Dusty Britches (73 page)



Shortly after their confessions of love to one another, Becca told Feller of Rose Montgomery
’
s visit to the ranch
—of
the
devastating
news she bore
. If Ryder’s life were in danger,
Feller would not let his Becca find cause to grieve over her sister
’
s world falling apart. It wouldn
’
t. He
wouldn’t let it happen to Dusty.
He wouldn
’
t let it happen to Ryder
.
And he certainly wouldn
’
t let it happen to Becca!

Feller hated to leave Becca
—
for more reasons than he had time to list off in his head.
Yet
he
’
d set out immediately to fetch Hank home. He
’
d ride to Miss Raynetta
’
s and somehow find
Hank—t
ell him what was happening. But first, he pulled his horse to a halt beneath the big
old
willow
growing on the creek bed—t
he one he
’
d watched Becca and Dusty play tea party under in their bloomers so many times so long ago. Dismounting, he looked around on the ground until he did indeed spy a rock
looking
like a
“
pile of dried
-
up cow manure,
”
as Becca had described it. He chuckled at the fact two little girls so many years ago should dub the stone
“
the cow pie rock.
”

Hunkering down, he dug the dirt out from around its base until he was able to pry one edge up. L
ifting the rock
, he brushed dirt and potato bugs from
the top of a rusty and ancient-
looking old candy tin and pulled it from its hiding place. Quickly he removed the lid and looked inside.

The contents he found were exactly a
s Becca had described—a
n old bootstrap she
’
d torn from his boot when she was ten. He remembered then waking up one morning a long time ago to find the strap on the inside of his right boot was missing. He reached in and withdrew a rusty old straight razor and chuckled. Hadn
’
t it been the same morning, as he was bellyaching around about his missing bootstrap, that a young Ryder Maddox had misplaced his razor?

Then, reaching in the tin again, he pulled out two small strips of paper. Both were curled up tightly and tied with pink ribbon. He carefully unrolled the first.

“
When I grow up
,
”
he read aloud,
“
I’m going to make Feller Lance fall in love with me. He’ll marry me and we’ll have 5 children and be happy forever. Signed this day that I turned 10, Rebecca Hunter.
”

He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and tried to keep the moisture there from escap
ing as his heart ached with joy—beat
with severe melancholy for a moment. Although it poured more joy into his body than he thought he could consciously endure, there was a twinge of heartache for the little girl
who
had to wai
t so long to grow up. Carefully,
he unrolled the other small paper.

“
All I want in my whole life
,
”
he read, though his voice still broke from the emotion the first revelation had caused,
“
is Ryder Maddox. Someday he’ll love me and we’ll get married and have the sweetest babies and most beautiful life that anyone could ever dream of. Signed this day that Becca turned 10 and I am still 12, Angelina Hunter.
”

Wiping at a tear on his cheek with the back of his glove, Feller awkwardly retied the ribbons and returned the tin and its contents to their secret hiding place. There was another man
who
would want to be sent to find it. Another man, in trouble now
—a man
Feller Lance was determined would live to find
the buried treasure of the Hunter girls
!

With pure tenacity to make happy the family and heart of the woman he loved,
Feller
r
ode off to find Hank Hunter—to tell him—to tell him
of the
devastating
threat to his family.

The cascading water of the falls helped cool the hot sting of her tears
.
Dusty plunged her head forward into it again.
How can I go on without him?
she
thought. Over
and over
she thought it
. How could she wake up each morning knowing he wouldn
’
t be in her day? How could she go to sleep at night not being held in his arms? How would she make herself do what she had to do
to
survive, knowing he was gone?

“
I can
’
t
bear
this,
”
she sobbed.

How could she truly enjoy watching other children grow up
—
especially those of Feller and Becca? Even of her father and Raynetta? How could she love life without the one thing
making
life wort
h loving? She’d tried it before—
and failed. What would she do? She
’
d thought of everything.
I
’
ll go with him
,
she thought again.
T
hey
’
d be together
then
! Until she slowed him down
somehow, she reminded herself—c
aused his guard to unwind
—
thereby leading him into tragedy. She
’
d kill the other men first! Certainly they wouldn
’
t expect a young woman to be an assassin out for vengeance.
Ye
t that wasn
’
t real
istic
either. First of all, she knew they
’
d kill her
long
before
she had a chance to even react—and f
inding her body bloody and skinned somewhere out in the pastures would do nothing to improve Ryder
’
s life.

