Dusty Britches (11 page)



Breakfast went along, the men having their own c
onversation at the big table,
Dusty and Becca listening most of the time. At last, Dusty finished off her biscuit and stood. Placing her plate in the sink, she watched as her daddy and each hand, in turn, put his plate in the sink, snatched his hat off the rack by the door
,
and left with a,
“
Thank you, Miss Dusty.
”

Ryder was the last one to leave the table. As he approached the sink where Dusty still stood, she felt as if a blazing
, fiery
torch were
moving toward
her. With each
stride
he made toward her, she began to feel hot and uncomfortable. He deposited his plate in the sink
,
and as he took his hat from the rack, he said,
“
Y
our mama never did better, Dust—
Miss Dusty. Thank you.
”

“
You
’
re welcome,
”
she managed to
reply
, trying to sound unaffected by his presence and compliment.

“
Miss Becca,
”
he nodded to Becca before leaving.

Becca rose from her seat and joined Dusty at the sink.
“
You
’
re gonna have to love him, y
a
know,
”
she whispered.

“
Rebecca!
”
Dusty scolded.
“
What is wrong with you?
”

“
Nothin
’
. I
’
ve just decided I
’
m not gonna let you ruin your life or anybody else
’
s anymore. It was f
ate that brought him back here…f
ate or a greater power. And I ain
’
t gonna let you ruin it!
”
Becca told her.

“
Becca…stop it now. I don
’
t want yo
—”
Dusty began.

“
Nope. You ain
’
t gonna bully me about this one, Dusty. Now let
’
s get these dishes done up. I got other things I wanna get done today.
”

“
Do
’
em yourself,
”
Dusty spat.
“
I did the cookin
’
! Remember?
”
And throwing her apron into a n
earby chair, Dusty stormed off—
all determination to be kinder and more understanding to her sister completely obliterated.

She had meant to go down to the pond and pout. It was, after all, her favorite pouting place. But no sooner had she left the back porch than she heard her daddy call to her.

“
Dusty. Dusty! Run in the barn and get that smaller brand for these heifers.
”

Sighing heavily and
with irritation—for
her self-centered poutin
g session had been interrupted—
she stomped to the barn and retrieved the brand.

“
He
’
s got two thousand hands out there just a
-
standin
’
around waitin
’
to be paid! You
’
d think one of
’
em could come in here and find the small iron!
”

Angrily, she walked back to where her father stood paying the cowboys
who
were leaving and thanking them for their help. Feller already had the fire going, and Guthrie and Ruff had several head waiting nearby ready for branding. Dusty glanced over to where Ryder stood near Feller. She knew Ryder would do most of the wrestling. He always had. She remembered he could take a cow down faster than any hand they
’
d had before or since. Dusty used to love to sit on the fence and watch him help in the branding. It was always so impressive when she was a young girl to wa
tch his strength and dexterity—
the way he
’
d throw a heifer or steer to the ground like the easiest thing in the world. So without being conscious of what she was doing, she leaned back against the fence and watched as Ruff sent a heifer toward the fire. In a split second, Ryder grabbed the heifer
’
s head, twist
ed
her neck
,
and forc
ed
her to the ground. Feller was just as fast with putting the iron to her. Dusty wrinkled her nose at the familiar yet dreadful stench of burning hair and hide.

The cowboys
making ready to leave
joined
Ruff, Guthrie,
and
Titch
in
hollering and whistling with admiration.
Ryder simply released the cow, stood up
,
and rubb
ed
his hands back and forth in anticipation of the challenge
. “
Bring
’
em on! We
’
ll have this done
’
fore lunch!
” he said.

Dusty, totally unaware of the broad smile that was now part of her expression, continued to watch the men brand. Before long, the cowboys who were drifting were gone, and her father was branding the smaller heifers and steers while Ruff and Titch took turns wrestling. Guthrie was bringing the big ones in
,
and Ryder took down two or three to the other men
’
s one.

Dusty stood watching for a long time before Becca finally joined her.
“
I
’
ve finished the dishes,
”
Becca stated rather resentfully.

