Free Morning Glory by Carolyn Brown

a room that had suddenly gone
silent as a tomb. "Hi, folks. Sorry I'm late. Everyone
must have been talking about me, the way every word just stopped on a dime. I know I'm a mess in my overalls and all, but it doesn't have to strike everyone mute"

    "That's not it," Olivia said. "Cecil here has just invited me to go to the oil rig for a tour and Clara won't go
with me."
    "I didn't actually invite you," Cecil said.
    Tilly took her place and began filling her plate.
"Thank goodness. It's just a typical Anderson family
meal. Arguing and bickering. I did wash my hands and
face so pass me the roast, please, Briar. Don't think I've
met you. I'm Tilly, Tucker and Clara's cousin. Are you
Olivia's new beau?"
    It was Cecil's turn to blush. "No, I am not!"
    Tilly loaded up her plate like a field hand. "Well, we
got that settled. Now, why won't you go to the rig site,
Clara? Don't you think you're taking this too far? I
went over there this morning and introduced myself to
the fellows. I was plowing right next to their fence.
Seemed the neighborly thing to do. Did tell them that if
I caught a single one of them on my side of the fence,
we'd have a proper funeral for the culprit. Didn't see
you over there."
    "I was in a different area. You downright scared my
boys," Cecil tried to regain his composure after that
statement about being Olivia's new beau.
    "It should scare them," Clara said. "Tilly can't clean
worth a dime, but she can outshoot anything that walks
upright on two legs."
    "Never did like housecleaning. Granny Anderson said I was made for better things so she taught me to
shoot. Momma insisted I learn to cook, though. Said
someday it might come in handy. Hasn't yet, but maybe
someday hasn't got here," Tilly said between bites.

    "So would you like a tour of the rig? I'd be glad to
show you around" Briar looked right at Clara.
    Silence so thick it threatened suffocation filled the
room. Clara was practically struck mute. If she said no,
there'd be another long-winded debate. If she said yes,
she'd be admitting defeat and she'd never hear the end
of it.
    "You plannin' on answering Briar?" Tilly finally
asked. "While you're sitting there trying to figure out a
way to weasel out of it gracefully, pass me the hot rolls
and butter."
    "Yes, I would like a tour of the rig," Clara finally
announced in a clear voice. After all, one should really
get to know the enemy. "And thank you for the invitation, Mr. Nelson. I'm sure it will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am absolutely right in my hatred
for anything to do with this oil boom."

     

    From a distance, the oil derrick looked like a windmill without the fan blades. It wasn't the first time Clara
had seen one of the eyesores ruining the landscape of
the whole area. They all looked alike, down to the bare,
muddy area surrounding them. The whole thing was
symbolic of the way they'd changed society. Where
they had been quiet little towns, now there were entire
communities full of hoboes. Ragtown, in spite of its
new founded name of Wirt, was little more than a lawless tent city of people searching for riches in the oil
field. Just a big muddy mess where there used to be
nothing but green pastures.
    The closer she got the more she could feel the energy of the thing. Men working. The noise. The smell. A
power like nothing she'd ever seen before. Up close it reminded her of a tower and she had the craziest urge
to kick off her shoes and climb to the top, barefoot and
with her hair flying in the breeze.

    Olivia hung on every word, but Clara would be willing to bet dollars to horse apples that she wouldn't
remember a single thing Cecil told her about the operation of the rig. Heaven help the man if Olivia found
out he had money. She'd have a ring in his nose and her
brand on the third finger of his left hand so fast he'd
wonder if he was dreaming.
    "So is it the devil reincarnated?" Briar asked Clara.
    "The jury is still out," she