“Guess it’s like riding a bicycle.” Jeremy could feel the grin stretching his lips. Funny. He’d grinned more since Crystal McCord had breezed into town than he had since Lindsey took Beka. For some reason, the thought wiped the smile from his face. He couldn’t afford to lose his focus. “Anyway, I’m glad you were around.”
“Me, too.” She pointed and he followed her gaze.
The calf, front legs still bent, extended his wobbly back legs and pushed himself up. Just before he stood upright, he trembled and fell back to the ground. But in less than a second, he tried again. On the third try, he stood, shaky but standing.
Jeremy smiled. “It looks like our job here is done.”
She nodded but kept her gaze on the calf, getting a good start on his first meal.
He adjusted his hat. “So I guess I’m going to call it a day and go get cleaned up.”
She waved absently. “Good deal.”
“See you in the morning.” He climbed up on Nacho’s back and shifted the reins. When he was almost to the main road, he glanced back at the tiny white dot that was Crystal still sitting on the hill watching the cow and calf.
One advantage of farm life—usually things were exactly what they seemed to be. Especially for the last several months, that fact had allowed him to operate on automatic pilot. But with Crystal McCord around, he had a feeling those days were long gone.
CHAPTER 8
Crystal lifted the oblong casserole dish out of the hot soapy water and handed it to Elyse.
Her sister ran it under the faucet. “So you helped Jeremy deliver a calf today?” Elyse’s voice shook a little.
Crystal smiled. “You make it sound so scary. The cow was glad to have our help. And we didn’t have to do much. It could have been a lot worse.”
“Yeah. You could have gone back to New York, and I could have had to help him.” Elyse shivered.
Crystal decided a change of subject was in order, for both their sakes. She didn’t want to think about how badly she needed to be back in New York. And she knew Elyse would rather not think about cows.
She passed Elyse a plate. “As crazy as it may sound, it feels good to be doing dishes with you again. Don’t tell the others, but I always kind of liked kitchen duty, especially before Mama got a dishwasher.”
Elyse arranged the glass pan in the draining rack and swiped her hair away from her face with the back of her hand. “I’m glad my lack of a dishwasher is good for something. Even if it’s just a shot of nostalgia for you.”
“Aw c’mon, admit it.” Crystal slid the last plate beneath the bubbles and attacked it vigorously. “There’s something cathartic about washing dishes by hand. Life seems so simple when you’re up to your elbows in suds.”
Elyse shook her head. “Give me a tub full of soapy bubbles over a sink full of soapy bubbles any day.”
Crystal laughed. “Remember how Mama used to say, ‘Calgon, take me away’?”
Elyse nodded. “We had no idea what she meant. But now that’s exactly how I feel sometimes.”
The phone rang.
“That’s what usually happens when I try for a bubble bath, actually. The phone rings.” Elyse wiped her hands on a dish towel. “Can you handle the rest while I get this?”
“You betcha. It’s good for my psyche, remember?”
Elyse chuckled as she picked up the phone.
She hung up just as Crystal draped the dishcloth over the back of the sink and gave a contented sigh that always accompanied a job well done.
Elyse grinned. “Nice and shiny.”
Crystal took the good-natured teasing for what it was. It was good to be home. “Thanks.”
“That was Rachel Westwood on the phone.”
“The chiropractor Luke is building an office for?” Luke had declined their supper invitation because he was working late.
Elyse nodded.
Crystal’s stomach lurched. “Is Luke okay?”
“I’m sure he is. She was calling about her chocolate lab.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
Elyse slipped on her shoes. “He’s cowering in the bedroom. She was telling me about it at church the other day. She and her husband can’t figure out why he’s suddenly started doing that sometimes. I made her promise next time he took refuge in the bedroom she’d call me.”
Crystal looked at the time on her phone. “It’s a little late for a house call, isn’t it?”
Elyse glanced up at the kitchen clock and shrugged. “It’s only eight. If I don’t see him during an actual episode, I won’t know why he does it.”
“Then I guess you’d better go.” Which meant she’d better go, too. Back over to the house to face the long night.
Elyse grabbed her car keys. “Come with me. We can stop on the way home and get ice cream.”
“Really? Are you sure that would be okay?”
