“Not me. She’s as stubborn as a bear after a hive full of honey,” Dusty grumbled. “And more trouble than she’s worth.”
Kate gasped, surprised and hurt, and hoped no one heard her. She certainly didn’t have any designs on Dusty and especially not on marriage to him or any other man. While it was true she was stubborn, he was just as much so, if not more, and he had even admitted it. If she could have gotten to her feet without her hand hurting, she would have gone after him and told him so, but she was feeling wobbly and light-headed. Staying where she was, she nursed her wounded pride.
When Dusty returned, she avoided looking at him, fearing she might give away her feelings—feelings she wasn’t willing to admit to anyone, including herself. Once he was gone—She squeezed her eyes tight as he helped her from the porch. There were still a few days of harvest left, and she would get through it. After that, Dusty would be gone, and he could do whatever or go anywhere he wanted. She didn’t care. Not after hearing what he really thought of her.
As he helped her to his truck, she decided then and there to make sure she never had to be alone with him again. The memory of the way he’d looked at her and the feel of his arms around her strengthened her resolve. Whatever had prompted his foolishness was no concern of hers, but she didn’t want to give him the opportunity of doing anything like it again. Whatever these strange feelings she had for him were, they would fade away as soon as he was gone. She was certain of that.
“HARDHEADED, STUBBORN FEMALE,” Dusty muttered. He drove with his foot to the floorboard after he had dropped Kate off at the farm and made sure Aggie was completely aware of the situation. Aggie had assured him she could take care of the truck driving and that Kate would be well looked after. She even tried to talk Kate into going into town to have the doctor look at the stings, but Kate had waved them all away, insisting she would be fine in the morning.
Beside him in the truck, Tanner laughed. “I’ve never met a woman more perfect for you, Dusty.”
“You think that copper-haired spitfire is perfect for me? Then you don’t know me very well. Kate as a wife?” He snorted and glanced at Tanner to see an odd look on his face. Not sure what it meant, he continued. “I’d have to be crazy to even think of it.”
“You’ve had some mighty hard kicks to that head of yours,” Tanner said, looking him over closely. “You’re crazy if you don’t try to rope and tie that redhead.”
“Think again, my friend,” Dusty replied as he turned into the lane leading to his house. But he had a hard time getting the picture of Kate’s face, tears in her eyes as she’d looked up at him earlier, out of his mind. And the way she’d cuddled up to him had set him on fire.
Tanner cleared his throat. “Shawn is competing the week after next,” he said, obviously changing the subject before the conversation went south. “If you get the chance, come on down and watch.”
“I saw him in Altus last week, and he did a good job.”
“Not quite good enough, if you ask him,” Tanner said, chuckling. “And I think Jules would be happier if he’d stick to team roping or anything other than broncs, but she won’t say it. Maybe you should give a little more thought to team roping with him again. He’d like to be able to enter more than one event.”
“After being sidelined for the past six weeks, I’ll be concentrating on the bull riding.” But Dusty felt bad about not helping the boy he’d taught to team rope. “I’ll stop in to lend a hand with the team roping, whenever I can, and I’ll see if I can’t find him another partner.”
“What if you can’t ride bulls anymore?”
Dusty took his eyes off the road to stare at his friend. “That won’t happen.”
“It could.”
“No, it couldn’t.” Dusty wouldn’t even allow the thought to enter his mind. Bull riding was his life, and he wouldn’t even consider entertaining the idea that it would end anytime soon.
“What if you met someone?” Tanner asked.
“So we’re back to that again, are we? Look, Tanner, I’m not the marrying kind,” he answered. “I won’t be trying the rodeo and wife thing again. Once was enough to learn my lesson.”
“Jules and I seem to manage it well.”
Dusty smiled at his friend’s good luck. “You don’t know how happy it makes me to know that. But there aren’t many out there like Jules. She’s one of a kind.”
