Pioneer Passion (20 page)

Apparently, the younger buffoon had more to
say.

“When you take advantage of a young lady, I
think you should own up to your responsibilities.”

“I didn’t take advantage. Damn! Why am I even
bothering to explain this to you?” Guy answered belligerently.

“What if you got her pregnant?”

Rusty gasped. She couldn’t believe they were
doing this to her. She wanted to shoot the both of them right then
and there, but she only had one bullet left. This conversation had
to stop immediately and she waved the gun at them.

“Look, you two, if....” They brusquely waved
off anything further she was about to say. Oh, what nerve, she
pouted and bristled.

An ominous silence surrounded her for an
instant, and then Kyle snapped. “Are you going to marry her?!” Dear
Lord. This was getting ridiculous! Did they think she was
invisible?

“Hell no!” Guy spat out the words bitterly.
“Your declaration sounds too much like an order than a question.”
He balled his fists ready to strike again.

Rusty thoroughly addled, fired, sending
pebbles and dirt around the startled men. She had heard enough and
yelled, “Excuse me! But, I think since I was a willing party, I
should have a say.”

Finally, she got their attention. Maybe she
should have been mortified, admitting she was a willing partner,
but she was so angered that modesty and rationalization were
nowhere to be found in her brain right now. How dare they continue
to talk about her as if she weren’t there? Such arrogance, the both
of them! She saw the disbelief in Kyle’s eyes, knowing she hurt him
badly but she was tired of people treating her like a child; she
was full-grown; eighteen in a few weeks.

Her shoulders squared as she said, “I’m not
willing to marry anyone at this time!” Then pointing the empty gun
at Guy she spit out, “And, I wouldn’t marry him, if he was the last
man on this earth!” An oddly stricken look on Guy’s face surprised
her, but she was too vexed to analyze it. She stood tall and tucked
the gun back into her pocket, trying not to laugh at the two men
standing dumbfounded with their jaws dropping to their chests. She
was done! She had spoken well! Limping over to her horse Rusty rode
off in a cloud of dust.

“Now see what you’ve done!” snapped Kyle.

“Me?!” Guy rebuked, appalled.

“Yes, you! Look how you hurt her. I hope she
never forgives you!”

“I’d worry about your own ass, brother, if I
were you!” He wanted to choke him. “You should never have come
here.” As an after thought he snarled, “Maybe I should’ve never
brought her to meet the family. I had forgotten what a bunch of
buttinski’s you all are.” Kyle’s intelligent retort was a deep rude
noise which Guy ignored. And he still held a grudge because for the
second time in one week, he received a blow to his jaw. Because he
had been taken by surprise earlier, Guy had every intention this
time not to handle his sibling with kid gloves. Boxing team or no
boxing team, he had been determined to give Kyle a whipping.

Chapter Twenty

Rusty rode back, aware of the brothers in hot
pursuit. Once in the barn and being in no mood to confront them,
she fired the two an accusing glance. Leaving the hot-headed men in
the stable to continue their disagreement, she stormed out and
sneaked up the back stairs to her room. Undetected, Rusty made it
to her quarters, flung her body on the bed and cried bitterly.

Guy didn’t love her but his arrogant refusal
hurt her deeply. You’d think marrying her was the worse thing in
the world, she reflected with a snort. And that brother of his was
no better, acting like a knight in shining armor. Fed up with both
men, she wanted nothing to do with either one of them.

Later that day, the skies became inky and the
rains came, making Rusty’s spirits as gloomy as her room. She
recalled Guy’s prediction and wondered how that arrogant cowboy
seemed to know it was going to rain? “Humph! He always seemed to be
right,” she grumbled aloud. After the tears subsided, she paced the
floor dreading the fact that she had to face the family sooner or
later, but she wasn’t up to dinner. A light tap on the door gave
her an excuse to put her depressing thoughts aside for the
moment.

“Who is it?” she asked in a small voice,
hoping it wasn’t one of the Strong men.

Please God, anyone but them.

“Susan.”

Rusty let out a relieved breath. Another
female to talk to right now wouldn’t hurt. “Come in.”

Susan bobbed her head inside and frowned with
concern. She slumped on the bed when the servant saw her looking so
dejected. The girl went to Rusty and sat next to her.

