Dusty Britches (23 page)

“
How long were y
a
gonna stand there and watch, huh, boy?
”
Ryder nearly shouted.

“
I had everything under control,
”
Cash assured him calmly.
“
This…this mess could
’
ve
all
been easily avoided,
”
he said, gesturing to Ryder
’
s bleeding lip and the drunken men
on the ground
.

A crowd had gather
ed, and Dusty saw her father,
Becca
,
and the other hands walking toward them. Her father
’
s attention was on Ryder, not
on
Dusty. Dusty looked at Ryder
still
glaring at Cash.

“
He shouldn
’
t
a even
had the chance to talk to her, let alone touch her, you coward!
”
Ryder shouted.

“A gentleman uses the strength of his mind
in such situations,
”
Cash told him.
“
Fists are left to those who can
’
t think out a situation
with civility
.
”

“
Oh, no,
”
Dusty mumbled.

If there wa
s one thing Dusty remembered
about Ryder Maddox, it was his distaste for a man who wouldn
’
t protect a woman
’
s honor at any length.
Somehow k
nowing what would happen next, she watched as Ryder rubbed the whiskers at his chin. Without another word, he lo
oked Cash Richardson in the eye, slamming
his fist into the
“
gentleman
’
s
”
face. Cash
’
s feet flew out from under him
. H
e sailed through the air for a moment, his arms and legs outstretched, before landing with a solid thud square in the dirt.

Ryder immediately walked over to him, placed one of his own dusty boots square on the man
’
s chest
,
and growled,
“
Go take a bath, boy.
”
Then he sniffed the air
with exaggeration
.
“
You stink.
”

“
Come on, there, son,
”
Hank said, having reached the scene of all the excitement. He took hold of Ryder
’
s arm and pulled him away from Cash. Dusty watched as Cash got to his feet much faster than probably anyone standing around had expected.

Cash glared at Dusty for a moment. Then he said,
“
And you complained about the company I keep?
”

Hank grabbed Ryder around the waist as he growled,
“
You dirty…
”
and tried to get back
to
Cash
,
who stepped backward while wiping the blood from his lip.

“
Hold on there, boy,
”
Hank told Ryder as he struggled to confine the young man.
“
Feller! Help me out here!
”

In the next moment, Feller and Hank had Ryder settled down. Dusty couldn
’
t hear what they were whispering in their low, mumbling tones
. Still,
it seemed to keep Ryder from flying at Cash with his already bloodied fists.

Cash straightened his coll
ar as he walked past the group. H
is pride
was
damaged
,
but his superior attitude intact,
and he said to Miss Raynetta,
“
I do wonder about the company you and the Hunter girls are keeping these days, Miss Raynetta.
”
Then, proving himself a true coward, he turned and landed a fist in Ryder
’
s midsection.

“
I
’
ve about had my fill of you, boy!
”
Dusty heard her father shout. In the next moment it was her father Feller and the others were pulling off Cash Richardson
—Cash Richardson,
who
’
d
now
been sent reeling again by Hank Hunter.

“
Daddy!
”
Becca screeched.

“
Hank!
”
Miss Raynetta shouted.
“
Hank Hunter! You quit a
-
wallerin
’
in the dirt like a schoolboy!
”

Dusty watched her father
’
s chest rise and fall angrily as he turned and walked away, pushing his way through the crowd and toward Miss Raynetta
’
s shop.

“
You
’
re a disappointment, Cash,
”
Miss Raynetta told him, helping him to stand.
“
You
’
ve disappointed more people than you ever had a right to know.
”
She shook her head, clicking her tongue with disapproval a moment before s
he followed Hank throu
gh the crowd. “
Ryder! Feller! Get on into
the shop, and we’ll clean ya up,” she called over her shoulder.

“
That boy deserved a good whoppin
’
!
”
Ruff exclaimed as he and the other hands gathered around Ryder.

“Somebody should
a knocked him on his…
”
Titch glanced at Becca a moment and then finished,
“
hind end a long time ago!
”

“
Sure enough,
”
Feller agreed, dabbing at a cut over his eyebrow.

