Under the Sassafras Read Free Page A

I'll be right back.”
    Joelette jumped up . “I don't think I should be here alone removing his pants. What if he wakes up?”
    “ If he wakes up, tell him your name.” MaeMae winked, then placed her hands on her hips. “Honestly, this is not the first time you've undressed a man.” MaeMae looked at her for several moments, then added, “Oh, all right. You go get the underclothes. I think I put them in a box under my bed. Honestly.”
    Joelette bolted out of the room . Her hands usually warm were chilled from the contact with the man’s skin. She needed to finish the job. He would be gone soon enough. And the man’s health was more important than her silly worries. She grabbed a pair of Otis’s homemade boxers along with an undershirts.
    Joelette stared in disbelief when she returned to the room. The man lying on the mattress dominated the room. He wore nothing but a poultice on his head. And she couldn’t pull her eyes away. This was the worst possible moment to decide to appreciate his physique, but it was hard not to admire. He was all long limbs and toned muscle.
    A qui et chuckle escaped MaeMae. “I’ll tell you I liked to have never have pulled his jeans off. His legs go on forever. I ended up cutting off his briefs.” She laughed again. “No way was I going to take that long trip down his legs again. As tall as he is he probably walked through the swamp and stepped over the quicksand.” MaeMae sat back on her feet and looked up at Joelette. “Now take your eyes and put them back in your head and finish dressing him. I'm pooped.”
    Joelette took a deep breath. She could do this. He was just a man and he was hurt and alone. She dried his feet and legs and the little spirals of hair tickled her hands as she moved. Her eyes traveled up to his...oh dear, it had been a while since she’d seen a man’s--.
    B lood rushed up her neck and into her face, and she drew in a deep breath. Get a hold of yourself . She was merely acting a caretaker, she could do this.
    Once she had him b athed and dressed, Joelette stood aside and allowed MaeMae to put the salve on all of his insect bites. Then they rolled him to one side then the other working the plastic sheet out, and finally covered him with a clean white sheet.
    “ I think we should leave him to rest now. I will take the first watch, but right now I need a cup of coffee,” MaeMae said.
    Joelette watched her beloved mother-in-law stomp out of the room. It was the only way the woman walked anywhere.
    MaeMae stood five feet in her bare feet and weighed about one hundred pounds soaking wet. She walked with her back straight and wore a long silver braid twisted into a crown on top of her head. She was a kidder by nature, a loving mother figure and a devoted grandmother.
    MaeMae sat beside Joelette on the sofa and patted her hand . The smell of rich dark roast coffee filled the air she lifted the cup to her lips. “You worry too much, Cher . We are in no danger from this man.”
    ###
    After the boys were in bed and MaeMae had checked on her patient, Joelette retired to her room. She folded clothes, and things appeared normal, but she knew that tonight was very different. T-Boy would need new jeans soon, he hadn’t grown much but the wear and tear of a nine-year-old boy was enough.
    She reached into the basket and pulled out the stranger's jeans. The fabric was soft and a comfortable color of blue unlike the stiff fabric the men she knew preferred. Most Cajun men liked them starched and ironed with a crease down the front of each leg. These jeans held no starch yet held their shape and felt expensive. He could wear his own jeans and she would let him have a couple of pairs of Otis's boxers, even though they had fit a little short in the stride. They would work just fine for a while.
    Since his shirt could not be salvaged, something would have to be done . Joelette retrieved two of Otis's denim shirts from the back of her closet. They still had a lot of wear to