“Is something wrong, Crystal? You’ve not touched the cake.”
“Not at all. I’ve had a very nice evening.” When she forced a smile, his face softened and his shoulders relaxed.
What about all those signals I got from Luke just this morning? Crystal thought. He doesn’t care about me at all.
“I was thinking that I’d better go congratulate the happy pair.” She put down the cake.
“I’ll go with you.” Emily followed Crystal across the room.
Luke stood motionless as Crystal approached him. She flashed him a strained smile and wished him well, then shook his hand with her trembling one and moved toward April.
Luke stared after her. Well, so much for worrying about her reaction. She seemed downright pleased as she sashayed on over to congratulate April. He watched them talking together and drew a sharp comparison between them. April, tall and slender, had a composed, hard look etched on her face as she coolly accepted Crystal’s wishes. Crystal, petite and gently feminine, head tilted upward, gave her most gracious smile with decorum. He was unable to hear what was said because the cowhands chose that precise time to pound him on the back with congratulations.
“Guess your money problems are over now, boss,” Curly said.
“Reckon you’ll live in this mansion now. I hear they have six bedrooms. Take your pick.” Kurt laughed.
“When’s the wedding to be?” Jube asked.
“Nothing’s been decided yet, boys. One thing at a time,” Luke answered. All the while his mind was somewhere else, on the beauty in the lavender dress.
“Crystal, how kind of you to wish us well,” April remarked tritely.
Crystal’s smile faded. “It’s the least I could do for my foreman.
” “He won’t be that much longer, I’m afraid.” April’s eyes fluttered back at Crystal.
“Don’t be too sure. Luke’s not a man to sit around and twiddle his thumbs, darling,” Crystal drawled.
“I always get what I want, one way or another,” April said, her blue eyes turning to liquid steel.
“Well, if what you want is a stubborn, thick-headed cowboy, I say good luck. I think you’re going to need it.” Crystal spun on her heels, leaving April sputtering words under her breath.
What Crystal wanted to do was cry. She was desperately trying to be kind and considerate; after all, Luke had never said anything to make her think he liked her in that way. She looked across the dance floor for Josh and made her way toward him with the best smile she could muster. He deserved a fine Christian woman.
April turned to Emily, feigning indifference. “Having a good time, Em?”
“I think the good time just came to an end. I wanted to tell you thanks for having us, but I think Papa is ready to leave now.”
“Before you go, a word of advice.” April’s blue eyes narrowed. “I think you should stick to the reverend. You two would make a perfect couple. Besides, Daddy donated the pastor’s home, and you’d have a small parcel of land to go along with it. Jube has nothing whatsoever.”
“Strange, April, I thought you were marrying a cowboy, and I don’t see that there’s any difference at all.” Emily walked past April without a backward glance.
13
Josh retrieved the carriage, then waited patiently while Crystal and Emily parted. Crystal promised Emily that she would attend the quilting circle the following Saturday. Lifting her at the waist, Josh swung her lightly up into the carriage. The fun of the party and the dancing had seemed to loosen his normal unobtrusive manner, and he was in high spirits.
While Josh talked, Crystal murmured the appropriate response, but her mind was trying to shut out the vision in her head of the handsome couple happily accepting congratulations. Stop it! she told herself. You have a fine gentleman at your side who thinks you are wonderful and witty. She turned her attention to Josh, and in spite of her thoughts, Crystal was soon laughing, especially when he described Widow Miller.
“She is as big as a watermelon about to burst. Widow Miller was lavishing all her attention on Reverend Alden and promising to fatten him up. He’s so thin he could be used as a buggy whip,” Josh said, and Crystal’s laughter joined his.
With a slight pull at the reins, Josh abruptly stopped the horses in the middle of the road, and without any warning, he reached for Crystal, pulled her close, and kissed her soundly on the lips.
