Dusty Britches (26 page)

“
Oh, I did, did I?
”
he had chuckled.

Their dance had ended.
Yet
Dusty had waltzed with Ryder Maddox
,
and it had caused quite a stir
among the other girls in town—
the ones Dusty
’
s o
wn age and the ones older who’
d all been trying to catch his attention all night.
Alice
could gloat too—
for though his reasons for dancing with her may have been a bit desperate, no one else knew it! So Ryder had made Dusty and
Alice
the girls to be
jealous of that Fourth of July—and Dusty had reveled in it.
Even now, she felt th
e
same silly schoolgirl pride welling up within her at the memory.

The men were settling their laughter now
,
and Hank sighed,
“
Well, let
’
s get these chores finished up
,
boys
.
Daylight
’
s gone, but it
comes too early in the mornin’.”

Dusty stayed in the barn for a while longer until she was certain everyone was gone and wouldn
’
t see her coming out of the barn. It had been fun overhearing the conversation. It had taken her back in time to when thin
gs in life weren’t so serious—w
hen her heart was young and
untainted and hopeful—w
hen she
’
d still been that impetuous, wild girl always finding herself in a fix.

Finally, Dusty figured the hands and her daddy were busy enough not to notice her leaving the barn
,
and she started back toward the house. The sky was so clear that night. It seemed
as if
every star twinkled far more brightly than usual
.
Dusty
paused
and looked toward the north. The air was still warm
,
even though the sun had been down for a
while
,
and Dusty inhaled deeply. Even for the cooler temperature of the evening, it was hot. A swim would be nice, she thought to herself.
Yet
she was weary from the trip into town and the events there. So, with a heavy sigh, she resolved to simply retire for the night. Turning back toward the house, she nearly ran headlong into Ryder, however. He had obviously been standing directly behind her. For how long, she could only wonder.

“
Excuse me,
”
she mumbled. Her heart had begun to poun
d furiously at the sight of him. S
he felt the need to escape
at once
. Had he seen her
leave the barn? Had he
figured she
’
d been there during the conversation he
’
d had with the other men?

“
Hey there,
”
he said, quickly
reaching out and taking her arm. “W
hy don
’
t you and me go for a little walk, Miss Dusty?
”

Dusty clenched her teeth tightly
together—c
onflicting emotions of elation at his invitation and trepidation as to the reason for it battling within her. She wanted to snap back at him a defensive,
Why?
and
erect the wall of stone between h
er heart and the fabulous man—b
ut she didn
’
t. For some reason, she simply took a deep breath, turne
d, and began walking beside him—
listening to the way the handle of the unlit lantern he carried squeaked rhythmically with his stride.

“
Sorry if I seemed a little…grouchy today in town. Just let my temper get the better of me,
”
he began in a mumbly sort of
manner
.
“
Never did ask y
a
if you were all right
.
Them fellas upset you too bad?
”

Dusty could only shake her head, affirming the men hadn
’
t done permanent damage to her. Why couldn
’
t she talk
?
she wondered
.
It was as if her voice w
ere
lost to her. She could only walk beside him, as she
’
d done all
those years ago—listening to his voice—
hanging on his every word
as if
it w
ere
the
very
nectar of life.

They walked in silence for
a while, u
ntil the light of the house was dim in the distance. Ryder stopped
and
drew a match from his pocket, running
it quickly along his pant leg. The match ignited
,
and he lit the lantern. Setting it at their feet, he turned to face
Dusty. Looking down at her—
an expression of concern
on his handsome face—
he asked,
“
Do you have somethin
’
y
a
wanna
say to me?
”

Yes!
Dusty
’
s mind shouted.
Yes! Thank you for coming to my rescue today! Thank you for being born so beautiful and perfect! Thank you for coming back to my father
’
s ranch so that I could have you near me again!
Yet
the words
actually escaping
her lips surprised her.

“
Why did you leave?
”
Dusty knew she didn
’
t have to
explain
to him what sh
e meant. He knew what she meant—
rather,
when
she meant. Even though it was unspoken, he knew it.

Ryder paused for a moment, looking away from her
,
shrugging his shoulders.
H
e
didn’t try to avoid an answer—
didn
’
t even seem surprised that particular question was the one she asked.

