Pioneer Passion (16 page)

Rusty squeezed her hand. “Good! I could use
someone to talk to, myself.”

And at that moment Rusty felt a friendship
sealed that she hoped would last, if not a lifetime, at least the
time she’d spend here.

Chapter Seventeen

Rusty was so overwhelmed by Guy’s loving
family and the friendly servant that she had to wipe a few tears
away. She was even given the choice of any of Skye’s gowns hanging
in the wardrobe. At first, she protested that every gown was too
beautiful for her to borrow. Susan phoo-phooed her, saying that
Miss Strong’s dresses had been discarded into this spare room until
she had a chance to get rid of them. Rusty couldn’t believe anyone
would want to throw out perfectly good clothes. Although reluctant,
she picked out a pale green gown that complimented her eyes. The
dress was somewhat snug, but Susan pulled in the corset, making her
squeal. Rusty, who had never worn one of those contraptions thought
she’d pass out, corseted like a sausage and refused to wear it.
Susan then offered to let out the seams, making do. Also, the dress
was cut too low for her comfort; her breasts were pushed up from
the tight fit. She fingered the deep-cut décolletage with
uncertainty and knew she would have to exercise great caution not
to breathe too deeply or she’d pop out. A sneeze would be a certain
disaster.

Susan styled her auburn locks high on her
head with sprays of tiny rose buds over her left ear. When Rusty
looked at the finished picture in the oval mirror, she gasped at
the transformation. She couldn’t believe she was the same girl who
had stepped into this room only a few hours ago. Rusty looked again
and thought she looked a little snobbish and her upper lips were
too full for her likes, but they were a rich pink.

Susan squealed with delight and declared
excitedly, “Oh, ma’am, I mean Rusty, you’ll break every man’s
heart. You’re so beautiful.”

Astonished by her reflection, Rusty felt a
pull at her insides at the girl’s remark about breaking men’s
hearts. There was only one man’s heart she wanted to break and
longing filled her when she thought of Guy. She smiled approvingly
and she whirled around the room, giggling. A rap on the door
brought her twirling to a quick stop and she glanced at the door in
trepidation.

It was time to meet the rest of the family
and she was frightened, especially dressed like this. She was out
of her element and her nerves tensed immediately as a cold knot
formed in her stomach. Would they like her this way? There it was
again, that new emotion, approval seeking, she chided herself. When
the door creaked open and a dark head peeked in, she was relieved
to see Skye. The young woman scooted the rest of her body in.

By the look on Skye’s features, Rusty knew
Guy’s young sister was as awe struck at the transformation as was
she. “Oh, my, are you the same girl Guy brought home with him?” She
flounced happily over and circled Rusty twice, tapping her chin
with a finger. “I think you’ll do,” she teased. “You are stunning
and I think I’ll have to keep an eye on you until I get my Robert
to the altar.”

Rusty’s became uncomfortable because she took
the comment too seriously.

Skye gave her a squeeze. “I may be teasing
about Robert, but I can assure you, you’ll have every man for miles
around sniffing at your skirt. Now, come along, I can’t wait until
the rest of the family sees you.”

Rusty descended the stairs, her heart
hammering against her ribs and she breathed in shallow, quick
gasps. If there was ever a real Cinderella, she felt it was her.
She grabbed the banister noticing her knuckles turning white. On
reaching the landing, Skye led her through the parlor doors in a
trance. She heard a small gasp and noticed that Claire clutched her
bosom and three men stood with goblets in their hands. The older
gentleman had his glass suspended somewhere between his chin and
lips. If she weren’t so nervous she would have laughed at the silly
expression on Guy’s countenance. Someone cleared his throat and out
of the tail of her eye she saw a younger man come forward with his
hand extended.

“Well, hello! I’m Kyle Strong, Guy’s
brother,” he told her with a warm smile. “And since my brother
seems to have lost his tongue, may I welcome you to the family. And
that good looking man,” he nodded at an older gentleman, “is Hal,
our father.”

The young man gave her a blinding smile and
bent, brushing his lips over her knuckles. She tried to still the
slight shivering in her limbs. Kyle looked like the father, with
warm brown hair, but like Guy he had his mother’s dark blue eyes.
Rusty figured him to be only a few years her senior.

