The Touch of Sage (15 page)

Chapter Four

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon
,
and the scent of frying bacon filled the kitchen of Willows
’s
Boarding House.
Sage hummed a favorite melody, pausing to listen to the meadowlarks call for a moment before turning the eggs in the skillet.
She couldn
’t seem to keep from smiling,
for
the events of the night before—
the moments spent with Reb in the firelight of the parlor
—
kept floating through her mind.
It seemed as though the pain she had cried for the day before was somewhere off in the distant past.
All she could think of now was the fact Reb had waited for hours and hours to apologize to her.

She smiled as a robin suddenly alighted on the windowsill of the open window.
“
Did you smell the bacon too?
”
she asked it.
“
I can
’
t believe Miss
Rosie
is still asleep.
Bacon usually wakes her the moment it hits the skillet.
”

“
I think Reb
’
s herd is here!
”
Eugenia said, rushing into the kitchen and to the open window, causing the robin to take flight.
“
Listen, Sage.
”
Sage paused and tried to hear something above the sizzle of bacon cooking.

“
I don
’
t hear anythin
’
,
”
she said.

“
Oh, come on!
”
Eugenia said, taking Sage
’
s hand and pulling toward the front door.
Quickly Eugenia opened the door and stepped out onto the porch and into the early morning sunshine.
“
Listen.
Can you hear them?
”

Sage closed her eyes and listened.
A heavy, rumbling sound reached her ears.
It grew less faint
,
and she opened her eyes again looking to the east and shading her face with one hand.
In the distance she
could see a large cloud of dust—
and then the herd appeared rising over a hill.

“
It
’
s them!
It
’
s Reb
’
s herd!
”
Eugenia exclaimed. Sage smiled—
for Eugenia
’
s face was simply resplendent.
No doubt the herd put her in mind of her husband and the wonderful life they
’
d spent together on their ranch.

“
What
’
s all the racket?
”
Mary grumbled, coming to stand next to Sage on the porch.
Sage was glad the old woman had taken the time to bring a shawl with her, for she still wore the rattiest red nightgown Sage had ever seen.

“
It
’
s Reb
’
s herd!
”
Eugenia told her.
“
Just comin
’
through town.
Look there!
”

Sage smiled as the whistles and cattle calls of the cowboys driving the herd became audible then.
She watched as the other residents in town stepped out onto their porches to see what the noise was.
Soon the street was filled with cattle kicking up dust and bawling their complaints as the cowboys drove them straight through the center of town.

“
Good gravy!
”
Livie exclaimed, joining the others on the porch.
She fanned the dust away from her face and coughed.
“
Sure are a lot of them.
”

“
That there
’
s a nice herd,
”
Mary said.

“
It sure is,
”
Eugenia agreed, her face beaming.
“
I
’
m gettin
’
dressed and ridin
’
out to the ranch!
”
She turned and scurried back into the house.

Sage watched the cattle
moving slowly past the boarding house. A
certain amount of pride welled up in her, knowing this was Reb Mitchell
’
s herd and the town was no doubt impressed with it.
One of the cowboys,
a faded bandana covering his nose an
d mouth, rode up to the boarding house
and reined in his horse in front of Sage and the others.

Tipping his hat he pulled the bandana down around his neck and said,
“
Howdy, ladies.
I
’
m lookin
’
fer Reb Mitchell and the Smarthin
’
ranch.
”

“
Head straight the direction yer goin
’
for about
five
miles
,
and ya
’
ll run right into it, cowboy,
”
Mary answered.

“
Thank ya, ma
’
am,
”
the handsome young man said.

“
You Charlie Dugger?
”
Mary asked him.

“
Yes, ma
’
am,
”
the cowboy answered.
He smiled, pulled the bandana up around his face again
,
and said,
“
Just hit town and already I
’
m a legend.
”
The cowboy gave a sharp whistle and rode on.
The herd continued to rumble through town
,
and Sage
’
s heart hammered with the excitement of it.

“
Them boys will be hungry by the time they get that herd to the ranch,
”
Mary said.

