Stroke of Love (8 page)

He didn’t want any of the women back home.

“Forget it.” He nodded toward the kids gathering around the tables. “Let’s just get through this. Then I’ll go to town and arrange for the art supplies for the mural. The next two weeks will feel like they’re over before they even have a chance to get started.”

Before
we
even have a chance to get started
.

THE CHILDREN PORED over their drawings, their faces intent, pencils clutched tightly in their eager fingers as the afternoon sun pulled sweat from their limbs. Kate watched Sage crouching between two middle school boys. He showed one of them how to grip his pencil properly, then laughed when the boy put it in his left hand and mimicked the grasp perfectly. He came up on his feet and reached around the other boy, holding his hand as he guided it along his drawing. The boy turned thankful and excited eyes up toward him. Sage was so easy with them, as if he’d been teaching children all his life, which made Kate wonder about his past. He had five siblings. Did he have nieces or nephews? Had he spent time with children somewhere, or was he just naturally kind?

Or naturally a womanizer?

She watched him cross the yard toward her, and her stomach tightened. He flashed a smile as he came to her side.

“Wow, they’re incredible. What a rush this is.” He ran his hand through his hair. His face and arms had already begun to tan.

“I know. This is what makes me the happiest, watching them enjoy something this much.”
And watching you, but I blew that one big-time
.

His voice grew serious, as if he’d just remembered that he was supposed to be mad at her. “Yeah, well I can see why.” He made another sweep of the tables, helping a teenage girl and two more elementary-school-age boys.

“Miss Kate?” Javier looked up at Kate with wide eyes.

She crouched down to speak to him. At seven, Javier looked just like his father, with thick wavy hair and eyes as black as night. But it was his sweet demeanor that stole Kate’s heart. He handed her a picture he’d drawn.

“Javier, this is beautiful.” She looked at the drawing of his family.

“Mr. Sage showed me how to draw the eyes better. Bigger. He said they show more feelings that way.” He used his pencil-thin index finger to point to the eyes of the woman. “That’s my mother. See her happy eyes? That’s how I remember her.” It had been almost a year since his mother died, and from what Kate could glean from the psychologist she’d spoken with about Javier, the fact that he remembered what she looked like at all was a blessing. His mother’s sisters, Sylvia and Louisa, now shared caring for Javier and his siblings, as their father spent many hours working in the fields. From what Kate had seen, Javier had adjusted well to the difficult situation.

“I think your mother would be very proud of you, Javier.” She patted his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around her neck.

“I will draw you next time.”

“I would love that. And I think your aunts would like to be in a picture, too.”

“Mr. Sage says we’re gonna paint the school pretty colors. He said we can help.”

Sealing the deal through the children. Very sneaky
. “Yes, we’re very excited to begin the project.”

Javier flashed a bright smile and then ran to Sage. He held up the picture, and although Kate couldn’t hear what they were saying, when Javier wrapped his arms around Sage’s legs and stared up at him, her knees weakened.

LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Sage Skyped his mother and arranged for the art supplies to be flown in. As an artist, his mother would know exactly what he needed, and as a mother, she’d ensure that he didn’t miss anything that the children would need as well, like smaller brushes. He asked her to pick up a few other items, avoided her questions about Kate, and he shut her down when she’d apologized for Rush’s behavior. It wasn’t her job to clear the air for Rush, and he knew that Rush hadn’t meant any harm. He was just doing what they’d always done to each other. No harm, no foul. Only, the call had harmed Kate.
What’s done is done
. Fame had taught Sage a valuable lesson. He wasn’t in control of what others believed. He could only be the best man he knew how to be and hope it was enough. And that’s exactly what he intended to do.

While in town, Sage replenished Kate’s secret stash of beer as well as picked up a few for himself. He was carrying them to the kitchen when Caleb came from around the side of the cabins and caught up to him.

“Sage Remington, right?” Caleb was soft-spoken, his stringy bangs hung in front of his eyes, and he fidgeted nervously with the edge of his T-shirt.

“Yes. Caleb, right?” Sage held the beer toward him. “Want a cold one?”

“No, thank you.”

“Do you mind talking while we walk? These will boil if I don’t get them in the fridge soon.”

