Dusty Britches (66 page)

“
Wise man, your daddy,
”
Ryder chuckled. He kissed her tenderly on one chubby cheek.
“
Now, you run along and find some younger boys to dance with for now. Okeydokey?
”
Makenna nodded and
,
contentedly humming to herself, turned and skipped away.

“
You all right?
”
Dusty asked, biting her lip as she watche
d the way he straightened to a nearly
upright stance.

“
Yeah,
”
he breathed.
“Just gotta stand here a minute
if you don
’
t mind.
”
He shifted his weight onto his other foot with a groan
,
and Dusty couldn
’
t stop
another
giggle.
“
What
’
re you laughin
’
at?” he asked. “I thought you’d
be on my side where my ability to father children is concerned.
”

Instantly, Dusty
’
s laughter
ceased; h
er smile disappeared. The fluttering
beginning
in her stomach fairly erupted into chaos now.
“
What…what do you mean by that?
”
she
questioned
.

Ryder smiled and shook his head.
“
Sugar…if you haven
’
t figured it out by now…I ain
’
t gonna be the one to tell you!
”

“
I can
’
t believe you!
”
she exclaimed. She was simultaneously aghast and elated. It was an odd sensation, to say the least. But he only chuckled at the blush on her cheeks
,
took her hand
,
and nodded toward the dance.

“
Come on,
”
he mumbled.
“
I
’
m well enough to join this next one.
”
But she did not follow his lead. Her feet were planted firmly where she stood
,
still trying to overcome the shocking delight of his inference.
“
You don
’
t wanna dance with me?
”
he asked. But Dusty still could not respond
—
still struggled to absorb the previous remarks he had made.
“
Fine. Let
’
s go for a walk. Me and you.
”
He turned away from the dance and toward the barn.
“
Oops,
”
he grinned.
“
Our barn is already
occupied, ain
’
t it?
”

“
Ryder!
”
she scolded.
“
That
’
s my daddy in there!
”

He raised his eyebrows, a broad smile spreading across his face.
“
I know it! Good ol
’
boy, your daddy.
”
With a wink he turned in the direction of the creek and whispered,
“
Come on. I know a place we can be alone to…talk. A half-naked girl showed it to me once.
”

Dusty
’
s mouth again gaped open in astonishment.
Still, her feet betrayed her, for
they
willingly
propelled her forward to follow him as he pulled her along. He glanced back at her several times, obviously amused by the uncertain expression on her face. Chuckling, he pulled her closer to him, putting a strong arm around her shoulders.

“
Come on now, girl. Nothin
’
to fear.
”
Then
,
leaning over and whispering in her ear, he added,
“
I ain
’
t in no shape to threaten your good name…not after havin
’
Kenna Jones
’
round here tonight.
”

“
Ryder! You stop it!
”
she scolded in a whisper as he threw his head back and laughed.

Then quickening his step
,
he told her,
“
Come on! There
’
s a full moon
.
It
’
ll be right nice out there tonight.
”
Smiling blissfully, Dusty won another battle with fear and cowardice, letting him lead her to the pond, across the rock path
,
and behind the waterfall.

It was indeed a beautiful summer night. The moon shon
e
brightly through the cascade of water illuminating the alcove
, giving it a magical quality—l
ike a fairyland, hidden in secret from the rest of the world. Ryder reached out and let the water run over his hand for a moment. Dusty simply sat down on the inner edge of the alcove and watched him.

“
Well, I
’
ll tell you this,
”
he began.
“
I sure am glad the bunkhouse is gettin
’
done
.
The parlor floor
’
s givin
’
me cause to wake up wit
h a backache every dang mornin’.”
He shook the water from his hand and dried his fingers on his pant leg. Turning to Dusty, he added,
“
Yep! Sure will be nice to sleep in a bed for a change. Of course…
”
Dusty knew mischief was about by the sparkle in his eyes and the grin on his face.
“
Been plenty of moments this last week…that I was tempted to slip into your bed a time or two.
”

“
Ryder! You stop that!
”
she scolded, jumping to her feet. She could admit to herself inwardly she wasn
’
t scolding him because his remarks of late were improper. She was scolding him because of the way they made her heart race even faster than it already did when she had him to herself.

