Dusty Britches (48 page)

Dusty
was beginning to feel as if she were caught up in some dream come true
, even
for all the drama
and
worrying about Alex
,
Alice, and the sleeping children
. Sh
e and Ryder alone on the ranch,
children asleep in the other room
,
and supper needing doing
—it was like a dream
. The sun was setting fast. She
knew when it was dark
they
’
d both feel all the more agitated. It was best to keep a fretting, impatient man busy.

Still,
Ryder wasn
’
t much help. He kept glancing out the windows and pacing the floor anxiously. He was
more company than anything else—
and that was best anyway. They talked about nothing substantial, just biding their time. The sun set, the children slept, and no one came home. It was nearly eight o
’
clock and still nothing.

“
You sleep in there with them babies tonight,
”
Ryder
said. Standing, he took
his hat from the rack behind the door.

“
Where are you goin
’
?
”
Dusty asked, fairly leaping to her feet.

“
Well, sweet thing,
”
he began,
“
as much as I would like to stay in here and sleep with you too…I
’
m not sure how your daddy would feel
—”

His words and her smile were stifled instantly by t
he sudden bawling
of calves and the sounds
of restless horses out in the corral.

“
Shhh!
”
Ryder told her.
“
Blow out the lamp!
”

Dusty didn
’
t pause
—
simply blew down the chimney of the lamp sitting in the middle of the table. She
peered through
the dar
kness as Ryder went to the door. Taking
down the rifle her father kept above it
, he cocked
it in readiness.

“
You get down on the floor,
”
he whispered.

Dusty was terrified.
“
Ryder?
”
she whispered. He put an index finger to his lips. Carefully
,
he peered out the window and into the night.

“
Somethin
’
s spookin
’
the horses in the corral,
”
he said.
“
Someone
’
s out there.
”

“
Maybe it
’
s Daddy,
”
Dusty offered in a whisper.
“
Or Ruff or Guthrie come back.
”

“
The horses wouldn
’
t be spooked…
”
H
is voice trailed off. Suddenly he flung the door open and shouted.
“
Who
’
s there?
”

The answer came quickly in the shrill repeat of gunfire. Dusty saw a woodchip fly off the doorframe where a bullet hit. She watched Ryder aim his rifle and fire several rounds in return before slamming the door.
“
That wasn
’
t very bright,
”
he grumbled. Bullets immediately riddled the kitchen window, sending glass crashing into the sink and over the floor. Dusty screamed and covered her ears.

“
Get the babies and bring them closer to us!
”
Reaching over and pulling a piece of glass out of his arm, he shouted,
“
Now!
”
The blood
soaking
the sleeve of h
is shirt caused Dusty to pause,
horrified at what was happening.
“
Go on, girl! And stay down low!
”

Quickly Dusty began crawling toward the bedroom, trying to keep her wits about her. Even though the gunfire had stopped for the moment, the fear in her was almost paralyzing. She could hear the children crying and reached the bedroom just as Makenna came running out, carrying her brother as best she could.

“
Dusty!
”
the child cried.

Dusty took both children in her arms and hugged them quickly before carrying them back toward the kitchen. She stood to carry them, crouching over all the same. As she entered the kitchen, Ryder lifted the enormous kitchen table, turning it on its side, and motioned to Dusty and the children to get behind it. Then, going to one of the broken windows, he knelt below it, carefully peeking outside and then aiming his rifle.

He was patient and did not fire
. He would make certain he was
sure of his shot
. It seemed to Dusty it would be impossible for him to hit anything in the dark.
W
hen he did fire three times in succession, Dusty heard a shout from outside and knew he
’
d been successful. Almost immediately, however, whoever was left outside returned fire. Ryder scrambled behind the table. The children were frightened into silence, though tears profusely streamed down their faces. Dusty co
mforted them as best she could—
holding them tightly to her.

“
Who are they?
”
she asked him in a whisper when the gunfire died down again.

Ryder shook his head.
“
We
’
ll stay back here. It gives me a good shot if they try to
—”

More gunfire interrupted him. This time, however, the shots were not hitting the house. Dusty heard her father shouting above the noise.

“
They
’
re back!
”
Ryder breathed. Jumping to his feet, he bolted for the back door before she could stop him.