“What’s the matter, you look dazed? Are you
okay?” She touched Rusty’s arm. “I saw you sneak up the servant’s
staircase earlier, with a distant look in your eyes.”

Rusty broke into tears. Could she possibly
have any left? Still seething and heartbroken, she cried
dramatically, straining her insides. Not a thing made sense
anymore. She wiped her tear-streaked face with her palm, and
spilled her story to Susan who hugged her close. Maybe she
shouldn’t pour out her problems to a new friend, but she needed to
talk. Anyway, the whole house would soon be buzzing with what
happened. Things like this didn’t remain a secret, not when Kyle
was determined to settle the matter himself.

Susan asked sympathetically, “What are you
going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Rusty answered lamely as pain
tinged her heart. She wiped her wet face against her sleeve,
feeling so infantile.

“Men!” snapped Susan, “they’re all alike. My
father never married my mother. Promised he would, and then one
day, he took off leaving Mamma and me to fend for ourselves. I was
only four but I can still remember my mother crying for a long time
after that. And I don’t want to cry, I think one sad person in the
room is enough.” Her friend blinked the wetness from her eyes and
said, “All they want is to get under your skirt, and then they toss
you aside like an old sock.”

Susan’s morbid summery of men inflamed
Rusty’s pain again. Who are you kidding, you lifted your skirt? she
groaned inwardly; now her conscience was right. Although, she was
to blame, why did she feel so put upon? She sighed deeply and
decided it was time to draw herself and her friend out of their
depression, so she changed the subject. “Did you see my old clothes
and my hat? I’ve looked everywhere but they seemed to have
disappeared.”

Rusty saw Susan wrinkle her smooth brow in
thought and ponder a moment. “Why are you asking about your
clothes? The girl then snapped her fingers. “Come to think of it, I
remember seeing them in the rag bin the other day. Do you want me
to fetch them for you?” she asked.

Anger rekindled in Rusty. Susan’s question
hung in mid-air for a moment before she leaped from the bed. “Who
would throw out my clothes? Of all the nerve!” she croaked, curling
her lips. “I have a sneaking suspicion about who it could be. Damn
him!” When Rusty saw shock written all over Susan’s face, she
regretted her unladylike outburst. With new resolution, she decided
not to let this matter grow and fester in her. She was a Crawford,
wasn’t she?

“I’m sorry for my flair-up. I’ll be all
right,” she reassured Susan and hugged her. “I appreciate your
listening to me. I’m not usually such a weepy girl but I do lose my
temper easily and lately….” She took a deep breath and sighed. “My
life has changed so dramatically since I met Guy, I haven’t been
acting at all like myself. Love can do strange things to you.” She
gave an ironic laugh. Her head had all the right conclusions but it
was her heart that wouldn’t listen.

She asked Susan to retrieve her clothes
clandestinely if possible. The servant agreed and returned shortly
with the discarded things. With a soul-weary sigh Rusty thanked her
and hugged her clothing as if it were a lost child. She felt
relieved getting back her father’s hat and she hid everything under
the bed. She made a mental note to remind herself to take them when
she left. Susan promised her she’d see to it that no one threw them
out again.

His mother caught Guy and his brother trying
to sneak up to their rooms. She gasped at their dirty torn clothes
and wounds; Kyle with a black eye and he with a bloody nose. She
shrieked, “What the hell happened to you two!?”

Their father must have heard her cry of alarm
and came running in from the study. Of course he insisted on an
explanation, but neither Guy nor Kyle contributed any, so his old
man lost his temper. His mother tried to calm him seeing the veins
in his temples pulsate. “Please dear, you’re making it worse and
the help will hear you. “I’m sure there’s a logical
explanation.”

“Dear,” his father snapped, “there’s nothing
sensible about two grown men fighting. You must remember the days
when Guy whipped his brother’s ass over something trivial. Now it
looks as if our younger son can give as well as he got.” His old
man didn’t even try to hide his smile. “It’s about time Kyle stood
up to his big brother.”

Guy knew Kyle feared his father’s wrath, but
he broke the silence; Kyle began to babble on about what happened.
“If only I arrived in time to keep that bastard from deflowering
the girl,” he snarled. Guy winced when their mother gasped and he
directed a murderous leer at his foolish brother.

