The Touch of Sage (13 page)

“
Ain
’
t real fair,
”
Reb mumbled.

“
Many things aren
’
t in life,
”
Eugenia said.
“
Are they now?
”
Reb looked away from his aunt, his teeth grinding with anger and resolve.

“
So anyway,
”
Eugenia continued,
“
I think Sage has resigned herself to us…me,
Rosie
, Livie
,
and Mary.
And I think I would too, if Forest Simmons was my only other choice.
”

Reb frowned.
“
Did that ol
’
goat really ask her to marry him?
”
The thought of Sage married to Forest Simmons made Reb
’
s stomach churn.

Eugenia nodded.
“
Yes
,
he did,
”
she told him.
“
Offered her a great life too…told her he
’
d save her from bein
’
a spinster if she married him and had a couple of boys for him.
”

“
Well
,
that just makes me plum sick,
”
Reb growled.

“
Which part, sweetie?
”
Eugenia asked.
“
Him callin
’
her a spinster straight to her face?
”

Reb shook his head and growled with disgust.
“
No.
The thought of her havin
’
to take to his bed.
”

Eugenia smiled.
Reb was undone
,
and she was delighted by it.
Something had happened in town that day.
Something other than what Reb had told her about Forest Simmons barking at Sage about his lady dog
’
s impending litter.
She hadn
’
t quite been able to get out of him exactly what it was, but something had happened.
She was convinced of it.
Furthermore, whatever it was had completely rattled Reb
,
and that is precisely what she wanted to see.
Rebel Lee Mitchell needed some rattling.

She smiled and continued,
“
She refused his proposal, of course, and he got more and more hateful toward her every time she did.
”

“
Well, ain
’
t there plenty of young bucks around here?
”
Reb asked. He was irritated, nervous
,
and angry.
Eugenia smiled.

“
Sure.
Plenty of young does too, boy.
Or hadn
’
t you noticed?
”
Eugenia asked.

Reb rolled his eyes and scratched his goatee.
“
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I noticed.
They
’
re like a pack of wolves a
-
droolin
’
over a wounded baby.
”
He shook his head.
“
Still, she ain
’
t that much older than Milly Michaels and the rest of those honeycombs here
’
bout.
And she
’
s a far sight better lookin
’
.
A far sight!
”
he said.

Eugenia nodded.
“
Yes, she is,
”
she agreed.
“
But she
’
s resigned.
”

“
From what?
”
Reb asked.

Eugenia chuckled at the silly man.
“
She
’
s resigned herself to bein
’
alone.
I think it
’
s become easier for her to just sit around and laugh at us than to hope for somethin
’
more fullfilin
’
out of life.
”

Reb nodded
,
and Eugenia knew he understood all too well how Sage felt.

“
So,
”
Eugenia began,
“
what else happened in town today?
I mean…it
’
s rainin
’
like mad outside, I know.
But, I get the feelin
’
you aren
’
t just sittin
’
here waitin
’
for
Rosie
, Mary
,
and Livie to get up from their nappin
’
.
”

Reb shook his head, shifted his weight uncomfortably in the parlor chair
,
and nervously scratched his whiskery chin again.

“
Oh, I…I done somethin
’
…somethin
’
wrong.
I think anyway,
”
he mumbled. Eugenia raised a curious eyebrow.

“
Like what?
”
she asked.
Reb rubbed his hand across his face.
It was obvious he was agitated.

“
Well, when we was standin
’ out there in town,
after ol
’ Forest had
wandered off…Sage…she just reached up to rub somethin
’
off my cheek
,
and I…I…
”
he stammered.

“
You what?
”
Eugenia urged.

“
I pulled away all kinda irritated like,
”
he finally admitted.

“
For cryin
’ in the bucket, boy…
ya did not!
”
Mary exclaimed as she,
Rose,
and Livie stepped into the parlor.
Reb rolled his eyes and shook his head.
Still, a grin spread across his face quickly enough.

