Dusty Britches (70 page)

Dusty stepped out onto the porch next to Becca. The young woman
’
s eyes locked with Dusty
’
s an instant
. S
he studied Dusty from head to toe.

“
Uh, yes,
”
the young woman answered Becca
,
still looking at Dusty.
“
I
’
m…uh…is this the Hunter
r
anch?
”
she asked.

“
Well, yes it is,
”
Becca answered when Dusty didn
’
t.

Dusty
’
s stomach churned with
fear. This must be t
he woman Feller had seen Ryder talking to in town the day before. And now she
’
d come here! Who was she to Ryder? Even with no true knowledge of her beyond the fact Feller had seen her talking to Ryder in town, Dusty knew this woman was no friend to her.

“
Are you…are you Dusty?
”
the woman asked, still staring at Dusty.

“
Yes,
”
Dusty answered shortly.
“
And you are?
”

“
Rose Montgomery,
”
the woman answered. Dusty stood speechless.

The name was unknown to her and yet somehow familiar. Then, like a horrible glimpse into a suffocating nightmare, Dusty remembered the newspaper. She remembered with perfectly terrible clarity the name of the girl in
Abilene
who had died—t
he name of the family in the newspaper article Ryder had received in the mail. Lillian Montgomery had been the name o
f the girl who had passed away—the name of the girl
whose death had so unsettled Ryder.

“
From
Abilene
?
”
Dusty asked.

The young woman frowned, obviously astonished Dusty knew of her.
“
Yes.
”

Becca frowned and looked from the woman to Dusty and back.

“
Ryder isn
’
t here. He
’
s out in the pastures,
”
Dusty curtly informed Rose Montgomery.

This girl was beautiful—long auburn hair
pinned up to perfection. This was a young woman who would never be caught dead
wearing her daddy’s old shirts—
as Becca and Dusty
did
at that very moment. Her
eyes were as green as emeralds,
her skin as fair as porcelain
. S
he was rosy
-
cheeked.

“I-
I came to talk to you,
”
Rose Montgomery said then.

“
Dusty?
”
Becca asked in a whisper. From the pale look on her face
,
it was apparent Becca too felt impending doom.

“
Run on in and work on the apples, Becca,
”
Dusty ordered.
“
It
’
ll be all right.
”

It
would be. It had to be! The night before Dusty had put the pieces of her soul in order. Nothing would t
ake Ryder Maddox from her now—n
othing and no one! She would have him. No one else!

Without another word
,
Becca went back in the house
.
Dusty descended the porch steps
—soon stood
face
-
to
-
face with the woman.

“
Ryder has told you about Lilly then?
”
Rose asked forthrightly.

“
No.
”
Dusty
’
s answer was impolitely blunt.
“
I know she was a young woman who died in
Abilene
recently. That
’
s all.
”

Dusty could see the sudden excess moisture in the young woman
’
s ey
es, but she seemed to blink back the tears—
inhaled a deep breath.

She
studied
Dusty for a long moment and then, smiling kindly, said,
“
I knew you
’
d be beautiful.
”

Dusty frowned, completely confused and taken back by the woman
’
s remark. She shook her head.

The woman continued,
“He told us stories about you…a
ll the time. He described you perfectly
—f
rom the way your eyes flash with emotion to the perfect shape of you.
”

“What are you talkin’
about?
”
Dusty asked. She felt frightened. This woman was there to destroy her happiness
,
and she knew it. So why didn
’
t she just get on with it?

“
Ryder,
”
the woman answered.
“
It
’
s why he came back here. He couldn
’
t keep away. I knew
he’d end up back here one day…f
or you.
”

“I’m sorry for my lack of…
of…for being rude, Mi
ss Montgomery,” Dusty told her,
anger and fear apparent in her voice.
“
I know
your comin’ here upset Ryder…a
nd I can
’
t really believe that you bring good news with y
a
. Just say what you came to say to me
,
and let
’
s get it over with.
”

Rose dropped her
gaze
to the ground for a
moment. Looking up to Dusty
with pure defiance, she demanded,
“
You can
’
t have him! He can
’
t stay here. If he stays here with you, he
’
ll die!
”

Dusty hadn’t expected threats. A jealous woman maybe—a
woman grieving of a broken heart even. But not threats against Ryder
’
s life!

