by Danni Roan
"Yes, though I don't think it would be wise to make notes. Perhaps we can just test the theory then discuss it. Later I'll try to find out more from your mother about what she said and compare the data."
"Alright," Reg stated, stepping back to where the young woman stood. "We can't get caught though, because that would be interfering with the experiment, not to mention get us in a heap of trouble."
"I couldn't agree more," Lexi acquiesced. "Pa caught Meg kissing Clayton in the barn at the Broken J a few years ago and that caused more trouble than you can believe."
"Really?" Reg could not help but wonder what had happened. "What happened?"
"Oh, it's a long story. I'd rather not go into it right now, but they ended up married pretty fast. Let’s tackle the project at hand first."
Reg let the subject of Meg and Clayton's courtship drop for the time being, knowing that as part of the Broken J crew he'd be able to find out the rest of the story soon enough.
"Alright," he agreed, as he reached out and took Lexi's arm, gently pulling her into the darker shadows of a nearby alley. "We don't want anyone to see and get the wrong idea," he added in explanation.
Lexi nodded, hoping he could see well enough in the soft moonlight to understand.
"Now what do we do?" she whispered as the deeper gloom engulfed her.
Reg could feel the heat rising up his color and knew that his ears must be bright red now. He was grateful to the dark night for hiding his embarrassment. He had never kissed a girl before and was not exactly sure where to begin.
Still holding Lexi's arm, he pushed her back toward the wall of the building that made up the alleyway, leaning his body in closer so she could hear him, and shielding her from any prying eyes. He would hate something as simple as a kiss to sully her reputation.
His face was close to hers; he could feel the soft breath from her lips on his cheek. In the moonlight, her eyes were like bright jewels glowing softly at him, full of wonder and curiosity. Reaching out a hand, he slid it behind her neck, her skin feeling silky under his work-roughened fingers as heat radiated up his arm.
Lexi could hear Reg swallow his nervousness. She had been afraid he would refuse to kiss her, but was pleased that his curiosity was at least as great as hers. She looked up into his strong face, noticing for the first time the gentle hook of his nose and the bright light of intelligence that shone from behind his eyes. When he slipped his hand behind her neck, soft shudders ran the length of her spine, causing her to close her eyes on a silenced gasp.
Reg lowered his lips gently to Lexi's as a thousand thoughts raced through his brain. Something stirred deep inside him as her breath tickled his jaw. His lips finally brushed over hers, their softness intoxicating, and he struggled to keep the touch gentle, sedate. His body leaned closer as his mind tried to catalogue the sensations that were muddling it.
The kiss only lasted a moment but as the couple broke apart, they both found that their breathing had accelerated.
Lexi trembled where she stood pinned to the wall before her redheaded friend, and she blinked up at him, trying to rein in her thoughts. As if by its own will, her hand lifted to touch the spot where moments ago, his sweet lips had rested and their eyes met.
An eternity seemed to pass while they stared into each other before pulling their intellect about them like a shield.
"Well... uh..." Lexi stammered, uncertain what to say. "That was certainly interesting." She finally managed.
Reg's bright smile, even in the darkness of the alley, suddenly made her heart pound.
"Yes, I'd have to say I agree," Reg's voice sounded husky even to his own ears.
"Perhaps we should take the night to catalogue our thoughts on the matter, and then we can discuss it tomorrow?" Lexi suggested, trying to keep her knees from wobbling.
"That sounds like a very scientific suggestion," Reg replied, even as his body thrummed with the need to touch her again. "Besides, we'd better get back before someone comes looking for us," he added. Standing straighter, the warm air of the night felt cold on his overheated frame.
Swallowing her impulse to draw Reg down for another kiss, Lexi straightened her dress and patted her hair into place before taking his arm. Her fingers seemed to sizzle where they made contact with his simple chambray shirt.
"Yes, of course," she said primly, "We can discuss this in the morning." She shifted her eyes to Reg, who stood stiffly at her side as they began to walk toward Mrs. Bicks' place.