“
I guess…guess
’
cause I started thinkin
’
that maybe I was some sorta twisted…I started thinkin
’
somethin
’
was wrong with me,
”
he stated finally.

“
What?
”
Dusty exclaimed in a whisper. The question, in her mind, had been simple enough to deserve a serious answer. Was he teasing her?
“
What kind of an answer is that?
”
she asked him.

“
A truthful one,
”
he told her.
“
I left because I started thinkin
’
somethin
’
was wrong with me. I thought I was tur
nin’ into some sort of ol’ letch,”
he
explained
. He seemed serious enough.

Dusty shook her head and sighed, rolling her eyes as she spoke.
“
The ranch was doin
’
really bad. That
’
s the year we almost lost it. I remember
that.” Looking up to him suddenly—searchingly—
for her heart and mind needed an answer, she added,
“
But…but Mama favored you, and you were the best hand we had next to Feller. Daddy would
’
ve kept you on through it all.
”

This
intoxicatingly handsome
man bent toward her then
.
Dusty noted how hot she felt being so near to him. It wasn
’
t the warmth of the day left in the ni
ght. It was the excited warmth—
the blissful warmth a woman feels when the man she cares for most in the world is near to her. It disturbed her that this sensation should still was
h over her after all this time—
after she
’
d worked so hard to deny it.

Lowering his voice, he said,
“
I was twenty years old
,
and I was attracted to a fourteen
-
year
-
old little girl I knew.
”
He raised
an eyebrow
and tipped his head to one side, waiting for what he
’d
said to sink in
to her mind
. When Dusty stood still unbelieving
,
he added,
“
And she was the boss
’
s little girl to boot. Do y
a
see what I
’
m sayin
’
here, Britches?
”
Moving his face even
closer to hers, meeting
her eye
-
to
-
eye
,
he stated,
“
I was afraid I was turnin
’
into some sort of pervert or somethin
’
!
”

Dusty was infuri
ated that he would tease her so! Infuriated and
very hurt
.
She couldn
’
t bel
ieve how he was toying with her—
making fun of her childhood crush on him.
“
It
’
s a simple enough question, Ryder! Can
’
t y
a
just give me a straight answer?
”
she
pleaded
.

He chuckled with frustration, retrieved the lantern from its place at his feet
,
and said,
“
Your daddy had to let us all go
. That there was reason enough…b
ut add to it the fact that in my spare time I was listin
’
off in my head how many girls I knew
who
went and got married whe
n they was sixteen or seventeen…
and then tellin
’
myself
y
ou
’
d be
sixteen or seventeen soon enough
!
”
He raised his eyebrows as the expression on Dusty
’
s face must
’
ve revealed, at last, the beginning of belief.
H
e told her,
“
I needed work
,
your daddy
’
s ranch was flounderin
’,
and I was turnin
’
into a pervert. So I left.
”
He turned from her then—simply turned and
walked away.

How Dusty loved to watch him walk! He had a rhythmic sort of saunter that defined him
—caused him to stand apart
from anyone else she knew. It was especially pleasant to be standing behind him
and to
watch
him walk—
even if he was a terrible, heartless tease.

The
darkness swallowed him quickly—even for the light of
his lantern
. Dusty
turned
and started
back toward the house.
Yet h
er heart leaped for a moment. He had seemed sincere in the reasons he gave her for leaving. But she
remembered herself at fourteen,
remembered all the silly, stupid things she used to do
—the ridiculous
situations she used to stumble into. Stuffing her dress for the picnic was one of
her
milder
antics
. It was tr
ue:
Ryder
had always treated her kindly—
more than kindly
,
actually. He
’
d always been chivalrous in saving h
er dignity anytime he was near,
when she would p
lunge headlong into stupidity—l
ike the handkerchiefs in her bodice at that long
-
ago Fourth of July picnic. He
’
d saved her today, hadn
’
t he? In so many more ways than he would ever know! She could never admit to anyone the selfish, immature elation she
’
d felt when he
’
d knocked the stuffing out of Cash Richardson. It had been fabulous! He
’
d even saved her on that night he
’
d left so long ago. The night she
’
d confessed her young heart
’
s obsession with him. On that night he
’
d…