“Thank you,” she rasped through dry lips. She
noticed Guy continued to watch her from the mantle with what she
believed was a jealous eye. Jealous? No, he can’t be. But her heart
did a little flutter of hope. Kyle’s next statement kept her from
analyzing Guy anymore.

“Well brother, you didn’t tell us how
beautiful Rusty was,” he declared grinning.

She had to stifle a laugh noticing Clair give
her younger son a warning glance only a mother had the right to do.
She felt her face heat again and she never recalled blushing so
much in her life; you’d think a candle was lit in her head. She was
relieved when Claire placed her warm hands over her cold ones,
declaring, “You look lovely, my dear.”

Skye stood on the other side of her, adding
to her uneasiness, and not helping her situation by stating,
“Mother’s right. That dress looks so much better on you and the
color becomes you.”

Although, she was uncomfortable by all the
attention, and felt that they were being too kind, she thanked them
because it seemed the right thing to do. She glanced sideways at
Guy, wondering what he thought of her. His smile flickered and she
longed to touch him. Why did he do those things to her? He
infuriated her one minute and made her insides all queasy the next.
She smiled self-consciously, hoping he didn’t notice how nervous he
made her feel and sucked in a careful breath. She then turned her
attention back to the family.

“We are most pleased to meet you,” pronounced
Hal as he sat on the wing chair across from the settee. He placed
his brandy glass on the Bird’s-eye maple table and added, “My son
had told us about you, but not nearly enough.”

Rusty saw a twinkle of laughter in the older
man’s pale blue eyes and she wondered what Guy had told him about
her. Her smile faltered as she tried to hide her nervousness but
her voice came out shaky, “T-thank y-you, Mr. Strong.”

When Rusty had entered the room Guy turned to
see what caused his father’s frozen look in his otherwise handsome
face. Hal’s light blue eyes twinkled with fascination and for the
fist

time in his life, Guy was at a loss for
words. How was it possible for anyone to transform that creature
into a femme fatal? This vision couldn’t be the skinny kid he
didn’t know whether to strangle or embrace. At that moment, he did
know for sure what he wanted to do. Seeing her dressed like a
woman, he vowed to burn every pair of pants she owned.

He also watched his brother greet Rusty, but
he stood rooted to the spot. When Kyle kissed her hand, she looked
as if she would swoon and he felt something inside him snap. Was he
envious of his brother? She had taken his breath away when she
first walked in and thought her the most alluring creature he had
even seen. Damn, if she didn’t stir his blood. He swallowed his
brandy in a gulp when his father made his way to the bewitching
girl. By the time he found his senses again, the whole family had
surrounded her.

He poured himself another drink and raising
it, he said, “Now that everyone has met Rusty, and I’m glad she
meets your approval, here’s to her charm. And I can assure you,
little brother, I’m as shocked as everyone else in this room.
Mother and Skye can vouch for it; she did look like a ruffian in
her boy’s attire earlier.” He quickly downed the drink and didn’t
care that everyone heard the rudeness in his tone. He mockingly
bowed to Rusty and declared, “To your new found loveliness.” His
own words not only surprised him but left a bitter taste in his
mouth. He took another swig of brandy, swirled it before
swallowing, and wondered why he felt so uneasy. Maybe it was the
fact that she had made him look the fool, pretending to be a boy?
He hated to admit it, but his jealousy reared its ugly head when
his brother gave his attention to her. That woman/child’s body
stirred forbidden desires he had no right to feel. Now, he felt
foolish and wished he could leave the room, but he didn’t want to
have to explain his actions to anyone later. To his credit, he kept
his voice steady and unemotional. “Shall we go on in to the dining
room?” He could see that his sarcasm addled Rusty’s wits and she
paled. All heads nodded to his suggestion and Kyle offered her his
arm while his father escorted his mother. Guy settled on Skye as
his partner, paying little attention to her chatter as he took
inventory of his stupid behavior. After dinner was served, his
father wanted to know more about the alluring creature that sat to
his right. Guy suspected that his old man saw how tense his guest
was and he wanted to relieve her anxiety, so he said, “My son tells
me you grow oranges, how and why did your father decide to make a
living that way?” Her pink lips paled slightly and his father
reached over and patted her hand. “If it pains you to talk
about...”

