The Touch of Sage (9 page)

“
Thank you, Mary,
”
Rose
said, smiling.
“
I
’
m glad to see you can admit I
’
m still attractive.
”

“
You forgot to discard,
Rose
,
”
Livie interjected.

“
Oh.
Silly me,
”
Rose
said, laying down a card.
“Well,
all I know is Eugenia
’
s nephew is the prettiest boy I
’
ve ever seen.
”

“
Why
,
thank you, Rose,
”
Eugenia said, giggling.
“
He is rather pleasin
’
to the old eyes, isn
’
t he?
”

“Oh
my
,
yes!
”
Rose
said.
“
Don
’
t you think he
’
s the prettiest thing, Sage?
”

Sag
e felt her cheeks begin to pink
up.
“
Of course, Miss
Rose,” she said. But Rose sighed,
her shoulders sagging with disappointment.

“
Oh, come on, Sage.
Will you just up and admit it for once?
Reb Mitchell is a walking dream!
”
Rose
said.

Suddenly, all sets of eyes at the table were intent on Sage.
“
Well…well…of course he
’
s…he
’
s handsome,
”
she finally stammered.

“
There it is, Eugenia!
”
Livie exclaimed.
“
She
’
s admitted it, at last!
”

“
I
’
ve admitted it before, Miss Livie,
”
Sage told her, giggling.
“
You four make me admit it every time we sit down to play cards.
”

“
Well, personally…I
spend my time thinkin’
on what kissin
’
him would be like,
”
Rose
mumbled under her breath.

“
Rose Applewhite!
”
Mary exclaimed.
“
That there
’
s just pure nonsense!
Not to mention immoral.
Reverend Tippetts would drop down dead as a rolled
-
over rodent if he heard ya sayin
’
such a thing.
Yer turn, Sage.
”

“
I agree with
Rose
,
”
Livie announced, picking up the card Sage discarded.
“
Why
,
if I were Sage
’
s age…I
’
d be at him like a bee to a buttercup!
”

“
Afternoon there, ladies,
”
Reb said, stepping into the parlor.
He was immediately puzzled, for every woman in the room went pale, their mouths dropping open in astonishment as they looked at him.
“
What kind of evil doin
’
s are you girls up to today?
”
Reb sat down on a large, soft chair near the fireplace, his mischievous nature aroused.
Each woman, especially Sage, looked as if she had just been found gossiping by the preacher, and Reb knew exactly how to find out what was going on.

“
Miss Mary,
”
he said.
“
Why does everyone look like they been caught with their knickers around their knees?
”
He smiled as Mary straightened in her chair, the perpetual look of disapproval on her tight lips.

“
Oh, nothin
’
too much to speak of, Reb,
”
she said.
“
They was all just talkin
’
about kissin
’
on ya.
”

“
For Pete
’
s sake, Mary!
”
Livie scolded.
Reb was quite surprised, yet likewise flattered.
He knew how picky elderly women could be about handing out compliments.
Furthermore, the look of pure mortification on Sage
’
s face was absolutely amusing.

“
Were they now?
”
he chuckled.
He liked the old widows who boarded at Willow
s’
s.
He liked the young proprietress too, and he wasn
’
t one to pass up an opportunity to tease.
“
Well?
Who
’
s first, then?
”
he asked, stretching his arms out, beckoning for an embrace.
The four older women
erupted into delighted giggles—
even his Aunt Eugenia
,
who knew what a little imp he could be.
Sage, however, looked as if she might be ill.
Sincerely worried for the young woman
’
s health, Reb directed his attention at a less unsettled victim and said,
“
Miss
Rose
?
”

He chuckled when the
gray-
haired lady blushed and said,
“
Go on with you, Reb…ya little devil!
”

He shrugged his shoulders and looked to Mrs. Jonesburg.
“
Miss Livie?
Wanna do a little sparkin
’
with me here?
”
She likewise blushed and shook her head playfully.

“
Miss Mary?
”
Reb said, looking to the more serious-minded one of the group.
“
Ya gonna turn me down too?
”

“
Oh, for Pete
’
s sake, boy,
”
the old woman grumbled.
“
I ain
’
t a ninny like the rest of them,
”
she said, scowling at him.
Still, Reb saw the uncharacteristic blush warming her cheeks all the same.

