City Girl Read Free

raised the hat in a parting salute and backed away. She watched silently as his long strides carried him to the door and through it until it closed against his broad back.
    "My goodness!" she commented. "That certainly is a big man!"
    "Oh, yes, indeed." Groman plopped down into his chair. "Very big man. Got a big spread down in central Texas, his own oil company, few thousand head of cattle, lot of political influence. Very big man indeed."
    Crystal found all of this very interesting. So he fulfilled not only one of the great Texas legends, but two—oil man
and
rancher. Interesting, but not what she had meant to comment upon.
    "I was talking about his size," she laughed, "not his holdings."
    A vapor seemed to form upon the lenses of the lawyer's pale eyes. "Oh, yes, I suppose he is rather tall," he mused. "Guess that is one reason he won all those rodeos."
    "Rodeos?" Crystal wondered if the vapor were not inside her own head. She did not know what he was talking about or how they had gotten on this subject. She had only commented upon the man's size for lack of anything else appropriate to say.
    Mr. Groman leaned forward and wagged his stubby finger up and down. "And you call yourself a Texan," he admonished with a grin. "That, my dear, was
the
Garrett Dean."
    "
The
Garrett Dean?"
    "Four times champion rodeo cowboy. Didn't you notice the belt buckle?"
    "Well, yes, but what's that got to do with it?" She wondered for a moment if he were putting her on. It would not be the first time.
    "That's the championship buckle, girl. Oh, well, I suppose it was a little before your time. The last time he competed was about ten years ago, when he was about your age, I'd say. The man's a legend."
    Well, chalk up another one
, she thought.
Oil man, rancher, and champion rodeo cowboy
. Was there anything else? Indian fighter reincarnated, perhaps?
    "How many of these celebrities have you around here?" she asked with a wink.
    "Oh, it does get interesting at times," he commented, widening his eyes, "very interesting indeed! But I haven't got a prettier client than you, my dear, not a one!"
    Crystal acknowledged his compliment with a slight bow of her head and a warm smile. She knew he was being solicitous, especially so, but she did not mind.
    "How are you, Crystal?" the lawyer asked, his expression suddenly becoming serious. "I've been worried about you."
    "I'm okay." Crystal leaned forward, her face softened with affection and respect for this man. "I still miss her, of course, but life must go on, mustn't it?"
    "Indeed it must," he agreed solemnly, and leaned back in his chair, knitting his fingers together over his rotund little tummy.
    Crystal sensed an abrupt change in his mood, and this disturbed her, for she knew Hal Groman to be a steadfastly cheerful individual. Something heavy in the air told her to beware, that trouble was afoot here, but she tried to push the feeling away, thinking that it was her own nervousness.
    "Mr. Groman," she began tentatively, "I've come about my aunt's will. I hate to be pushy, but I was wondering if we .could move things along a bit. Something, um, unforeseen has come up, and I really need to get my hands on some money. I wouldn't ask, but it's important."
    She didn't like the expression on his face. He seemed, not surprised, but unhappy, regretful almost. She wondered if she had misjudged his reaction, if he thought it disrespectful of her to come here like this. Such a possibility made her cringe inwardly. The last thing she wanted was to lower herself in his estimation. She waited nervously for his reply, and he seemed to take forever in answering.
    "Crystal, I…" He broke off with a sigh, the pink flesh of his forehead wrinkling with distaste.
    She almost leaped out of her chair then and begged him to forget she had even mentioned it, but a wounded look hovered behind the horn-rimmed bifocals he wore, and intuition told her that something was going on here which she had not even begun to understand