“
Who do you think you are comin
’
in here and threatenin
’
my sister like that?
”
Becca growled as she once again came out of the house and onto the porch.

“
I
’
m not threatening,
”
Rose stated calmly.
“
It
’
s the truth. There are men…dangerous men looking for Ryder. They mean to kill him. And they are close to finding out that he
’
s here. I only came to warn him.
”
She stepped toward Dusty
,
and Dusty could see the pleading in her eyes.
“
They will find him here. They
’
ve found him before and…
”

A vision flashed before Dusty
’s eyes—t
he painful v
ision of Ryder’s scarred back—t
he story he had told her of the way he
’
d sustained them. The torture he
’
d endured!

“Why are they lookin’
for him? Who are you that you would know?
”
Dusty cried out, stepping forward and taking the woman
’
s shoulders in her hands.
“
What did he do to cause them to come after him?
”

Tears
streamed over Rose’s cheeks as
she sobbed,
“
They blame him for Lillian
’
s death. At least one of them does.
”

“
Why?
”
Dusty forced her.
“
Why do they blame him? Was it his fault?
”
She shook the young woman slightly to try to bring her back to attention.
“
Tell me! You come ridin
’
up here and tell me that I can
’
t have the only thing I
’
ve ever wanted in my entire life! I want to know why! Why are these men after him?
”

Dusty felt Becca
’
s arms at her own shoulders
,
and she drew in a calming breath.
“
No one will take him from me. Do you understand?
”
Dusty mumbled. Dusty Hunter was healed. She was back. And no one would take her happiness, her very soul away from her!

“
There…there was an accident. About two and a half years ago. A stampede. Lilly was caught in the midst of it…and…and Ryder
rode in to try to help her. B-
but she was thrown from her horse
. H
e reached down and took her hand…but she slipped and fell. She pulled him off his own horse. He was able to remount, but by the time he got to her, she
’
d…she
’
d been kicked in the head
,
and…and she…she woke up a week later. Her mind was gone. She just…she could eat and stare out into…into nothing. But she was gone. Her mind
was gone
.
”
Dusty
listened as
Rose continued,
“
For two and a half years
,
our family tended to her like that. Then she died…this summer.
”
Rose pulled a handkerchief from the sleeve of her dress and dabbed at her tears.

“
That wasn
’
t his fault. No one could possibly fault him for
that,
”
Dusty mumbled.
             

“
I know. I know,
”
Rose agreed.
“
But Wesley blamed him. He was so heartbroken. He accused Ryder of…of not trying hard enough to save her.
”

“
Who
’
s Wesley?
”
Becca asked.

“
Wesley was Lilly
’
s fiancé.
”

“
Is Wesley the man huntin
’
Ryder?
”
Dusty asked bluntly.

Rose nodded.
“
He rides with two other men…men I don
’
t know. I don
’
t know where he met them or how
. A
nd he hired a criminal…an Indian man…a one-time warrior who had broken the laws of his tribe and been cast out
. H
e
’
s a butcher! He
’
s hired hi
m to kill Ryder!”
Dusty closed her eyes for a moment
,
trying again to block the vision of the scars on Ryder
’
s back f
rom her mind. “He’ll kill him! And t
hey
’
re close.
”
Rose dropped her voice as if she expected them to hear somehow.
“
I know they
’
re close.
Wesley wrote to me from
Santa Fe
. I know they
’
re closer than that by now.
”

“
How do you know?
”
Dusty asked.
“
How could you possibly know where they are
? A
nd why does he write to you? Are you in it with him?
”

“
No! No! I would never hurt anyone
—e
specially Ryder! I
loved him as much as anybody!
I don
’
t want him h
urt. But Wesley writes to me. I…
I don
’
t even know why! I do know that he
’
s close.
 
Wesley has Ryder
’
s dog Dusty with him. Ryder had to leave her behind when he left our place. Wesley
’
s usin
’
the dog to help him find Ryder.
”