The Touch of Sage (36 page)

“
Sage,
”
Rose
began,
“
This is Ivy…our new resident.
”

“
Oh, I
’
m so pleased to meet you, Miss Willows,
”
the young beauty greeted.
With a smile sparkling like sunshine, the young woman reached out, clasping Sage
’
s hand in her own.

“I-
Ivy?
”
Sage stammered in a whisper.
Surely the young woman
’
s name wasn
’t Ivy.
Surely she didn
’
t share the same name as the woman from Reb
’
s past, Ivy Dalton?

“
Yes,
”
the lovely young woman answered.
“
Ivy Dalton.
And I am just tickled pink to have found such a charmin
’
place to stay while I
’
m here!
Your boardin
’
house is simply the sweetest little place I
’
ve ever seen!
”

Sage couldn
’
t breathe.
She was certain she would faint, or simply drop and die where she stood.

“
Ivy Dalton?
”
Sage repeated.

“
Yes,
”
Ivy said, frowning just a bit.
No doubt she was puzzled by Sage
’
s reaction.

“
You all right, Sage honey?
”
Rose
asked.
“
You look as white as a
—”

“
Ivy Dalton,
”
Eugenia interrupted, entering by way of the front door.
“
What
’
re you doin
’
here?
”

Ivy turned around
,
and Sage fancied the pink faded from her cheeks slightly as she said,
“
Eugenia?
”

“
I asked you a question,
”
Eugenia nearly growled.
“
What do you think you
’
re doin
’
here?
”

“
Eugenia!
”
Rose
exclaimed.
“Why,
you
’
re bein
’
positively rude!
What
’
s the matter with you?
This is our new resident here at Willows
’s
, Ivy Dalton
,
and she
’
s just come in from
—”

“From h
ell, I
’
m guessin
’
,
”
Eugenia said.

“
Eugenia!
”
Rose
exclaimed.

“
There
’
s no reason for discourtesy, Eugenia,
”
Ivy began.
“
However, if you happen to be livin
’
here…well, then I
’
ll just find other accommodations elsewhere.
”

“
You certainly will!
”
Eugenia confirmed.

“
Eugenia!
”
Rose
exclaimed again.

Sage still stood too
stunned to react. Ivy Dalton—Sage’s greatest fear—
stood there before her in her own parlor.
Sage was sic
k to her stomach—
thought she might vomit because of it. How could it be? She was so beautiful!
Al
l dressed in lavender and lace—
long blonde curls cascading from her perfectly coifed hair.

“
Thank you for your kindness, Mrs. Applewhite,
”
Ivy said, taking
Rose’
s hand in her own.
“
But I
’
m afraid I didn
’
t know what type of people, other than yourself of course, are stayin
’
at this establishment.
I
’
m afraid I simply can
’
t lower myself to
—”

“
Get out!
”
Eugenia demanded then.
“
Don
’
t you ever set foot near this house again!
”

“
You might be thinkin
’
on changin
’
your manners pretty quick, Eugenia,
”
Ivy said.
“
You wouldn
’
t want any family rifts considerin
’
things are about to
—”

A knock on the front door interrupted Ivy
’
s scolding of Eugenia. As Eugenia and Ivy continued to glare at one another,
Rose
looked to Sage.
Sage could only shrug her shoulders, uncertain as to what to do.
She felt paralyzed with fear, doubt, and every other negative emotion.

“
Well, I suppose since I
’
m the only one with my head still on straight…
”
Rose
mumbled as she started for the door.

“
I…I
’
ll go, Miss
Rosie
,
”
Sage choked, quickly brushing past her.
She had no desire to look at Ivy Dalton for one more moment.
Any visitor would be a welcome distraction.
Sage found herself hoping it was Forest Simmons.
Even he was preferable to the woman who might still own Reb
’
s heart, or at least his memory.

Sage opened the door.
She gasped as she looked up to see Reb standing before her.

He removed his hat, nodded at her
,
and said,
“
Hello, Sage.
”

“
Reb,
”
Sage managed to breathe.
In that moment, she was certain she heard her own hear
t break. No doubt she felt it—
for the pain in her bosom was at once excruciating.
He
’
d come for Ivy.
Sage had known something had changed between her and Reb.
The mountain lion attack had somehow changed his feelings toward her
,
and though she didn
’t understand why—
he
’d changed his mind about her—
about even being her friend.
Somehow he
’
d reconciled with Ivy.
That was the only explanation for Ivy
’
s presence, the only explanation for Reb
’
s.

