Dusty Britches (43 page)

Dusty felt sick. She certainly didn
’
t wa
nt him in such proximity—
and she didn
’
t want him ruining Ryder
’
s fun.

“
Quiet down!
”
Cash chuckled.
“
Brenda Rivers was right behind me.
”
His voice was pleasant and friendly, however, and Dusty relaxed a bit as she saw h
e
and Ryder nod to each other in greeting. The game was too fun to be ruined. Maudie
’
s and Becca
’
s giggles were immediately muffled. Obviously some masculine hands were to thank
. C
losing her eyes, Dusty imagined how fun it
must be to be in
Maudie
’
s place—
when all flirting was romantic and there was no fear of heartbreak because it was, as yet, unknown to
her
.

Her thoughts were sent sailing into the night breeze, however, when she was suddenly pushed with great force, causing her to roll over onto her back.

“
What are you do
—”
she began when she realized it was Ryder who had pushed her over. He put an index finger to his lips quickly, frowning at her
in scolding at
being so loud.

In
that very moment, the few clouds that were in the sky
drifted in front of the moon,
blocking the faint light it let into the shed.

Dusty felt Ryder lean down, putting his mouth to her ear
. S
he could feel the moisture of his breath as he whispered,
“
This situation just sorta demands
I do somethin’ inappropriate. D
on
’
t y
a
think?
”

“
What?
”
she exclaimed in a whisper, only to be met with a resounding
“
Ssshhhhh!
”
from the other
occupants of the shed. She heard Ryder
’
s amused chuckle
,
and her mind pictured the mischievous grin no doubt beginning to spread across his face.

“
Don
’
t worry about it bein
’
so dark,
”
he whispered
so
quietly
she could barely understand him.
“
I
’
ll just…feel my way to makin
’
a devil of myself.
”
She felt one of his hands at her waist
;
the other slid under her neck as he pulled her against him. The hand at her waist traveled slowly up her back and over her shoulder until it reached her chin, cupping it firmly. She could feel his breath on her cheek and in her hair. All she could hear was his breathing. Then suddenly a lantern light peeked over the ladder and into the loft.

“
Ssshhh! Hurry up, Brenda!
”
Maudie giggled as Brenda lay down next to Cash and blew out her lantern. No one had noticed
Ryder held Dusty. No doubt most
had been too involved in their own little t
rysts to notice her and Ryder—e
xcept for Becca. Dusty knew that, although
Becca
giggled, her heart was back at ol
d
man Leroy
’
s barn
with Feller
.

Dusty knew complete darkness and a sort of public privacy invoked by the game was what all these flirtatious young men waited for. She
’
d had a kiss or two stolen in the dark playing pack
’
em in before.

As the cloud continued to completely block the moon
’
s light from the shed,
Ryder whispered, “Shoot, sugar…t
he whole point of this game is the sparkin
’
that goes on when everybody
’
s packed nose
-
to
-
nose but can
’
t see worth a darn. Ain
’
t that right?
”

His roughly shaven cheek brushed her own lightly
.
Dusty involuntarily clenched her hands into tight fists. Ryder
’
s thumb caressed her cheek, slowly moving to her lips. He was indeed feeling his way in the dark to her mouth
,
and something buried deep inside her screamed silently,
Hurry! Oh, hurry before the cloud is gone and takes the moment from me!
Yet
her
trembling
body reacted routinely
—
a sm
all fist going to his chest,
pushing gently against his body.

She whispered
,
“
Ryder, stop it. I can
’
t…
”
But in the next moment
,
she felt the warmth of his lips, softly toying with her own. A wave of heat
,
so intense she thought her body might burst into flames
,
broke over her so rapidly
,
she shuddered in the exhilaration of such awakening. He kissed her softly twice more before his tongue touched her upper lip teasingly, causing a small gasp to escape her lungs and providing him the means of deepening the kiss. For a moment
,
her mind fought surrender to him, but as his kiss wove a spell
of enchantment over her senses,
even her fist at his chest relaxed, her palm pressing gently against him
now. His mouth was warm, moist—
sweet with the nectared taste that was his kiss.

