The Jewel of His Heart (10 page)

Sheriff Wilson shifted his weight and put his hat on. “Looks like your dinner’s arrived.” He moved aside to allow the waiter to place the order on Josh’s table. “Keep a lookout for those varmints out your way. If you see anything, let me know.”

“I’ll do that, for sure, though we don’t usually see many people out where we’re sheepherding. The smell keeps most people away.” Josh chuckled.

“You can say that again! Well, I’ll get out of your way so you can eat in peace.”

Halfway through his meal, the thought occurred to Josh that he was tired of eating alone. Not only that, but he was lonely, and he’d had enough of living alone. He laid his fork down, not hungry for the rest of his dinner. He stole another glance at Juliana, and his brow furrowed in irritation. She and Mark were getting up to leave, and he watched as they moved in his direction.

Mark held tightly to Juliana’s elbow but paused when they came near Josh’s table. “Hello, Josh. We meet again. You remember Juliana?”

“Yes, I do.” He pushed back his chair and nodded to Juliana. His chest felt tight. “Lucky you, Mark. I would have asked this pretty lady out myself, but I figured, why would she want to go out with the likes of me, a smelly old sheepherder?” He chuckled as he rose from his chair, but his laughter sounded hollow to his ears.

Mark merely cleared his throat and appeared uncomfortable.

“Oh, don’t get up,” Juliana said. “And don’t sell yourself short, Josh. You’ve cleaned up quite nicely, I see.” She looked at his clean shirt and vest. “I thought you had already gone back to your campsite.” Juliana’s lips tilted upward at the corners, and Josh felt his heart skip a beat. Her pale blue eyes never left his.

“I will be, first thing in the morning, ma’am. I trust you both had a good meal. I’m afraid I was so hungry that the food didn’t have time to hit the back of my throat!” Even as Josh said it, he knew it was a lie—most of the food was left half-eaten under his napkin.

Mark smiled back at him. “We did indeed. I’m just about to walk Juliana back to the hotel.”

“Then I’ll bid you good night. It was nice seeing you again.” He bowed slightly at the waist, pretending to be unaffected. How could another human being that he barely knew invade his thoughts this way? “If you’re ever out near my campsite, please stop by and have coffee with me and about two hundred fifty wooly beasts.”

Juliana laughed. “I intend to do that.” Her eyes lingered on Josh, and Mark gave her a quizzical look. “I want to repay you for what you did for my mother as soon as I receive my first paycheck.”

“Please, don’t concern yourself with that. I’m not worried about it.”

“I insist. Thank you . . . We must be going. Good night, Josh.” As Juliana turned away, the open lace loop of her crocheted shawl snagged on the back of Josh’s ladder-back chair, pulling her backwards. She stumbled and bumped the table. The delicate water goblets and plates wobbled atop the table and threatened to hit the floor. Quickly she reached out to steady the glasses, while at the same time Josh stretched across her arm to lift the shawl off the chair’s back. Somehow she fell against him, and they both halfway sprawled onto the table, landing in the leftover food as the dishes clattered to the floor with a loud crash.

Josh’s face was an inch from Juliana’s flaming cheeks, and time was suspended for a moment. He forced himself to refrain from reaching out to touch her high cheekbones. Her hair smelled like lavender, and he could almost visualize her washing her long hair and rubbing it dry with a towel. Placing her palms on his woolen shirt, she pushed herself away, then straightened her blouse.

Josh shook his head to clear the vision in his mind. “I’m so sorry. I was trying to untangle your shawl.” His tongue felt thick in his mouth, but he scrambled to pull Juliana upright as the waiter came running up to help.

“It’s okay. I thought I could prevent the glasses from toppling to the floor.” Juliana brushed her skirt with both hands, dusting off bread crumbs. “How embarrassing.”

The patrons in the restaurant had turned to see what the commotion was, but they turned back to their dining and laughter once everything was under control.

Mark grabbed a napkin from the waiter and gave it to Juliana to wipe her hands. “Here, let me get the back of your arm. Something is stuck to your shawl.” He wiped it none too gently before dropping the soiled napkin in the heap on the table.

“Please, if you don’t mind, I’ll get this all cleaned up. Don’t worry about a thing,” the waiter said as he started picking up broken dishes.

