
quiet:" Crystal thought back to her father's veranda, of the many
times her family had exchanged pleasantries or ended their day
together at dusk on a sultry Southern night.

"Better enjoy the mild weather while you can. This time of year
it can change faster than a bronco can buck you off its back."

"I guess we need to be prepared for it. Do we have enough
firewood cut?" Crystal watched his blue eyes, searching them to
see if she was the only one having confusing emotions whenever
they were together.

"Nope. But that's one thing we'll take care of today." Luke gazed
at the western sky. "I have a feeling the bitter cold is almost on
us. Check out those low-hanging clouds"

Crystal noted the clouds to the west. Would she soon be seeing
her first snowfall?

"I reckon you and April will be starting your own ranch
pretty soon?" She hadn't meant to be so blunt. But she wanted
to know if they had set their wedding date without too much
prying, lest she appear too concerned about it. "Guess I'll have
to ask Rusty to be my foreman to run things around here after
you're married."

Luke stepped back from the porch and straightened his hat.
"We'll see .." His voice trailed off, and he changed the subject. "I'll
go get Jube started on the firewood. You can't ever have enough
wood:" He headed back in the direction of the barn, motioning
to Jube.

Crystal leaned back in her chair and finished her coffee. He had been very vague, but then it was not her business to be asking
personal questions.

She was happy for Jube and Emily. She remembered their small
but happy ceremony right after the trail drive. Emily had looked
lovely in her mother's wedding dress, an antique white lace gown.
With trailing ribbons in her hair, which had been braided to encircle her head, she'd made a striking vision and seemed to float
down the aisle of the country church to join her beloved Jube at
the altar. Crystal smiled, remembering their spoken vows and the
tenderness in Jube's eyes.

A big gust of wind whipped up again, sending the fallen leaves
scattering across the yard. Sometimes she felt like those leaves,
with no idea where she was going to end up. She knew she loved
this place, but was it a good idea to stay without a partner to care
about? Without someone who came home every night to spend
the long winter evenings with her? Longing for someone to love
pierced her heart. I know, God, that You have Your own timetable,
but is there someone out there for me?

Crystal and Carmen had just cleaned the kitchen after lunch
when there was a sharp knock at the door. "I'll get it, Crystal"
Carmen threw open the door and there, with the wind whipping
around her skirts, was Emily.

"Come in, Emily." Carmen pulled her through the door, closed
it against the wind, and led Emily into the parlor. Crystal was
right behind Carmen.

"You look marvelous, Emily," Carmen said as Emily removed
her coat.

Emily's face was pink from the wind. She pulled off her gloves,
laid them aside, and said, "I just couldn't wait another minute to
tell you, Crystal" Emily's eyes flashed with excitement.

"I'll leave you two alone:" Carmen started toward the kitchen,
but Emily stopped her.

"No, Carmen. I want you to stay." Emily patted the settee and
motioned them to take a seat.

"My goodness. Hurry, tell us;' Crystal said.

Emily sat between them and took a deep breath. "Jube and I
are going to have a baby!"

"Oh my! How exciting!" Crystal reached over and hugged
Emily. "I'm so happy for you two."

"We weren't expecting to have a baby quite this soon, but ... we're
so happy. Although I have to admit I am a little nervous" Emily
looked down at her hands, rubbing them together for warmth.

Carmen's eyes were wide with happiness, and she patted Emily's hand. "This is wonderful. I too am happy for you. I helped
deliver my sister's baby, if you need a midwife:"

"Thank you, Carmen, but I went to see Dr. Gibbons in town,
so hopefully it won't take him long to get to me when the time
comes.

Crystal could tell from Carmen's expression that she was
pleased to be a part of this news, and she said, "And Jube never
said a word to me this morning:"

"He knew I wanted to be the first to tell you. Mama is already
starting to knit baby booties:"

They all laughed. Over cookies and milk, they continued to talk
with excitement about everything concerning a baby. Finally Emily
said that she had to get back to the cabin. Crystal had offered her and Jube the line shack that the cowboys used during the winter
until they could build a cabin next spring.

"A baby will be a wonderful change around here, Emily. Once
again, I am tickled for you and Jube." Crystal hooked her arm in
Emily's and walked with her outside. "When your time gets close,
you must stay either with your mother or with me. It'll be a lot
closer than the line cabin:"

"Oh, I couldn't do that ..:' Emily pulled herself into the wagon
and picked up the reins.

"I insist. But that's a long way off right now."

While they had been visiting, the temperature had dropped like
a rock, and now the blue-gray clouds were low and threatening.
Crystal tucked a blanket around Emily's feet.

"Now we have two to take care of. I don't want you to catch
cold, Emily. Take good care of yourself, and I'll see you soon"

"I promise to do just that. Jube is being so sweet that I don't
know if I can stand it:' Emily giggled, her curls bouncing against
the top of her shoulders.

Crystal waved good-bye as the first October snowflake touched
her cheek. Surprised, she stuck out her tongue and tasted the next
one. In Georgia, snow was not a common winter experience,
but sometimes they had a January ice storm. She shivered when
she remembered the bad blizzard of '87 that Rusty had told her
about. She pulled the coat tighter around her and watched the
snowflakes dropping out of heavy, gray clouds.