“
Sage…I…I…
”
he stammered.
He was uncharacteristically lacking in confidence.
Sage knew why, glad he at least owned a little guilt for breaking her heart
,
though the knowledge did nothing to ease her pain.

“
I know why you
’
ve come,
”
she interrupted.

“
You do?
”
he asked.
He sighed, a slight grin relaxing the harsh expression on his face.
“
Sage, I
’
m sorry.
I
’
ve been…I
’
ve been afraid to
—”

“
Reb?
”
Ivy exclaimed
,
suddenly appearing at Sage
’
s side.
“
Rebel, darlin
’
!
”
Sage watched as the young beauty threw her arms around Reb
’s neck. Jealous fur
y washed over her like molten iron!
Hurt, anger, fear all worked to paralyze her where she stood.

“
Ivy?
”
he exclaimed.
He looked to Ivy, an expression of utter astonishment on his features.
He looked to Sage, frowning,
and
then back to Ivy.

“
Yes, darlin
’
!
”
Ivy exclaimed, still embracing Reb.
“
I came the moment I got the telegram!
”

“
Telegram?
”
Reb asked.

“
You could
’
ve warned us, Reb,
”
Eugenia said, coming to stand in the doorway as well.

“
Warned ya?
”
Reb asked.

Eugenia stepped forward, dropping a large carpetbag on the porch.
“
We
’
ll have anythin
’
else you might have brought with you sent over to the roomin
’
house at the other end of town.
It
’
s a more appropriate place for the likes
of
Ivy Dalton.
”

“
What
’
s goin
’
on?
”
Reb asked.

“
Oh, don
’
t mind them, Reb,
”
Ivy said, linking her arm through his.
Sage studied Reb.
He seemed almost as surprised to see Ivy as she was.
As he stood frowning at her, Sage wondered if she should say som
ething to him—smile at him—
offer some sort of gesture indicating her joy at seeing hi
m. Yet he said nothing to her—
only continued to glare at her in a manner unnerving her all together.
“
Don
’
t mind them at all,
”
Ivy continued.
“
I heard this was nothin
’
but a boardin
’
house for widows and spinsters.
Still, it looked so much nicer than the place down the road that I thought
—”

“
Hush up, Ivy!
”
Eugenia demanded.
“
Rebel,
”
she said then.
“
Do you have somethin
’
to say to Ivy?
”

Reb looked to Ivy—
then b
ack to his aunt—and
then to Sage.
His eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening as he asked Sage,
“
Do I?
”

Sage inhaled deeply.
He had seemed so surprised to see Ivy.
But was he surprised to see her or just surpr
ised to see her at the boarding house
?
He made no move toward Sage.
Not one.
He did not reach out to touch her in any way.
He didn
’
t even smile at her.
All he did was repeat,
“
Do I have somethin
’
to say to Ivy?
”

“I-
I
’
m sure I wouldn
’
t know,
”
Sage stammered.

“
Sage!
”
Eugenia exclaimed.

Reb felt his heart go cold.
Like a heavy, frozen stone it settled hard in his ches
t. For a moment he felt empty—
void of every emotion.
He looked
to Sage—
beautifu
l, soft, wonderful Sage. Sage—
who
m
he
’
d come to apologize to.
He
’
d found his courage and come to tow
n to apologize for failing her—
to apologize for the injuries inflicted on her tender, beautiful body by the old mountain lion.
He
’
d failed her
,
and in failing her she
’
d obviously seen his weakness. Still he
’d hoped he could win her back—
push thoughts of Charlie or any other man from her mind.
He
’
d worked hard to convince himself that what he
’
d seen between her a
nd Charlie outside the boarding house
a short time before was simply a misunderstanding on his part.
He
’
d managed to convince himself Sage wasn
’t like Ivy—
that sh
e and Charlie were only friends—
just like he and Charlie were friends.
But from the look of indifference on her face as she stood before him, he realized he
’
d been wrong.