Dusty Britches (40 page)

“
Now, I
’
m gonna go on over and fresh
e
n up that punch bowl,
”
Miss Raynetta said, puff
ing up the sleeves of her royal-
plum dress.
“
You run out and find that boy and give him a reason to hang around. You hear me?
”

As Miss Raynetta turned to leave, Dusty asked,
“
Miss Raynetta?
”
The woman turned and looked at Dusty.
“
What…whatever happened to that cowboy you loved?
”

Again heavy moisture
filled
the woman
’
s eyes. Her forced smile faded
,
and she did not answer directly. She seemed to be deciding
whether
she should explain. Then she
forced a smile somehow;
another tear traveled down her cheek.

“
He married the girl he loved
,
and she made him very happy. One horrible, sad day
,
she passed on without
him. She was too young to die…f
ar too young. But together they
’
d had a wonderful life.
”
She paused, moved back to Dusty, and whispered in her ear,
“
And two beautiful little girls…named Angelina and Rebecca.
”
Then she turned and hurried from the barn.

“
Daddy?
”
Dusty spoke unconsciously in a whisper. Her own daddy was the cowboy Miss Raynetta had loved as a girl?

“
You look like you
’
ve seen a ghost, Dusty,
”
Feller said, stepping up from behind her.

Instantly Dusty turned to face him, accusing,
“
You never told me it was Daddy that Miss Raynetta…
”

Feller looked shaken and angry.
“
Wasn
’
t my place to tell you,
”
he nearly snapped back.
“
I probably shouldn
’
ta told you nothin
’
at all about it!
”
He started to turn
to
leave. Dusty reached out, took h
old of his arm, and stopped him—
though his expression was
of anger and
secreted guilt.

“
Please don
’
t be angry
with
me, Feller,
”
Dusty begged.
“
I had no right to scold you before. As far as Miss Raynetta is concerned…it was just such a surprise! I didn
’
t know. I never even suspected!
”

“
People don
’
t want everybody to know when they
’
re hurtin
’
, darlin
’
,
”
he told her purposefully.
“
Ain
’
t that right?
”

Then something else
occurred to Dusty. This man, her daddy’s top hand—
how often had she seen him courting a girl in recent years? She could remember several years ago
when
Feller had been quite the attraction to all the women in town. In fact, he
’
d been out nearly every Saturday night when she was younger.
Yet
about the time everything
with Cash came crumbling down,
he
’
d quit. She couldn
’
t think of one solitary Saturday night
in recent years when
Feller had gone to town by himself. Always it was with the family to the town socials. He hadn
’
t courted a girl in years. Dusty closed her eyes as tears threatened to stream
down her face. How selfish she’d been—h
ow com
pletely wrapped up in self-pity!
She hadn
’
t sensed Miss Raynetta
’
s pain or Feller
’
s or Becca
’
s or anyone else
’
s for that matter. Had she been so blind as all that? Did Feller actually care for Becca deeply? Had he cared for her deeply for two long years? Perhaps
waiting for her to grow up—to
be old enough to have? Why then didn
’
t he reach out and take what was standing so willing and ready before him? Was there more to Feller Lance
’
s profound, insightful understanding of Dusty
’
s broken heart? Was it wisdom born
e
of experience? And was that what kept him from Becca?

“
Have you ever been hurt, Feller?
”
s
he whispered.

“
All the time. Got bucked off
’
n ol
’
Red just last week
,
and my tailbone is still achin
’
,
”
he mumbled.

“
No,
”
Dusty interrupted
, irritated. “Y
ou know what I mean.
”

Feller looked up to where folks were beginning to dance to another tune.
“
Like I said, people don
’
t want folks knowin
’
’
bout their heartaches.
”
He
exhaled a heavy sigh
and forced a smile.
“
You better swaller them tears, Dusty. Here comes your sister.
”

“
Oh, Dusty!
”
Becca exclaimed, arriving on the arm of Ryder.
“
You
’
ve just gotta go dancin
’
! How can you and Feller just stand here, st
iff
as posts
,
when the music is goin
’
?
”
she asked.

