Cinderella in Overalls - By Carol Grace Page 0,10

they work.”

“The women? What about the men?”

“The men are off working in the mines. Farming is women’s work around here. If they had to depend on the money from the crops, they’d... Well, they wouldn’t starve, but they couldn’t buy shoes for the children or tools for the farm.’’

His eyes narrowed against the late afternoon sun. “Mines?” he asked. “Not silver mines.”

She shook her head. “The silver mines closed years ago. Only the old-timers remember them. They mine tin now, the men of the valley. It’s dangerous work, but when they come home they bring the wages. Otherwise...” Her voice trailed off. She’d done everything but get down on her knees and beg him to come. And all he did was change the subject. She wiped her hands on the paper napkin in her lap and decided to make a graceful exit while she still had a few ounces of pride left.

“I’d like to come,” he said. “But I’m afraid that no matter how much I like it and how hard the people work I’m going to have to turn you down again.” His eyes flashed a warning that she ignored.

“Don’t worry about me. I can handle it,” she said coolly. “Just come with an open mind.” Deep down she had a feeling that if Josh Bentley came to Palomar and met Jacinda and saw how hard everyone worked and how little they earned, he would change his mind. He was a banker, yes, but he also seemed to be a decent human being.

“How about this weekend?” he asked.

Catherine shrugged casually, but her stomach did a flip-flop. She’d done it. Somehow she’d convinced him to come. “Fine,” she said.

She stood up. She had a desperate need to get away from his penetrating eyes and his questions. She had already talked too much about herself. She was here to forget about Tranquility, not dredge up memories of happier times, of parades and holidays.

“I have to leave now if I want to catch my ride home.”

He stood and looked up at the sky. “You’ll miss the fireworks.”

“I think I’ve had enough Americana for one day,” she said lightly. “At midnight I turn into a farmer again, and suddenly I’m wearing overalls and a bandanna around my neck.”

He reached out and wound his finger around a strand of her hair. “Like Cinderella,” he said softly. His face was very close to hers, and she realized that the other guests had drifted away and they were alone under the branches of the tree. If she lifted her face to his, and if their lips met in a brief kiss, no one would know or see.

“Don’t run away,” he said, his voice so low she had to lean closer to hear him. So close she could feel his breath on her lips. She closed her eyes and felt her spine tingle in anticipation. “You might lose a glass slipper.”

Catherine pulled away. He wasn’t going to kiss her. He was toying with her. She looked at her watch. “Where has the time gone? I’ve got to hurry.”

“What about this weekend?” he asked.

“I’ll expect you Sunday morning.”

“How will I find you?”

“Once you get to Palomar, ask anyone where the North American lives.”

“I’m not promising anything,” he called through the falling shadows.

“Neither am I,” she answered over her shoulder, and then she was gone.

Josh stood alone in the dusk, feeling as if he’d lost something he’d been looking for for a long time. He had come that close to kissing her, to feeling her lips on his. She was beautiful, but there was something lurking in the depths of her eyes that kept him at arm’s length. He walked slowly through the grounds to the front gate, feeling a pang of something between lonely and homesick. And yet it was neither of those. It was a longing for something he wanted but couldn’t have.

Sunday morning dawned clear and hot. Catherine leaned out the bedroom window of her small house and sniffed the air heavy with the scent of the roses that climbed the trellis in her yard. Fertile fields stretched as far as she could see until the hills rose gently in the distance. Farmers had no weekends and this was no exception. She dressed quickly in bib overalls and a checkered shirt and paused in front of the mirror to brush her hair. Suddenly she remembered the feeling of Josh’s hand in her hair. Resolutely she braided it as tightly as she could.

He was coming to see