Chapter 3

The Spragues live in a large house at the edge of the business district. Catherine was walking between her grandfather and me as we made our way slowly along the brick walkway. There was a white, waist high board fence around the yard and when we reached the gate, I stood aside as Mr. Sprague tripped the latch to let the gate swing inward. I had intended to stop at the gate and say goodnight, but Catherine took hold of my hand and pulled me with her as she followed her grandfather to the well lit front porch.

Mr. Sprague reached out to shake my hand, telling me, “Les, when I first saw you this morning, I never would have thought this day would end as it has. You have made some good friends and made a good impression on a lot of folks in Yuma today. I wish you good luck at the auction tomorrow. We need more honest young men such as you to settle in our county. Thank you for escorting Catherine and me to our home tonight. We’ll see you tomorrow at the courthouse.”

“Mr. Sprague, I want to thank you and Catherine for accepting me as a friend. When I stepped off that train, my only hope was to find a small, out of the way plot of land to build a home. Now, with the advice, and help of my new friends here in Yuma, I have high hopes of owning a farm. Something I had never even thought of before today.”

With that, I turned to say good night to Catherine.

Before I could tell her goodnight, she hugged her grandfather and spoke quickly, “I’ll only be a minute, Grandfather. I’d like to have a moment with Les before he leaves.”

“Don’t keep him long, Catherine. The man has had a long trip here from St. Louis and he’s had a long, busy first day here in Yuma,” he told her.

His voice wasn’t demanding, but he was stern when he spoke to her.

I wasn’t about to offend a man who had accepted me as a friend. While he spoke, I stepped back two steps from the porch and stood on the brick walk as I looked up at him and Catherine.

Mr. Sprague nodded, then waved slightly as he turned to enter the house.

Catherine walked to the steps and stopped. Then she stepped down one step to stand face to face with me. “Les, I didn’t want you to leave without telling you I’m so glad that you came to Yuma to make your home. I hope we can become good friends and get to know one another a lot better in the coming days.”

“Catherine, I’m glad I came to Yuma also, and I’ll always respect your grandfather for accepting me as a friend, and you for being wanting to a friend too. I need to leave now while I still have your grandfather’s respect. I wouldn’t want him to think I was taking advantage of his granddaughter’s kindness.”

“Grandfather likes you, Les, and so do I. I like you a lot already and I want to know more about you. I’d like to see you again soon.”

“What about Tom Wancho? He made it plain that he likes you more than just as a friend. Tom’s a good man, Catherine. I knew that as soon as we met. He’s a man I’d like to become a friend and neighbor to, if I’m to live here in Yuma County.”

“Les, I like Tom too, just not in the way he likes me. Yes, he is a good man and well respected here in the county. It’s just that I want a younger man to court me and give me the same feelings that came over me when I was measuring you for your trousers this morning.

“Les ... my heart was beating so hard and so fast, I thought surely I would actually faint. I was afraid of what I was doing, but I had no control over my feelings when I felt you ... your ... I mean, when I felt your manhood through your trousers. I have often dreamed of meeting a handsome man near my age. One who would make my heart race – who would make me swoon when he looked at me and touched my body with his big hands...” she held out her arms as she spoke.

I took a step back and saw the hurt come over her face as I tried to reason with her, “Catherine, we just met this morning and though I see you as a beautiful young woman, I don’t think we need to have a talk like this with your grandfather expecting you to come inside right away. Besides, I’ve already told you – I liked Tom Wancho as soon as I met him and I’d like to be his friend. I wouldn’t feel right if we let something happen my first night in Yuma, that would make him upset with you, and mad at me.”

“I apologize, Les. I hope you’ll still let me be your friend too. I really would like to have you as a close friend, even though it’s obvious that you already have your eyes set on Lucia Santiago.”

“Catherine! Let’s just be friends for now, as you said. Then we’ll see how things go from there. As for me having my eyes set on Lucia, I see her as a friend also. I haven’t been in Yuma a full day and for sure, I’m not ready to set my eyes on anyone just yet.”

“Thank you, Les. You won’t be upset with me if I keep trying, will you?” I could see the devil dancing in her eyes as she flashed them at me.

“Just don’t embarrass, you, me, or your grandfather in front of others.”

“So ... does that mean when we’re alone, I can try even harder to get your full attention?”

“Goodnight, Catherine. I’m not even going to answer that.”

“Goodnight, Les. I hope you awaken during the night thinking about me holding your ... manly parts today.”