All too soon, the cloud left the moon, and with it went Ryder
’
s kiss. He fairly tore his mouth from her, sighed heavily
,
and let his face drop into the straw on which they lay. The giggling that erupted from either side of Dusty told her she hadn
’
t been the only young woman to be kissed in the dark. All she could do as other young people came into the shed and up to the loft was lie there in the blissful realization Ryder
’
s kiss had been her own. Once in a while she
’
d glance over at Ryder
, now
lying on his back
,
hands tucked under his head
as he gazed
at the stars.

“
Ol
’
beat
-
up pan Mama used to s
mack skunks with,” he whispered. He smiled and winked
at her as he gestured toward the sky and the
B
ig
D
ipper so bright and visible in the starry night.
Dusty sighed and smiled at him adoringly as he winked at her.

Moments later, and far too soon, the first round of the game ended simply because Maudie had picked such an obvious hiding spot and the last person had found it.
Yet Dusty was glad,
for as Ryder descended the ladder just before her, catching her around the waist as she stepped down from the
ladder and onto the shed floor,
she knew she could not again endure the euphoria mingled with heartache that his kissing her had caused
in her
.

All the young people walked
back toward the barn together.
Guthrie and Ryder talk
ed
about what all would have to be done the next day since the ranch had
been abandoned for a whole day.
Becc
a rattled
on somewhat dejectedly. It was the lack of excitement in her voice that caught Dusty
’
s attention.

“
I
’
m tired,
”
Becca had said.
“
I wish we could go home now.
”
Dusty looked quickly to her sister. Becca did indeed look unhappy.

“
What
’
s the matter? You love the fireworks,
”
Dusty reminded her.

Becca shrugged. Then, linking arms with Dusty and dropping to the back of the group,
she
confessed,
“
Truth is, Dusty…I don
’
t really want to be here at all. Not like this.
”

Dusty frowned.
“
Why? You
’
ve always really looked forward to the picnic and all. Even today you
—”

“
I know. But…it
’
s gettin
’
hard to pretend to myself. I want to be here…but not a
s one of the unmarried girls.
I want…
”
Becc
a couldn’t finish her thought; s
he didn
’
t have to. Dusty knew how she felt.
Becca wanted to be married—married to Feller—b
e his wife and
come to the picnic on his arm—d
a
nce every dance with only him—m
ake her own pies and cookies
in
a
house they shared together.

“
I know,
”
Dusty admitted. Ryder
’
s remark about her
having
his baby someday echoed through her own mind. When
Makenna had jumped in his lap the way she had—every time she was near him, in fact—
Dusty pushed away the desire to have it be her own little girl
vying for his attentions—hers and his—t
heirs! Closeting her own thoughts in the back of her mind, she put her arm around Becca
’
s shoulders.
“
We just gotta get Feller to realize he
’
s worth havin
’
you.
”

Becca shook her head and wiped a lone tear from he
r cheek. “He sees me as a baby…
still needin
’
him to keep me from fallin
’
headfirst into the hog pen,
”
she mumbled.

“
I don
’
t think that
’
s it at all! I
—”
Dusty began.

But Becca shook her head and begged,
“
Please. Let
’
s not talk about it. All right?
”

Dusty understood heartache and the need to try to bury it. So, smiling, she nodded
,
and they walked back to the barn in silence.

The fiddlers were still sawing away on their instruments
,
and people were still dancing and having a wonderful time. Dusty knew the fireworks would be soon, and then it would be time to go home. Only, unlike Becca
,
who longed for the night to end, Dusty did not.
How ironic
,
she thought to herself.
A
s much as she had dreaded it
,
she would be the one
who had enjoyed it so thoroughly.
As she thought about Ryder—
the delight he
’
d caused her to feel in so many different ways that
day—
she glanced over to where he stood in a circle of young men
sharing
conversation
. He smiled and winked at her and t
hen raised his eyebrows as if
he’d just remembered something. He
reached into his pocket and pulled out the blue ribbons he
’
d offered to her as stuffing for her bodice earlier in the day. Silently he held them out toward her with an expression of,
Do you need these?
Then with a mischievous grin
,
his eyes traveled the length of her. He shook his head dramatically, winked at her
,
and stuffed the ribbons back into his pocket.

He was unbelievable! Dusty knew that had any other man in the world implied such things to her as he had that day, she would
’
ve been bound to s
lap him solidly across the face—
and would
’
ve gladly done so! But there was something uns
poken between them—a
familiarity left over from somewhat growing up together that made certain allowances.
That was the reason
,
she told herself. Nothing more—f
or she knew he was just teasing. Wasn
’
t he?