“
Boy! I found your switch, didn
’
t I?
”
he whispered, going to her and taking her face in his hands. Without further warning or pause
,
he kissed her hard, intimately
,
and with an air of possessiveness that thrilled her. After the one, driven kiss
,
he pulled back from her, still holding her face and caressing her lips with his thumb as he mumbled,
“
Won
’
t be long and you and I will be havin
’
to share all our
hideouts with Becca and Feller—y
our daddy and Miss Raynetta too, for that matter!
”
He smiled at her, the warm magic of his eyes soothing her, relaxing her
. Suddenly, s
he found her hands at his waist, tugging on the waistband of his pants
—
silently begging him for another kiss.
“
Yep! Me and you make a good little pair of matchmakers, now don
’
t we?
”

“
I suppose so,
”
she admitted, completely mesmerized by his mouth as he talked.

“
You think you and me will ever get around to…
”
His words were lost as his attention seemed to be completely arrested by her own mouth. He swallowed hard
,
and she tugged at his waist again,
“
Angelina,
”
he whispered,
“
you make my mouth water…and make me thirsty all at the same time.
”

Dusty inhaled triumphantly as he fairly attacked her. It seemed as if he w
ere
frustrated with not being able to pull her body close enough to his. His kisses were demanding, surging with
a
passion he seemed unable to quench. He whispered her name over and over between worship
p
ing her neck with moist kisses and commanding the responses of her mouth to his.

I love you
!
she wanted to confess to him.
I love you so much deeper than I even thought I did
!
But she was silent—
except for whispering his name once when he had ceas
ed in ravaging her momentarily,
his face poised above her own as if waiting for the next invitation. She wanted to hear him tell her he loved her among the things he was whispering now and again.

“
Stop me,
”
he begged her once. But she shook her head
,
and he fairly winced as his mouth
took
hers again.
“
There
’
s something I need to tell…
”
Ryder began during another pause to allow her to catch her breath.
Yet
Dusty shook her head again and embraced him frantically as they continued to kiss. Finally, the cheers from the r
evelers back at the ranch house
signaled them both that the dance had ended and everyone would be leaving.

“
They
’
ll miss us now,
”
she whispered as he held her head against his chest. The mad hammering of his heart and his heavy breathing caused her to reach up and stroke his face soothingly. He kissed the palm of her hand and held her away from him.

“
You don
’
t think they already have?
”
he asked her. His expression was that of extreme mischief mingled with desire.
“
And look at you.
”
He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.
“
You look like…
”
His fingers caressed her lips
,
which were somewhat sore from the length and passion of their interlude.

“
Like what?
”
she asked, standing back from him, straightening her skirt and blouse and running her fingers through her tangled hair.

“
Like your
d
addy will strin
g me up if he sees you just now,”
he chuckled.

“
He won
’
t be in the frame of mind to be noticin
’
it.
”
Dusty grinned at Ryder.

“
Not after the way Miss Raynetta must look by now, you mean?
”

He winked at her and took her hand, leading her out of the alcove. She smiled, warmed
by his arm about her shoulders. Still, as
they approach
ed the party of departing people,
he dropped his arm to his side again.

Is this all there will ever be?
she thought. Kissing
and passion under the waterfall—
only to return to the world as if nothing had happened? The look of panic and
,
yes, fear must
’
ve been far too evident on her face. Ryder immediately took her by the shoulders and glared down at her.

“
Oh, no
,
you don
’
t!
”
he whispered.
“
No
,
sir! Don
’
t you give me that look!
”

“
What look?
”
she managed.

“
That look that says,
‘
Will you be here in the mornin
’
, Ryder?
’
 
”
He shook his head.
“
I hate that look! It lets me know you still don
’
t trust me. And believe me, Dusty…if that next step with me and you is ever to come…it won
’
t be until that look is gone!
”

“
What next step?
”
she asked. Surely he would say it now
—
give h
er hope—hope of him.