I turned and walked to the gate, never commenting. Catherine Sprague is one headstrong young woman. As beautiful and smart as she is, she is still a spoiled brat. She bears watching, that’s for sure. This bold beautiful, naïve young woman has probably never been told no. Not by her grandfather or anyone else.

She needs to be aware, if she sets a trap for this wharf rat, she could very well get her own tail caught in it ... some tail she has too, not to mention her oversize bosom.

The waiter had just set a tall stone mug of steaming black coffee in front of me and walked away when suddenly, from out of nowhere, there stood a tall Spanish Lady. Her dark eyes sparkled down at me in the overhead light. Her lips were painted the brightest red I had ever seen and she was smiling at me for some reason.

She’s wearing a long, straight, black skirt which dusts the floor when she moves. Her silky blouse is as red as her painted lips. The front of her blouse dipped so low, I could see the deep brown valley where her blouse clung to the swells of her breasts. Her long black hair hangs loose to her waist in back and all I could do was stare up at her ... dumbfounded.

“Les?” she spoke and I jumped up from my chair, knocking over my coffee cup, spilling coffee on the white linen tablecloth.

This is Lucia...

“Lucia?” was all I could think to say as I took in her beauty.

“Yes, it’s me. Do I actually look that different?”

I walked around her to pull her chair out. When she was seated, I slid her chair closer as she lifted and moved forward.

I was seated across from her before I could find the words to speak.

“Lucia Diega Santiago, you certainly do clean up well. I would never have recognized you, if you had not spoke to me.”

“Thank you, Les. I hardly ever find an opportunity to dress so elaborately, but this skirt and blouse was in my bags which Renaldo brought to Yuma for me. When I hung them in my room last night, I could hardly wait until morning, so I could show you I’m not always dressed as a sheepherder.”

“Believe me, Lucia, your beauty was not wasted on the clothes of a sheepherder. Though I was raised in the big city, I never knew what true beauty was until I saw you walking behind your sheep yesterday. Today, you look like a picture of a Spanish Lady of Royalty I once saw on a magazine cover at a newsstand.”

“Les, my first thought when I saw you yesterday may not have been so kind. ‘He sure is a big handsome brute’ I thought.”

The waiter came with a clean tablecloth and two more cups of coffee. He asked if we would move to another table so he could change the tablecloth on this one and reset it. I tossed two quarters on the table and apologized, as we took our coffee and moved over one table.

“I’m not so sure about the handsome part, but I’m sure you realized real quick about the brute part of me, when I came to the stockyards yesterday.”

“That was when I had my third thought about you, Les.”

“Third?”

“Yes, When I closed the gate to the sheep pen yesterday and looked back down the street to see you still standing in front of the hotel, looking my way. My second thought then, was, I sure hope it is me he’s looking at and not my sheep, she told me and laughed.

“Did you really think that?”

“NO ... I was only joking. What I really thought was, I hope I get to meet him when I look a little better and don’t smell like sheep shit.

“I know that smell very well. I stepped in some of your sheep shit yesterday as I looked up the street at you.”

“How old are you, Les?” she asked suddenly.

“Twenty-one.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me?”

“No, it doesn’t matter to me how old you are.”

“Well, I’m twenty-one also. The reason I asked was, do you not have a lady friend back in St. Louis, waiting for a letter telling her that you will soon have a home and are ready for her to come join you here?”

“There are no lady friends waiting back where I came from. I was too much of a brute for the ladies. Did you not meet a rich, handsome young college man back in Tucson, who could offer you a life of luxury?”

“How did you know I went to college in Tucson?”

“Sheriff Collins told me.”

“You asked about me?”

“Yes and I even told him you were a looker, and he agreed.”

“A looker?”

“Yes, a street term for a beautiful woman, back where I came from. Usually a woman of class, so beautiful that no one would ever approach her.”

“Les, are you joking with me now?”

“No, Lucia, not at all. To tell the truth, I have never in my life sat down at a table with a woman as beautiful as you. Moreover, I have never even met a woman as beautiful as you. Yet, you make it easy for me to look at your beauty and talk about sheep shit, buying land and being neighbors with you and Juan Carlos, and Tom Wancho.”

“Les, are you honestly telling me that you have never courted a girl?”

“Never, Lucia. I never took the time. I’ve worked hard all my life until I left to come here.” I lied to her, but then ... it really wasn’t a lie.

“Why Yuma, Les?”

