Dusty Britches (25 page)

There was a low round of amused chuckles
.
Dusty was surprised when no indignant anger rose in her bosom as it usually did when she came across herself as the subject of conversation.

“
You old boys got Miss Dusty all wrong
,”
Ryder assured them.
“
She
’
s as much a girl as any female. And she wasn
’
t a
lways wantin’ to stay unnoticed.
Fact is, I think Becca probably le
arned most
a what she knows from her older sister. Ain
’
t that right,
b
oss?
”

“
I
’
d say you
’
bout pegged it there, Ryder,
”
Hank chuckled.

“
What about that there Fourth of July picnic dance some years back, Ryder?
”
Feller offered.

Dusty could not believe what she was overhearing! It was
uncanny! S
he wasn
’
t sure at first that she
’
d heard correctly. Was Ryder actually about to tell the same story that had begun to bang around in her own mind? The picnic dance five years ago and the blue dress that hadn
’
t fit right?

“
There you go!
”
Ryder exclaimed.

“
I hope Dusty ain
’
t in earshot,
”
Hank chuckled.

Dusty smiled at the irony.

“
Dusty was
,
what…fourteen? Was she fourteen yet, Feller?
”
Ryder asked.

“
More
’
n likely. I
’
d say she
’
d be that in order to be dancin
’
with the older people and…uh…wearin
’
a dress like that,
”
Feller confirmed.

“
Anyway,
”
Ryder continued,
“
Dusty was fourteen
,
and her mama had made her this new dress. Sky blue…y
a
know, Dusty insisted that it be blue and all. So her Mama makes her this dress
—
y
a
know when a girl
’
s fourteen and folks think they
’
re old enough for a party dress with no collar and such
. A
nd somehow the top part…y
a
know right here…
”

Dusty peeked around the corner to see Ryder indicate his chest, holding his hands out from his body where a woman
’
s bosom would be. She was mortified.

“
Somehow,
”
he continued,
“
that dress didn
’
t fit just right. It was a little…too big at the top here. And bein
’
as Mrs. Hunter didn
’
t have time left to fix it
,
Dusty stuffed a couple a Mr. Hunter
’
s old handkerchiefs in there…y
a
know…to fill the dress out and all.
”

Dusty began blushing
when she heard the low, amused chuckles of the hands, including Feller and her daddy
—
even though she
knew
th
e men were completely unaware of her
.
Try
as she might to stop it at the memory of the tale, she felt a smile spread slowly across her face
—
like the warm embrace of an old friend.

“
I knew she
’
d done it when she come out to get in the wagon to leave that night. I knew she hadn
’
t popped out overnight like that,
”
Hank chuckled.
“
But what
’
s a daddy to say?
”

There was more chuckling from the group of men.

“
So we all meet in town for the Fourth. And life
’
s a
-
goin
’
merrily along and all. Y
a
never saw a fourteen
-
year
-
old girl get so much attention from hands and boys
in
town! And I mean even without them hankies!
”
Ryder told them, chuckling again, only louder.

“
No doubt,
”
Feller added.
“
Fact was, Miss
Dusty got more attention anyhow.
She was quite the fine piece a
pie
…even at fourteen.
”

“
Mighty fine for fourteen!
”
Ryder affirmed.
“
All day them hankie
s stayed put.
Don
’
t ask me how…but they done it. All day…all through supper…and then the dance starts. Well,
’
bout halfway through the dancin
’
,
”
he continued,
“
I look over
,
and I see little Miss Britches a
-
dancin
’
with some cowboy…can
’
t remember who.
”

Ryder paused
,
and Feller offered,
“
Brown Morrow. It were that boy
who
worked over on the Maxwell place.
’
Member?
”

“
Oh, yeah,
“
Ryder agreed.
“
Dusty was a
-
waltzin
’
away with ol
’
Brown when I notice that he
’
s a
-
lookin
’
down at her…at her…y
a
know…her…
”

“
Bosom,
”
Hank finished.

