The Touch of Sage (22 page)

“Hey
there!
”
Charlie Dugger called, reining in next to the fence at that very moment.
“
Howdy, Miss Sage,
”
he greeted.
“
Fence looks good, Reb.
”

Reb winked at Sage as he said,
“
Yep.
It come out fine.
”

“
I
’
m lookin
’
forward to supper tonight, Miss Sage,
”
Charlie told her.
He dismounted and
slipped
between the fence posts to join them.

“
I
’m
lookin
’
forward to havin
’
you, Mr. Dugger,
”
Sage stammered. She was still rattled from her conversation with Reb.

“
Call me Charlie,
”
he told her
,
taking one of her hands in his, raising it to his lips
,
and kissing the back tenderly.
Sage smiled, delighted by his gesture.

“
Well, ain
’
t we just all propered up today?
”
Reb chuckled.

“
Don
’
t mind him, Miss Sage,
”
Charlie said, linking her arm through his.
“
He spends too much time wallerin
’
with the hogs to have a stitch of manners left in him.
”

“
What time ya want us in for supper, Sage?
”
Reb asked.

“
Well,
”
she began, distracted by the
way Charlie kept smiling at her, “t
he others will be over about five tonight.
There
’
s a mad game of rummy planned.
”

“
I
’
ll follow ya home right now, if ya want, Miss Sage,
”
Charlie flirted.
Sage giggled.
He was a charming man.

“
Can
’
t afford to have ya do that, Charlie,
”
Reb said.
“
I already got Bullet, thanks to Sage here.
Don
’
t think I can
have you turnin’ into one of her unruly mutts
.
”

“
Oh!
That reminds me,
”
Charlie said.
“
Ol
’
Bullet was barkin
’
to the moon earlier this mornin
’
.
I took a look out by the crick but didn
’
t find nothin
’
.
”

Reb scowled and nodded.
“
That ol
’
cat
’
s just a
-
waitin
’ for a calf to wa
nder close enough,
”
Reb mumbled.
“
I think we need to hunt him down in the next couple of days.
I don
’
t want to lose any stock.
”
Reb looked to Sage then, a worried frown puckering his brow.
“
You be careful comin
’
out here alone, Sage.
”

“
Of course, I will,
”
she said.
“
I
’
m always careful.
”

“
No
,
ya ain
’
t,
”
Reb argued.
“
I
’
ve seen ya out here more
’
n once when I coulda walked up behind ya and ya never woulda known I was there
’
til it was too late.
”

“
Too late for what?
”
Sage asked.
She was irritated twofold
,
by the fact he had been near when she was visiting Ruthie and hadn
’t shown himself—
and by the fact he was implying she couldn
’
t take care of herself.

“
Ya saw me comin
’
in the barn, Sage.
I didn
’
t sneak up on ya or nothin
’
,
”
he said, lowering his voice.
“
And look what happened there.
”
Sage felt herself blush and glanced away from him, dropping her arm from Charlie
’
s.

“
I can take care of myself,
”
she said.

“
I don
’
t know what happened in the barn, Miss Sage,
”
Charlie said.
“
But Reb
’
s right.
That ol
’
cat
’
s hungry and desperate.
Ya be careful, now.
”

Sage smiled at Charlie, pleased by his concern.
“
I always am, Charlie,
”
she said.
“
Supper
’
s at six tonight…unless you want a round of rummy with the ladies a
t
five.
”

Charlie chuckled,
“
Oh, I don
’
t think so, Miss Sage!
I heard tell of them ladies and their card games.
I
’
d stand a better chance
’
gainst that ol
’
mountain lion.
”

“
We
’
ll leave ya to yer pasture, Sage,
”
Reb said, rather gruffly.
“
Hope the fence will do.
”

“
Six this eve
n
in
’
then, Miss Sage,
”
Charlie said, touching the brim of his hat as he slipped between the posts.
Sage smiled at him and nodded in return.
Charlie mounted his horse and said,
“
See ya back at the house, Reb.
”
He rode off, leaving Sage feeling quite cheerful.

“
Those ladies need a little schoolin
’
,
”
Reb said.
“
One of these days I
’
ll just have to show them a thing or two
’
bout playin
’
cards.
”
He seemed irritated.
Sage guessed he had simply spent too much time in her company.
He gathered his tools together and stuffed them in his saddlebags.
He mounted his horse and touched the brim of his hat.
“
Lookin
’
forward to supper, Sage,
”
he said.
He turned and rode away without another word.

Sage frowned.
Reb
’
s manner had changed so quickly from that of friendly flirtation to irritation.
For a moment, she wondered if perhaps Charlie
’
s attention to her had caused his sudden change in mood, but she shook her head knowing it was impossible.