“That she is,” Tanner agreed. “And now with the baby…”
Fighting the little bit of envy he felt, Dusty didn’t hear the rest of what Tanner was saying. His best friend had not only found a dream of a wife and had a baby son, but he had won the National Bronc Riding Championship a few months earlier. Tanner’s life seemed about as perfect as anything could get. But it wasn’t the life Dusty had in mind.
“I know what I’m doing,” he finally said, determined to live his life on his own terms.
“There are more important things in life than rodeo,” Tanner said. “Especially as we get older.”
Dusty understood what his friend was getting at, but Tanner’s crazy notion about Kate was dead wrong. He wasn’t interested in marrying her or anyone else. They could continue to be friends, until he was back traveling the circuit again, but beyond that, he didn’t have any plans where she was concerned. And they were friends, even though it wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind the first time he’d laid eyes on her, but neither was anything serious.
“My mind is made up,” he told Tanner, as he pulled up in front of his house and killed the engine. “I’m going back to riding bulls. Nothing is going to stop me. Not Kate Clayborne or any other woman.”
In spite of his concern for her, Dusty didn’t see Kate the next day. Aggie drove the truck without complaint, but he noticed at the end of the long day that she was limping even more than usual. He didn’t even see Kate at dinner. Since Dusty was no longer working near the house, Trish had brought dinner and the evening sandwiches to the field. He hoped Kate’s hand wasn’t hurting her too much, but he wasn’t sure what was worse, that or her avoiding him because she didn’t want to see him. And he didn’t know why.
The next day, Aggie again appeared to drive the first load of wheat to the elevator. Kate arrived to take the next load, and Dusty made it a point to leave the cab to ask about her hand.
“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” he asked at the truck window. “Is it still hurting?” He tried to take a look at it, but she kept it hidden.
She wouldn’t even look him in the eye as she fidgeted with the truck’s controls and started the engine. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“I am worried about it,” he admitted. “It happened at my house. How can I not worry?”
Kate turned to face him, a frown pulling at her mouth. “Afraid I might sue?”
“Sue?” he said, his throat closing to choke him at the thought. “No, it never crossed my mind. For crying out loud, it hasn’t crossed yours, has it?”
“It might have.” Shoving the truck into gear, she drove away.
But he’d noticed the look on her face and knew it had been the pain talking.
They finished cutting the last of the wheat late that afternoon, and he never got a chance to talk to her again. Maybe it was a good thing, he decided. He had told Tanner that Kate wasn’t the woman for him. No woman was. But he had a hard time not thinking about her.
With harvest over for the year and finding himself again at loose ends, Dusty spent the next day working diligently on his house. He worked until dark and was physically exhausted, but he felt good. His ribs didn’t bother him, even during the most strenuous tasks, and he figured maybe he’d finally healed. The headaches came and went, with no rhyme or reason, and he did his best to ignore them.
Bone weary but invigorated by the progress he’d made, he fell into bed, planning what work he’d do on his house the next day. He tried not to think of how often he’d wished Kate had been there to help him. Every time he had passed the spot where she’d been
stung, his heart had felt heavy. He tried not to think of her in those late, dark hours of the night. Lying in bed, his hands folded under his head, he concentrated on getting back on the rodeo circuit, competing in the bull riding competitions and maybe a little team roping with Shawn. But it wasn’t long before his thoughts became more about bright blue eyes and a sprinkling of freckles splashed across a pert nose.
When sleep didn’t come, he wondered if he needed something besides remodeling to keep him busy. He had hoped Aggie might ask him to help with the plowing and disking of the ground that would be needed to get the fields ready for fall planting, but she hadn’t. He missed breakfasts and dinners at the Claybornes’, not only the food, but the company as well. He missed Kate and wondered how she was getting along. Punching his pillow, he prayed for sleep and fought the images of her that drifted through his mind.
KATE WAS BUSY making pies and cakes for the upcoming bake sale before Desperation’s annual box social. The swelling in her hand was gone, and baking gave her time to think. But there was one problem. She was thinking things she had no business thinking about.