It had been nearly an hour since she
’
d left the house
,
and still her mind fought to accept losing him. It was impossible!

“
Fancy findin
’
you here.
”

Ryder
’
s voice startled her
. S
he wiped the water from
her face and eyes quickly. W
hen she turned to find him stepping through the waterfall, wearing only his pants,
she
felt as if someone had plunged a
knife into the center of her heart
.
He was so wonderful—s
o perfect for her soul!
H
is smile was so
handsome—so unknowing
.
Still,
it didn
’
t take him long to realize she
’
d been crying.

“
What
’
s the matter?
”
he asked, a frown owning his brow.

There was no lying to him. He wouldn
’
t belie
ve her if she said nothing. S
he may as well face him now as later.

“
I planned to tell you somethin
’
today,
”
she told him quietly.

“
Yeah?
”
he prodded. Obviously, he hadn
’
t been back to the house or seen anyone else before coming to the waterfall. He was purely innocent to Dusty
’
s recently acquired knowledge.

“Last night,” she began. U
nable to look at him
, she stared at
his feet
instead.
“A
fter you left…I found me.
”
He was quiet, probably not wanting to interrupt
—
knowing how much she needed to say it.
“I found the me I started losin’
when you left years ago.
”
She looked up at him. She fancied h
er heart began to tear in two
—
for the pain
in it
was
unbearable. The look of residual guilt on his face did not deter her.
“
The me I wanted to give…to you,
”
she confessed.
“
I found her last night.
”

“
So give her to me,
”
he mumbled in the low, provocative tone that melted her bones. Though she knew he was flirting, the expression on his face revealed he was waiting for the slap she
was about to deliver—for the
stinging pain
accompanying it
.

“I did…forever ago…a
nd since you
’
ve come back,
”
she whispered.
“
She
’
s always been yours. But…but you can
’
t have her, can you?
”

“What are ya
talkin
’
about, Dusty?
”
he growled.

“
It
’
s why you haven
’
t given yourself to me completely. Isn
’
t it?
”

“
What?
”
he questioned
. Yet
by the look on his face
,
she knew he knew what.

“
Rose Montgomery came to the ranch house today,
”
she stated flatly.

He swallowed hard and shook his head.
“
I
’
m not lea
vin’ you again, Dusty…
if that
’
s what you
’
re worried about. No matter what you would
’
ve answered me last night in bed…I
’
m not leavin
’
you.
”
Her skin erupted into a field of goose bumps at the memory of his lying next to her in her bed.

“
Did y
a
love that girl, Ryder? Even though she was engaged? Did y
a
love her?
”
Dusty couldn
’
t help but ask. She had to know the depth of what had brought Ryder to a life of running.
“
Or
—
or did y
a
love Rose?
”

“
No. Neither one. Not one bit,
”
he answered flatly.
“
In fact, I couldn
’
t stand Lilly. That makes the guilt I feel all the worse.
”
He was furious then
—f
urious. In a rage!
“
I told Rose to let it lie! I
told her that I wouldn’t leave.
Yes, Dusty! I met with a woman in town yesterday!
”
he shouted.
“
I know y
a
heard about it from one source or another. Yes, it was Rose. She came here to tell me Wesley and his ho
unds are closin’ in on me again. Yes…a
gain! But I ain
’
t runnin
’
no more. I
’
m finally back where I want to be after all these years. It
’
s worth too much to lose!
”

“
But y
a
have to go!
”
Dusty cried.
“
There
’
s no other choice! I won
’
t have them find you!
”

Ryder leaned back against the rock wall
—
sank to a sitting position.
“
When I left here five years ago, I cowboyed around
for two and a half long years…waitin’…b
idin
’
my time. Do y
a
know why?
”
Dusty shook her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“
I was waitin
’
…just skimmin
’
through life until you were older.
”
She could only stare at him in expectant disbelief.