[Desert Roses 03] - Beneath A Harvest Sky (3 page)

“God bless that woman. She always seems to know just the right way to work herself into my heart.” He gave a little wave and hurried out of the dining room.

Rainy could only think to smile and apologize. “I’m really sorr y. If you feel it inappropriate to stay . . .”

“Not at all. We’re both adults and we’re obviously both hungry,” he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“So is Sonny not staying?” the Harvey waitress asked as she passed their table.

“No, he had to tend to another matter,” Rainy replied.

“We’re ready to give you our orders if you like,” Duncan added. He looked at Rainy with an expression that almost seemed sympathetic.

Maybe,
she thought,
he understands how I feel.
Wouldn’t it be marvelous if a man could just look at the situation
and comprehend the details of the matter without having
to ask a lot of questions?
Rainy had often enjoyed the quiet companionship of her parents. They worked so well together and almost seemed to read each other’s minds.

“And what will you have?”

Rainy broke free from her thoughts. She looked up to find both the waitress and Duncan watching her quite intently. “I’ll have the beef,” she murmured without bothering to look at the menu.

The waitress wrote down their orders, then went off to tend her other tables. Rainy felt the discomfort of not knowing what to say. She knew Duncan Hartford from his work at the Indian Museum and Art Gallery, but she didn’t know him all that well. What she did know was that she thought him one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen and she enjoyed his kind and gentle nature when he dealt with the demanding tour groups.

She hesitated, then cleared her throat with a delicate little cough. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your plans.” She glanced up to find him gazing at her.

“My plans for a quick meal alone were worth interrupting. Especially when I can share the company of one as pleasant as yourself.” He toyed with his necktie and smiled.

Rainy felt her stomach do a flip and reached for her water. Perhaps a drink would help to settle her nerves. “I’ve long admired your Scottish brogue,” she said out of desperation when the water didn’t do anything to calm her. “My family is also from Scotland. My father was born in Edinburgh.”

“Truly?” Duncan asked, his tone revealing his surprise. “I was actually born here in the United States, but my father is a Methodist minister, and the call took him to the land of his ancestors to preach. We moved shortly after my birth and lived there for twelve years.

I’ve refined my speech a bit since returning. I suppose an absence of nearly twenty years should alter the cadence and intonations rather completely, but . . .” he said, leaning in closer, “I can roll my
r
’s in a right bonny fashion if I’ve a mind to do it.” He emphasized his brogue, making Rainy laugh.

The Harvey Girl again appeared, bringing them a pot of English tea. Rainy smiled when she realized Duncan had ordered tea.

“Most American men prefer coffee,” she said.

“Can’t say I’m not given over to drinking a cup now and again,” Duncan admitted. “But for supper, I prefer tea.”

Rainy thought it all marvelous. “So your parents are Scottish?” She stirred a bit of cream into her tea and noticed Duncan did likewise.

“Actually we’re all American-born. My father’s father was a Scot who lived in the borderlands, and his mother was English. Their families strictly forbade them to see each other, but young love refused to listen.” He smiled and leaned forward. “They eloped and eventually, because both families refused to accept the marriage, they came to America. My mother’s people are Scottish through and through. None of those distasteful English skeletons to hide.” He pulled back and drank his tea.

Rainy sipped from her cup for a moment. They had a great deal in common—more so than she might have imagined. “My ancestors are Scottish and English as well. My uncle Sean still lives on a farm outside of Edinburgh. My parents would like to go back for a visit someday. Of course, with the economy as it is now— banks failing and the gold standard crumbling—I think they’re almost afraid to hope for such a thing.”

“It is a bleak time, to be sure.”

The waitress arrived and in perfect Harvey fashion served their meals. “I must say, the breaded pork tenderloin is my favorite,” she told Duncan as she fussed over him and made certain he had what he needed. But true to her job, she turned equal attention on Rainy as she placed the roasted loin of beef in front of her. “And this is my second favorite. I think the chef does it up better than just about any place along the Santa Fe line.”

Rainy smiled. “It certainly looks good.”

The Harvey Girl made certain they had everything they could possibly need, then left them to the privacy of their meal. Rainy looked up with uncertainty.

“Would you like to say grace?”

Duncan threw her a look of admiration. “I would like it very much.”

He murmured a prayer and blessed the food, leaving Rainy at peace for the first time in days.
How I’ve
longed for God to send a man into my life who I could seriously
consider as a husband. Not only is Duncan Hartford
handsome in a rugged and understated way, but he holds to
my faith and beliefs. Is he the one, God?
She looked at Duncan even as she poised the question in her mind.

He sliced into his pork and extended her a piece.

“Would you like to try it?”

Rainy shook her head. “No, thank you. I’ve had it many times before. It’s also one of my favorites.”

They ate in silence for some time before Duncan braved the next round of questions. “So where do your parents live?”

“Albuquerque. My father works for the university there,” Rainy added. “I used to work with him.” She immediately regretted the words. Oh, how she’d tried to bury that part of her life.

“Oh? What did you do there?”

Rainy tiptoed ever so cautiously through the memories of her scarred past. No sense waking sleeping dragons. “I worked with him in the history department. He’s a professor of history, and I hold a master’s degree in history with a special focus on the American Indians—particularly the Hopi, Navajo, Zuni, and Pueblo.”

“How marvelous. You truly are the right woman to be leading the Detour trips.”

“I love the Southwest,” she admitted. She forced herself to sound calm and unflustered when all the while her heart was pounding like a racehorse’s hooves in the final stretch.

“As do I. My focus of study is archaeology,” he admitted.

“I have a bachelor’s degree in archaeology,” she said, hoping he’d see how much they had in common.