When she heard the sound of a vehicle in the yard and then the knock on the kitchen door, she knew immediately who it was and ignored it. When the knocking continued and no one else answered it, she left the pie crust she was rolling out on the table and went to the stairs.
“Aunt Aggie, will you get the door please? Dusty’s here, and I’m up to my armpits in pie dough.”
“You’ll have to get it, dear,” Aggie called down. “I’m indisposed.”
Kate couldn’t imagine what her aunt would consider indisposed unless she was stark naked and dripping wet. With an exasperated mutter about the poor timing of some people, she hurried to wipe the sticky dough from her hands, hoping she could find a way to keep him out of the kitchen so she wouldn’t have to spend time alone with him. She now knew what he really thought of her. Thankfully, getting no answer at the kitchen door, he was now knocking on the front door.
“You’re looking better,” he greeted her, when she opened the door. “How’s your hand?”
“Fine. Is there something you need?” With all the things that had been going through her mind while she baked, Kate wasn’t in the mood for a conversation with him.
“I was hoping to talk to Aggie,” he explained.
“She’s, uh, busy upstairs, but she should be down in a few minutes. You can wait in the living room,” she told him.
He was staring at her, the intensity of his brown gaze unraveling her already thin nerves. “Aren’t you going to keep me company?” he asked as she turned for the kitchen.
“I’m sure you can wait alone for a few minutes,” she grumbled, walking out of the room. She didn’t need his unnerving looks or time spent chitchatting about who knew what, and there was no telling how long Aunt Aggie would be “indisposed,” whatever that meant.
If only her aunt would get a move on so she wouldn’t be alone with him. Turning back to make sure he wasn’t following her, she nearly ran into him. “Where do you think you’re going?” she asked.
“I’ll be more comfortable in the kitchen,” he answered with a heart-tripping grin.
“Well, I won’t,” she said and continued on her way through the hallway.
With no way to stop him from following, she walked into the kitchen where the table was loaded with paraphernalia for pie baking.
He turned her around, brushing at her face with one finger, his touch featherlight, without even a glance at the table. “Did you know you have flour on your face?” he asked in a slow, lazy voice.
It took her a moment to start breathing again and actually form a reply. “As you can see, I’m baking pies and in case you didn’t know, flour tends to get everywhere.”
Aggie’s voice rang out in the hallway, causing them both to jump back. “Did you say Dusty was here?”
“I’m in the kitchen with Kate,” he called out, his gaze never leaving hers.
To Kate’s relief, Aggie walked into the room. “Good, I need to talk to you before you leave, Dusty.”
The look he gave Kate before turning to answer nearly melted Kate on the spot. “Ask away, Miss Aggie.”
“Well, now,” she began, a broad smile on her face as she looked from Dusty to Kate, “I meant to ask you before you ran off after harvest—”
“I didn’t run off,” he protested.
Aggie waved a dismissive hand. “Whatever. The thing is we could still use some help around here.”
After a quick glance at Kate, he nodded. “That’s one of the reasons I stopped by. I was going to ask you if you needed some help.”
“We can do it ourselves,” Kate said, jumping in to save her sanity. Weren’t things bad enough already without him around every day again? He confused her. And she didn’t like it. She didn’t like the way he had her thinking of things she had never wanted.
Aggie sat at the table, pushing aside a pie pan containing the dough for one of the light, fluffy-crusted pies. “Kate is a little on the stubborn side, I’m afraid.” She gave Dusty an apologetic smile, and Kate nearly groaned aloud. “She’s had a difficult week, with the wasps and all, and pride keeps her from admitting she can’t do it all.”
“I’ll be happy to help,” he told her. “What is it you need done? Working ground?”
Aggie glanced at Kate, who shot her a pleading look. “Just getting the machinery ready—”
“Getting the machinery ready for working ground,” Kate finished, not wanting Dusty to know anything about Aggie’s plan to lease the land.