“Sure.” They walked into the mess hall. “Heard you’re going to paint the school.”

“Wow, word travels fast. That’s what we hope to do, anyway. So you run the elderly and community outreach programs?” Sage asked.

“Yeah. We distribute medication and food and visit community members to see what other needs we can meet.” He helped Sage load the beer into the refrigerator. “Your brother is Kurt Remington, the novelist, right?”

Sage wiped the condensation from his hands and smiled. “Yeah, that’s right. You familiar with his books?”

Caleb’s thin lips curved into a smile. “He’s the best. I’ve read all of his books.”

“Yeah? I’ll have to connect you with him. He’d love to hear that.” They headed back out of the building.

“Really? You’d do that?” He brushed his bangs from his forehead. “That’s really cool of you. Thank you. I’m a big fan. I’m actually writing while I’m here. That’s why you don’t see me around much. I’m sure it’s not very good, but…”

“Hey, don’t say that. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will?” Sage heard a car rumbling down the road.

“That would be the celebs,” Caleb said.

“The celebs. That’s what you call the volunteers?” Sage slid him a look. Part of him hoped to see Kate as they headed back to the cabins, and another part of him was still annoyed that she’d given credence to Rush’s comments.

“Well…yeah. I mean, in a day or two the photographers will show up and take their pictures with some of the residents. They’ll get all the media they want, and then they’ll go back to the States and never think of the people here again.”

Sage’s muscles tensed. “Okay, fair enough. I can see that. But don’t lump me in as a
celeb,
please. I’m an artist, not a celebrity, and I’m here because I want to be here. I don’t have a PR person with me, and I don’t have press that’ll cover the trip. This is just me being me.”

“Cool. You can be the
non
. As in non-celeb.”

Clayton, Penelope, and Cassidy stumbled out of the car in fits of laughter. Caleb nodded toward them. “See? They haven’t done one thing for the elderly or the community, but when those cameras are rolling? Whole different story.”

“Hey, Sage!” Penelope yelled.

Sage narrowed his eyes. “They’ve gotta be plastered. She hasn’t said two words to me since we arrived.” He raised a hand in greeting, then turned his attention back to Caleb. “Hey, you wanna grab some dinner in town?”

Caleb shrugged. “Sure.”

As they turned back toward the road, thundering feet stopped them in their tracks. Penelope and Cassidy chased after them in their skimpy skirts and barely there tops. They wore flat designer sandals. Behind them, Clayton jogged to catch up in his cowboy boots and jeans. Clayton was a hair taller than Sage, and while he was a stocky, muscular guy, probably two thirty or so, Sage’s chest was broader and his muscles more pronounced.

“Wait!” Penelope yelled.

“Aw, shit,” Sage mumbled.

“Dude, you should have gone into town. This place is dead, but the city? Man, it’s a wild place,” Clayton said. “It was kick-ass.”

Sage noticed how none of the three of them had even acknowledged Caleb, and he wasn’t going to allow them to ignore him. “You guys remember Caleb.”

“Hey, bud. How’s it hanging?” Clayton slapped Caleb on the back.

“Hi, Caleb,” Penelope and Cassidy said in unison. Penelope linked arms with Sage.

He tried to pull away, but she wrapped her other hand around his arm as well, and short of yanking her arm off and causing a scene, Sage was trapped. She stood just a few inches shorter than him, which made him think of how petite Kate was—and how much better he felt beside her.

“We’re going to get dinner. You guys eat already?” Stupid question. There was no way Penelope or Cassidy had eaten. Sage was sure they existed on air.

“Nope. We’ll come along.” Clayton slung an arm around Cassidy’s shoulder. “There’s a café in town that has dancing, too. We were there last night.”

“Doubt I’ll be dancing,” Sage said under his breath.

They walked down the middle of the road, Clayton and Cassidy talking loudly. Caleb shoved his hands in his pockets, and Sage could see in his darting eyes that he was thinking of escaping.

He leaned in close and whispered, “I’m glad you’re coming along. Thanks.”

Caleb nodded, his eyes finally focusing on the road ahead.

Sage tried to keep a modicum of distance between himself and Penelope and took a step to the side. She tightened her grip on his arm.
Damn
. Shuffling in the bushes drew his attention away from Penelope and to the sound of laughter and fast footsteps. If he hadn’t heard the laughter he would have wondered if the sound of the foliage shuffling was from a peccary or some other animal.

