Dusty Britches (20 page)

Dusty only nodded.

“
Mornin
’
will come soon enough, punkin. And when it does…the smell will already be fadin
’
, okay?
”
As Dusty nodded, her mother whispered,
“
Thank you, Ryder.
”

“
The boys don
’
t want me in my bunk anyhow, Mrs. Hunter. Might as well enjoy the summer night,
”
Ryder sighed.

“
You
’
re a fine boy, Ryder Maddox. A fine boy,
”
Elly said. She kissed
him affectionately on the cheek before she left the barn.

Dusty wiped at her tears, embarrassed
they’
d started again. Ryder groaned as he put a blanket down on the straw several feet from where Dusty was tucked in for the night.

“
I feel like I been spit at and hit,
”
he moaned as he la
y
down.
“
What a day, huh, sugar?
”

“
A rotten day,
”
Dusty mumbled.

“
Ah, come on now,
”
he said, stripping off his shirt, sitting down on the blanket
,
and removing his boots.
“
You and Becca were havin
’
a fine time
’
til ol
’
Mr. Stink
y-
Rear showed up, now weren
’
t y
a
?
”

Dusty couldn
’
t help but smile
. His voice was so soothing
. She nodded at him as she watched him stretch out on his back, cross his feet
,
and rest his head on his hands. He winked at her and looked out the barn door to the stars in the night sky. He
released a heavy sigh—
tired after a long day.

“
You
see the Big Dipper out yonder?” he asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Dusty answered. Her daddy had taught her long a
go about the constellations. S
he found them fascinating in their starry beauty.

“
Well,
”
he continued after sighing again,
“
I always thought it looked more like a beat
-
up ol
’
pan or somethin
’
…
’
stead of a drinkin
’
ladle.
”

“
Me too,
”
she agreed, somehow warmed that he would think similarly to her.

“
Yeah…I woulda named it
‘
the ol
’
beat
-
up pan Mama use
d to smack skunks with’
instead.
”

Dusty smiled at him warmly as he continued to stare at the stars. It was comforting
,
and somehow exciting
,
to have his attention so completely to herself.

“
You never did tell me, Ryder,
”
she ventured then.

“
Tell y
a
what?
”
he asked, yawning.

“
Whether or not you
’
ve been sparkin
’
that girl in town you
’
re sweet on
.”
At ten years old, nearly eleven, Dusty herself didn
’
t understand why her curiosity was so inclined toward that particular subject regarding Ryder. All she knew was that it was.

Ryder chuckled and turned on his side to
face Dusty. “Well, sugar…that’s my own business,” he told her
. She looked away from him for a moment and then back when he continued,
“
But since we
’
re such good, stinky friends together…I
’
ll tell y
a
just this
once.” He winked at her again, and
she smiled.
“Just this once, mind you, nosy-Rosy
!
”

Dusty nodded, wondering
if she really wanted him to tell her. It bothered her to think of his attentions
being
focused on someone else. Especially at that moment when they were so focused on her.

“Her name is Miss…” he teased, quickly whispering
,
“
Nobody!
”

“
Ah, quit teasin
’
me,
”
she whined at him, scowling.

“
I ain
’
t teasin
’
,
”
he chuckled.
“
Why…I figure…no one
’
ll ever be as pretty as you
’
re gonna be when you grow up
. S
o why waste the time
?”

Disappointment and delight mingled
in her. Yet
Dusty was
dazzled by his compliment, while still
bothered that the secret was still his own. Playfully she drew up a handfu
l of straw and threw it at him.

“
You
’
re a skunk yourself, Ryder Maddox!
”
she giggled.

“
Least I know better
’
n to poke a stick at somethin
’
s rear end!
”
he chuckled, brushing the straw from his hair.

He yawned again
,
and Dusty knew she was selfish to be keeping a cowboy from his sleep.
Ranch hands worked hard. I
f they lost sleep, well, it wasn
’
t right. Still, she had his undivided attention! How could she give it up?