“I’ve heard more than enough,” his father
growled. “You mother’s right. The walls have ears.”

He gathered the family quickly into the study
so that the servants might not overhear and Guy wanted to throttle
his big-mouthed brother. He was not a kid who had to answer to his
parents, or anyone, for his actions. He stood clenching his fists,
itching to knock Kyle’s head off; this was nobody’s affair but his
and Rusty’s. Momentarily, he thought about her, recalling her ashen
face, knowing how humiliated she must have felt caught in this
predicament and his harsh words. Must he always bring such torment
to her life? Three pairs of eyes were riveted on him, making him
feel very small for the first time in his life. Son-of-a-bitch!

Kyle barked challengingly, “Your high and
mighty son won’t even marry the girl! For God’s sake, Pa! I think
he should own up and be responsible for his….”

Guy rolled his eyes to the ceiling and sighed
heavily. “Who made you judge and jury?” he spat back. His fingers
were flexing from a tight fist to an open palm. “Damn blockhead!”
he growled.

“Please boys.” his mother implored, unable to
control the tears spilling from her eyes. Guy saw her face drain
and she clutched her throat. Luckily, he saw her swoon, and
forgetting his own anger, went to her side. His father patted her
hand while Guy lifted her onto the love seat. Kyle fanned her with
his handkerchief. He then fetched a brandy and made her sip a small
amount, but it only made her choke and sputter. When she again
insisted she was all right, his father turned his anger on his
sons. Guy began to pace the floor like a caged lion, while Kyle sat
meekly in the wing chair, his flustered face between his hands.

“Now, let me get this straight!” he bellowed.
“You,” he pointed an accusing finger at Guy, “will have nothing to
do with the girl. Am I right?”

Kyle nodded for Guy and then interjected with
his chin up a few notches. “And, I’m willing to marry the girl.”
His brother’s declaration didn’t surprise him. Then, his father
went to the sideboard and poured himself a stiff drink. When is
mother tried to calm him down, looking as if he might have a
stroke, he waved her to be still. He then gulped down his drink and
Guy knew that one wouldn’t do.

His mother fanned herself, rubbing her
temples and Guy assumed she was dreading the headache she knew
she’d have after this disaster. He wished that Kyle would stop
squirming and his insides felt like a boiling cauldron as if he had
stepped into hell, literally. His father’s face was beat red. God,
what a mess! He had enough and wanted to leave, determined no one,
not even his father, would run his life. This argument, this room,
caused flashbacks of past battles. But this time something tugged
at his scruples; he would hear his old man out, but the final
decision was his. His lips puckered with annoyance; this acquired
conscience was becoming annoying.

“Kyle,” his father paused a moment.

Guy knew the man was searching for the right
words. He winced knowing any thing his father had to say would not
be the words he was willing hear. But he would stay to show
respect.

“I will not lose you Kyle to the belief that
you’re in love with someone who surely doesn’t love you back.” He
reached for another drink and continued to address his younger son.
“I’m proud that you feel you should do the right thing, and I’m
sure you fancy yourself in love, but I want you to go back to
school. I’d like one of my boys to finish.” Kyle rose to object but
he raised his hand, cutting off any further protest. His brother
sat with a dejected sigh and his father cleared his throat and
continued, “Hear me out. You’re young and naive. Also, I’ll not let
you give up law school to get a job you think you may need to
support a wife. And, it’s possible she may be in a family way, and,
err....” His father coughed embarrassed and looked at his mother.
He put a loving hand on Kyle’s shoulder saying, “I know you feel
I’m being hardheaded, but someday you’ll thank me.”

Kyle shrugged. “Maybe you’re right father,”
he murmured. “I feel deeply for Rusty but she doesn’t feel the same
way for me and I cannot ignore the truth any longer. I do want you
to be proud of me and I want to be a lawyer, although part of me
still yearns for Rusty.” He snorted, and glared at Guy. “He’s a
mule headed heel who does not know what he’s giving up!”

Guy saw Kyle relax his tense shoulders
somewhat, and he believed his father had won this battle. His
father looked at him and let out a long, tired breath. He knew the
man was silently telling him that he was just as stubborn as his
father.