“
Come on,
”
Becca said, pushing at Feller
’
s back.
“
You all heard Miss Raynetta.
”

As Ryder turned to follow them, Dusty felt herself reach out and take hold of his arm. He stopped, turned
,
and looked at her expectantly. She wanted to thank him. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him squarely on the mouth! She wanted to kiss him so badly the thought of it made her mouth water
.
She wanted to tell him how wonderful
it was to have him rescue her—
to have him cha
mpion her virtue and her pride—
to have him so close she could touch him!

Yet
fear overcame h
er—fear of rejection, of loss. A
nd when she opened her mouth
,
all that she could manage was a stammering,
“
I…I…
”

He sighed
with disappointment
and frowned down at her.
“
Don
’
t thank me, Dusty. I wouldn
’
t want you to hurt yourself.
”
Yanking his arm from her grasp, he followed the others through the crowd.

Everyone was staring at her—
not at Cash
,
who was storming to
ward his parents’ home in town—
not at the drunken, bleeding men that were now struggling to their feet. They all stared at her. Dusty h
ad caused this all—
unwittingly, of course.
Still, she had caused it; s
he knew they were all wondering how.

Without a word to anyone, Dusty pushed her way through the crowd of onlookers and
walked
toward the dress shop. Stepping inside, she was greeted by Miss Raynetta handing her a wet cloth.

“
Now, put some pressure on Feller
’
s head there, sweetheart,
”
the woman instructed without waiting for a response.

Humbly Dusty walked to Feller and pressed the cloth to his head.
“
I can do that, Dusty,
”
Feller grumbled in his shy, mumbly way.

Dusty pushed his hand away. “
Let me do somethin
’
for you for once, Feller,
” she whispered, forcing a smile—
though she felt like sobbing.

The whole incident was too much to take in. Being nearly accosted by strange, vile men
—
the fact
t
he mere sight of Cash made her
certain
she
’
d been insane
to have ever been attracted to him—
having Ryder co
me so powerfully to her rescue—
Feller helping him
—e
ven her father involving himself! And what had she done but stand there mute and seemingly ungrateful
?
She looked over to where Miss Raynetta was forcing Ryder to sit in a chair.

“
You chewed your knuckles up good enough, didn
’
t y
a
, boy?
”
Miss Raynetta said, though talking more to herself than to
Ryder. She
showed Becca how to tend Ryder
’
s knuckles. Then the woman in orange turned to Hank.
“
And you!
”
she exclaimed.
“
Have y
a
got rocks in your noggin?
”
She shook her head and pointed a dainty
, scolding
index finger at him.
“
You could
’
ve been hurt!
”

Dusty quickly looked back to Feller as she felt tears fill her eyes.
She opened them wide
, refusing to blink and trying to will away the extra moisture there as she dabbed at Feller
’
s forehead.
Still,
the tears were too many
,
and as they trickled down her face, she whispered,
“
I
’
m sorry. I
’
m so sorry.
”
She couldn
’
t even imagine how it must feel to have the power of a man
’
s fist meet full force with any part of
one’s
body. Ryder and Feller had endured great pain and injury because of her. The knowledge, though somehow comforting and flattering, was not easy to bear.

Feller put a roughened
and familiar hand to her cheek, brushing away her
tears with his thumb.
“
It
’
s all right, Dusty. It ain
’
t none of it your fault.
”

“
Well, if I ain
’
t as dumb as a post!
”
Miss Raynetta exclaimed suddenly.
“
Here I am a
-
makin
’
over these men like they was babies
,
and I didn
’
t even stop to ask if you
’
re all right, Dusty
,
honey!
”

“
I
’
m fine,
”
Dusty lied
. She forced
a smile as the
woman took her by the shoulders and studied her face
.

“
Thou shalt not lie to Raynetta
McCarthy,” Miss Raynetta cooed, gathering
Dusty as best she could into her short little arms.
“
Them men was just a bunch of drunken filth, Dusty! Just drunken filth! You don
’
t pay no mind to the things they may
have
said to you. And these here boys…don
’
t let
’
em fool y
a
! Cowboys take to brawlin
’
like fish
take
to water. Even ones that should be old enough to know better,
”
she added, glancing over her shoulder at Dusty
’
s father.