“
Then we better get out there and get some breakfast goin
’
,
”
Livie suggested.
“
Leave it to
Rosie
to sleep through somethin
’
like this,
”
she added, turning and going into the house.

Sage smiled at Mary.
“
I guess I can hold breakfast for you
’
til y
’
all get back.
”

Mary rolled her eyes with irritation, shaking her head.
“
Sage Willows, yer as dumb as
a
door handle.
”

“
What?
”
Sage asked
,
perplexed at why Mary would say such a thing.

“
Yer goin
’
with us, silly girl.
”
With that Mary turned and went into the house as well, leaving Sage excited at the prospect of seeing Reb again.



“
I can
’
t find one hairpin in by bedroom!
”
Sage exclaimed, hurrying down the stairs to join the others.

“
Well, we ain
’
t got all day, girl,
”
Mary grumbled.
“
Just braid it or somethin
’
.
We gotta get out to Eugenia
’
s place.
”

Eugenia smiled and hushed
Rose
when she giggled.
When she had awakened the night before to hear Reb and Sage talking in the parlor and caught
Rose
and Livie eavesdropping from upstairs, the three had agreed to hide all of Sage
’
s hairpins.
It was high time the girl relaxed a bit.

“
B
ut I have to put my hair up and—”
Sage began to argue.

“
Oh, for crying in the bucket,
”
Livie sighed.
Going to Sage, she gathered her long hair in her hands and quickly wove it into a long, loose braid.
“
There now.
You look fine…soft and approachable.
”

Sage frowned.
“
How do I usually look?
”
she asked.

Eugenia smiled and taking Sage
’
s hand said,
“
Let
’
s get goin
’
.
That herd
’
ll be there any minute.
”

“
Let me drive, Eugenia,
”
Mary said.
“
I can beat that herd to the ranch if ya let me drive the buggy.
”

“
Oh, Eugenia, don
’
t!
”
Livie exclaimed.
“
Mary
’
s driving scares the daylights out of me!
”

“
Livie
,
you worry too much,
”
Rose
said, taking her friend
’
s hand and pulling her out the back door.

Eugenia looked to Sage
,
who paused.
“
What
’
s the matter, sweetie?
”
she asked.

“
I can
’
t possibly go,
”
Sage said.

“
Well, why ever not?
”
Eugenia asked, feigning ignorance.
She knew how self-conscious Sage felt when her hair wasn
’
t pulled back into a tight knot.
She also knew how beautiful Sage
’
s hair was, how it softened her appearance to have it down or folded into a soft braid.

“I-
I…
”
Sage stammered.

“
For pity
’
s sake, Sage.
We
’
ll miss all the excitement,
”
she said, taking Sage
’
s hand and leading her out the door.



“
Slow down, Mary!
”
Livie hollered.
“
We want to get there alive,
”
she said, one hand holding her weathered straw hat on her head, the other hanging onto the buggy for dear life.

“
Whoopee!
”
Rose
shouted as Mary snapped the lines at Drifter
’
s back
,
increasing his pace.

Sage giggled as she saw the rare expression of freedom and joy radiant on Mary
’
s wrinkled face.
Mary hid her emotions well most of the time, but this was one of the infrequent moments when she could not mask her delight.

Eugenia coughed as the dust kicked up by the herd filled her lungs.
The dust irritated Sage
’
s eyes too, and she wiped at the moisture in them.

“
Hurry up and pass them, Mary, before I choke to death,
”
Livie whined.

As the buggy carrying the five women moved up alongside the herd, Charlie Dugger rode over to greet them.

“
Hey there, ladies!
”
he shouted.
“
Ya racin
’
us to the ranch?
”

“
We
’
re beatin
’
ya to the ranch, boy!
”
Mary shouted in return, snapping the lines again.

“Wooo w
hooo!
”
Rose
hollered.
“
Fresh air and cowboys!
Nothin
’
like it in the world!
”
Sage laughed, entirely amused by
Rose’
s antics.