Dusty Britches (77 page)

“
It
’
s really not so much that, Mama,
”
Dusty corrected, hardly able to contain her smile.
“
I just want to make sure Ryder
’
s here when his
own
baby
’
s born.
”
She squirmed
with delight—
blissful in her husband
’
s arms. Ryder
’
s smile faded
; he
even paled a little as he understood what Dusty was saying.

“
My own baby?
”
he whispered.
She nodded
.

Hank
whooped and hollered
,
and Feller chuckled as Becca and Raynetta linked hands and began skipping around the kitchen. Dusty giggled with gladness as Ryder
’
s hands left her waist and rested on her tummy. When he looked up at her, she was astonished by the tears in his eyes
. She
thought maybe she should
’
ve chosen a more private moment to reveal her secret to him.

“
Ryder?
”
she whispered as the others began to talk excitedly about how wonderful it would be to have three new babies in the family all at once.

“
Aw, he
’
s all right, Dusty,
”
Hank chuckled.
“
He
’
s just been afraid Kenna Jones plopped down too hard in his lap one time too many!
”

With that
,
Ryder
’
s smile returned
.
Dusty saw the glow of wonder in his eyes as he looked at her. Still
,
he seemed quite melancholy.

“
What
’
s the matter, Ryder?
”
she asked.

“
I just…
”
he stammered.
H
e looked about at the relatives Dusty knew he adored. The next moment
,
he swept her up in his arms and carried her down the hall toward her old bedroom.
“
You all go about your business, you hear?
”
he called over his shoulder. Becca and Raynetta giggled
;
Feller and Hank chuckled.

Once he
’
d carried her into the bedroom
and kicked the door
closed behind them, he laid her gently on the bed, covering her body with his own.

“
What is it?
”
she asked him again as moisture filled his beautiful eyes.

“
Just for a moment…I was thinkin
’
how adorable you were that first day I ever saw you a
-
draggin
’
that little old table over them tree roots. And I was thinkin
’
of how hard it must
’
ve been for your daddy to be givin
’
you over to me. And now…
”

“
And now I
’
m havin
’
your baby?
”
she
softly
asked him.

“
Yeah,
”
he breathed
,
his smile that of perfect joy.
“
What if you
’
d married Cash? What if I hadn
’
t seen your daddy on that drive? And what if Wesley…
”

“
And what if somebody comes in here?
”
she teased. Dusty reached up, smoothing the worry from his brow
,
trailing her fingertips lovingly over his lips.

“
Naw,
”
he chuckled.
“
They know better.
”
He brushed the hair from her face
,
and Dusty felt the tears leaving her eyes
to travel
over her temples.

“
What, sugar? Now you
’
re all soppy
too.” His smile was beautiful—t
he most beloved sight in all the world to her.

“
I love you, Ryder,
”
she whispered as he brushed her cheek affectionately with his own.

As
Ryder
’
s wonderfully capable hands lovingly caressed her tummy where their baby grew, he kissed her
—the
kiss that would forever send her heart racing
—the kiss
assuring her of his boundless, eternal love for her.

“
I love you
,”
he breathed. Moments later, his mouth wandered down her cheek to tarry at her neck. The tears cascaded from Angelina
’
s eyes as she
realized
again the absolutely benevolent magnitude of
her dreams forever coming true—
when he whispered,
“
My little Dusty Britches.
”

I can
’
t quite put my finger on why
Dusty Britches
seems to be such a favorite—not only to me but to my friends as well.
Perhaps it
’
s simply the final realization and triumph of vanquishing unrequited love—of it being quite fully requited at long last!
(When unrequited love is no longer unrequited
,
is it called
“
requited love
”
?
Hmm…I may have to research.)
Or perhaps it
’
s the fact two other love stories intertwine with Dusty and Ryder
’
s—Feller and Becca
’s and
Hank and Raynetta
’s
.

Secretly, I imagine Hank and Raynetta to be my good friends Joel and Rhonda—although they
’
ve been married for 17
,
5
11
years and have six children.
Joel is a cutie
,
and Rhonda has big brown eyes and loves to wear red
.
Becca and Feller live only in my mind
,
yet to me they are as real as anyone else—and I adore them!

Then again, it might be the fact so many little details of
Dusty Britches
are mirrored moments from my own life…

Incident #1
:
The Singing Ranch Hand
.
I was seven years old—our handsome hired hand
,
Dale
,
milking the cows at three and four in the morning
,
singing
“
Make Believe”
from
Showboat
,
his gorgeous Howard Keel
–
type voice wafting from the milk barn
,
over the clear morning air
,
and in through my bedroom window.
How romantic!
(Whimsical short about this incident follows this Author
’
s Note!)

Incident #2
:
Old
M
an Leroy/Lace in Belt
.
Leroy
,
my friend
’
s dad—a very intimidating man—once came upon
my older dream-boy mercilessly flirting with me
,
my older dream-boy
’
s metal belt loops having gotten caught with my belt buckle whilst he
’
d gathered me into a romantic embrace and proceeded to verbally seduce me in the hallway at church.
Maybe I could write a short essay on this titled,
“
How Your Most Romantic Moment at Age
Fourteen
Can Best
B
e Ruined by Humiliating Circumstances
.
”

Incident #3
:
Pack
’E
m
I
n
. B
ased on the age-old game
“
Sardines
,”
which I played as a teenager and always enjoyed—especially the time one of my long-lasting crushes captured me out in the tall grasses in the field behind his house
and, of course, stole a kiss!
Initials of Romantic Culprit Boy: W.M.—City of
Incident
:
Albuquerque
—Age of Delighted Victim:
Twelve
—Weather Conditions When Tête-à-Tête
W
as Perpetrated:
Warm Summer
’
s Eve
.

Incident #4
:
Dusty Stuffing Hankies in
H
er Bosom
. B
ased on the antics a cherished friend of mine (who will
,
of course
,
remain nameless) when we were twelve
. S
he once told me the
“
hankie-stuffing
incident
”
worked out much better in
Dusty Britches
than it
had in real life!
Implements Used Instead of Hankies:
Kleenex Tissues—In Profusion.

…to list a few.

Still, in truth, I think Ryder and Dusty endear the story to me.
(I mean, Ryder
is
a good kisser
,
and that
does
count for a lot
.
I mean, let
’
s just be honest with ourselves, shall we?)
Yet it
’
s the journey—Dusty battling to overcome her fear and heartache
,
Ryder risking his life to be with her—maybe that
’
s why the story speaks to me so deeply.

In any regard, it
’
s important to me that you know
Dusty Britches
is real!
Fiction, yes—but in my mind all the characters are there!
I see their faces, hear their voices.
The story plays out in my head as vividly as any of the aforementioned incidents of my real life—sometimes even more vividly!

So whatever my reasons are for the story of
Dusty Britches
meaning so much to me (important or not)
,
I hope it brings
you
joy—smiles, goose bumps, giggles, sighs, tears
,
and hope!
My wish is when you read or reread this book
,
you find yourself transported into the story—that your heart is lightened and your optimism fortified when you close it—that you can hear Ryder singing in the barn in the early morning hours and feel Dusty
’
s joy when she realizes her
“
unrequited love
”
was always entirely
“
requited.
”

And now
I give you:

“
Oh
,
Those Glorious, By
g
one, Early-Morning, Cow-Milking Hours of Romance
”