Josh somehow managed to mutter a thank-you to the waiter. He already felt like a big clumsy oaf next to the polished city doctor, not to mention how he’d embarrassed the young lady.

Mark tugged at Juliana’s arm, indicating he was ready to leave.

“We must be on our way now. Josh, maybe we’ll see you the next time you’re in town for supplies. I’ll be sure to give you a wide berth.” All three of them joined in a nervous laugh.

“You bet! I look forward to it,” was all Josh could say. He watched Mark put a protective arm about Juliana’s waist and guide her into the cool night air.

12

Juliana tapped the reins lightly across the hindquarters of her borrowed horse, Choco, as she headed across the valley floor. The air was crisp and cold, but she was warm under the layers of clothing Marion had insisted she wear. She’d borrowed a pair of faded jeans that made riding in the saddle much easier. She was certain that by afternoon she would be shedding the long woolen jacket.

It felt good to be riding with the wind pulling at the tendrils of her hair from underneath the cowboy hat and the feel of Choco’s muscular body stretching out into a canter. This was real freedom, riding alone with the puffy white clouds draping like bridal satin across the ridge of the purple mountains to the west.

It had been a couple of weeks since her date with Mark. He was a very nice man, attentive and sweet to her. The townsfolk held him in high esteem. Whether it was because he was the only doctor around for miles, or because they truly liked him, she wasn’t sure. But she figured the latter. Trouble was, even when she was thinking of him, the sheepherder’s eyes came into sharp contrast, making it very difficult to concentrate on anything else. She wasn’t happy about this, because it interfered with her idea of the future. She wanted to have her own home someday and be able to dress like her friend Marion. Not worrying about where her next meal was coming from would be good too. Maybe the ladies at the social club wouldn’t be so hoity-toity then.

Today she was going to take up Josh’s invitation to visit his camp and ranch. More importantly, she would repay him the money for her mother’s funeral. It made her feel good to be able to do that. She really never wanted to be beholden to any man like her mother was. Juliana intended to work hard at her job and make Albert proud.

She could smell the sheep before they came into view. She made out a wagon, a dog, and a couple of people around a campfire. They straightened and stood, waiting for her to draw closer. She recognized Josh because of his smaller stature and solid body, but the other man was tall and lanky. Josh’s face lit up with a big smile as she drew closer, and he released the lamb he held in his arms, then mopped his perspiring brow with a somewhat dirty handkerchief. A dog Juliana guessed to be Shebe barked a friendly greeting, then moved to stand next to her owner with her tail wagging.

“Mornin’ glory! What a pleasant surprise.” Josh was quick on his feet and reached to help her, placing his hands around her waist to put her down into a crowd of mewing lambs. Though he was a little taller than she was, she felt like she could look almost directly into his eyes. He smelled of wet sheep and sweat. When she wrinkled her nose in distaste, he laughed.

“Sorry about the smell. We’ve been dipping and branding our lambs the last three days.” He motioned in the direction of the troughs at the edge of the clearing. “Had you come a few days ago, you could’ve watched us shear their wool. That’s a big undertaking, and we had to hire some help, or we’d have been here for a month of Sundays.” He chuckled as he weaved through the lambs, tenderly touching a head here and patting a rump there.

Josh reached into a bucket of red paint, lifting a wooden brand. “Sheepherders use a more civilized way of branding instead of the red-hot branding iron that cattlemen use. I had this one made especially for me. But maybe that’s more information than you came to hear.”

Feeling out of her element, she stammered, “I hope I didn’t come at a bad time.” Juliana felt heat on her face, and it wasn’t from the camp’s fire. She couldn’t help but notice how firm and hard Josh’s chest muscles were as they strained against his chamois shirt. He probably was in great physical shape from working outdoors most of his life. Juliana tore her gaze from his amber eyes, which stared openly at her.

“No, no, this is a perfect time for us to stop, ain’t that right, Andy? I didn’t mean to rattle on.” Josh turned toward the scrawny young man who gave Juliana a warm smile. “This is Andy, my right arm and cook.”

Andy wiped his hand on his pants leg, then thrust it out to her. “Howdy. Shore is nice to have a visitor out here. We get lonesome out here, don’t we, Josh?” He pumped her gloved hand up and down.

Juliana could tell he was curious about her, but when Josh didn’t offer any information about her, she only laughed at his enthusiasm, and he finally let go of her hand, smiling all the while. He probably wasn’t much older than she. His clothes were so worn that they were fraying at the pockets and the legs, where they met his worn boot heels.