“I know it would. Rachel has some friends over, and they’ll be happy to meet you.”
“Meet me?”
“My sister, the New York actress.”
Crystal laughed. “I’m sure you’re just being nice, but I’ll ride along with you if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
Twenty minutes later, they stood on the porch of the big ranch house. Elyse rang the doorbell.
The door swung open and a thirty-something redheaded woman with beautiful green eyes smiled at them. “Come in.” Inside the house, she shook Crystal’s hand. “I’m Rachel Westwood. You must be Crystal.”
Crystal nodded.
Rachel motioned toward the handsome cowboy who’d walked into the foyer to stand beside her. “This is my husband, Jack.” She turned to him. “Honey, introduce Crystal to Allie and Daniel while I take Elyse to the bedroom to see Cocoa. Maybe she can coax her out.”
“We’ve tried everything ... even doggy treats,” Crystal heard her say as she and Elyse headed down the hallway.
Crystal followed Jack into the living room, where a couple looked up from a basketball game on TV. A black labrador lying on the rug gave a cursory bark but didn’t get up.
“That’s Shadow,” Jack explained. “Whatever is upsetting Cocoa apparently doesn’t bother her.”
The man on the couch picked up the remote control and hit the MUTE button. He and the woman stood as Jack introduced them to Crystal.
“These are our friends, Daniel and Allie Montgomery. We’ve all discovered a common love of Razorback basketball. Or at least Daniel and I have. Rachel and Allie tolerate it, I think.”
“Don’t let me keep you from your game.” Crystal motioned toward the remote. “You can turn the sound back on.”
Allie chuckled, her blue eyes twinkling. “Don’t be silly. It’s halftime or Daniel wouldn’t have turned it down.”
Crystal smiled. “I totally understand. We McCords are Razorback fans, too, even though football is more our game.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, Crystal,” Allie said. “We’ve heard so much about you.”
“I hope it wasn’t all bad.”
“Bad? Are you kidding me?” Allie shook her head. “We’re all hoping you’ll decide to put on a workshop while you’re here.”
Crystal tilted her head. “A workshop?”
“A woman used to come down from Chicago and do a drama day camp for the local kids when I was growing up. Before your time.” Allie laughed. “We loved it.”
“I didn’t know that. We—” Crystal cleared her throat. “I took classes at the Imperial Studio of the Arts in Pocahontas when I was young. I don’t think we ever had anything like that here in Shady Grove then.”
Allie shook her head. “No, she quit after us. Hmm ... maybe we drove her out of town.”
“The truth comes out,” Daniel said dryly.
She slapped at him. “Not me, of course, but maybe Lark or Victoria.” She glanced back at Crystal. “Two more of my and Rachel’s friends. You’ll love them. Although, Daniel’s right. Together, we could usually find some kind of trouble to get into.”
“Some things never change, do they, man?” Jack said teasingly.
Daniel laughed, but he put his arm around Allie’s waist.
“Are you guys ganging up on Allie?” Rachel asked as she and Elyse came back in the room, followed by a friendly-looking chocolate lab.
Jack snorted. “Who? Us?” He held out his hand to the dog. “Hey, buddy. You feeling better?”
Cocoa cast a nervous glance around the room but trotted over to his master. Shadow stood and padded across the room to Elyse.
Rachel beamed. “Elyse figured out what was wrong.”
Jack glanced up from where he was rubbing the dog behind the ears. “What?”
“March Madness—it’s our basketball kick, combined with the new surround sound system.”
“Huh?”
“The whistles. He hates the refs’ whistles.” She turned to Elyse. “So if we turn off surround sound while we watch the ball games, do you think it’ll be okay?”
Elyse nodded, her own attention focused on Shadow. Crystal noticed her olive skin took on a hint of red with all eyes on her. “That should be fine,” she said softly. “If not, you can just get Cocoa settled in the bedroom with some toys and food and water before you start the game.”
“Not that we’ll have to worry about that anymore until next season unless the Hogs do better this second half,” Daniel said.
Jack winced. “Ouch. True. But it’s a big relief to know what was causing her to bolt for the bedroom.”
Allie nodded. “She was giving us a complex. Every time we come over lately, she starts acting funny.”
Daniel scooted his wife over against him. “Good to know he’s just allergic to basketball and not us.”