He started to open the door, no doubt to join the fight now that the threat seem
e
d to be distracted from the house. Looking and seeing Dusty and the children huddled in fear, he paused, his attention arrested by something else. Slowly he turned toward the parlor and peered into the darkness. A shot split through the room. Dusty saw Ryder reel back a moment before firing his rifle into the darkened room beyond. Blood immediately stained his shirt at the shoulder as he fired several more shots
. As he headed toward the parlor, D
usty reached out and caught hold of his leg.

“
Wait,
”
she begged.

“
It
’
s all right,
”
he muttered without looking at her. Carefully he disappeared into the parlor.

“
He
’
s down,
”
he called. She heard him growling angrily at someone
and
could hear scuffling, and in the next moment, her father burst through the front door.

Dusty screamed, startled at her father
’
s abrupt entrance.
“
Ryder
’
s been hurt! Where
’
s Becca? What
’
s going on?
”
she babbled anxiously as she pointed her father toward the parlor.

Ryder entered the kitchen, nodding a greeting at Hank and saying,
“
Got on
e tied down in there. Son of a—
gun got into the dang house!
”

Hank reached out and tugged at Ryder
’
s torn shirt to inspect the wounds in his shoulder and arm.
“
There
’
s four more out in the yard there
. T
wo were already down when we got here
. T
he others…
”
H
e trailed off and looked to Dusty.
“
Rustlers. Went after Alex Jones
’s
steers
. G
uess they weren
’
t satisfied with
’
em and decided to come here
’
fore makin
’
for the hills.
”

“
Is Alex well?
”
Dusty asked.
“
Kenna said he was injured and…
”

Hank glanced to Kenna, her large blue eyes filled with fear and sadness.
“
Alex
’
s fine. Couple a broken ribs
,
I think.
”
Then he nodded to Ryder and added,
“
Looks like this boy
’
s more banged up than Alex. You better get to it, Dusty. Clean him up.
”
Reaching out
, he smiled, hefting
Kenna up onto one hip and Jakie on
to
the other.
“
We
’
ll let Feller and the other boys help the sheriff, and I
’
ll take care of these little bits.
”
With a chuckle, he trotted down the hall with the children, rattling off something about having peppermint sticks hidden under his bed.

Dusty stood, mouth gaping as she stared after him. That was it? Her father waltzes in after a confrontation
the likes of rustlers
and just gallops the children back to the bedroom? And where was Becca? Certainly she wasn
’
t out in the yard cleaning up dead rustlers with Feller and the sheriff
.

She turned quickly as she heard Ryder
’
s boots heavy on the kitchen floor headed for the door.
“
Hold on there,
”
she scolded, reaching out and taking hold of his pants by the waist.
“
You
’
re not goin
’
anywhere!
”

“
It
’
s just a scratch or two, Dusty. I don
’
t need
—”
he began to argue.

“
Sit!
”
she commanded, pointing to a chair.

With a heavy sigh
,
Ryder turned the chair around
and
, straddling it and sitting down hard,
stripped of
f
his shirt. She knew he was near to crazy with wanting to be outside where the excitement was.
Yet
she also knew how fast infection could set into a serious wound. So with great trepidation, she
mustered her courage,
inhaled
,
and bent down to investigate his injuries.

“
It
’
s a pretty bad graze at your shoulder,
”
she mumbled more to herself than anyone,
“
but this one on your arm…
”
It was a deep wound the glass had made. Undoubtedly, Ryder Maddox would have another nasty scar to add to his collection.

Dusty bustled around boiling water
and
retrieving ointments and bandages. All the while, Ryder sat patiently watching her scurry about. At last, she set the kettle of hot water on the floor and began sponging his wounds clean. She glanced up to see him smiling down on her. A frown immediately puckered her brow.

“
What?
” she asked.

“
Nothin
’
,
”
he chuckled, wincing as she cleaned the wound on his arm.

“
What?
”
she demanded indignantly. What could he possibly find amusing about their situation?

“
Just you…so frownin
’
and serious.
”

His answer seemed absolutely ludicrous. Of course she was serious! Alex and Alice had been attacked! Ryder had been injured! Becca was who knew where
,
and there were dead men lying in the yard! Then she remembered something else. There was one in the parlor as well!

“
There
’
s a man in the parlor!
”
Dusty exclaimed, leaping to her feet.