Kate and Luce burst through the forest and ran into the middle of the road, laughing so hard they had tears coming from their eyes. Sage was struck by the sound of Kate’s laughter, her eyes full of happiness, her wet hair clinging to her T-shirt. His eyes locked on the two wet patches covering Kate’s breasts, her nipples standing at attention.

Before he could tear his eyes away, Penelope put her cheek against his and whispered, “That what you like? I’ll show you better, later.”

Sage shook his head at the idea.
Hell no
. He looked up and saw Kate crossing her arms over her chest, staring at his and Penelope’s intertwined arms.

Luce stifled her laughter.

“We goin’ or what?” Clayton asked, pulling Cassidy forward.

Penelope dragged Sage past Kate. Sage locked eyes with Kate as he passed, seeing shadows of hurt and anger in them. The edges of her lips drew down, her jaw tightly clenched. He couldn’t look away. He couldn’t say anything, not with Penelope’s tentacles wrapped around his arm. He drew his brows together.
It’s not what it looks like.
He hoped Kate could read the discontent in his eyes, but she never had the chance. She’d already stomped away.

Clayton sidled up to Sage and grabbed his other arm; then, remarkably, Cassidy looped her arm into Caleb’s, and they headed into the town.
The celebs and the nons.
Sage took one last glance behind him and decided to
man up
, as his father would say. Kate had her own beliefs about the type of person Sage was, and just thinking about her made his gut twist.
The hell with it.
A few drinks might ease the pain.

“KATE. KATE!” LUCE caught up to her as she blazed through the path to her cabin. “Jesus, woman, slow down.”

“Slow down? Slow down! Did you not see what just happened? Why was I even considering that he
wasn’t
that guy?” She spun around, and Luce ran right into her chest. “
Ugh
. You know, watching him with Javier and the other kids today, I just about believed that he was this nice guy. I had even disregarded the comments from his brother after what you said about siblings. But come on, Luce.” She spun around, batting the plants out of her way. “What kind of guy hooks up with…with…her?”

“Penelope? She’s not that bad. A little spoiled, but come—”

“Luce! Not helping!”

“Sorry. Well, if you want him to know you’re interested, then you gotta do something besides making him feel like he’s a bad guy who wants to do all the wrong things. I mean, even I know that, and I’m not very aggressive when it comes to dating.” Luce followed her up the stairs and inside. “Wow. I love what you’ve done with the scarves. The last time I was here, the windows were bare.”

“I needed color,” she snapped.

“Well, your sticky notes add that.”

Kate paced the small room, three steps one way, turned on her heel, then continued with three steps the other way. “I don’t want him. I just don’t want her to have him.”

“Liar.”

Kate crossed her arms and huffed.

“Just sayin’.”

“Where are they even going? The town is an inch long.” Kate flopped onto the bed, then popped right back up and paced again.

“You’re making me nervous.” Luce moved to the side of the room so Kate had a clear path to pace. “I’ve never seen you like this. What’s got your panties in a bunch?”

Kate pressed her lips into a tight, angry line and stared at Luce as understanding dawned on her.

“Oh…that’s what it is.
He
has your panties in a bunch. Or rather…Oh, never mind. Well, that’s quite a problem, then, isn’t it?”

“No. It’s not a problem because he’s just some guy. He’ll be gone soon, and I’ll move on to another location.” She looked down at her shirt, which was nearly dry, the outline of her breasts still visible, and she remembered the way Sage had looked at her, like she was the hottest girl on the planet. She never felt hot, and in that one second, she’d never felt hotter.
Or angrier, or maybe hurt
.
Ugh
. She didn’t know what she felt. She flopped on the bed again and blew out a breath. “That was fun this afternoon. I miss doing things like that.”

“I bet. There aren’t many girls to have girl time with around here, are there?”

“Wanna go get a drink?”
Or twelve?

Luce reached for her hand and pulled her off the bed. “Brave girl after last night.”

“Shut up. I need to chill.”

Luce followed her back toward the mess hall. “I’m not walking you home tonight, just so you know. I hate that creepy path.”