Dusty Britches (17 page)

“
Don
’
t you try changin
’
the subject on me, girl,”
Alice
warned with a smile.
“
That man
’
s
got you thinkin’. I can see it plain as day.
I ain
’
t seen your eyes light up like that in a long, long time. Not since we was fourteen, in fact. That smelly old lump of cat manure Cash Richardson you tried to love never h
ad you a-twinklin’ like I see ya now.”

“My eyes did not light up,”
Dusty defended herself.

“
Oh, come on! Don
’
t he just stir up them ol
’
butterflies in your tummy with that
handsome
smile, Dusty?
”

“
Alice
!
”
Dusty was starting to feel
a
great melancholia rise in her again. She wanted to laugh, not think about what she could never have.

“
He
’
d give y
a
some mighty handsome sons, that
’
s for sure!
”

“
Alice Jones
,
y
ou stop! Now, one more word about Ryder Maddox and I
’
ll leave you here to love on this
fussy boy all alone,”
Dusty warned, feeling her face go warm and red again.

“
Well, all right
,”
Alice
sighed, teasingly.
“
But y
a
better trap him into bein
’
your lover
’
fore Kenna grows up,
’
cause she
’
s plum smitten herself
.”

“That’s enough, Alice.”
Smiling, Dusty added,
“
She did take to him, didn
’
t she?
”

“
Who wouldn
’
t?
”

“
Alice
!
”

“
Oh, all right, you old stick
-
in
-
the
-
mud,
”
Alice
relented in defeat.

“
Where
’
s Alex anyway?
”
Dusty asked.

“
Oh, he had to take some cattle over to the Springs. I miss him so much when he
’
s gone! That might be one reason Jakie is so crabby.
”



Dusty and
Alice
sat for a long while talking about things and people. When little Jakie would start fussing for one woman, the other would take a turn at rocking him or walking him around the porch until he settled for a while.

Sometime later, however, the attention of both women was drawn to the tall, fascinating man striding slowly toward them
,
holding the hand of a little blond
e
angel
. Makenna
skipped along briskly to keep up with
Ryder’s
stride.

“
Ryder Magics showed me the new puppies in the barn! He says they gots the sweetest smellin
’
brefs
,
and they do! I was sniffin
’
theys brefs
,
and one of
’
em licked me right on the nose! Ryder Magics says that
’
s how they kiss you! And I gots free bird feathers that we found in the hayloft
,
and one of them
’
s blue
,
and Ryder Magics says that maybe a blue jay lost it up there! And there was a nest in that old tree by the corral! And it gots free white baby little tiny eggs wif blue speckles! And Ryder Magics says we can look, but don
’
t touch!
”
Makenna babbled as she approached, still not letting go of Ryder
’
s hand.

“
My goodness!
”
Alice
exclaimed, clapping her hands together
with excitement.
“
You have been busy! What else did Mr. Maddox tell you?
”
she asked, smiling at Ryder.

“
Oh, lots and lots! We singed
.
Ryder Magics knows lots of songs…and we danced and…
”

As Makenna babbled on,
Alice
raised her eyebrows in
approving astonishment at Ryder. He
simply shrugged his shoulders as if it w
ere
all in a day
’
s work.

“
Well, I think Ryder oughta be able to settle down Jakie since he
’
s such a perfect type of fellow,
”
Alice
teased, handing the baby to Ryder.
“
Don
’
t you think so, Dusty?
”

“
Oh, definitely,
”
Dusty agreed, staring at Ryder
and quirking one daring eyebrow
.

“
Fine,
”
he mumbled, willingly taking the baby.
“
You ladies take a stroll.
I got things well in hand here.”

Dusty saw
Alice
wink at Ryder in thanks as they set out toward the fields. The walk was nice
,
and Dusty was glad her daddy had left Ryder home to wait for the supplies. It gave
Alice
a much
-
needed break, and it was good for her own soul. They talked for quite a
while,
and
Dusty realiz
ed
that
Alice
was worried about Alex working too hard. He didn
’
t want to spend the money to hire a hand, so he was working himself into a
state of
great fatigue. Dusty assured her she would let her father know so he could drop in and try to talk Alex into getting some help.