“
Thank you. He
’
s a
-
lookin
’
straight down at her…bosom…and I see that one of them hankies she tucke
d in there is a-givin’ her away…’
cause it
’
s slippin
’
up ou
t the top of her dress, you see.”

All the men burst into laughter
.
Dusty stifled her own giggle. It all seemed so clear. S
he could see it all over again—
Brown Mo
rrow looking down at her bosom,
her father
’
s handkerchief slipping up and giving away the secret she
’
d tried to sl
ide past everyone. The fact was,
she
’
d stuffed the top of her dress in order to capture the attention of none other than Ryder Maddox. And capture it she had!

“
That
’
s terrib
le!” Ruff chuckled. “Poor thing.
Havin
’
her bosoms…or the lack of
’em revealed to everybody there.”

“
Oh, don
’
t worry. Good ol
’
Prince Charmin
’
here came to the rescue,
”
Hank assured them, nodding toward Ryder as Feller slapped him on the back proudly.

“
What
’
d you do, boy?
”
Guthrie asked.

“
Well…I couldn
’
t let Miss Britches lose her s
elf-
re
spect and good reputation there,”
Ryder explained.
“
Imagine what would
’
ve been goin
’
’
round town the rest of her entire life had Brown said something to her…or to anybody else.
”

“
And so y
a
went at him, fists a
-
flyin
’
and…
”
Titch coaxed.

“
Nope,
”
Ryder corrected.
“
I grab
bed
little Alice Maxwell there…and we waltz on over near to Brown and Dusty. I fake a sneeze and say to Dusty,
‘
Hey there, Miss Hunte
r. You still got that hanky I ga
ve y
a
to keep for me?
’
 
”

All the hands and Dusty
’
s daddy burst into laughter
.

W
hen they
’
d finally settled themselves again
,
Ryder continued
,
“
So bein
’
that Miss Britches is as smart as a whip…she reaches down the front of her dress and yanks me out a hanky or two. I let go another sneeze for good measure and blew my nose, then tucked the darn things in my pocket.
”

The hands hooted and hollered and laughed until they were complaining about their sides aching.

Ruff sighed
.
“
I can
’
t imagine it! Miss Dusty
,
a
girl a fourteen and stuffin
’
her dress to go to a social!
”

“
Well, she don
’
t need no extra stuffin
’
these days!
”
Titch said.
“
Ain
’
t that right, Ryder?
”

Ryder chuckled.
“
No, siree! She didn
’
t need much stuffin
’
then neither.
”

“
You hold on there
. T
hat
’
s my daughter
you all are talkin’ about, boys,”
Hank reprimanded teasingly. Then, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes, he added,
“
That Dusty was a character all right. The things she used to get into!
”

Dusty didn
’
t hear the rest of their conversation. Her mind was lingering back on that night so long ago. There had been a lot more to that night
than Ryder had told the hands—a
lot he probably wasn
’
t even aware of. But s
he was. She remembered it all—h
ow she
’
d panicked when she
’
d looked down to see why Brown Morrow was staring at her chest. What would she do? How could she possibly explain the handkerchiefs in her bodice without completely humiliating herself? Then Ryder had danced up with
Alice
and saved her life. She
’
d loved him all the mor
e for being her hero that night.
He was her hero all the time! She couldn
’
t even remember or begin to count all the times he
’
d saved her. But she did remember that he
’
d danced with her after her dance with Brown Morrow that night. She remembere
d the feel of dancing with him—
the
strength of his arms about her—
his mischievous grin as he pulled the infamous handkerchiefs from his pocket, sniffling into them and teasing her.

“
You and me,
”
he
’
d whispered to her during their waltz,
“
we
’
re on far too intimate a terms now, ya know. Me a
-
usin
’
your…hankies on my nose and all.
”

Dusty glared at him
gratefully
for a moment before smiling and whispering,
“
You saved my life, Ryder Maddox.
”