Instead, it led him back to troublesome waters.

“Truly? Did you utilize your degree when you worked at the university?”

Rainy felt light-headed from his question. She wasn’t about to get into the details of her past.
Anything
but that,
she thought. How could she possibly hope to interest Duncan Hartford in becoming her husband if she had to share the memories she longed to forget? Yet, how could she hope to move toward marriage and not share those details?

No,
she thought.
Until I can clear my name, no one else
needs to know what happened
.

CHAPTER TWO

A
week later Rainy was still contemplating her supper with Duncan when Sonny came into the boardinghouse dining room and interrupted her breakfast. The look on his face prepared her for the blow of bad news, even before the words came out of his mouth. They had always been able to read each other like a book.

“You know how we planned to leave tomorrow for a week with Mom and Dad?” he questioned, plopping down in the chair opposite her. “Well, our vacation has been canceled.”

She had already started to eat a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, potatoes, and ham, and the news didn’t set well with her stomach. “What do you mean it’s been canceled? We requested that time off months ago. Surely it’s just a mistake.”

“No mistake,” Sonny said, reaching for the coffeepot.

“Good morning, Sonny,” Mrs. Rivera said, coming into the room with a bowl of scrambled eggs. “Are you ready for breakfast?”

“You bet I am,” he replied. “I need about a gallon of coffee, then I’ll take four eggs over easy, one of those thick ham steaks, and toast.” He grinned up at her and winked as she placed the bowl on the table. “That ought to get me started. I’ll let you know where we go from there.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know where you put all that food. You’re just a beanpole, and yet you eat like my uncle Gordo.”

“Ah, now,” Sonny said, lifting her hand to his lips, “it’s just that your cooking is the best I’ve had, except for my mother’s. If you were twenty years younger, I think I’d propose.” He kissed her hand.

She giggled as if she were twenty years younger. Pulling her hand away almost reluctantly, she picked up Sonny’s plate and headed to the kitchen, still chuckling to herself.

“You are such a flirt,” Rainy declared. “I don’t know what Mother would say if she saw you.”

“She’d say I take after Dad.”

Rainy laughed. “No doubt. Now explain what’s going on with our vacation time.”

Sonny took a long drink of coffee, then replied, “There’s been a special request for our Grand Canyon trip.”

“But that trip lasts over five days—and I thought that with the economy failing they were going to scale it back or eliminate it altogether.”

Sonny nodded. “Well, apparently these are friends of the governor—and of the Harvey Company. It’s a special group of folks who sound like they’re used to getting whatever they want. Money is no object.”

“Well, it must be nice,” Rainy replied, pushing her eggs around. “Still, I don’t know why we have to lead the tour.”

“Because we were asked for—by name. We have quite a reputation for quality tours, don’t ya know. They get Sonny and Rainy weather with us.” He grinned at the long-standing joke. Early on, upon hearing Rainy’s given name, their uncle dubbed her twin, Gabe, “Sonny.” He said it didn’t seem fitting to have one without the other. The nickname stuck.

“When do they want to head out?” Rainy asked.

“Tomorrow afternoon. So at least you’ll get to sleep late.” He grinned at his sister and then transferred the smile to Mrs. Rivera as she placed his food in front of him. “Thank you! I thought I might well waste away to nothing but teeth and bones.”

“And ego,” muttered Rainy under her breath.

Mrs. Rivera fawned over Sonny for another minute or two, then made certain Rainy had what she needed before moving on to the other couriers and drivers.

Rainy tried not to resent the intrusion of the Detour company on her plans. She loved what she did as it related to educating the public about the various Indian cultures and about the great American Southwest. But she didn’t love the whining dudes who complained about everything—from how hot it was to the color of the touring car. She didn’t love the flirtatious men who seemed to think she was just one more item on the Harvey restaurant menu. And she didn’t like being told her plans had to go by the wayside because some rich friend of the governor wanted to take a vacation.

“Why didn’t you just tell Sam we couldn’t do it?” she asked her brother. “You could have just told him no.”

Sonny tried to speak around a mouthful of toast.

“I did.”

Rainy waited for him to swallow before continuing. “Why didn’t he reassign it?”

“He promised us two weeks off when we finished this round,” Sonny said, seeming rather proud of this fact, as if he’d somehow negotiated the extra time.

“Two weeks, eh?” Rainy frowned. “You don’t suppose they’re cutting back even more on their trips, do you? Maybe he made the offer because he isn’t going to need us much longer.”

Sonny shrugged. “I can’t say that it would break my heart. Sure, it’s a good job with steady pay, and I’m not scoffing at that in this day and age to be sure.

Still . . .”He seemed to be considering something.

Rainy waited a moment, expecting him to pick the conversation back up, but when he didn’t she jumped back in.

“So we do this tour and then take two weeks off?” She sighed as Sonny nodded. “I suppose I can wait another week. Still, I was really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.”

“Well, you can tomorrow night. The tour stays over in Albuquerque and we aren’t required to sleep at the hotel. We’ll just go home and explain the mess to Mom and Dad and enjoy at least a short time with them.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Rainy said, glancing at her watch. “You do realize we’re supposed to take that group of older ladies around Santa Fe in fifteen minutes?”

Sonny nodded and started shoveling the food in faster than ever. Rainy gazed at the ceiling and sighed. If they could only see her brother in this, his most natural state, she seriously doubted that many women would fall all over themselves to sit beside him.

————

The officials seated in front of Duncan Hartford seemed more than a little on the serious side. The man from the Office of Indian Affairs, a Mr. Richland, seemed especially stern with his beady-eyed gaze boring holes in Duncan as though he were keeping the truth from them.