“Well, speak for yourself, Andy, but you’re right, we don’t see too many people out this way. Most of them don’t like sheep because of the noise and the smell.” Josh indicated the sheepdog sniffing at her feet. “This here is Shebe—man’s best friend.”

Juliana pulled her gloves off and stretched out her hand to the dog so Shebe could lick her fingers. “I think I’ve just made a new friend.” She scratched the spotted dog under the chin.

Juliana marveled at the soft furry little faces of the lambs and couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the babies. “So adorable . . . and so soft. I think this is the closest I’ve ever been to sheep before. You have a lot of babies.” A little baby lamb’s damp nose nuzzled her fingertips, and the rest crowded near. Most of the sheep had been shorn fairly short but still had a small layer of fuzz. She noticed the red-painted brand in the shape of a “J”—for Josh’s initial, she assumed—in the lamb’s rump.

“It’s real easy to get attached to them,” Josh said. “They’re not the smartest creatures in the world, but they’ll do whatever you want them to. Sometimes when the ewe is lambing, she’ll walk away from her baby, and we have to coach her to get the lamb to her teat. They’re good at gettin’ into trouble too. Like getting stuck in a bog or thicket. I’ve even seen a mama stand stark still, not making a sound, while a wolf carries off her lamb. Guess that’s why the good Lord was called the Good Shepherd and we’re called His sheep, because He lovingly leads us.”

Juliana bristled at the remark. “Well, He sure led my father down the wrong path. Poor ewes are probably just afraid.”

Andy’s head snapped in his boss’s direction. Josh squinted in the morning light, his bushy eyebrows furrowing beneath his hair, which was damp with perspiration. He turned to Andy. “Why don’t you make us a fresh batch of coffee while I find the little lady something to sit on?”

Andy moved toward the campfire, grabbed the coffeepot, and poured out the dregs left from breakfast. “There’s a little wooden stool in the back of the wagon, Josh. I’ll go rinse this out and put the coffee on.”

Soon the smell of rich coffee filled the sheep-laden area. Andy poured the strong liquid into thick mugs. “How do you like yours, Juliana?”

“If you have a bit of sugar, that would be nice, but I don’t expect you have any cream?”

“Actually, you’re in luck.” Andy nodded his head toward a milk cow tethered not far away. “For all Josh’s toughness, he has to have his coffee with both cream and sugar,” Andy said, offering her a sugar cube and some cream.

Josh merely grunted. “’Bout the only way a man can stomach Andy’s coffee is to doctor it up a bit.” Josh grinned at Andy, and Juliana realized he was just teasing. Juliana smiled at Andy. “Thank you. I’m sure it will be better than what Albert brews at the newspaper.”

“Speaking of that, how’s the job coming along?” Josh asked, blowing on the steaming brew. He leaned against the wagon, propped his arm up, and casually cocked his head to look at her.

Juliana placed her cup on the ground and reached into her coat pocket for the envelope of cash. “The job is going very well, thank you. I brought the money you loaned me to pay for my mother’s funeral. It was good of you to do that when you didn’t even know me.” A small catch threatened to crack in her voice, but she quickly cleared her throat, extending the envelope toward him.

Josh’s fingers touched hers lightly, and she was stunned by the tingle that inched its way down her spine. She quickly drew back, but he pushed the envelope back into her palm.

“It wasn’t a loan. I did it because I knew it was the right thing to do at the time. Don’t worry about it. Save it. You’ll be needing it.”

Josh’s look was so stern that she somehow knew not to argue with him, so she shoved the envelope back into her coat pocket. “Well, if you insist. Thank you again, and if there’s ever anything I can help you out with, please let me know.” Maybe now she could buy Choco from Marion and have a way to get around. She would check on that first thing when she returned.

“There is one thing I could use your advice on. If you have the time, we could ride up to the ranch. I’ve been building it in stages as I get the finances, and I’m ready to start on the inside of the kitchen. Perhaps you could help me with the layout. I don’t spend much time cooking.”

Juliana laughed. “I’m not much of a cook myself, so I’m not sure how much help I’ll be, but sure, I’d like to see your place. I don’t work on Saturdays, so I’m free all day today.” As soon as she said it, she thought it made her sound desperate for something to do.