His lips were soft and full, just the opposite of Luke’s thin but caressing ones. Now why was she comparing again? Crystal drew back, her hands pushing firmly against his thick chest. “Josh. Please. I barely know you.” She could still feel the warmth of his lips and felt confused about her feelings.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just that I’ve wanted to do that all evening. I don’t know what got into me.” He picked up the reins and flicked them over the horses’rumps.
Crystal could see the red flush creeping from his neck upward to his face, but she chose to ignore it and merely adjusted the wrap about her shoulders. With her respectable Southern decorum, she brushed over his embarrassment by quickly changing the subject. As she adjusted her shawl, she noticed a lone rider, his hat slung low, quietly observing her and Josh through the lodgepole and spruce.
Luke wasted no time after breakfast but hurried to the tack room to get away from Crystal’s cool regard and to finalize his list of provisions that would be needed for the trail drive. He didn’t know why he was expecting a different reaction from Crystal at the announcement of his engagement, but in the back of his mind he halfheartedly hoped she’d object. Should’ve known better.
His eyes slammed shut when he thought of her in Josh’s arms. He’d been on his way home from the party when he saw them kissing. He wondered if Josh knew about Drew. Probably not. No matter. April would make a good wife, and she was very knowledgeable about ranching since she had followed every step her father took since she was big enough to walk. He would have his spread on the Blue River. Besides, he was pushing thirty and was ready to settle down. He would grow to love April.
He jammed his list deep into his vest pocket, reached for his saddle, and carried it out to the corral. Buck pawed the dirt with his hoof at the sight of Luke. He lovingly stroked Buck’s withers and adjusted the rigging rings, then reached down to tighten the cinch. He heard a noise and turned to see Crystal and Rusty approaching.
“Where ya off to?” Rusty said.
Luke turned and waved a greeting. “Going to ride out and see how Curly is doing with the herd. Maybe lend him a hand with the strays.” He tipped his hat to Crystal and fished the list out of his vest. “Rusty, here’s a list I came up with. If you need to add anything to it, go ahead.”
“I’ll take that.” Crystal reached for the paper. “Rusty and I have things to discuss this morning, and I may have a few things for the list myself.” Crystal conducted herself in a businesslike manner, not even looking at Luke. “I’d also like a list of the extra hands you’ve hired for the trail drive and what you’ve promised them in wages. I want to be certain that I’ll be paying only for experienced hands since we can’t afford too many losses on this trail.”
Luke didn’t like this new take-charge Crystal. What did she know about losses on a cattle drive? He was doing just fine on his own. When she said she’d stay on for a while, Luke assumed she had meant for him to take over running the spread for her. “I only hired the best hands,” he answered, giving her an icy look.
“Fine. Rusty’s been filling me in on the particulars of the roundup and trail drive, and I still intend to ride with y’all.”
“Then you’ll be about as welcome as a spot on a white Sunday shirt.” He mounted Buck and glared down at her. “You’d better talk some sense into her, Rusty.”
Rusty took the toothpick he was chewing on out of his mouth before calmly answering, “Well now, I tried that. Seems she’s determined to learn firsthand.”
“She’ll only be in the way,” Luke said through clenched teeth.
�
��Please do not talk as if I’m not even standing here.” Crystal stood with her hands on her hips. Turning to Rusty, she said, “I’m ready for that shooting lesson now, Rusty.”
Luke spurred Buck out of the yard, leaving the other two to choke on a cloud of dust.
Crystal’s quick ability to learn and her keen sense of aim with the Colt in her hand made her feel more competent. She was pleased and felt that with a little more practice, she would do all right on the trail. By week’s end, true to his word, Rusty had saturated her brain with as much information as he could. He showed her how to ride a cutting horse. He demonstrated the cutting horse’s skill by using knee pressure alone to guide it, with little need for reins. The cowboys took a break to watch the lesson and perched on the top rail of the corral fence.
Crystal tried to emulate Rusty’s adeptness with his horse while picking out a steer from the few he had placed in the corral. She hadn’t anticipated the horse’s sharp sidestep and quickly lost her seat. She fell on all fours into the dust and landed at the feet of a large steer, whose sides heaved and nostrils flared. It hadn’t looked this big from the horse’s back! “Nice steer,” she said, backing away.
