Dusty Britches (53 page)

Feller slept soundly on his stomach, his head resting on his hands, and she almost tripped over one of his elbows bent at the side of his head. Reaching down, she pulled his blanket up over his back. Then she looked to where Ryder lay nearby.

Ryder slept on his back, hands folded beneath his head, bare feet crossed as if he were awake and simply staring at the ceiling. As she silently approached him and stood gazing down at him, she scolded herself
. She had
the sudden urge to lie down next to him
and
snuggle close
—
sleep
there
in such a blissful state. His blanket too had slipped away
,
and Dusty stood in silent awe at the perfect form of him. Even as he slept
,
the muscles in his arms and chest were so well-defined they were indeed far beyond merely admirable. Unconsciously, she exhaled a heavy sigh of admiration and longing. She wanted him for her own so much more than she
’
d ever wanted anything in her entire life. Almost half of her life she
’
d wa
nted him. He was so wonderful—s
o witty, strong, and extraordinary!

Her mind drifted to the conversation they
’
d had the day before.
Don
’
t you ever be afraid to touch me
, he
’
d said. She wanted to! Just to brush the hair from his forehead, hold his hand. He
’
d never know how much she wanted to hug him, throw herself into his arms as she once did, caress the smooth surface of his skin when he kissed her, feel her fingers tangled in his hair.

But Dusty could only stand gazing down at him. Only now were the moments quiet enough, with everyone safe in the house
—only now was peace restored so
she could let her mind wander back. It seemed so long ago, as it always did, and yet like yesterday in many ways.

The hayloft of the old barn had always been Dusty
’
s secret, quiet-thinking
,
and daydreaming space. Her grandpa had built the barn
,
and somehow Dusty always felt as if h
e were up in the loft with her—
watching her think as she
’
d been told he
’
d watched her daddy so many times when Henry
“
Hank
”
Hunter was a little boy. Sometimes she let Becca come up with her, and they
’
d talk about their dreams or just about nothing. But that crisp, autumn evening, Dusty
’
s mind and heart were in turmoil. Soon she would be fourteen
,
and with each passing day she felt her heart binding itself tighter and tighter to the young cowboy
who
had been hired on by her daddy over three years
before
. It was something she didn
’
t know how to manage.
Ryder
was ever so much older than she. She was still a c
hild in the eyes of the world—and in his. Yet she loved him—
more dearly than anything! She knew the drought was bad for the ranch. She
’
d heard her daddy telling her
mama that very afternoon that,
if the weather did
n’t change come spring,
they might actually lose the ranch.

So
on
that cool autumn evening, Dusty Hunter sat in the hayloft trying to understand the guilt she felt
for
wishing the weather would change so he
r daddy wouldn’t lose his ranch—and
for the mere fact th
at she didn’t want to lose the ranch
hands along with it. The guilt she felt was horrible! For, admittedly, she cared more for the fact that Ryder might have to leave than she did about whether her daddy would lose everything he
’
d worked so hard to maintain.

Sighing heavily, with tears on her cheeks, she had lain
back in the soft straw and
fallen asleep for some time.
What
woke her w
as the thick scent of smoke—
the sharp crackle of fire.
N
o one knew for
sure what started the blaze—
though Feller always suspected Bill West had been smoking in one of the empty stalls. Dusty
’
s mama d
idn’t allow the hands to smoke—
at least in her presence or where she could see them. Bill had been notorious for hiding away and rolling a smoke now and again. Whatever the reason for the blaze, as soon as Dusty realized the barn was afire, she quickly dashed to the ladder leading down from the loft.
Yet
when she reached it, the fire below was so terrifying she couldn
’
t force herself to climb down! All she could see below were flames
—e
verywhere! Even when she saw Feller leading two horses out of their stalls, holding a cloth to his face and coughing as the smoke burned his eyes and l
ungs, she could not call to him—paralyzed by fear
.

She ran to one of the loft windows and pushed at the shutters. But it was the window her father never opened
,
and the latch was so rus
ty she couldn’
t budge it. Quickly, she ran to the opposite side of the barn and pushed at the large doors there. The doors had been bolted against the autumn winds after the loft was filled with straw for the winter. If it had been summer, they would
’
ve been open all the time so straw could be pitched out through the doors and down to the ground below. But they
’
d been bolted, and it wasn
’
t until Dusty began struggling with the bolts, realizing
s
he would indeed be burned alive if she didn
’
t find a way out, that she began to scream for help.

“
Help me! I
’
m in here! I
’
m in here!
”
she screamed. She could actually hear the blaze increasing below and knew it would
only be
a matter of minutes before the fire engulfed the loft as well. At last, the bolt gave way
,
and the loft doors swung outward. Looking out and coughing as the smoke now increased
,
devouring
fresh air, Dusty could see the commotion on the ground below. It seemed like a dream
—s
o unreal! All the hands were running this way and that. They
’
d begun a bucket line, but she knew it was doing very little good. She saw her daddy and screamed
,
“
Daddy!
”

Instantly, Hank looked up to see his daughter at the mouth of the loft doors
,
the smoke from the fire billowing out past her.

