The Touch of Sage (26 page)

“
Oh, I won
’
t, Reverend.
I won
’
t,
”
Reb said.



Once Reverend Tippetts,
Scarlett,
and
Winnery
had left, Sage sat down on the parlor sofa and sighed.
She smiled as she looked to Reb, who had been talked into playing a few hands of rummy with her lady friends.

“
Now, Reb,
”
Mary began,
“
I
’
m assumin
’
ya know how to deal correctly.
”

“
Yes, ma
’
am, I do,
”
he said, grinning.

Mary nodded and said,
“
Good.
Don
’
t need another shifty dealer like Livie here.
”

“
I deal fine, Mary
,
and you know it,
”
Livie defended herself.

“
Come on, Sage,
”
Eugenia said.
“
Play a game or two with us.
”
Sage smiled and shook her head.

“
I really should do up the dishes and…
”
she began.

“
Nonsense!
”
Rose
exclaimed.
“
The dishes can wait.
You
’
ve been workin
’
all day
,
and it
’
s high time you had some fun.
Now come on.
Deal her in
,
Reb.
”

“
Oh, I don
’
t know…
”
Sage began to argue.

“
Oh, come on, Sage,
”
Reb said, winking at her.
“
I
’
ll make it interestin
’
.
”

Sage frowned.

“
What do ya mean by that?
”
Mary asked.
Reb raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.

“
You
’
ll see,
”
he said.
“
Charlie
’
s got his eye on the herd for a
while yet.
I got some time to spare.
”
He looked to Sage, a rather daring expression on his face.
“
Ya ain
’
t chicken are ya, Sage?
”
Sage smiled at him.
How could she possibly refuse?

“
Deal me in,
”
she said.
Reb chuckled and dealt a hand to Sage.

An hour later, the residents of Willows
’s
Boarding House and their handsome guest still sat in the parlor playing cards.
Sage was having a wonderful time
.
Reb made the game far more exciting just by his teasing manner and inability to win.

“
I have to say it, Reb,
”
Mary finally said.
“
Yer terrible at rummy.
”
Reb chuckled and nodded.

“
Don
’
t I know it,
”
he said.
“But
it
’
s just
’
cause there ain
’
t anythin
’
at stake here.
”

“
What do ya mean, boy?
”
Mary argued.
“
Winnin
’
or losin
’
.
Them ain
’
t stakes enough for ya?
”

“
Course not,
”
Reb said.
“
You ladies need to hop it up a bit here…make it worth fightin
’
for.
”

“
You mean…like gamblin
’
, Reb?
”
Rose
asked.

“
Exactly,
”
Reb confirmed.
“
Ain
’
t no reason for me to want to win
’
cause if I do win…what
’
s my prize?
Miss Mary grumblin
’
at me and Miss Livie pattin
’
my hand?
Nope…we need to set some serious stakes.
”

For some reason, Sage began to tremble inwardly.
Some sort of excited warning was whispering to her even though she had no idea why.

“
In case ya ain
’
t noticed it, Reb,
”
Mary began,
“
we
’
re all widows here
,
and I for one don
’
t want to gamble away my means of survival.
”

“
Oh, no, Miss Mary,
”
Reb told her.
“
I
’
d never let ya do that
,
and ya know it.
I was thinkin
’
more along the lines of…well, Miss Sage has been wantin
’
the boardin
’
house whitewashed, right?
”

“
Yes,
”
Sage
timidly admitted
.

“
And Miss
Rosie
, yer always teasin
’
me
’
bout wantin
’
a little sparkin
’
time on the front porch swing,
”
he added.
Sage
’
s eyebrows raised in astonishment. Surely he didn
’
t intend to bet such things as whitewashing an entire
boarding house
or sparking with a woman more than twice his age?

“
You
’
ve got our attention, Reb,
”
Rose
giggled.

“
Now, hold on, ladies,
”
Sage said.
“
I don
’
t think we should…
”

“
Oh, hush up, Sage,
”
Mary grumbled.
“
Let the boy talk.
”
Sage
’
s mouth dropped open in wonder.
Even Mary was falling prey to Reb
’
s cunning ways.
Reb smiled and winked at Sage.

“Well,
I say we set up some stakes
—
individual ones
—
and I play each of you ladies in
turn. If I win, each of ya antes up to whatever I want. I
f you win…I pay up to each of you,
”
he said.

“
Reb!
”
Sage exclaimed.
“
You can
’
t possibly be serious.
You
’
d be willing to bet whitewashin
’
the entire outside of the boardin
’
house on one hand of cards?
”

“
Nope,
”
he said.
“
Two out of three hands.
”

Rose
clapped her hands together with excitement.
“
I
’
m in!
I
’
m definitely in!
”

“
Me too!
Me too!
”
Livie giggled.
Sage looked at them, stunned into silence.

“
Sounds interestin
’
, boy,
”
Mary mused.
“
Count me in.
”

“
Miss Mary!
”
Sage exclaimed.

“
And I certainly have stakes to offer,
”
Eugenia said.
“
What about you, Sage?
Wouldn
’
t you like to have a fresh spread of whitewash on the boardin
’
house?
”

“
Well, yes…but…but what if I lose?
”
Sage asked.

“
Then I win whatever stakes I set down on ya,
”
Reb told her.
His smile was intriguingly naughty.

“
I
’
m first!
”
Rose
said.
“
What do you want if I lose, Reb?
”
she asked.
Reb scratched the whiskers on his chin, his eyes narrowing as he contemplated.

“
I want me a backrub,
”
Reb said.
“
A good, hard backrub…half an hour maybe.
My back
’
s been awful sore of late.
”

“
It
’
s a bet for that,
”
Rose
said.
“
And as far as my winnin
’
s?
”
Reb shrugged his shoulders.

“
Name it, Miss
Rosie
,
”
he said.
Again Sage
’
s mouth dropped open.
He was insane!
Didn
’
t he know these women well enough to realize he would probably lose every hand?
Furthermore, didn
’
t he realize what kind of winnings they would want?

“
I want some waltzin
’
,
”
Rose
said.
“
And a long, lickery goodnight kiss!
”

“
Rose Applewhite!
”
Mary exclaimed a moment before the same words could escape Sage
’
s mouth.

Rose
shrugged her shoulders and said,
“
It
’
s what
I
want.
I haven
’
t had me a night of dancin
’ and a kiss from a good-
lookin
’
man in a long time.
”

“
Done,
”
Reb said, chuckling and without pause.
Sage looked at him, her eyes widening in awe.
Could he possibly be serious?
“
How
’
bout you, Miss Livie?
”
he asked.

“
You first, Reb.
If you please,
”
Livie told him.
Still
,
the sudden blush
that
rose to her cheeks told Sage Livie
’
s stakes might be as high as
Rose’
s.

“Okeydokey
,
”
Reb began.
He leaned back in his chair for a moment and studied Livie.
“
I got some mendin
’
needs doin
’
,
”
he said.
“
Shirts,
blue jeans,
and such.
If I win…ya do my mendin
’
.
”

“
Done,
”
Livie said.
“
And now for my terms.
”
She paused and studied Reb for a moment.
“
If I win, I get a buggy ride with you…an entire afternoon of sunshine and fresh air.
Maybe a picnic too.
”