Rusty shifted, appearing to be a little
awkward in the chair. The kid’s eyes misted and she mumbled as if
she were asking herself the question, “How many times had my father
Sam told the story to me and my brother?” She sighed, “No, I don’t
mind,” she answered, smiling weakly and nibbled on her lower lip
thinking where to start. She looked up and all eyes were on her, so
she commenced, “I was three when the first crops yielded the most
delicious and juiciest fruit I ever tasted. I can still see mother
and father hugging and laughing while my brother and I watched.
Even now, I can still hear my father’s booming voice from the
past.” She lowered her voice to mimic Sam making Guy smile.
“Children, if it weren’t for your mother’s friend, Eliza Tibber,
from Riverside, California, planting those few orange trees she
ordered from Washington, we would have never gone into planting
oranges.” Her eyes downcast, Rusty sighed, “It was on my parent’s
trip home, when they visited my mother’s friend that she fell in
love with the sweet fruit. Eliza had been growing a few trees for
two years when other people began to plant them also. My father
heard rumors about the San Joaquin Valley being the ideal place,
since the nights cool down to the forties, best for ripening. And
because of his love for my mother, he bought the spread to make her
dreams come true.”

Rusty winced. “It was my mother’s love of the
land that killed Hannah Crawford.”

By the time she finished desert, she felt
like one of the family. She glanced at Guy once in a while and
caught him looking at her if he were sizing her up for the first
time. She looked away, but felt his eyes on her all evening. It was
most unsettling. After dinner, the men went into another room to
smoke and the women retired to the parlor to discuss Skye’s
engagement party. Rusty sat caught up in the excitement and then
stunned to hear that she and Skye would be going into town tomorrow
to be fitted for some new gowns. She tried to protest, saying she
was very happy with the dresses in the closet, but Skye’s wouldn’t
hear of it.

“Don’t be silly!” Skye replied affably. “And,
anyway we can all see that you are a lot more, err, well… endowed
than me. I’m still wondering if I should hide you in the closet,”
she pouted, but winked. Embarrassed, Rusty wished she was not the
object of Skye’s teasing.

“Stop making sport, Skye.” Clair scolded her
daughter. “You’re embarrassing the pretty girl. Leave Rusty be.
Your beau is so besotted with you; you have nothing to joke
about.”

“Aw, mother, Rusty knows I mean her no harm.
But I do apologize.”

Rusty accepted and before her head hit the
pillow she pondered on Guy’s rudeness earlier. Why was he so nice
one minute, so cruel the next? Well, she decided that she wouldn’t
let him ruin her happiness and she slept well that night.

Chapter Eighteen

The next morning Rusty rode with Skye into
town again in the handsome coach. They spent most of the day being
fitted for their gowns and purchasing slippers to match. Hats,
reticules, parasols, lacy petticoats, and undergarments were all
selected. By the time she returned home, her head was swimming from
all the excitement.

The days before the party flew by. She was so
caught up in all the preparations that she hardly saw Guy, except
for dinner. Then she wished she didn’t have to be in the same room,
for all he did was sit in a brooding silence which mystified her.
She wondered what he did with his time. When she and Skye were
alone she asked the young woman about her brother’s where-about,
and hearing the answer, she was sorry she had queried. It seemed
Guy was once sweet on a lady and he was spending most of his time
with her. She didn’t care. Or so she tried to convince herself, but
failed miserably. Well, at least he was out of her way, with his
sour face and his unkind remarks. But she did wonder if the woman
was pretty.

Of course she was, you ninny.

“Oh, phoo,” she grumbled to herself. She was
growing bored with his moodiness anyway.

When Kyle offered to take her riding, she
jumped at the chance. She liked his company, he made her laugh and
feel at ease.

Skye’s fiancé, Robert dropped by as she and
Kyle were leaving for their ride. Rusty noticed the scowl on Kyle’s
face when his sister suggested she and Robert join them. So it was
that the four, each mounted on a beautiful sorrel, went riding.
After awhile, she noticed that Kyle’s brief moment of
disappointment vanished and he was his jolly self. This flattered
her knowing the young man wanted her all to himself but she was
glad the others came; it turned into a fun day.