Page 60 of On the Mountain

He rubbed his beard and reminded Anna of her task. Her insides felt horrible at the prospect. If she had her voice, she would object. As it was, he was already leaving the kitchen and expecting her to follow. Putting her empty plate into the large kitchen sink, she hurried after him and found him headed upstairs toward the room that contained the bath. Her footsteps faltered, but she tried to be brave. It wasn’t like she was expected to take a bath, and she certainly didn’t need that contraption he called a shower to run while she shaved him.

Inside the room he had already placed a chair next to the single table. Sitting on the table was a shaving kit in a wooden box beside a bowl of warm water and two crisp white towels. Lying next to them, folded within itself and disguising a very sharp blade was a long black razor.

Anna swallowed the growing lump in her throat as she watched Wade get comfortable in the chair. She wanted to please him so greatly, but at the same time she feared what her inexperienced hand and the razor-sharp weapon could do. Knowing he had the ability to read her eyes, she kept her face downcast and tried to remember the procedure the barber took when shaving her hairless skin.

Taking out the shaving brush and shaving cream she turned to look down at Wade’s upturned face. He closed his eyes and rested the back of his head on the chair. With as much feigned confidence as she could muster, she applied the cream abundantly over his beard. Her fingers brushed his skin several times, causing her to flinch. It was the first time she had ever gotten this close to actually intimately touch him. It almost felt as if she was caressing his face and blushed from the thought. The tips of her fingers tingled and she would have given anything to allow them to accidentally slip lower and run between the strands of his thick hair.

With the task of applying the cream completed, she turned to the razor and hesitated before picking it up. Her brows puckered as she tried to figure out how to open the contraption without taking a finger off. She must have taken too long for Wade opened his eyes and removed the blade from her hands and gave it a snap. The flat, but shiny blade popped out. It looked virtually unused and, Anna feared, would therefore be extra sharper.

He handed it back to her and she couldn’t stop her hand from shaking as she poised it unsure over his face. She tried to tell herself to calm down, but it didn’t help. Her hand shook worse the nearer she got to his beard.

She nearly jumped out of her boots when he suddenly snatched her wrist in his hand. “I thought you said you shaved before?”

He wasn’t pleased with her and Anna felt dejected. She wanted so desperately to do this for him, but it was clear she had failed.

He sighed and used his other hand to remove the blade from her then placed it safely on the table. She wanted to move away, feeling far too close, but he had yet to release her wrist. Reaching for a towel, he swiped it across his chin, removing the cream she had just applied. When he finished, he slowly turned his head and studied her while she half stood, half sat uncomfortably next to him.

“I don’t know whether it’s in your nature to want to please or you feel being submissive will keep you from being sent away.” He wasn’t smiling or showing any sign of emotion as he talked, and Anna worried silently that she was about to get a horrible verbal lashing.

Instead, he quietly said, “That’s not going to happen.”

She met his gaze and was surprised by the sudden warmth lurking from within. It was barely noticeable and if Anna hadn’t been observant, she probably would have missed it, but it was there and she felt something wonderful stir within.

He moa

ned under his breath and reached out to run the back of his finger along her soft cheek. Anna was completely stunned. It was the first time he had ever touched her in an affectionate way.

“How the hell did I mistake you for a boy?”

Her heart leaped and joy filled her completely.

“I have no idea what you’re hiding from, but I know you still fear something out there.” His hand reached out and tucked the telling strand of long hair behind her ear. “I may not agree with this charade of yours, but you can trust me. Your secret is safe with me.”

Her happiness came plummeting back down. Why, she wasn’t sure, after all it was her decision to remain disguised as a boy. Fact of the matter was, even if she were to go around as her true self, it would make no difference in her relationship with Wade. Because the sad truth was, there was no relationship.

* * *

Wade thought he better watch himself. The girl was so vulnerable and she wore her feelings far too openly. It was one thing to grow attached to the boy, it was entirely different for a girl. In particular, one that was twenty years his junior. Though at twenty-four she was far older than he would have guessed. Besides her physical features, it was also in her mannerism and slightly odd behavior that made her appear far younger.

She had to merely look up at him with those puppy brown eyes and he would find himself responding in a manner he normally wouldn’t with any other person. Male or female. Her naiveté had her careless with her emotions. In the hands of another, it could land her in a whole lot of trouble. For her sake, it was lucky she landed on Wade’s ranch. Another man might not be so understanding. He supposed he could thank his mother for that, she had raised him as a gentleman.

Ironic, considering it was the one trait his mother instilled in him from her own culture and upbringing, which over the years had been the biggest conflict in Wade’s life. He shunned all aspects of a gentleman’s life and what high society deemed proper was all a huge sham in Wade’s opinion, far worse than any Anna lived behind.

As he headed down to the bunkhouse to give the cowboys their Christmas coins and relieve them until after the holiday, he thought of her trying desperately to do what was considered right and proper, something he was certain one could never really master. For Kathleen, he attempted to steer her in the general direction, but even that seemed fruitless as it seemed his sister had other ideas of her own. She seemed bound and determined to save Anna. Trouble was, Wade contemplated as a dark thought crossed his mind, he wasn’t entirely sure what evil was out there to save her from.

* * *

The following day was Christmas Eve and the night of Kathleen’s Christmas ball. The house was a flutter of activity as people came and went setting up and delivering items for the party. Anna had been kept busy all day. She became the appointed unofficial nanny for the children. Wade seemed to make himself scarce whenever possible. This did not detour Kathleen, however, and would uncover him from whatever room he had vanished last.

By evening, the house was fully adorned with festive decorations. Anna had been given a proper servant’s attire to wear and felt more unladylike than ever before. Due to her small frame, Kathleen was unable to find trousers to fit so Anna was left with no choice but to wear form-fitting breeches paired along with a stiff white shirt and tailcoat. The shoes on her feet were rigid and awkward to walk in, leaving Anna the overall conclusion that her evening’s attire was uncomfortable and unwelcome. For that reason alone, she wished the night already over.

As she stepped out into the great room she was, however, impressed with the Christmas festoons. In particular the towering spruce tree brought in earlier that day. It was full of shiny ornaments and sparkling beads laced throughout its branches. She had never seen a more beautiful tree.

“Ah, let me take a look at you.” Kathleen’s voice came from down the hall from the bedrooms.

Anna turned around and was immediately struck by Wade’s sister’s beauty. She knew the woman was very handsome, however tonight in particular she looked extraordinary. She wore a magnificent red satin gown adorned with silk ivory bows in the skirt and a stream of colorful blossoms flowing over her shoulders. Her long and slender arms were left naked along with a deep cleavage in the front of her gown. The dark locks whose coloring she shared with her siblings, was upswept in a fantastically elegant fashion and crowned with the same matching blossoms as on her dress.

She took Anna’s arms in her hands and stood back to get a better look at her. Anna felt utterly pitiful and would have liked nothing more than to cover herself. Kathleen gave her a sympathetic smile. “I would have so loved to dress you in one of my gowns.”

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