The Touch of Sage (53 page)

“There ya are, Tommy. Come have a plate,”
Jolee
coaxed, motioning toward the kitchen table.

Jolee
smiled to herself. The girl was as red as a radish.
Leave it to Paxton
, she thought.
No doubt he’d nearly dropped his drawers right there in front of her!
Still, if Paxton was too mule-stubborn to see what was standing right before his eyes, then it served him right.
She wondered how long the girl’s pretending would go on before Paxton figured it all out.

She sighed and shook her head. Knowing her brother as she did, the girl could be doomed to masquerade as a boy forever.

The food
Jolee
had prepared was pure satisfaction to Rivers. It had been so long since she’d had a decent meal. She enjoyed it thoroughly, savoring every morsel so her mind could think back on it when tougher times came again. She looked up when she’d finished to see
Jolee
smiling pleasantly at her.
             

“Ya know, Tommy,”
Jolee
began. “Y
a
really should take your hat off before sittin’ down to a meal.”

Rivers dropped her head self-consciously. “Beg your pardon, ma’am.”

“Well, ya ought to…even when you
’
r
e
just enterin’ the house, to be honest,”
Jolee
added.

Rivers did not respond but only continued to eat. Hopefully
Jolee
would leave the subject be.

“Jo!” came the booming, masculine voice from the other room.

Rivers stiffened in her chair as she heard the door leading from the room where
Jolee
’s brother was bathing open.

“
Jolee
! There ain’t one pai
r of clean flannels in my chest-
a-drawers! What do ya expect me to do? Catch my death of cold sleepin’ in my birthday suit?”

Rivers jumped anxiously in her chair as the man strode in and stopped directly beside her. He stood with only a towel wrapped about his waist and nothing else to cover him.

“For pity’s sake, Pax! You’re drippin’ all over my clean floor! Towel off before ya go trampin’ through the house!”
Jolee
scolded.

The proximity of the unclothed man caused Rivers
’s
reflexes to spring her from her chair so violently that it toppled over backward, crashing to the floor.

“He sure is a jittery little feller, ain’t he?” the man
said
to his sister.

Rivers mumbled an apology and bent to pick up the chair. Her gaze fell spontaneously to Paxton’s feet, standing in
a
small puddle of water rapidly accumulating around them. Rivers couldn’t stop her eyebrows from rising in astonishment as her gaze involuntarily continued up the length of his solid, muscular calves. As she stood, replacing the chair, her eyes traveled over his stomach, chest
,
and arms. His own fabulous eyes were fastened on her when she straightened at last, looking him full in the face.

His hair hung dripping wet about his head
,
and he said, “You all right there, boy?” Rivers could only nod in response. “Well then, where might a drownin’ man find his flannels,
Jolee
?” he repeated, sighing with impatience at his sister.

Jolee
giggled. “I’m sorry, Pax. I plum forgot to bring
’
em in off the line. I’ll run out and get a pair.” With a sideways glance and mischievous smile at Rivers, she left.

Rivers squirmed uncomfortably. Standing in a stranger’s kitchen with a scantily clad man was most disconcerting. Even so, she couldn’t keep her eyes from straying once more to the magnificently broad shoulders and chest boasted by Paxton Gary.
He was perfect!
Rivers had seen many men, cowboys, rail-riders—but never had she seen the likes of Paxton Gray.

She
jumped as he spoke unexpectedly and slapped
her soundly on one shoulder. “Don’t worry there, boy. You’ll fill out soon enough too. Shoot…I was nearly as wormy lookin’ as you are when I was your age.”

Rivers cleared her throat and cast her gaze down to the floor once more.

He continued, “Tell ya what…I reckon it’s been awhile since ya had yerself a real tub bath. You go on in there…the water’s still warm enough. Have yerself a good long soak.”

Rivers looked up quickly
,
shaking her head. “Oh, no, no, no. But thank ya all the same.”

Paxton Gray
frowned. “Now look here, boy, Jolee
don’t go in for smelly men. You had better get yerself in there and bath up.”

Paxton had seen this boy pitching manure earlier in the day and knew he must be in need of a bath. Maybe
Jolee
liked taking in these motherless pups, but if they were gonna eat under his roof
,
they were gonna do it cleaned up!

“Now, you go on in there and get yerself washed. I didn’t leave the water too all soapy,” he repeated, trying to remain calm.

“Um…I think I better be gettin’ on out to the barn, if ya don’t mind, sir,” the boy muttered.

“Like hell you are, boy!” And having let his temper get the best of him, Paxton hoisted the boy up over his own shoulder and turned toward the bedroom. He was a weasel of a child! It didn’t take any effort at all, only on
e
arm to heft him up. Good thing, too, considering Paxton was
tightly
holding his towel at his waist with the other hand.

“No! Please!” the boy hollered.

“Now, you soap up. We bath up quite frequent
’
round this house,” Paxton grunted, dropping the boy bottom first into the tub of water.
“And
’
cause I know you’re unusual bashful…I’m gonna leave ya in here…trustin’, mind you…trustin’ you’ll wash your own self,” he warned, pointing a finger at the boy. “I don’t wanna have to come back in here and scrub ya down, you hear?”

“Yes, sir,” the boy stammered. Paxton fancied for a moment the child was near to bawling.
The boy better toughen up quick or he wouldn’t get nowhere in life at all!

“What in tarnation have ya done, Pax?”
Jolee
s
colded
as she saw her brother coming out of the bedroom, a triumphant grin on his face.

“That boy needs a good washin’, Jo,” he stated.

Jolee
rolled her eyes and put her hands squarely on her hips. “So ya took it upon yerself to see he done it, is that it?”

Paxton nodded. “Shore
’
nough,” he confirmed.
Jolee
shook her head and threw the flannels she’d gath
ered at him. “You’re too tender
hearted, little sis,” Paxton grumbled as he stomped away into the parlor. “A man can’t even put on his underwear in his own bedroom
’
round here,” he muttered as he went. “Gotta be draggin’ every stray thing for miles around in here to patch up, don’t ya, Jo?”

“And you’re as blind as a bull with his eyes poked out, big brother,”
Jolee
retorted. Then going to the closed bedroom door
,
she said, “There’s a towel right there on the chest, Tommy.”

“Thank ya, ma’am,” came the timid reply.

“I’m goin’ on to bed now…you go ahead and slip out to the barn when you’re finished, all right? I’ll leave ya a clean pair of flannels out here,
’
cause I know for a fact that Pax didn’t take the time to strip ya
’
fore he flung ya in there.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Jolee
Gray shook her head.
Paxton—t
he man couldn’t see past the nose on his own face.