The Touch of Sage (19 page)

Reb draped his arms across the gelding
’
s back, laying his head against the animal for a moment.
What had he been thinking?
One touch and his defenses had failed him.
One slight caress from one of Sage
’
s pretty fingers and his mind had emptied of any memory of Ivy Dalton.

He closed his eyes tightly shut and tried to recall the exact shape of Ivy
’
s face, the perfect sunshine of her hair.
All he could see was the lovely face of Sage Willows
—her hair windblown and untidy,
dust smudges on her
nose and chin,
the soft pink of joy on her cheeks.
He stood straight, rubbing at the whiskers on his chin.
What a kiss he had forced on her!
Not some sweet, careful kiss the like he had fi
rst given Ivy so long ago. No—he had really stepped in it—
too tempted by the lure
of her innocently parted lips—
tasting her mouth without pause.

He looked down to the one clea
n streak of flesh on his chest—
the place where her finger had traveled over it.
Shaking his head
,
he swore angrily under his breath.
It
was time to reorder—
restock his resistances.
She wouldn
’t get to him again—
wouldn
’
t break through his emotional barricades.

Spitting in his hand
,
he rubbed at his chest, rinsing away the dust and vanquishing Sage
’
s mark over his heart.
Reb Mitchell had no heart.
Not one made of flesh anyway.
Still, as he walked to the creek to wash up with the others, he couldn
’
t get Sage
’s face out of his mind—
couldn
’
t drive the sweet savor of her kiss from his lips.
One touch was all it had taken.
One.

Chapter Five

“We s
aw some big cat tracks down by the crick there, Reb,
”
Charlie Dugger said as he folded up another piece of bacon and
stuffed
it into his mouth.

“
What?
”
Eugenia exclaimed.

Sage glanced at Reb.
He nodded and breathed a heavy sigh.
She
quickly
looked away
,
however, uncomfortable in his presence because of what had just happened in the barn.

“
Yep.
I saw
’
em the other day too,
”
Reb admitted.

“
Reb!
”
Eugenia said.
“
Why didn
’
t you tell me?
”

“
He knew ya
’
d worry yerself to death,
”
Mary answered.
Eugenia looked to Mary, her mouth gaping open in astonishment.

“
You knew?
”
Eugenia asked.

Mary nodded and said,
“
Gareth Getcher told me yesterday the Phillips found their dog all chewed up last week…figured it was a mountain lion by the tracks
’
round its bloody carcass.
”

“
Oh, for Pete
’
s sake, Mary,
”
Livie whined.
“
You
’
ve completely ruined my appetite.
”

“
Ya done ate a half a pound a bacon on yer own while we was cookin
’
this mornin
’
, Livie,
”
Mary grumbled.
“
I
’
spect ya
’
ll live.
”

Eugenia covered Reb
’
s hand with her own and said,
“
Is that why you looked so upset when you come up from the crick just now, boy? Are you worried about the cattle?
”

Sage looked up to Reb but immediately shifted her focus when his narrowed, angry
-
looking eyes met hers for a moment.

“
Yep,
”
Reb said.
“
Don
’
t need a cat spookin
’
the herd.
”

“
This here
’
s the finest meal I
’
ve had in weeks, ladies,
”
one of the cowboys said, smiling as he shoveled another bite of eggs into his mouth.

“
Well, you boys look so nice and fresh after bathin
’
in the crick…we thought we
’
d fatten ya up some too,
”
Rose
told him.

A bevy of compliments followed as each hungry, and no doubt tired, cowboy said his thanks.
Even the old chuck wagon driver seemed happy to eat something besides his own cooking.

Sage thought how tire
d they all must be—
how sore their bodies were from being on the trail so long.
Still, her mind was alive with confusion over what had happened between her and Reb in the barn.
It had been fabulous!
It had been heartbreaking too.
What had prompted Reb
to act so strangely—
so unpredictably?
She thought of the fee
l of his mouth pressed to hers—
the smell of his skin.
She closed her eyes for a moment trying to dispel
the image of his handsome face—
the way he had looked the moment before kissing her.

“
You all right, Sage?
”
Eugenia was asking.
Sage opened her eyes,
and she forced a smile.

“
I
’
m fine,
”
she lied, noting the way Reb
’
s eyes lingered on her suspiciously.
“
Just wishin
’ I had a fresh dress. T
his dust is chokin
’
me.
”

Eugenia studied Sage for a moment.
Something was wrong.
She looked to Reb.
She sensed unrest in him too.
Had something happened during their ride out to meet the herd?
She was certain it had.

“
Well,
”
she began,
“
we
’
ll finish up breakfast for these hungry boys and get back to the boardin
’
house so you can fresh
e
n up.
”

“
Unless ya wanna run on down to the crick and…
”
Mary began.