Entering the boarding house, Alexis quickly picked up her book, said goodnight to her family and friends, and scooted off to the tiny room at the back of the house.
Reg was sure that his face must still be flushed and a strange sense of guilt assaulted him as he kissed his mother's cheek before excusing himself and heading off to bed. "I'm awful tired," he said softly, eyes down cast, "Guess I'll turn in."
"Oh, I hope you’re not coming down with anything," his mother said, standing and laying a hand across his forehead. "You do look a little flushed."
Reg could feel his ears going red and cast a glare at his mother. "I'm fine, Ma, just tired." Then without a backward glance, he turned toward the room he shared with Billy and Isadoro.
Cathleen Malone-Smith glanced up from her mending at the long table and caught the smirk on Billy's face as he shot a wink in the direction of Mrs. Ogden, whose face seemed somehow too placid.
"Well," Billy quipped, "I reckon I could use a little fresh air before I turn in." He looked boldly at Mrs. Ogden. "What do you say to a little stroll, Mrs. Ogden?" His eyes were bright with respect but there was a twinkle there that Cathleen was sure held hidden secrets.
"That sounds just fine, Mr. Billy," Dora Ogden replied primly, before standing and taking her wrap from a peg near the door. By now, everyone was watching as Billy opened the door and with a little hop ushered his companion out into the night.
Chapter 10
The house was all but silent, darkness complete in the room, but Reg still could not sleep. Again and again he reviewed the kiss, trying to draw conclusions from the experiment, yet all he concluded was that he wanted to do it again. One side of his mind tried desperately to filter through the data, looking at each step of the process logically. The other side of his brain simply pulsed along with his body.
He had always assumed that when he was ready he would get married. He’d find a girl who liked him well enough, someone who wanted a home and a family, to live his life out with, yet now he wondered why he'd been waiting, which brought about more questions, like would it be the same if he kissed any other girl besides Lexi. The thoughts kept turning in his head like a whirlwind keeping sleep at bay.
Alone in her little room at the very back of the house, Alexis examined the wide planks that made up the ceiling. The light from a sliver of moon filtered through a small knothole in the wall, painting the simple room in deep blue. No matter how long she lay there studying the ceiling, Lexi couldn't settle her thoughts. She had thought that she had been logical in asking Reg to kiss her, but logic seemed to have abandoned her now.
There was no one else she could have asked, and since he was practical and curious like her, he was her best candidate; now however, she was sure she had made a mistake because all she could think about was that kiss and how she so desperately wanted to do it again.
"I wish you were here to talk to me, Isabella," she whispered into the still darkness. "Maybe you could help me make sense of it all."
Bright morning light hit Lexi's eyes like a blow, jerking her from disturbed dreams of Reg in the darkness. Blinking, she reined in her breathing and tried to subdue the tingling that raced through her body as she raised a hand to block the white ray of sunshine lancing through the knothole in the wall like a spot light.
With a squeak, she bounded from the bed and grabbed her clothes. She had overslept for the first time in years. Still holding her bundled dress in her arms, she froze for a moment, "Maybe I'm coming down with something," she stated softl
y to the empty room. "Yes that would make sense. I must be catching a cold." Smiling with the revelation, she quickly pulled her dress over her head, pinned up her hair and washed her face in the basin by the door.
Stepping into the long hall that led to the front of the house Lexi stopped again, astounded to see Fiona in a warm embrace with Hank, his wide hands firmly planted on her steadily growing waistline.
For a moment, she considered ducking back into her room, but then Hank noticed her and pulled away from Fiona with a shy smile.
"Mornin' Lexi," He sated thickly, then planting a kiss on her sister's cheek, he turned and strode down the hallway and out the door.
"Oh don't look like that," Fiona chided, her soft cheeks pink with heat, as she stretched out a hand to her younger sister. "As you can see, Hank and I have made up." Her bright eyes twinkled with mischief and Lexi could not help but smile.
"Does that mean that Hank agrees with you?" Lexi queried.
