He's Got Her Goat by Christine Page B

the air as though he was in a rodeo. “Done!”
    Her hands were already in her lap with the completed soap before her. “I think it was a tie.” There was a definite smirk on her face.
    Against the wall leaned a number of new flat boxes. She took a large one, stretched it wide, taped it open and began laying the wrapped soap inside. “Let me pack this, and we’ll be ready to go. Are you sure you can make it to the booth by seven thirty in the morning? That won’t leave you much time for sleep.”
    He looked to the apple clock. “It’s two o’clock.”
    She gave a wan smile. “That’s an hour earlier than I finished last night, and we made a double batch.”
    The mound of new soap on the table was impressive. He couldn’t even imagine doing twice that amount. “You mixed up 576 new bars tonight? You’re an ambitious woman.”
    “I’m not feeling very ambitious right now.” She grabbed her purse from the back of her chair. “We better go this minute if you want me to take you. I can finish this later.”
    He got up. “You rest. I’ll do it.” He started putting the soap cakes in the box, suddenly realizing that he’d been sitting this whole time, while she’d been on her feet mixing. Same with the milking. She must be exhausted. To think he ever considered her irresponsible or a little lax embarrassed him. She was the first person he’d met who worked harder than he did, except for maybe his boss.
    Again Paige touched him, laying her palm on his forearm. Even that rough skin could sense the softness of hers. “There is always more work to be done. I promise it will wait quite happily until I’m ready to do it.”
    He suddenly knew the answer. “Let me stay the night. I’ll sleep on your couch. Then you won’t need to waste those two hours of driving. Neither one of us can afford it if we want to be fresh for tomorrow.”
    She glanced at the order forms smothering the sofa and shook her head. “I’ve got a perfectly good bed in the other room. You can sleep there.”
    “Won’t Uncle Bill mind?” Sterling asked. “When is he due to return?”
    Her eyes closed, and he wondered for a second if she had fallen asleep in her chair. When she did answer, her voice was thin. “I won’t see him for a long time.”
    They both headed to the hall. At the juncture where the hall split, she paused. “Today started out pretty awful. Thank you for making it end on a good note.”
    He wanted to tell her so many things. How he didn’t want to take this assignment at all, but it had become the best thing he’d done for as long as he could remember. How it made him reconsider the things he thought were dead in his life. Instead, he reached out and took her in his arms. His hands resting against the back of her denim coveralls, the smell of fresh soap, the way her head fit right against the turn of his neck felt like he could stay there forever. He closed his eyes, bathed in the warmth of her so close, hoping she wouldn’t pull away. She didn’t. It would be so easy to be this person, but Sterling knew it wasn’t who he was anymore.
    He released her as quickly as he came to himself. “We best be off to bed. It’ll be an early morning.”
     
    LATER, PAIGE LAY IN BED. Tears slid down her temples, lodging in her ears. Uncle Bill was gone, and she had let a stranger sleep in his bed. It was a foolish thing to do, she knew it, but he’d been such a help. Like some heavenly gift sent when she was at the end of her rope. Maybe Uncle Bill somehow directed him here, if that were possible.
    Or maybe she was doing the same thing she’d done with Blanche. She closed her eyes and could feel the area around her mouth where her neighbor’s hand had clamped over it. She rubbed her mouth hard with the back of her hand, trying to wipe away the memory. Was Blanche only an identity thief or something more?
    She was still out there, and there was nothing to stop her from coming back and invading her home or worse. No matter