Kurt, Curly, and Jube roared with laughter, slapped their thighs, and poked one another at the sight of their proper boss covered with dust. But just as quickly they clamored down to assist her. She rubbed her backside but laughed right along with them and was ready to try again.
Crystal pulled herself back into the saddle just as Luke reined Buck in to watch the commotion. This time she was much better at it. When she had singled out the steer she wanted, Crystal urged it gently to the edge of the herd, and her mount rushed behind the steer, separating it out of the herd. When the steer found itself outside the herd, it tried to go back, but instantly the horse wheeled to the left and ran alongside it.
The steer tried to dodge the horse, but each time, the horse stopped and wheeled around again, keeping it outside the herd, until the steer gave up and ran out of the herd. All the while, Crystal managed to keep her seat. Rusty and the punchers cheered loudly for her, which was great for her pride, but she knew it was the alert and well-trained horse that actually did the work. It was the most fun she’d had in a long time, and through it all she knew she had earned the drovers’respect.
Luke said nothing, just sat with his arms across the pommel of the saddle, hat pulled low over his eyes. The past week, he’d been avoiding her like a bad case of the measles. Crystal pretended that it didn’t matter, but in truth she couldn’t understand why they couldn’t still be friends, even though he was engaged.
Later in the afternoon, when Rusty and Crystal were in the barn putting away the lariats and bridles, Rusty blurted out, “Crystal, I’ve seen the way Luke looks at you and how the sparks always fly whenever you two are in the same place.” He scratched his beard thoughtfully, which Crystal knew meant he was in a pensive mood. “Are you sure there’s nothin’going on between you two? I’m not blind, you know.”
“There is nothing between us, Rusty, believe me,” Crystal answered a bit too quickly. “I don’t usually flirt with engaged men, so put your mind at ease.” She shook her head. “Thanks for the horse-handling instructions, Rusty. I need to go get cleaned up and rustle up supper.” She hurried out of the barn to avoid any further questions, but she knew she hadn’t fooled Rusty one bit.
“Have something for you.” Luke held a bundle out toward Crystal as she approached the porch.
“What is this?” She drew her breath in sharply. “Oh, you found it.” With shaking hands she unfolded the bundle. There, wrapped with the crumpled cream material, lay her ivory hat. Luke thought it looked more like a wrinkled mushroom than the beautiful hat. She held it to her chest as tears began to well up, spilling over her sunburned cheeks and onto the bundle she caressed.
“I rode down the ravine where . . . well, anyhow, I came across it and thought you might still like to have it. I didn’t mean to upset you and make you cry.” He resisted the urge to wipe away her tears and shifted his weight from one boot heel to the other, spurs jingling.
Crystal sniffed and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. “It’s okay, Luke. The material and hat made me think about Aunt Kate. I miss her so much sometimes that it hurts. God bless her sweet soul.” She moved past him, and a sob caught in her throat as she opened the front door. “Thank you, Luke. I’ll try to get the stains out. Maybe someday I’ll make it into a dress for a special occasion.”
Feeling responsible for Crystal’s tears, Luke floundered for something to say. “Uh . . . I didn’t mean to yell at you the other day. I am really sorry about Kate. I loved her like a mother. But I don’t think you should be going on the trail drive. This is definitely a man’s job. It’s too dangerous, and you could get hurt. Stay here and make your dress or something . . .”
Crystal stiffened. “Indeed.” She gazed at him coolly through misty eyes. “We shall see. This is my ranch, and I will run it firsthand. That is what I intend to do, with or without your blessing.”
He watched her go, and the door slammed behind her. Luke just shook his head. Foolish woman. He’d be glad when the beef was shipped and done with. Maybe she would go back to Georgia then, and he wouldn’t have to see her every day. But he sure would miss those green eyes.