"No, but we did agree we wouldn't fight about it in front of the whole family, so that's a start." Her bright smile dispelled the cobwebs in Lexi's brain and for a moment, she thought of talking to her sister about Reg's kiss, but then what if Fiona said something to the others, surely they would all jump to the wrong conclusion. After all, she and Reginald Ogden were only friends.
Breakfast was over by the time the two girls made it to the table, but there was plenty of bread with jam, and that with a hot cup of tea made for a lovely meal.
Cathleen watched the two girls chatter over their light repast with a smile as she worked on a new apron for their grandmother, Bianca. It was not until Mrs. Ogden joined them all at the table that she really noticed anything amiss, though.
"Good morning, Fiona, Lexi," the older woman greeted them, "I trust you rested well."
"Yes, thank you," Fiona replied.
"Uh, yes, yes just fine," Lexi's answer had all the others looking at her with concern.
"Aren't you feeling well?" Fiona asked, noting the slight flush to Lexi's skin.
"Oh, well, I think maybe I'm coming down with a cold."
Laying the garment she had been working on the table, Cathleen rose and gently laid a hand on Lexi's forehead. "You don't feel warm," she stated, taking a good look at her niece. "Perhaps you're just tired from the trip," she added, smiling cheerfully, but out of the corner of her eyes, she caught what could only be called a smirk on Dora Ogden's face.
"Why don't you go for a little walk and see if that clears your head," Mrs. Ogden suggested. "I'll fetch Reg and he can accompany you. Won't that be nice?" She raised an eyebrow at the soft flush that infused Lexi's face, then turned away abruptly to hide her smile.
For a moment, Lexi looked between her sister and her aunt as if seeking escape, but logically she knew she could not avoid Reg for long, and besides, they were supposed to discuss their experiment. Bundling her worries up, she wrapped them in logic and put them out of her mind.
A half an hour later, Alexis found herself walking along the busy streets of Casper, looking at the new buildings that were being added to the town. Since the town’s incorporation into Carbon County in April and the election of George Mitchell as Mayor in July, a new sense of order had entered the town and tent structures were being replaced by sturdy wooden structures; the town was a bustle of activity.
"It looks like it's going to be a warm day," Reg said, trying to keep his mind off the way Lexi looked this morning in a deep blue dress with black lace trim. He was sure he had seen it before, but for some reason, today it seemed to accentuate his companion’s curves and bright eyes. Moreover, why did her hair seem so glossy today?
"Yes," Lexi replied politely while she wrestled her thoughts into order. On one hand, she wanted to discuss the event from the night before, but on the other hand, she could not help but wonder if he would be willing to kiss her again. Perhaps it was simply the fact that neither of them had ever kissed anyone before that had created such feelings.
They had just crossed the street as they meandered toward the livery stable when they saw Cathleen leaving the doctor's office, arm in arm with the physician himself.
Forgetting everything else but her curiosity, she looked up at Reg. "What do you suppose that is about?" she asked.
"No idea," he stated, stopping and watching Lexi's aunt as she chattered happily to the Doc.
"Perhaps we should head back," Lexi suggested, already turning back the way they would come. “Maybe something’s happened.”
Reg and Lexi walked through the door almost right on the heels of Cathleen and gray-haired Dr. Joseph, and waited as they listened to Benji's wife's words.
"Now just look who I ran into on the way out today," she said brightly, her brown eyes twinkling at the others in the room. I thought with all he's done for us recently I should just invite him in for a bite to eat."
Gesturing widely, Cathleen directed the man toward the table, which was just beginning to be laid for the noontime meal.
"Oh, how lovely," Fiona offered. "It's nice to see you again, Doc."
"And you're looking fine, Mrs. Ballard," the doctor replied, removing his glasses and wiping them on a handkerchief he took from his vest pocket.
"I feel fine as well," Fiona said with a wink.
Reg turned his head toward Lexi and shrugged his shoulders before ushering her into the room. None of this made sense. He and Lexi had both seen Cathleen fetch the doctor.