“
Now,
”
he yawned,
“
I
’
m tired
,
wrung out
,
and
I
gott
a get some shut-eye, Miss Skunk-
Britches,
”
he told her.
“
Still…there
’
s always time for a good bet.
”

Dusty raised her eyebrows expectantly.

“
I
’
ll bet I can keep my eyes open longer
’
n you.
”

“Deal,” Dusty said.

S
he snuggled down onto her bed of straw and began returning Ryder
’
s amused stare. His eyes were so warm and soot
hing even in the moonlight. S
he knew it wouldn
’
t be long before she lost the battle an
d drifted into pleasant slumber—
knowing she would always be safe with Ryder so near to her. His smile was the last thing she saw before her eyes finally closed for good that night in the barn. Even the prominent odor of skunk did nothing to tarnish her pretty dreams.

Dusty
breathed a heavy sigh and
fin
ished drying the last plate. She
put it in its place in the cupboard before going to
find
her father
. She wondered what he
wanted of her. As she left the house, something caught her attention
,
and she glanced at the barn. Looking up to the sky, she wondered where the
B
ig
D
ipper might be that night. She would go to the barn when everyo
ne was settled in for the night. She’d go to the barn where she and Ryder had once slept; she’d gaze up into the stars and find their Big Dipper
. Not because of the sentimental reminiscing she
’
d been doing whil
e washing the dishes—simply
because she hadn
’
t looked for it
in
so long.

Hank Hunter
was sitting on one of the lar
ge logs near
the fire pit
as Dusty
approached. Becca sat next to him with Ruff, Guthrie
,
and Titch. Ryder and Feller were walking over from the barn.

“
What did y
a need, Daddy?” she asked him. She wanted to find out what he needed so she could return to
the house
and avoid everyone—avoid Ryder
.

“
I want y
a
to come on out here with the family and talk awhile. It
’
ll do y
a
good to get out of the house,
”
he told her.

“
Alice and I took a good long walk today while she was over
and…” Dusty began to argue. She glanced to where
Feller and Ryder both
now sat
on
one of the logs
.

“
Sit down, Dusty,
”
her father said.
He was firm—not cruel, but very firm.

Sighing heavily, Dusty sat down next to Becca
, grinding her teeth with irritation.
It wasn
’
t long, however,
until the light conversation concerning
ranch life and town
s
folk lulled her into a state of relaxation. Ruff told
a funny tale
he
’
d heard in town
concerning
ol
d
Leroy
’
s latest antics.

“
I always thought ol
’
Leroy oughta hook up with Miss Raynetta McCarthy,
”
Guthrie offered.

“
Heck, no,
”
Hank argued.
“
He
’
s near to seventy year old! She
’
s a kitten compared to him
.”

“
Yeah, but they
’
re both so…so…you know,
”
Guthrie stammered.

“
Eccentric,
”
Dusty finished.

“
Yeah, that
’
s it.
’
Centric,
”
Guthrie chuckled, nodding at Dusty in thanks.

“
I think Miss Raynetta is an angel,
”
Becca sighed.
“
I wish I had the guts to wear purple like she does.
”

“
She
’
s the sweetest lady I
’
ve ever known,
”
Ruff agreed, yawning.

“
Send us to sleep on
a tale, boss,” Titch suggested
.

“
Yeah,
”
Ryder agreed.
“
Somethin
’
along the lines of Lady Godiva a
-
meetin
’
up with Paul Revere.
”
Everyone chuckled, even Dusty and Feller.

“
Oh my, boys,
”
Hank sighed,
“
don
’
t know if I
’
ve got it in me tonight.
”

“
How
’
bout the time Grampa Hunter had the kickin
’
fight with the mule, Daddy
?”
Becca suggested.

“
That
’
s a good one, Daddy,
”
Dusty heard herself say.

She nervously
glanced
around to see i
f anyone were looking at her—
thinking how ridiculous she sounded
in
entering the conversation.
Still,
all h
eads were nodding in agreement—
all eyes already on Hank as he began the tale.