All at once, they realized t
hey
’
d been gone far too long
.
Alice
and Dusty were both concerned the fussy little baby boy might have sent Ryder into yanking his hair out by the handfuls.

Yet
when Dusty walked into the parlor, her mouth dropped open in astonishment
. She could not believe what she saw
before her
!
There was Ryder, rocking back and forth, back and forth in t
he old, squeaky rocking chair—a
nd there was baby Jake sound asleep on his chest. One of Ryder
’
s powerful hands patted the baby sof
tly, if not somewhat awkwardly,
on the back
;
the other
cradled him
comfortably, providing a perfect rest for his tired little body.

“
Poor little fella. He was just plum tuckered out,
”
Ryder spoke quietly, and Dusty imagined the low booming of his voice was a furth
er comfort to the sleeping baby—
ear nestled firmly on Ryder
’
s chest.
“
Look at his little
face. That there’s a tired pup
.
”

Certainly
,
the baby did sleep soundly
—h
is peaceful little face porcelain white and pressed flat against Ryder
’s body, his little mouth open,
a steady stream of slobber already leaving a wet mark on Ryder
’
s shirt.

“
Why, Mr. Maddox,
”
Alice
exclaimed,
“
I
’
m just…just…so grateful! I thought I would fly into screamin
’
fits if he didn
’
t settle down soon.
”

Dusty still stared disbelieving at Ryder as he stood and carefully laid the baby down on a quilt
lying
on the floor
—f
or there, next to the now
-
sleeping baby, lay a sleeping Makenna.

“
You put me to shame as a mother, Mr. Maddox!
”
Alice
exclaimed
in a whisper
.

“
Nah. They was just tired,
”
he answered.
“
But I gotta get out to meet ol
’
Leroy. I hear him comin
’
just now.
”
He looked at Dusty and nodded.
“
Miss Dusty. Mrs. Jones.
”

“
Well,
”
Alice
began
as Ryder retrieved his hat from the hat
rack by the door and started to leave,
“
it
’
s mighty glad I am that you
’
ve come back to the ranch, Mr. Maddox.
”

“
Same here, ma
’
am,
”
Ryder said
,
smiling.

“
You
’
ll make someone a good daddy someday,
”
Alice
added.

“
Well, let
’
s hope so,
”
he chuckled, winking at Dusty.

Immediately, she felt her face go crimson and hot. Nodding at
Alice
, he left, closing the screen door quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping children.

“
For cryin
’
in the bucket, Dusty!
”
Alice
exclaimed once Ryder was out of earshot and the two women had returned to the swing on the front porch.
“
Are y
a
really gonna turn him out on his fanny every time he speaks to y
a
?
”

“
I didn
’
t turn him out on his fanny,
”
Dusty argued.

“
And it
’
s such a nice fanny at that,
”
Alice
teased.

“
Alice
! Stop that!
”
Dusty ordered.

She was beginning to hurt inside. She didn
’
t want to talk about Ryder anymore. She didn
’
t want to think about how gentle and kind and adept he had been with
Alice
’
s children. She didn
’
t even want to think about
Alice
’
s two beautiful children. She wanted to think about heartbreak and hurt. She wanted t
o think about Cash and how he’d humiliated her—h
ow Ryder Maddox had hurt her long before that. She wanted to remember that she would never let it happen again. Never!

“
Oh, sweet Angelina,
”
Alice
sighed, hugging her friend suddenly.
“
Where did those two little girls go
who
used to sit in trees and spy on skinny
-
dippin
’
cowboys?
”

For the first time in a long time
,
Dusty fully accepted the comf
orting embrace from her friend—
even returned it. It was true. She
had to admit it to herself—
what her mother had told
her
so long ago was true.
A hug can heal a hurting heart
,
she
’
d always said.

“
They
’
ve turned into two women with responsibilities,
”
Dusty sighed.

“
Naw,
”
Alice
sighed.
“
One of
’
em just needs to open her heart again.
”