Lexi quickly donned an apron and hustled to the kitchen at the far end of the house to help with lunch, but kept her ears open to see what was happening in the dining area. Somehow, she just knew her Aunt Cathleen was up to something. The woman her uncle had brought home as a mail-order-bride nearly three years ago had a quick wit and a giving nature, which left Lexi sure that she had something up her sleeve.
The sound of the door opening and closing several times indicated that the other guests, most of whom were part of the Broken J crew, had come back for lunch. Lexi could hear Benji greet the doctor and arrived in time to see him place a sweet kiss on his wife's cheek.
She had no sooner left the room than she heard Hank's deep voice. "Doc? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"
Lexi turned compassionate eyes on her brother-in-law, noting the worry that vibrated in his bass voice.
"No son, everything's just fine like I told you a couple of days ago. I just happened to run into Mrs. Smith in town and she invited me to lunch."
Lexi raised shocked eyes to Reg, where he stood near the door. They had both seen Cathleen escorting the doctor from his office only minutes ago.
"Oh, well..." Hank let his words trail away, but his eyes took in his wife with interest.
"Here we go now," Mrs. Bicks hustled from the kitchen with a large pan in her hands. "Just chicken gravy and biscuits today, I'm afraid, but there's plenty to go around." She smiled at the doctor. "Well, Doc, what a pleasant surprise. I hope you like biscuits." Her smile was bright "I'll just send some along to Madge if you like."
"That'd be fine, Mrs. Bicks."
"Oh, vittles," Billy called as he and Eric walked through the door at last, making the party complete. "Me an' Eric here's sure peckish. Seems like ferever since breakfast." He winked at the boy who had come through the door with him.
"Yep, we been helpin' pack up the wagons," Eric added with a grin.
"Well, pull up a chair and let’s say grace then so you can eat," Benji replied with a smile.
The usually noise and melee of any meal with the crew of the Broken J ensued, making it hard to follow any one stream of discussion. Several conversations were going on all at once and it was easy to get lost trying to pick out which one to participate in.
Reg kept peeking at Lexi, then studying Cathleen and the doctor, wondering what the woman could possibly be up to. He wondered if Alexis had figured it all out yet.
"Mrs. Ballard, I can't help but notice your appetite seems to be good," Doc said with a grin as he looked across the table at her plate.
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"Yes, I don't seem to have had any of the problems my sister did. I never even had morning sickness."
"That's good. You are a strong young woman. Fit as a fiddle if you ask me."
Hank looked between his wife and the doctor with a scowl but then returned his attention to his own meal.
"Fiona's hasn't had any trouble at all," Cathleen spoke up. "I think the only thing she's even complained about this whole time is having to walk down the stairs to the root cellar. She said she feels all out of balance at that angle."
“I fetch things for her when I’m around,” Eric piped up with a grin. “I like the basement. It’s full of all sorts of good stuff.”
"That's a fine thing to do for your Ma," Doc stated. "Woman in the family way often find their balance is off a little as they get along. Best to stay away from places you might fall."
"Fiona's real healthy, isn't she Doctor Joe?" Eric asked. "I mean she's strong and all. She even piggy-backed me to the stream when I jumped off the swing and sprained my ankle so I could soak it in the cold water."
Doctor Joseph chuckled softly. "She is strong, no doubt about that, but I think maybe you're getting a bit big for piggy- back rides, aren't you?"
"Pa still picks me up sometimes," Eric countered.
"Son, I think your pa could pick up a small horse if he really wanted to."
A collective laugh rolled over the table and Alexis James took the opportunity to catch Reg's eye with a smile. It was plain to see that her aunt had decided to settle the argument between Hank and Fiona in her own way.
"Well, I'll help Fiona around the house and such until the baby comes along," Eric offered.
"You can just keep helpin' out after as well," Hank said pointing his fork at his son. "We look after each other."
Fiona laid a hand on Hank’s muscular arm and looked up into his gray eyes. The big man pushed a strand of her curly hair away from her face.
"I get the point, darlin'," he finally said, then turned to look at Cathleen before adding, very clearly. “We'll all go home tomorrow just like we'd planned."