“
No, no,
”
Sage interrupted.
“
I
’
ll be fine.
”

Mary could be so exasperating at times.
Sage tried not to blush as she felt every pair of cowboy eyes in the room settle on her.

“
We seen Ivy Dalton in town
’
for
e
we left, Reb,
”
one of the cowboys said.
Sage saw Charlie nudge the man with his elbow, frowning at him.

“
Did ya now?
”
Reb mumbled.

“
How is Ivy?
”
Eugenia
asked. After glancing at Reb—
who shrugged his shoulde
rs in a gesture of indifference—
it was Charlie who answered.

“
Oh, she ain
’
t changed much, Miss Eugenia.
Not much at all,
”
he said.

“
Well, that doesn
’
t surprise me one bit,
”
Eugenia mumbled.

“
You boys can take to the bunkhouse as soon as yer ready,
”
Reb said, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation.
Sage felt her heart begin to hammer with anxiety.
At the mere mention of the name Ivy Dalton, Reb had turned pale
and
angry
and
clearly wanted the subject hushed.
“
I
’
ll check on the herd and meet ya out there later on to pay ya yer wages.
”
He stood, ready to leave the table, but paused.
“
That was a hard trail, boys,
”
he said.
“
I thank ya for yer help and hard work.
Enjoy the rest of yer breakfast now, all right?
”

The men all nodded and thanked him in return
. He
left the room without another word.

“
Seems to me the name Ivy Dalton don
’
t set to
o
well with Reb,
”
Mary whispered to Sage.
“
Must be some history there, I reckon.
”

Sage glanced to
Charlie Dugger.
He smiled and nodded at her, a rather guilty expression on his handsome face.
He had known darn well Reb didn
’
t want to hear tell of Ivy Dalton
,
and that fact drove Sage
’
s curiosity to a
peak
.

“
You stayin
’
on, Charlie?
”
Eugenia asked.

“
Yes, ma
’
am,
”
the man answered, running his fingers through his dark hair.
“
Plan on helpin
’
Reb out as long as he
’
ll have me.
”

Eugenia smiled and said,
“
I
’
m sure he
’
s plum tickled to have you.
”

“
Hope so, ma
’
am,
”
he said, smiling.
Looking to Sage he
asked
,
“
Do ya run that boardin
’
house in town then, Miss Willows?
”

Sage smiled.
He was a charming man, good-looking too.
Not as handsome, and not as charming perhaps
,
as Reb, but sweet all the same.
He looked somewha
t older than the other cowboys—more matured—
with a bit of gray at his temples.

“
Yes, I do, Mr. Dugger,
”
Sage answered.
“
It fell to me when my parents passed on some years back.
”

“
Well, it
’s a nice-
lookin
’
place,
”
Charlie said.

“
It is,
”
Sage said.
“
You
’
ll have to come out for supper
with us one night
.
”

“
I
’
d like that, Miss Willows,
”
he said, smiling.

Sage smiled.
She liked this Charlie Dugger.
Furth
ermore, Reb seemed to like him—
trust him
—
and he seemed to know an awful lot more than she did about their mutual acquaintance.
Yes, it might be to her great advantage to befriend Charlie.

Reb slammed a fist into a fencepost.
Angrily unbuttoning his shirt—
for he had managed to remember his manners and put a shirt on
after returning from the creek—
he breathed a heavy sigh and looked over the herd before him.
How could such a wonderful morning have turned on him so quickly?
He thought of how his spirit soared w
hen he had first seen the herd—
of how wonderful it was to see Sage smiling, her soft hair so windblown and free.
He closed his eyes and remembered the feel of her face between his hands
—
the flavor of her kiss.
She had been distressed by his kissing her, he
k
new it.
She was inexperienced as well—
uncertain of how to go about returning such a driven attack on her tender lips.
It was further proof o
f his being completely damaged—
worthless to anyone outside his family and tight circle of friends.
He couldn
’
t even offer a woman a decent kiss anymore.

He sighed again and patted Bullet
’
s head as the dog settled at his feet.
At least Charlie was with him now.
Charlie would help him keep his head screwed on straight, help keep him from getting distracted by that delicious Sage Willows.
He grimaced, guilt washing o
ver him as he thought of Sage
hiding her own kind of heartache. Although he didn
’
t fully understand what things in life now haunted her, he suspected it was pure disappointment
—
for the most part.
She had sacrificed her own happiness to ensure that of her younger sisters.
Those kinds of sacrifices sca
rred a woman—
left her lonely and hopeless no matter how strong and independent she might appear.

Turning
,
he walked toward the creek. Well, he surely wasn
’
t the man to fill her lonely heart.
He thou
ght again of Ivy, beautiful Ivy—
Ivy and her heartbreaking ways.
He
would keep thinking of Ivy too—
let Ivy
’
s memory stop him from making another mistake with
Sage like the one in the barn.