“
You three are awful!
”
Eugenia scolded.
“
Don
’
t you have a lick of sense in ya?
I
’
m in here havin
’
a private conversation with my nephew…
my
nephew, mind you
…and you three are eavesdroppin’
like the devil
’
s own!
”

“
Well, it
’
s rainin
’
,
”
Mary grumbled, somewhat humbly.
“
And ya know what goes on
’
round here when it
’
s rainin
’
.
”

“
What goes on when it
’
s rainin
’, Miss Mary?”
Reb
asked.

Eugenia could see his annoyance with the eavesdroppers had quickly disappeared.
No doubt he was relieved at the interruption.
After all, there wasn
’
t any way he would feel pressured to reveal any more secrets to her now.
Not with three old nosey-bodies around.

“
Sage-tears,
”
Rose
said quietly.

“
What?
”
Reb asked.

“
That
’
s what we call the rain…Sage-tears,
”
Livie explained.

“
It
’
s the only time Sage ever cries…when the rains come,
”
Mary mumbled.



Sage was grateful for
the fire in the parlor hearth—
grateful
Rose
knew
her well enough to prepare one—
knew Sage wouldn
’
t be in until night had fallen or the rain had stopped.
The rain had brought not only moisture but cooler temperatures
,
and after being out in such weather for so many hours, Sage was chilled to the bone.
It was always
Rose
who left a fire for Sage, for she had known about Sage
’s rainy-
day tears for many more years than the others.

Sage had crept quietly into the house by way of the back door and now stood dripping wet and shivering in front of the fire.
Although her tears and sobbing served to aid Sage, the powerful release of emotion had left her tired and weak and cold.
The warmth from the fire caused her trembling to increase as her body tried to regain its heat and strength.

Sage had taken the pins out of her hair long before returning to the house
,
and now she combed it with her fingers, drawing it over one shoulder so the fire
’
s warmth could aid it into beginning to dry.
Still
,
she shivered too violently for comfort.
Having left her shoes and stockings just inside the back door, she began unfastening the buttons at the waist of her skirt.
Letting the drenched fabric of her skirt and petticoats fall to the floor around her feet
,
she stepped away and began to work at the buttons on the back of her shirtwaist. Once her shirtwaist was removed, she stood before the fire in her camisole, corset
,
and pantalets.

Already s
he was warmer, and when the soft
blanket touched her shoulders
, she smiled—
grateful for
Rose’
s waiting up for her.
Rose
often waite
d up long hours into the night—waiting
for Sage to return from one of her rainy excursions.
Sometimes Sage would find the tu
b sitting before the fireplace—
hot water boiling on the stove.
Rose
would help her pour the hot water into the tub and then leave her to her peace and a warming bath.

Smiling
,
Sage turned to thank
Rose
for waiting up for her again this night.
She gasped, however, horrified when she saw it was Reb who had placed the blanket around her shou
lders and now stood before her—
his eyes warm and dark in the firelight. Sage covered her trembling lips with one hand and, though she thought she had cried her eyes dry, she felt the excess moisture of threatening tears.

“
I
’
ve been waitin
’
on ya,
”
he said.
His voice was quiet and deep—
sweet like honey and butter.
For a moment Sage was di
stracted by the fact his shirt—untucked from his pants—
hung open revealing the flawlessly sculpted muscles of his chest and
stomach. His hair was mussed—as if he had just awakened—
and he ran his fingers through it slowly when he realized she was studying him.
“
You
’
ve been gone for hours,
”
he added.

“I-
I…I…
”
she stammered.
The impropriety of the situation coupled with the pure titillation of it caused her mind to run empty.

“
Ya lost track of time?
”
he asked.
She could only nod, pulling the blanket tighter around her body.
“
I do that a lot,
”
he mumbled, his eyes seeming to linger on the length of her
hair. Sage was uncomfortable—painfully so—
and she certainly wasn
’
t used to appearing in front of any man with her hair down, regardless of her manner of dress.

“
Why are you here?
”
she asked, rather more severely than she intended.
Seeing him only brought her pain.
She had spent the entire afternoon and eve
ning purging her body of tears—
driving heartache away
,
and now here it stood
before her—
handsome
—alluring
.