By supper time, the snow clung to the ponderosa pine boughs
with its first dusting and covered the porch steps. Carmen had stew simmering, and Crystal kept a nice fire glowing in the grate.
Rusty, Luke, and Kurt shook the snow off their coats and stomped
their feet on the porch before entering the house.

"Soon as supper is over, I'll clear you a path out the front door,
Crystal;' Luke said, hanging his coat on a peg by the door.

"I'm glad we got the wood cut today," Rusty commented to no
one in particular. He took his seat at the table. "Just in case we
might get more than a few inches tonight. Looks like it's startin'
to come down heavy now."

Once everyone was seated, Crystal asked the blessing, and
Carmen proceeded to ladle out steaming stew. Crystal had made
cornbread from a recipe she found in her aunt's cookbook.
She hoped it would taste good, but from the looks of these
hungry men, they wouldn't slow down eating long enough to
find out.

She looked around and felt a warm coziness in the camaraderie they all had sitting at the table, with the snow falling
continuously and casting its peculiar light in the toasty dining
room. While everyone ate, they talked about the day's events,
and Crystal noticed how Kurt and Carmen sat close together
but not touching. Once or twice, Crystal felt Luke's eyes on her,
but when she glanced down the table at him, he grinned. She
wished she knew what he was thinking. Her heart would just
have to get over him.

"Why don't we sit around the fire after supper and play checkers? What do you think, Crystal? Or would you rather have us
just go back to the bunkhouse?" Rusty stuffed the cornbread into
his mouth and then wiped his red beard. "With Kate gone, it sure
is nice to be around two lovely ladies"

Carmen laughed. "Rusty, sounds to me like you don't want to
go back to that cold bunkhouse:"

"Doggone straight"

Everyone laughed, and Carmen started clearing the plates. Kurt
rose to help Carmen carry the dishes to the sink.

"Let's go sit by the fire. Are there any of those cookies left,
Carmen?" Crystal asked as she stood.

"I think there may be a few. Kurt and I will bring them with some
fresh coffee. Just let me get the dishes soaking in the sink."

Once comfortable by the fire, Rusty and Luke set up the checkerboard. After a few rounds, it was obvious that Luke couldn't beat
Rusty, who was an old pro at the game of checkers. Carmen and
Kurt carried a tray of cookies and hot coffee to the parlor.

"I think this would be a good time for Crystal to get out her
Autoharp and play us some tunes;' Luke said. "What do you all
think?" Everyone chimed in with eagerness to hear Crystal play.

"Oh ... all right" She blushed. "But it's been awhile:"

"Quit making excuses:" Luke settled down in his chair to get
comfortable.

Crystal fetched her Autoharp from the bedroom and began to
play. She caught Luke watching her as she sang and played, but
she looked away. His look made her nervous somehow.

Kurt dragged Carmen to her feet, and they danced around the
big room while Rusty clapped to the beat of the music. When
Crystal finally stole a glance at Luke, he was smiling broadly and
tapping the toe of his worn boot against the hardwood floor.

Luke thought he was looking into the face of an angel as
Crystal strummed the Autoharp with her slender fingers. The
firelight created soft shadows on her sweet, oval face, and she appeared to be lost in thought as she sang. When the time was
right, he would tell her that he had broken off his engagement
to April. He wasn't sure what to say. This morning he'd hedged
when she asked him about the wedding plans. But the scene he
had with April was still fresh in his mind, and he didn't want
to talk about it.

Ever since the pie bidding at the bazaar, he realized that he
didn't love April and didn't like the way she tried to lead him
around by the nose. Because her father was an important and
wealthy man, April seemed to think that everyone should fall all
over her. She was spoiled by her father. The deal he'd struck with
McBride about owning the land near Blue River didn't seem all
that important anymore.

At any rate, he racked his brain about how to tell Crystal that
he owned the ranch and she didn't. Luke didn't want to hurt her.
Once he told her, she would probably pack up and head back
South. But he didn't want her to leave. Just the opposite. He wanted
Crystal to stay here, and now that he sat here watching her sing in
her sweet, lyrical voice, he found himself wanting to kiss her. He
wondered if she felt anything about him in that way. Sometimes
women were hard for him to figure.

Luke wondered where things stood between Crystal and Josh
McBride. He can't have her! his mind screamed. But I might not
have anything to say about that. What if Crystal loved Josh? Well,
he'd wait for the time being and see how it would all play out.

His ruminating was interrupted by everyone's applause at Crystal's music. It was time to get to bed, and he was tired. It had been
a long day. He thought of Jube, who had left earlier and was clearly
eager to get back to Emily, now pregnant with their child. One day he hoped to have children. It would be nice if Crystal would
be his wife. Now where did that come from?

His breathing felt tight as he watched her put away the Autoharp. Everyone shuffled to the door, and the men donned their
coats to leave. Carmen opened the door, and the bitter chill entered
the room. "The snow is getting thick now."

"At least the wind has died down. I'll bring in another stack of
wood so you'll have it in the morning:' Luke pulled his hat on,
ran his hand around the brim as was his habit, and stepped out
onto the snow-covered porch.

Rusty was already making his way across the yard to the bunkhouse. Kurt and Carmen were saying good night. Kurt leaned
down and gave Carmen a peck on the cheek, and Luke saw a deep
flush come over Carmen's face.