Reb sighed, feigning disappointment.
“
Well, Auntie…they
’
ve all brushed me off like last Sunday
’
s crumbs,
”
he
said
.
She smiled and winked at him, all too wise to his ways as he stood and pretended to stretch.

Taking a quick step forward and placing one arm across the back of Sage
’
s chair, he leaned down and said,
“
Unless yer willin
’
to give me a try, Miss Willows.
”
He could sense her fear and anxiety and let his pride swell
with
knowing he had entirely unnerved her.

“
Rummy!
”
Sage choked, dropping her hand of cards to the table and fairly flying out of her chair and toward the kitchen.

“
Sage Willows!
You ain
’
t got rummy!
”
Mary called after her.
“
Ya ain
’
t even got a set!
”

Reb couldn
’
t help himself.
He had to chuckle out loud as the other women burst into snickering, delighted over his utter undoing of their young friend.
Oh, he could definitely see how Sa
ge Willows could amuse him—
in one way or the other.
It was a dang good thing he was beyond being dumb enough to fall victim to any feminine charms.
Not that Sage used hers in any intentional manner the way other young women did, but if she chose to
,
Reb was confident in his immunities against them.

Still, an odd something akin to sorrow pricked in his chest for a moment.
Sage was a sweet little gal.
She was nice, smart, pretty
,
and kind.
It was a sad thing to think on—
the possibility she
that, having chosen not to marry, she
might be lonely later in life.
A vision of Sage standing in front of Ruth
’
s little gravestone, gazing up into the cloudy sky with the summer rain bathing her in its refreshing moisture
,
traveled through Reb
’s mind, and he wondered—
why hadn
’
t she ever married?

Well, it wa
s certainly no concern of his. S
itting down in Sage
’
s recently vacated chair, he picked up her hand of cards and said,
“
Whos
e
turn?
”

“
It ain
’
t yers, purty boy,
”
Mary told him, drawing a card from the pile in the center of the table.

Sage busied herself in the kitchen thickening gravy, whipping potatoes
,
and removing the stuffing from the roast chickens before cutting them up.
Her heart still hammered wildly from the scene in the parlor.
How unlucky could five women be?
To have the very subject of their rather silly conversation step in upon them the way Reb had just done?
It had been completely humiliating!
Sage could not believe Mary had actually told Reb what kind of thoughts
Rose
and Livie were sharing about him.
The woman could be so infuriating at times.
Sage closed her eyes and caught her breath for a moment as goose
bumps erupted over her body again—the same goose
bumps
that
spread over her like a warm rain when Reb teased her in the parlor. His teasing her about sparking with him ha
d nearly undone her completely—
for in her dreams
, she had done just that—
sat on the front porch swing, sharing kisses with Reb Mitchell.
Sage sighed and tried to chase the dreams from her thoughts.

Using her apron to open the oven door, Sage saw the crusts of her bread loaves were perfectly golden.
Looking around and being unable to find a bread cloth, she once more used her apron to protect her hands and removed one loaf without any trouble.
By the time the second one was out of the oven, however, she was hopping around, waving her slightly singed fingers in the air.

“
Ya all right?
”
Reb asked from the doorway.
Instantly, Sage quit jumping around like a happy rabbit and smoothed her apron.

Humiliated to be found in yet another ridiculous situation, Sage nodded and said,
“
Yes.
Fine.
The bread pans were just hot.
”

“
Did ya burn yer fingers?
”
Reb asked walking toward her and taking one of her hands in his.
He raised her hand to his face, frowning as he studied her fingers.
“
They look all right,
”
he mumbled.
Then he smiled and held her fingers very close to his mouth, just under his nose.
“
Mmmmm.
We havin
’
sage in the gravy…Sage?
”
he asked.

Sage swallowed the lump of delight budding in her throat at being so near to him and nodded.
For a moment
,
the deep brown of his eyes, the way his hair fell across his forehead so carelessly, the flecks of auburn among the dark whiskers of his mustache and goatee distracted her.
Distracted her enough she almost forgot what he had asked.

“
Yes.
And…and in the stuffin
’
,
”
she stammered.