“
Thank you, Becca,
”
D
usty said. “I’m sorry, Becca. I—
I shouldn
’
t be so cross. It
’
s just that
—”

“
I know, I know. Let
’
s not talk about it anymore.
”
Becca
stepped up onto the lowest fence rung to watch
the men work.
“
Ryder
’
s still the fastest I ever saw,
”
she commented.

Dusty remained silent.
They
watched as Guthrie led an enormous cow in on a rope.

“
She
’
s huge!
”
Becca exclaimed.
“
She
’
s gotta be
near
half
a
ton!
”

“
She
’
s still got her horns too. I bet she
’
s ornery,
”
Dusty added.

“
Think he can get her down?
”

“
Naw. She
’
s too big. Daddy
’
ll just butcher her early.
”
Dusty watched as Guthrie nodded toward Ryder and Feller.

“
Find any elephants to bring in for us, Guthrie?
”
Feller chuckled.

“
What you boys think I am?
”
Ryder asked, sizing up the cow and rolling up his shirtsleeves.

“
Stinkin
’
immortal!
”
Ruff shouted with a chuckle.

Everyone stopped to watch and see
whether
Ryder could take the monstrosity of a beef down for branding.

“
I
’
ll wager you, boy!
”
Hank shouted.
“
You get her down
,
and I
’
ll give y
a
the whole day off week from Friday!
”

“
You
’
re on!
”
Ryder laughed, pointing at Dusty
’
s daddy.
“
She
’
s gonna break my dang legs though!
”

“
Then I
’
ll give y
a
two days off!
”
Hank chuckled.

“That’s a big beef,”
Dusty mumbled.
“
He shouldn
’
t try
her
.
”
She looked at Becca
,
who nodded, her eyes
widening in
agreement.
“
Daddy!
”
Dusty shouted.
“
Shame on you!
”

“
Ah
,
d
on
’
t y
a
worry, punkin!
”
Hank shouted.
“
Ain
’
t yet seen a cow that Ryder can
’
t lay down!
”

But Dusty felt more than frightened. This cow had enormous horns!
S
he watched
, helpless,
as Ryder nodded his hea
d at Guthrie to let his rope go.
Ryder
stepped
up behind the mammoth animal, put his arms under her horns
,
and started twisting. He twisted her fast enough she couldn
’
t run from him or get away, but she didn
’
t go down immediately. She was big and strong and heavy, and her neck was nearly as thick as the rest of her. But after a few long seconds
,
she started to lean toward the cowboy
,
and maneuvering his body carefully, Ryder managed
to get his legs out of the way, falling
back to the ground
and
pinning her head as she hit
the dirt
with an earthshaking surrender. Feller wasted no time in branding her
,
even though all the other men stood around clapping and shouting with admiration.

“
He did it!
”
Becca squealed, clapping
wildly
.

Dusty stood
completely upset and frightened.
“
He
’
s gotta let her up now,
”
she mumbled. Instinctively, as Dusty watched the cow
’
s eyes wide with fear and seeming indignation, she stepped behind the fence. She knew what a big, angry cow could do. Sure enough, as Ryder let her go and she got to her feet, she immediately turned on him.

“
Oh, she
’
s mad now!
”
Hank chuckled.

Ryder eluded the angry bovine as she charged him several times. Hank, Feller
,
and the others stood laughing as they remained aware the cow migh
t turn on any one of them next.

Ryder hollered,
“
Look out!
”
and made straight for the fence behind which Dusty and Becca stood. In one clean, very impressive leap, Ryder cleared the fence. Turning he grabbed the girls
’
waistbands, yanking them safely away from danger a second before the angry c
ow ran headlong into the fence—
her long, sharp horns
plunging
through the
rails
like
two spears
.

W
ith a triumphant grin
,
Ryder shouted to Hank
, “
Week from Friday?
”

Hank chuckled and conceded,
“
Week from Friday!
”
A
ll the
ranch
hands roared with amusement as the giant critter turned and took out after Feller. Dusty watched as all the hands and her father, save Guthrie, who was still mounted on a horse, ran this way and that, leaping fences to avoid impalement.