“
You
’
re sproutin
’
weeds faster than I can keep up,
”
she said to Ruthie as she knelt down and began weeding the soil.
Still, as hard as she tried to concentrate on weeding, Sage
’
s thoughts kept returning to the conversation she was having with Reb before Charlie arrived.
She smiled, a delightful shiver traveling up her spine as she thought of how he had teased her about kissing her again.
Oh, she well knew he was merely teasing her, trying to soften the discomfort between them.
Still, the very idea thrilled her.
In truth, even though he had
been teasing, it gave her hope—
hope that perhaps he would kiss her again someday.

“
Charlie!
”
Reb called.
Charlie looked over his shoulder, reining in as he waited for Reb to catch up with him.
“
What ya doin
’
flirtin
’
with Sage that way, boy?
”

Charlie laughed.
“
Me?
Oh, I was just seein
’
how far gone ya are on her already.
”

Reb chuckled, shook his head
,
and said,
“
Yer dreamin
’
things, my friend.
Sage Willows is just a friend of my aunt
’
s.
”

“
Don
’
t be tryin
’
to pull my leg, Reb.
I know ya better than yer own mama knows ya,
”
Charlie said.

“
I still got too much Ivy wrapped around my head, Charlie.
And y
ou
know it,
”
Reb reminded his friend.

“
Maybe,
”
Charlie admitted.
“
But it
’
s not yer head I
’
m thinkin
’ of. I
t
’
s yer heart.
”

Reb chuckled again.
“
I ain
’
t got no heart, Charlie.
Just a cold piece of a stone where a heart should be.
”

Charlie nodded, saying,
“
And my left arm here?
Ain
’
t really there neither.
”
He
chuckled.
“
What happened in the barn that she didn
’
t see comin
’
, Reb?
”

Reb smiled and shook his head, glad to have his friend back with him.
“
The touch of Sage, Charlie,
”
he said.
“
Just the touch of Sage.
”

Chapter Six

“
Now, for Pete
’
s sake, Rose,
”
Mary grumbled.
“
Don
’
t be showin
’
yer bloomers to Reverend Tippetts and
Winnery
if a miracle should happen and ya win a hand or two this evenin
’
.
”

“
Oh, Mary,
”
Livie said.
“Rosie
only shows her bloomers to us.
You know that.
”

“
Well,
”
Mary said, placing the deck of cards in the middle of the parlor table.
“
It don
’
t hurt none to remind her now and then.
”

“
First of all, Mary,
”
Rose
began,
“
I
’
ll show my bloomer ruffles to anybody I darn well choose.
”
Sage smiled as she saw Mary
’s eyes narrow—
her jaw tight
en
with determination.
“
And second,
Scarlett
Tippetts herself was a dancehall girl before…
”

“Before she married the r
everend.
I know, I know,
”
Mary interrupted.
“
But ya don
’
t see
Scarlett
a
-
flashin
’
her bloomers.
”

“
How do you know she don
’
t, Mary?
”
Rose
asked.
“
Are you with her every livin
’
minute of the day?
”

“
Settle down, ladies,
”
Eugenia giggled.
“
Everyone will be here shortly
,
and we don
’
t want you two bickerin
’
when they arrive.
”

Rose
smiled and said,
“
All right, Eugenia.
I won
’
t let Mary get under my skin.
”
S
he threw her skirt up over her back and wiggled her behind in Mary
’
s direction.
“
Wearin
’
my pink bloomers tonight, Mary,
”
she said.
“
The ones with the red ruffles.
”

“
Oh, for cryin
’
in the bucket,
”
Mary grumbled.
Still, Sage could see the gruff old woman fighting
a
smile.

“
I
’
m startin
’
to smell those
cobblers
,
Sage,
”
Livie said.
“
Mmmmm!
Like the perfume of h
eaven.
”

“
They do smell delicious,
”
Sage agreed.
Peach cobbler was Sage
’
s favorite.
The peach trees in the orchard were heavy with ripe, delicious fruit
,
and she couldn
’
t resist making a couple of cobblers as an after-supper treat for her guests.
Secretly
,
she hoped Reb would be as impressed with her peach cobbler as he was with her sage stuffing.

After returning from Ruthie
’
s pasture, Sage had worked extra hard on her supper preparations.
Tuesdays were always special, but with Reb and Charlie in the guest mix now, she wan
ted to serve an excellent meal—
not just a good one.
She had made sage stuffing, fried up a heap of chicken parts, snapped fresh green beans from the garden, sliced up a few ripe tomatoes
,
and baked up some potatoes all slathered in butter and rosemary.
The peach cobblers still baking in the oven would top off the evening perfectly.