“It was almost as if I had no choice in the matter, actually. As if it was planned ahead for me when I decided to leave St. Louis.”

“Are you happy with what you’ve seen so far? Though you have yet to ride through the county and see the juncture of the Gila and Colorado Rivers, the deep fertile valley where virtually any crop will grow year round. You have yet to see the Chocolate Mountains in the distance or ride a horse up into those mountains and look down upon the fields, pastures and beautiful colors of this wonderful world below, known as Yuma County.”

“I’m very happy I came here, Lucia. Maybe one day, if and when I am settled upon whatever part of Yuma County is to be mine, you will ride with me and show me the beauty of the world you just described.”

“I would love to. Would you be brave enough to ride with me for days? It will take a week or more to show you all the beauty that awaits you here. Maybe even high up into the Chocolate Mountains to see your new ranch and ours, from above? Just the two of us?”

“I would be that brave, but would you?”

“You would never harm me, Les Savage. You rescued me, remember? Now, according to the customs of the old country, you are forever my protector. For life even.” Lucia laughed as she spoke and she is even more beautiful when she relaxes and laughs without worry.

“Are you always this easy to talk to, Lucia?”

“I have never talked to a man like this, Les. I never took the time. I too have worked hard all my life, just as you. I have a grandfather and a family heritage to honor before I can take time for myself.”

“What would you do if some ugly brute came along one day and tried to convince you that your job would be easier, with two working at it?”

“I would be willing to at least listen to his offer ... Maybe ... One day, that is.”

“Then let me know when you think the time is right. I’ll try to find that ugly brute for you, if there is even one out there who is worthy of the job.”

“Les Savage, there is so much I don’t know about you, yet you make me feel so comfortable being close to you. As if I really am safe now, no matter what happens in my life. Do you realize I almost kissed you on your lips yesterday after shaving you? You had your eyes closed, with your head back and I was so tempted, but I was afraid you would think I was someone I’m not, and I resisted...

“I’m still resisting you, Les.”

“Have you ever kissed, Lucia?”

“No. Other than a kiss on the cheek for my grandfather, you are the only man I have kissed, on the cheek or otherwise. Have you ever kissed, Les?”

“No, I was too busy.”

“Please tell me the truth.”

“The truth is ... no, I have never kissed nor have I been kissed until yesterday right here in this very dining room when you kissed my cheek.”

“Les, do you think we could sit and have another talk like this one day, just the two of us? Maybe even on the front porch of your new home, overlooking the Colorado River Valley. Then again on my grandfather’s front porch which overlooks that same valley?”

“Call it a date, Lucia. This has been the most exciting day of my life so far, and we haven’t had breakfast yet.”

“I feel the same way, Les. Thank you again for being my friend and for coming to my rescue yesterday.”

Juan Carlos and Tom Wancho walked in to join us at that time. While we discussed the available lands up for sale in the fertile river valley, we ate our breakfast. This really was shaping up to be the best day of my life. I was still thinking about Lucia and me riding up in those mountains...

Hell, I have never ridden a horse in my life...

“Les, come with me and we’ll get you registered with the auctioneer and present your letter of credit from the bank. If you happen to win the bid on a parcel of land, whether it’s the Sisemore spread or not, you’ll have to make arrangements with George Thompkins, the banker to pay before you leave here today,” Tom explained.

“Tom – Lucia and Juan Carlos told me they have horses for sale, do I bid on them here today?”

“Have they listed them for auction? If not, why not buy them direct? You do know that if you happen to buy the Sisemore spread, you’ll get the horses and the rest of the livestock in the deal on that land too, don’t you?”

“Yes, I saw that on the auction sheet where the ranch was described. I wanted to buy their horses since Juan Carlos told me they were just what I needed. I see him right over there. I’ll go ask him if they’re listed yet.”

“Juan Carlos, I was talking to Tom about your horses. He asked me if you have them listed for auction. Do you?”

“No. We held them back for you. Lucia wants you to have them for what you have already done for us.”

“Then keep them aside for me, I’ll deal with Lucia about the horses later.”

“Les Savage, you are a young man after my own heart. That young granddaughter of mine has met her match. Tom tries to make her listen to him, but Lucia is too smart and headstrong for Tom. I have a feeling she will listen to you and not be so headstrong in the future.”

“Buying horses from her is something I have control over. She is too smart and educated for me to help her with the farm and ranch part of your spread, or mine if I should happen to buy one today.”