“We’d better go,” Elyse said softly.
As if she understood Elyse’s words, Cocoa trotted over to her. She bent down and told both dogs good-bye then straightened.
Admiration flitted across Rachel’s face. “Thank you again, Elyse.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“Nice meeting you,” Crystal said.
Everyone echoed her words.
“Let me know if you decide to put on a workshop, Crystal,” Allie called.
“What kind of workshop?” Elyse asked as they pulled out onto the road.
Crystal told her about their conversation.
“That sounds like something you’d love,” Elyse said.
“It would be fun, I think. But I can’t do it while I’m supposed to be watching the ranch.”
“No, but you could do it when Mama and Daddy get home.”
“Bite your tongue. I have to go back to New York the second they get back. I’m really close to the possibility of a Broadway role, Elyse.”
Elyse nodded. “You can’t take a chance on missing that opportunity. Not after you’ve worked this long for it.”
After a quick pass through Dairy Queen to get ice cream, they headed home. As they pulled into the driveway in front of the McCord house, Elyse looked over at Crystal. “Want me to come in with you?”
“I don’t know,” Crystal joked. “Are you going to tell me a bedtime story?”
Elyse chuckled. “I could throw the chew toy for you until you get tired.”
“Hmm ... I think I’ll be okay.” She reached over and gave her sister a sideways hug. “You were great tonight.”
“Thanks. ’Night.”
When Crystal’s foot touched the third step of the front porch stairs, she stopped and shifted her weight on it again then smiled. That board still squeaked. After all these years. Some things never changed. She scanned the huge wraparound porch. Like the way the moonlight made the oak-plank floor look silver.
She slid her key in the front door lock and pushed the door open. She stepped into the dark house, flipping the light switch on the wall as she went. Elyse’s taillights reflected in the glass door as she closed it.
Without allowing the quietness to seep into her mind, she took the stairs two at a time and grabbed a blanket, a quilt, and a pillow from the hall closet. She cast a glance at the surrounding doors, some open, some closed. One door in particular drew her attention. It was closed. Which was just how she intended to leave it.
She balanced her burden going down the stairs. “Look out, couch. Here I come.”
She made her bed on the sofa in the living room then settled in for a good night’s sleep.
An hour later, she was still lying there, fighting demons and arguing with naysayers in her mind. Finally, she sat up and curled her legs up under her. She glanced over at her daddy’s ratty recliner. She’d sat in here a lot with him, both of them reading Zane Grey or C.S. Lewis.
A scene flashed through her head. Graduation night after the ceremony. She’d come home instead of going out with friends.
And she’d been right here on this sofa when the call had come. Her daddy had been reading the newspaper before he answered the phone. She could still see the sports page flutter to the floor as his face turned the oddest shade of gray she’d ever seen. He’d hung up the phone and given her a look so terrifying that she’d burst into tears before he said a word.
She pushed the memories from her mind and jumped up, snatching her blankets and pillow off the couch. For a second, she stood in the living room, clutching her bedclothes. Such a big house. But nowhere she wanted to sleep.
She tiptoed to the front door and opened it. The quiet yard loomed big, swathed in shadows and moonlight. She dragged her blankets with her over to a double rocker with a padded seat.
She sat quietly for a while, wondering what God would think if she asked Him to give her peace. He’d probably think she was a little late in the asking. And He’d be right.
Finally, she put her pillow down at the end of the rocker, stretched out on her side to look out at the night sky, and tugged the blankets snug around her. She lay quietly in the dark and watched the twinkling stars waltz to the crickets’ symphony. She’d followed those stars home.
Now what?
CHAPTER 9
“I ain’t wakin’ her up.” Slim shifted his chew of tobacco and spat on the ground.
“Wakin’ who up?” Jeremy said as he came around the barn to where the cowhands were huddled.
Slim jabbed a thumb over his shoulder toward the house. “Sleepin’ Beauty.”
The other guys laughed.
Slim scowled. “Laugh if you wanna. But I don’t see any volunteers.”
Jeremy glanced toward the house. “How do you know she’s still in bed? Maybe she’s on the phone or something.”
“Ain’t in bed. She’s zonked out right on the front porch.”
The Reluctant Cowgirl Page 8