The Touch of Sage (18 page)

Sage smiled, nodding.
“
It
’s
big.
”
Charlie and Reb both laughed.

“
That it is, miss.
That it is,
”
Charlie said.
“
How much farther we got to go to the ranch?
”
he asked Reb.

“
Less than a mile,
”
Reb said.
“
Yer almost at the end of the trail, boy.
”

Charlie laughed and shook his head.
“
Good thing,
”
he said.
“
My backside
’
s been numb for two days.
”

A puff of dust suddenly filled Sage
’
s nostrils
,
and she coughed, elated when Reb reached over and adjusted her bandana around her face.

“
Reb?
”
Charlie began,
“
Think ya can double up somehow?
Sammy
’
s horse has been limpin
’ the last bit. H
e
’
s been walkin
’
since town.
”

“
Sure thing,
”
Reb said. He held his hand out to Sage.
“
Climb on behind me,
”
he said to her.
“
Sammy can take Ned,
”
he told Charlie.
Sage paused
,
however, unsettled at the thought of riding with Reb.

Reb wiggled his fingers and nodded at her.
“
Come on.
I ain
’
t gonna eat ya,
”
he chuckled.
He turned the gelding around
,
allowing Sage to ease over onto the horse
’
s hindquarters behind him. Taking a deep breath, Sage removed her feet from the stirrups of her saddle and awkwardly mounted the gelding, Reb holding her arm tightly and helping her settle.

Handing Ned
’
s reins to Charlie, he said,
“
Take ol
’
Ned back to Sammy
,
and I
’
ll ride on ahead of the herd.
Meet ya at the ranch for breakfast.
”

“
All righty,
”
Charlie said, leading Ned toward the back of the herd.

“
Hang on there, Sage,
”
Reb chuckled, reaching behind him, taking hold of her hands and placing them around his waist to settle at his stomach.
Reb nudged the horse with his stirrups, whistling to Bullet
,
and Sage tightened her embrace around him as they rode out in front of the herd.

“
I love the smell of dust and cattle,
”
Reb said, inhaling deeply.

“
It
’
s a good thing,
”
Sage giggled.
“
’
Cause we
’
re covered in them both now.
”

Reb chuckled, patting her hands where they locked at his waist.
“
I
’
m gonna make Aunt Eugenia
’
s ranch one of the best in the territory,
”
he said.
“
You just wait and see.
”

“
I don
’
t doubt it one bit,
”
Sage told him.

She lov
ed the feel of Reb in her arms—the warmth of his skin—
the movement of his muscles as he rode.
She so badly wanted to lay her cheek against his back, tighten her embrace around him, and stay that way forever.
She knew these were rare and precious moments spent with Reb.
Fleeting ones.
But she wouldn
’
t let reality taint them either.
She lo
oked up to the blue of the sky—
the puffy white
of the clouds floating overhead—
and smiled.
It was a moment she had only found in dreams before.
In fact, the moment itself was far more wonderful than even her dreams.

When the ranch
house and barn were in sight, Bullet barked happily and raced up to the porch.
Reb reined in before the barn and let Sage take his arm, helping her to dismount.

Bullet began barking as the herd approached
,
and soon Eugenia, Mary,
Rose,
and Livie were all out on the porch, shading their eyes from the sun and smiling as they watched the cowboys bring in the herd.

Reb rode out to help
,
and before long the herd was quenching their thirst in the creek
beds behind the ranch
house.

“
There
’
s the crick, boys,
”
Reb hollered.
“
Get to it…
’
cause I can smell the bacon fryin
’
already!
”
Sage laughed with delight as she watched the tired, dusty cowboys whoop and holler on their way to the creek.
No doubt they were ready for a good washing off and a good meal.

The
chuck wagon
rolled toward the ranch slowly
,
and Reb went out to greet its driver, an older man with a long white beard.
Sage looked at the herd of cows, smiled at the smell of dust and manure and the sounds of the cowboys splashing in the creek behind the house.
It was all so wonderful!

“
Breakfast is
’
bout ready, Reb,
”
Mary called as Reb rode toward the barn, leading Sammy
’
s lame horse behind him.