“
Dusty!
”
he shouted.

Dusty saw her mother gasp and burst into tears as she too looked up and saw her. Without pause, her father ran to stand just below the loft.

“
Jump, Dusty! You have to jump!
”
he shouted.

“
I
—I—
I can
’
t!
”
she cried. Her body was stiff and motionless with fear
. N
o matter how she willed herself to even fall out the opening, she could not.

“
You
’
ve got to!
”
her daddy shouted.

Her mother dashed toward the burning barn, intent on entering to try to save her daughter. Dusty saw Ryder dash past her mother as Feller grabbed
Elly Hunter
around the waist to stop her from going in. Somehow Ryder managed to fling a wet blanket over his head. Dusty turned when she heard the crack of his whip to find he had snapped it at one of the large beams of the loft until it was secured there. He climbed it like a rope to reach her since the ladder to the loft was ablaze with flames. She could only stand and stare at him, terrified with panic as the blanket fell from his shoulders when he awkwardly climbed into the loft.

The open loft doors worked like a magnet to the fire. Ryder slapped at the seat of his pants
,
which were smoking when he reached Dusty.

She could only stare at him as he came at her in a dead run, shouting,
“
Dang it all, girl! Jump!
”
The next thing she knew
,
he
’
d wrapped his arms tightly around her. Spinning them around so his body left the opening first, he flung them out the door and into midair!

The blanket the other hands had quickly stretched above the ground beneath the loft did little to buffer their fall. When Ryder hit the ground solidly, still holding tightly to Dusty, she knew someth
ing in his body had broken;
she heard the crack of bone and the moan a man makes when grievous pain is dealt him suddenly. It had been near to six weeks before Ryder
’
s broken ribs healed sufficiently for him to be able to move comfortably.

Dusty brushed the tears from her cheeks as she now stood looking down at the man who
’
d saved her life
years before
. Reaching down, she began straightening his blanket
. She
gasped, startled, as he opened his eyes and took hold of her wrist.

Putting an index finger to his lips he mouthed,
Ssshhh
.

Dusty looked around her to make certain none of the other men were awake. She tried to pull her wrist from his grasp, but before she could move to escape him
,
he was pulling her down onto the floor next to him.

Sshhhh!
he mouthed again, frowning at her and then grinning mischievously.

In one swift move, Dusty found herself lying on her back on the floor, one of Ryder
’s powerful legs across her own. He threw
his blanket over their bodies as he leaned over her,
gazin
g down into her face.

“What’
re you doin
’
?
”
she scolded in a whisper.

“
Shh! You
’
ll wake
’
em all up!
”
he whispered.

“
Get off me!
”
she ordered quietly.
“
Let me go!
”

Ryder grinned.
“
No,
”
he told her. The expression on his face
comprised
pure mischief.

“
Let me go, Ryder!
”
she ordered in a whisper.

Kiss me
, he mouthed.

Her eyes widened with astonishment at his demand.
No!
she mouthed back to him.

“
Why not?
”
he teased.

Dusty rolled her eyes and
shook her head in disapproval. She was
thankful for the loud snoring of several of the sleeping men so her voice wasn
’
t the only sound in the room. Had their flirtatious banter been the only sound, it surely would
’
ve awakened the others. She whispered,
“
Everyone will hear!
”

Ryder raised his eyebrows and smiled.
“
Really?
”
he
whispered
.
“
It
’
s gonna be that good, huh?
”

“
Ryder!
”
Dusty whispered between clenched teeth.
“
Let me go.
”

She was completely delighted! His playful manner was beginning to penetrate her guarded shell more and more each time he used it. Still, she must be proper. To lie on the floor smooching with him among the other men littered hither and yon
—it
was unthinkable!

With a shake of his head, Ryder suddenly rose to his feet, pulling Dusty to hers. Wincing only slightly from the pain caused by his injuries, he
lifted her quickly, cradling her in
his still
-
able arms
,
and made his way to the front parlor. With each step he took, very adeptly walking over the sleeping cowboys, Dusty
’
s heart began to pound more furiously. What if someone was awake? What if someone was watching Ryder carry Dusty, him only in his trousers and her in her nightdress, to another part of the house? What would they think? Then she looked at Ryder, his face so close to hers, his body warm as he carried her, th
e mischief apparent on his face—
a promise of a dream about to be fulfilled. It had to stop, she thought to herself, these secretive flirtations with Ryder.
Yet it could stop tomorrow—
couldn
’
t it?