14
Crystal bounced along in the buckboard, urging Bess over the rugged trail toward the Johnsons’soddy and humming a tune on this cloudless day. Her sanguine nature kept her from feeling down for long. The only visible motion in the bright azure sky was two blue jays showing off their wings in the brilliant sunshine. Though the misty mornings in the South took several hours to burn off, Crystal never failed to marvel that in the Rockies, every morning dawned bright and clear.
She was grateful for this ride alone, for it gave her time to think and delight in every new plant and flower she came upon. Bear grass, or—as Rusty said some called it—squaw grass, was blooming. What appeared to be conical, white clusters from a distance in the meadow were striking white flowers atop their slender stems. Amazing to her was the fact that they bloomed every five to seven years. How lucky she felt to be able to behold their cream finery. Rusty had told her the leaves were used by Indians to weave fine baskets, and whenever the squaw grass was flowering, the young mountain bluebirds were fledging. What a sweet thought.
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin . . . That verse had been a comfort to her since Kate’s death. Crystal realized again that she need not worry. Her future was in the hands of the very One who had ordained all of her days.
Rusty had adopted her, taken her under his wing, and she couldn’t have been more grateful. The tough cowpuncher was taciturn and doggedly independent. He embodied a keen wisdom that living on the land had afforded him. Yes, he was becoming very dear to her.
Once she had asked him why he hadn’t married Kate. He’d said she was still in love with the memory of her dead husband, but sometimes he felt like she was beginning to return his feelings. Besides, he’d been working the Aspengold outfit for twelve years. He didn’t have much to offer her. Crystal had been stunned to think it had kept him from marrying her all those years. So tragic. Amazing how men thought.
Crystal believed that true love was hard to come by. Which made her stop and examine her own feelings. What was she truly feeling about Luke? Jealousy? Why in the world was she drawn to a loud, flirtatious, pigheaded cowpoke? Well, he’d made his decision to marry April, and though it left a dull ache in her chest, she wasn’t certain that it was love.
She supposed April would be at the quilting circle today as well. They had been working on a quilt for the reverend, and today they would be discussing the upcoming church bazaar.
The outlying buildings of the Johnson farm came into view, and Crystal flicked the reins across Bess’s back. She guided the buggy to a stop alongside a sharp black surrey with red velvet cushions that she recognized right away as April’s.
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p; The front door of the soddy was propped open, and Crystal walked inside. Emily sat her cup and saucer down and greeted her warmly.
“Crystal. Come in. We were just getting started.” Emily guided her to the kitchen table where coffee and warm muffins were laid out, and poured a cup for her.
The ladies sat in a semicircle at the one side of the large room that served as Sara’s parlor. The other side served as the kitchen. Chattering dwindled as Sara exchanged pleasantries with Crystal and pulled her toward the group. Beth drew up another chair for Crystal, seating her next to Flo. “I believe you know everyone here, am I right?”
Crystal glanced around the circle of familiar faces and nodded. Alice smiled in her direction, and April’s lips curved upward in a smile, although her eyes remained cold.
Mary, in her no-nonsense fashion, took control of the meeting. “As I was saying, this year’s bazaar is to be the biggest and best. We will be trying to raise money for a new organ.” She shoved her sliding spectacles up the bridge of her nose.
“We’ll also need to buy new hymnals this year. The ones we have now are breaking apart at the binding,” Sara added.
April tossed her silvery-blonde hair across her back and leaned on the edge of her chair. “Mrs. Franklin, maybe my father could donate most of the money for church. Don’t you think so, Mother?” Alice flashed her daughter a dumbfounded look. “Well, I . . . couldn’t speak for your father . . .” Her answer dangled in the pregnant silence of the room.
“But that would take all the joy and purpose out of having our yearly church bazaar in the first place, April.” Mary voiced her disapproval, puffing up her stout bosom.
“She’s right, April. The community looks forward to the bazaar every year.” Alice seemed to have found her voice again.
April’s face colored pink, and she sat back in her chair.
“As I was saying, there’s much to do in preparation. I’ll need someone to head up a committee of able-bodied men to see that the booths are erected. Do I have any volunteers?” Mary scanned the room.
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