They have pollution alerts in Phoenix these days, she said, and water and soil pollution are just as big a threat. Toxic waste and radioactive debris and chemical spills
George glowered at her. Youre a real thrill to have around.
Sorry. I have a soapbox. I got hooked on conservation when I was just a little girl. Ive never lost the fire. I think the Indians had the right ideato live in harmony with nature. All weve managed to do is pollute it out of existence. Weve destroyed the delicate balance of predator and prey that once sustained the whole planet. Now were trying to recreate it by synthetic means. I wish wed left it alone.
If that had happened, you would be pounding maize to make cornmeal and chewing deerskin to make it soft enough for clothing.
I would be hunting buffalo and dodging bullets trying to provide meat for somebodys lodge. He grinned. In between there would be prairie fires, attack by enemy tribes, rattlesnakes, dust storms, floods and droughts and rabid animals
Stop. She held up her hand. I agree wholeheartedly that there are two sides to every story. She grinned back. How about helping me organize these pottery shards?
Theres something we can agree on, he said.
* * *
That night, Christy managed not to do anything remotely clumsy at dinner. She sat out on the patio watching the stars, munching a cookie while Hereford cattle grazed and lowed in a fenced pasture just a few yards from where she sat. The gauzy white Mexican dress she was wearing was cool and comfortable, and her long hair was blowing in the soft wind.
Footfalls behind her made her start. She knew almost without looking who was going to be there when she turned around.
Theres a pool game going on and several people are playing bridge, he said. I saw a chess match and a checkers tournament. There are books in the library and a television and several new movies to watch.
Thank you, Mr. Lang, but I find this much more entertaining.
Waiting for George to show up? he queried, pausing beside her chair.
George is playing chess, she informed him.
And you arent going to cheer him on? he asked with cheerful mockery. He lit a cigarette and straddled a chair across from her. He was wearing jeans and boots and a silky blue shirt that clung to the hard muscles of his arms.
She lowered her eyes shyly. George is just a colleague.
Not quite what you expected when you signed on? he probed. He lifted the cigarette to his lips. Didnt you come out here looking for adventure and romance? And what did you find? George.
George is intelligent and kind and very nice to talk to, she faltered. I like him.
Hes not likely to throw you over his saddle and carry you off into the hills, he pointed out.
Thank God, she replied. Her fingers clenched the arms of her chair. Her heart was going crazy. Why wouldnt he stop baiting her?
He turned his head and watched her, his eyes missing nothing as they ran down her body to her long, elegant legs peeking out from the skirt of the white dress and to her strappy white sandals. No taste for excitement, Miss Haley?
Being carried off like a sack of flour is hardly my idea of excitement, Mr. Lang.
Ah. A career woman. He made it sound like a mutated strain of leprosy.
Im not a career woman. I have a job that I like and Im very satisfied with my life and myself.
How old are you? he persisted.
Twenty-five, she said after a minute.
Not a bad age, he remarked. He blew out a cloud of smoke. Im thirty-seven. She didnt say anything and he smiled mockingly. No comment? No curiosity about my life?
What do you do, Mr. Lang, besides run this ranch? she asked politely and folded her restless hands in her lap.
Im a mining engineer. I work for a company near Bisbee. Youve heard of the Lavendar Pit, I imagine? It was the biggest mine around in the heyday of mining here in southeastern Arizona. Of course, now its little more than a tourist attraction. But we have plenty of other mining interests, and I work for one of them.
Ive heard about the Lavendar Pit, but I havent seen it yet. I dont know much about Arizona. Do you like your work?
Sometimes. I like geology. Rocks fascinate me. I was a rock hound as a kid and as I got older, I found that I liked it enough for a career. I studied it in college for four years, got my degree, worked briefly for an oil company and finally wound up here. He took another draw from his cigarette. I might have gone to Alaska to work, but my father died and mother couldnt manage the dude ranch alone.
Younever married?
He shrugged. No reason to, he said honestly. Its a great time to be a man, in a world where women would rather be lovers than wives. All the benefits of marriage, no responsibilities.
No security, no shared life, no children, she added.
He shifted in his chair. Thats true. Especially, no children. How about you, Miss Haley? Why are you still single yourself?
I havent ever been in love, she said simply, smiling as she glanced his way. Ive had proposals and propositions but Ive never cared enough to give my heart. Or my body, she could have added.