A knock on the front door signaled the arrival of Reverend Tippetts and his counterparts
,
and soon the evening was light with laughter and friendship.

“
The smell of them cobblers turns my mouth to waterin
’
somethin
’
fierce, Miss Sage,
”
Reverend Tippetts said as he waited for Livie to deal the cards.

“
I hope they taste as good as they smell,
”
Sage
said
.

“
Oh, I
’
m sure they
’
ll taste even better,
” the r
everend chuckled.
As Livie finished dealing the cards
,
he said,
“
Why don
’
t you ladies give ol
’
Winnery
a chance at winnin
’ this hand?
He ain
’
t quite the rummy player…not like he is at poker anyway.
”

“
Mr.
Winnery
?
”
Eugenia asked.
“
Do you want us to cheat for you?
”

“
No, ma
’
am,
”
the tall man mumbled.
“
I
’
ll get to winnin
’
soon enough.
”

Sage drew a card and discarded another.

“
Don
’
t let them fool you, Mr.
Winnery
,
”
she said.
“
They only cheat for themselves.
”

“
Sage!
”
Livie gasped.
“
How can you
accuse us of cheating with the r
everend sitting right here?
”

“Oh, the r
everend cheats well enough to take care of himself, Livie,
”
Scarlett
said, winking in her husband
’
s direction.

“
Reverend Tippetts!
”
Rose
exclaimed.
“
Is that true?
”

Reverend Tippetts shook his head and chuckled.
“
Not in the company of ladies, Miss Applewhite,
”
he said.

“
We dusted off at the back door,
”
Reb said as he and Charlie entered the parlor.
“
Hope ya don
’
t mind us just showin
’
ourselves in, Sage.
”
Sage
’
s hands began to tremble slightly at his sudden appearance.

“Oh
no.
Of course not,
”
she managed.

“
We heard all the laughin
’
and goin
’s-
on and didn
’
t want to break up yer game,
”
Charlie said.
“
Charlie Dugger,
”
he added
,
offering his hand to Reverend Tippetts.

Reverend Tippetts shook Charlie
’
s hand and said,
“
Nice to meet ya, Charlie.
This here
’
s my wife
,
Scarlett,
and my ol
’
saddle pal,
Winnery
.
”

“
Ma
’
am.
Mr.
Winnery
,
”
Charlie said, nodding to the others.

“
Is that peach pie I smell, Sage?
”
Reb asked, going to his aunt and affectionately kissing the top of her head.
Sage couldn
’
t help but smile.
She loved the way he doted on his aunt.

“
Peach cobbler, actually,
”
Sage answered.

“
Even better!
I told ya we was in for a treat, Charlie,
”
Reb told his friend.
“
Ain
’
t nothin
’
like supper at the boardin
’
house.
”

Sage
’
s insides fluttered, pleased at his compliment and en
chanted by his handsome smile.

He walked over to Sage
’
s chair, leaned over until his face was very near her ear
,
and asked,
“
Any stuffin
’
beforehand?
”

“
Maybe,
”
Sage giggled.
His breath on her cheek caused the hair on the back of her
neck to tingle, and she sighed—
for it seemed all was well between them once again.
Thinking of his kissing her in the barn still caused her heart to hammer, but at least he no longer seemed angry.

“
You boys want to join the game?
”
Reverend Tippetts asked.

“
No
,
thank ya, Reverend,
”
Reb said.
“At least, not me.
I think I
’
ll just sit down and watch the goin
’s-
on for now.
”

“
Me too,
”
Charlie agreed, sighing and revealing his fatigued state.
“
I
’
m tuckered out from the day.
”

“
You boys been workin
’
hard gettin
’
that herd all settled in and such?
”
Winnery
asked.

“
Yes, sir,
”
Reb answered.

“
And now we got that ol
’
cat to worry about,
”
Charlie added.

“
Gareth Getcher told me just this afternoon that he
’
s missin
’
a couple of cats,
”
Scarlett
said.

“
Ain
’
t natural for a man to have more
’
n one cat anyhow,
”
Mary mumbled
.

“
Mary!
”
Rose
exclaimed.

“
Cats are for old ladies and little girls,
”
Mary added.

“
Don
’
t pay her any mind,
Scarlett
,
”
Livie said.
“
She
’
s just mad because she
’
s lost two hands in a row.
” Scarlett
smiled, obviously amused.

“
Mmmm!
”
Eugenia sighed.
“
Them cobblers are smellin
’
delicious!
”

“
My cobblers!
”
Sage exclaimed, leaping to her feet.
“
I
’
ve burnt them for certain,
”
she said, rushing toward the kitchen.
Eugenia smiled, delighted that Reb
’
s arrival had distracted Sage so completely.