“
Thank ya, Miss Mary,
”
he called.
“
I
’
ll be in shortly.
”

Sage smiled and followed him to the barn
,
intending to help him brush down the gelding and limping mare.

“
Will she be all right?
”
she asked as Reb lifted the mare
’
s foot to inspect it.

“
Don
’
t know,
”
he said.
“
We
’
ll just have to see.
”
He let the mare
’
s foot drop and sighed, smiling.
“
It
’
s amazin
’
, isn
’
t it?
”
he asked.
“
How excited a man can get about a herd of cattle?
”

Sage giggled.
“
And over a cloud of dust.
You
’
re filthy!
”
she told him.
Reb smiled and looked down at his chest.

“
Yer purty roughed up too, Miss Sage,
”
he teased, nodding at her.

“
Not as much as you are,
”
she said
,
smiling.
A thick coat of dust covered Reb from head to toe
,
and without any forethought, Sage moistened one index finger, reaching out and running it down the solid muscles of his chest.
Holding the finger up for him to inspect she said,
“
See?
”

But Reb
’s smile had faded instantly—
his eyes narrowing as he stared at her.
Abruptly he reached out and caught her wrist in his hand as if to keep her from touching him again.

Slowly he shook his head, whispering,
“
No, no, no.
”

Sage was horrified!
How
could she have been so forward—
so indecent?
Before he could reprimand her further, she opened her mouth to apologize, but the words never left her throat.
In the next instant, Reb
’
s grip on her wrist tightened, pushing her hand down and holding it at her back.
His other hand rather roughly cupped her cheek, pulling her face to his as his mouth descended on her own in a firm, moist, very intimate kiss.

Sage stood stiff—
frozen with astonishment. Having experienced very few such moments in her life, not only was she surprised by Reb
’
s unexpected attention, she was entirely awestruck by the demanding, passionate nature of his kiss.
The space inside her chest burned hot, uncomfortably so.
Her fingers and toes were numb—
her knees w
eak. E
very inch of her body
(even her hair)
seemed to quiver with some euphoric tingling sensation!

Reb
’
s hand, holding hers at her back, released her wrist, joining his other hand in cradling her face.
The whis
kers of his mustache and goatee
brushed the flesh around her mouth softly
,
and Sage
’
s mind began to whirl in a mist of enchanted
emotion. Her knees being weak—
Reb
’
s driven,
delicious kiss bewitching her—
she let her hands press gently against his chest.
His mouth pressed even more firmly to hers for a lingering moment before he suddenly broke the seal of their lips, taking her hands in his and letting his thumbs caress her palms as he looked down at them.

Abruptly he dropped her hands, turned
,
and loosened the
cinch
of the lame horse
’
s saddle.

“
I better clean up a bit before I come in for breakfast,
”
he mumbled.
Sage stood still for a moment, struggling to steady her breathing and to find her balance.
She felt dizzy, almost faint—
the lingering
e
ffects of Reb
’
s masterful kiss.

Finally, she managed to stammer,
“
I
’ll
go check on things in the house.
” Quickly she exited the barn—suddenly
a trembli
ng mess of conflicting emotion—
and headed for the ranch
house.
Glancing up to the blue sky, she wished the puffy white clouds setting so happily there would turn dark and ominous.
She could feel the tears gathering in her
eyes—
tears
of elation, tears of confusion—
and tears of heartache.

What had happened in the barn?
Reb had kissed her!
But why?
She had on
ly touched him with one finger—
only meant to tease him about the layer of dust clinging thick to his skin.
She thought
of his kiss again and stumbled—
her feet still numb from his affectionate attention.
And yet, something was wrong.
With all that was right in the day, something was terribly wrong.
Re
b deeply regretted kissing her—
she knew it.
She wanted to run, to run all the way to Ruthie
’s pasture—
throw herself on the ground and sob bitter tears of disappointment and confusion.
But there would be no rain today.

“
Bacon
’
s all fried up, Sage,
”
Livie said as Sage stumbled onto the porch.

“
That
’
s nice,
”
Sage mumbled, brushing past her.

“
You all right, honey?
”
Eugenia asked, sincere concern apparent on her face.

Sage forced a half
hearted smile.
“
Just not used to ridin
’
as much anymore, I reckon,
”
she said.