“
Well, B
ecca,” Dusty began in her older-sister-who-knows-
everything tone,
“
there
’
s some things that…
”
But when Feller jabbed her in the rib cage, quite uncharacteristically, she stopped talking and looked to him, astonished.

“
Some ol
’
cowboy has to ask you in order for you to go dancin
’
,
”
Feller
answered
Becca.
“
Ain
’
t that right, Ryder?
”

Dusty lo
oked to Ryder when he chuckled—
the mischievous grin spreading across his face.
“
Dang right. Would you like to do me the honor, Miss Britches?
”
he asked Dusty.

Dusty felt
sick and nervous inside—
elated and enraptured at the same time. Why was this affecting her so? Hadn
’
t she just danced with him several tunes before? Taking his arm, f
or she was determined to change—
to find the Dusty that
used to be—
she allowed him to lead her to the floor.

“
Grab that girl and come on, Feller,
”
Ryder called over his shoulder.

It was a waltz.
Of course it would be a waltz—
considering Dusty was already thinking she might faint. Her nerves made
breathing difficult. H
er knees were trembling something fierce. When Ryder put a hand at her waist,
lifted
one of her hands
to
his shoulder
,
and took her
other in his own, she noted how violently
her hands were trembling.

“
Come on there, girl,
”
he told her.
“
It ain
’
t like y
a
never danced with me before.
”
He grinned down at her and, lowering his voice just as the music started, added,
“
Only this time the whole county won
’
t be waitin
’
for me to stomp on your foot
,
and there ain
’
t none of your daddy
’
s hank
ie
s fillin
’
out your dress so nice.
”

Dusty gasped as he winked at her and
began
the waltz.
“
I can
’
t believe you would say such a
—”

“
Yes, y
a
can,
”
he chuckled.

As Dusty waltzed in his arms, her heart ached all the more. They
’
d closed the book. He
’
d told her they had th
e
day under the waterfall. But she didn
’
t want the book closed
!
The heat of his kiss that night was still warm on her lips
,
the feeling of being in his arms still too fresh.
Moreover
, his smile, his wit, his heroism, his way with conversation
—
all of it was something she
’
d dreamed of owning for as long as she could remember. Miss Raynetta
’
s story
flashed
through her mind. She looked up to Ryder
,
and he smiled down at her.
The book was closed, wasn
’
t it?
she wondered as her entire being warmed to his touch. And what about herself? Did she want to
end up a crotchety old spinster,
forever pining away after what she hadn
’
t tried f
or? Even if she weren’t grouchy—
even if s
he ended up like Miss Raynetta, beautiful and cheery—
her life would be forever emp
ty, filled with nothing but regret,
eternal heartache
,
and loneliness. But Ryder had said,
We need to close this book
. He
’
d said
i
t. Looking up into the brown sugar of his eyes
—
to the fantastically
good-looking man holding her—
she doubted her ability to win him. Why would he want her anyway? He
’
d said himself he didn
’
t like the way she
’
d turned out! How could she possibly attract him? Hold him?

Afraid tears were again brimming in her eyes
,
Dusty
turned her head and looked away from him. What she saw caused an idea to begin formi
ng in her mind—a
way of perhaps mending her darkened soul. She needed to find Angelina
“
Dusty
”
Hunter. The Dusty Hunter who had loved people, car
ed about people, helped people—
feared little and loved life! The Dusty Hunter who had cared more about servin
g others—
making sure life was
better for others, better even than her own. She needed to find the
girl who was lost so long ago.
Concentrating
on others, making the lives of others whole
and happy with someone to love—
maybe that would unearth the Dusty Ryder could love. And what she
saw at that moment
she knew
was
her means of healing her
own
soul.

Hank Hunter
was actually dancing! For the first time she could remember since her mama passed,
her daddy was waltzing—
and with none other than Raynetta McCarthy. Dusty noted
Miss
Raynetta
wore an expression
that certainly must
’
ve mirrored Dusty
’s
in
the moment Ryder had taken her in his arms. Nearby Feller was leading
Becca in the waltz. Poor Feller—s
omething had eaten his heart away too. Something had made him believe he wasn
’
t capable of having a young, fresh beauty like Becca to love him. Four people primed for happiness
—four people
just needing someone to guide them along.