“I can do that,” he said. “Will Kate be helping?”
Kate turned to face him. “Do you think I’d let you touch my machines without being there to make sure you were doing things right?”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he answered with a grin. “But I have a question for you.” When Kate merely stood there looking at him, he continued. “How about taking a ride into Desperation for some ice cream?”
“Sounds like a great idea,” Aggie said, before Kate could turn him down. “And take your time. I was planning to go into town to visit Hettie.”
Kate stared at her aunt, wondering how she could get out of the corner she’d just been put in. “But what about the pies? There really isn’t time for me to run off for ice cream.”
Aggie waved a dismissive hand. “Plenty of time for the baking. I’ll put what’s left of the pie crust in the fridge and cover the rest. Everything will be here when you get back.”
Kate searched for another excuse, but found none. Knowing she was beat, she shrugged her shoulders in defeat.
“Have a good time,” Aggie called to them as Kate walked through the door Dusty held for her.
In his pickup, Kate sat ramrod straight, furious at having been railroaded into going with him, when she had been determined not to spend time alone with him. Aunt Aggie was treading on thin ice, and Kate wasn’t going to let this pass without telling her so.
With a quick glance in Kate’s direction, Dusty started the engine and pulled out of the drive and onto the road. “I’m a Rocky Road fan, myself,” he said.
“I only eat vanilla,” she replied without enthusiasm.
“Vanilla’s good,” he agreed. “All those toppings to put on it. Can’t beat an old-fashioned banana split.”
“I only like chocolate on it.”
He let out a whoosh of breath. “You sure are in a sour mood today. Scoot over here by me,” he coaxed with a smile.
She wasn’t falling for it. “We aren’t on a date, Dusty.”
“We’re not?”
“No.”
“I’ll make a deal with you,” he said. “You scoot over here by me, and I’ll agree with you.” He slid a look over her from the toes of her boots to the top of her head and waited.
She ignored her body’s response. “Let’s just get the ice cream.”
They arrived in Desperation before she was forced to carry on any more conversation. Fo
r a weekday afternoon in the summer, the Sweet & Yummy Ice Cream Parlor, located a few doors down from her office in the recently renovated old opera house, was glaringly empty. She was relieved. There’d be nobody to see her with Dusty, no one to think something was going on between them. Far from it, if she had her way. She chose a booth in the corner, though, just in case.
“You’re not very talkative today,” Dusty said, as they ate their ice cream in silence.
“I have things on my mind.”
“What things?”
She met his gaze, determined not to let down her guard, no matter how hard he tried to get her to. With a smile she didn’t feel, she said, “Nothing that has anything to do with you.”
For a moment he said nothing and only stared at her. “Damn it, Kate, what’s up with you? Would it help if I told you I’ve missed you since we finished harvest?”
She didn’t want to hear that. He was making it more difficult to keep him at a distance. She had come to the point where she couldn’t trust herself around him. Over and over she’d relived how he’d held her when she’d gotten stung by the wasps. How tender he had been when he’d put the ice bag on her hand and wrapped it. She’d told herself to forget it, but she hadn’t been able to. And she hadn’t been able to forget his comments about her to Tanner, either.
“I’ve been worried about your hand,” he went on. When she didn’t respond, he turned to stare out the window that looked out onto Main Street. “But I guess you’re doing—Is that Vern and Esther?”
Kate looked out the window, too, to see a seventy-something woman chasing a man of similar age down the street. “You’re surprised?”
“Well, yeah,” he said, turning back to face her. “It’s been how many years? And she’s still chasing after him?”
Kate suddenly saw a correlation she could use. “Some people just don’t know when to give up.”
“Is that a challenge?” he asked, understanding clear in his bourbon-colored eyes.
She shook her head, dropped her spoon into her empty bowl and scooted to the edge of the booth. “Not at all. Just a statement about the way some things are.” Standing, she smiled at him. “I think we’re done here.”
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