The Jewel of His Heart (3 page)

“There you are. I thought I’d lost you, friend.” Marion’s silver-throated laugh filled the air.

“I was looking at the art your father has collected.”

“Yes, well, he fancies himself a great art collector and then later sells some of the art to dealers or people looking to decorate their homes. But he starts with showing them right here in the restaurant.” Marion opened her menu. “I’m starved. How about you? What are you in the mood for?”

“Mmm, just about anything.” Juliana opened her menu, but in her mind, all she could see was the sheepherder’s eyes.

3

They had scarcely finished their lunch when Marion’s father hurried to their table with the town doctor, startling the two young women from their enjoyable conversation.

“Juliana, I’m sorry to interrupt, but the doc here says you need to come quickly. It’s your mother.”

Juliana stood, her napkin dropping to the floor. “What is it? What’s wrong with my mother?” Her eyes sought the doctor’s face.

“I’m Dr. Mark Barnum. Please, if you would, come quickly.” The young doctor reached for her hand, guiding her through the dining tables.

“I’m coming too,” Marion said, and fell into step with them as they made their way down the boardwalk.

Juliana’s heart thumped in her chest.
I shouldn’t have left her. I
knew she wasn’t well. Please, Lord, let her be okay.

The doctor led Juliana and Marion to a small room at the back of his office, where Juliana’s mother lay on a narrow cot. A thin blanket covered her slight form, and her gray-streaked brown hair spilled about her shoulders. She looked so frail that Juliana gasped. She reached out to pick up her mother’s hand, but the doctor intervened, pulling her a step back.

In a hushed tone, he bid her to take a seat. Marion stood next to her. “Doctor, what is wrong with Juliana’s mother? Is she conscious?”

The young man ignored Marion and looked right at Juliana. “I’m afraid your mother has suffered a heart attack. I want to be frank with you—I’m not sure she’s going to make it. She’s very weak and has been asking for you.”

Juliana’s eyes filled with tears, and she found herself staring at the top button on the doctor’s coat. “How did she get here? She was at home when I left for lunch.” This was all too incredible for her to take in. “Can I talk to her?” Juliana’s voice trembled.

“A gentleman brought her into town to my office. He said he found her lying in the middle of the road on his way into town. When she wakes up again, you may have a moment with her.”

He gave her a look with such tenderness that Juliana felt like crying.
He’s trying to tell me she’s dying.
Juliana could feel the warmth of Marion’s hand stroking her shoulder through the thin material of her dress.

“I’ll leave you alone with her,” Marion said.

“Marion, please don’t leave.”

“Sugar, I’ll be right outside the door if you need me. I wouldn’t think of leaving.”

Dr. Barnum took Marion’s elbow, and they stepped back into his office, closing the door softly.

Juliana sat at her mother’s side until the late afternoon shadows fell through the only window in the room.
Lord, please bring her
through this. Touch her heart and make her well, if it is Your will
, she prayed.

Her mother stirred and mumbled something. Instantly Juliana leaned over close to her mother’s pale face. Her voice was low, and Juliana didn’t want to miss a word she said.

“Juliana, you’re here.”

“Yes, Mama.”

“My sweet Juliana. You have your daddy’s eyes.” Her mother tried to reach up and touch her face, but Juliana caught her hand and pressed it to her lips.

“Shh . . . you don’t have to talk, Mama. Just get some rest.” Burning tears stung her eyes, and she fought the panic rising in her chest. How odd—her mother’s normally blue eyes had changed to steel gray. Juliana heard her heart pounding in her ears.

“Just don’t be dependent on any man. Find your own way in this world . . . not enough time to tell you how much I love you . . .”

“Mama, don’t talk like that. The doctor is doing everything he can—”

“He loved you.” Her breathing was shallow.

Juliana’s hand shook as she lovingly pushed a strand of her mother’s hair back from her forehead. “Shh . . . don’t talk about Daddy right now. Save your strength.”

“Don’t be mad . . . he wanted the gold for you.”

Juliana clenched her teeth.
Sure he did. That’s why he never came
back.
The gold fields obviously held more allure for her father than any real life with his wife and child. She thought again that her mother was so in love with her father that she always overlooked most of his faults, even now, when she was so ill.

“He’ll . . . come . . . back,” her mother whispered.

Juliana said nothing but continued to hold her mother’s hand. The clock on the wall opposite her seemed to tick methodically like her slow heartbeats. She thought her mother was in a deep sleep when she suddenly stirred on her pillow.

“Don’t stay in the cabin after I’m gone. It’s too far from town for a young girl alone . . . It’s time for me to go. The angels are coming for me now . . .”

Juliana thought her heart would break. “Mama . . . no . . . please don’t leave me,” she pleaded. Blinding tears covered her face.

“I . . . love . . . you.” Her mother took one last deep breath and was silent.

Juliana flung herself across her mother’s chest and sobbed. She couldn’t bear the pain that tore through her heart.
Why, God?
Why did You have to take her? I never really had a father, and
now You’ve taken my mother.
In her anger, she pounded the edge of the mattress near her mother’s still arm, then dissolved once more into hoarse tears.

The gulf between her and her mother seemed to be growing by the second, and she thought wildly of an escaping balloon she’d seen once in town. How she had longed to follow it on its ascent, but it was gone in moments.
Just like Mama
, she thought, and the enormity of her loneliness felt like stones on her shoulders.

After what seemed a long time, Juliana heard the door open behind her. She lifted her head from her mother’s side, tears still streaming down her face, and saw Marion with the doctor. Marion reached out her hands and pulled Juliana into her arms.

“I’m so sorry, friend. Sooo sorry.” Marion stroked her hair. “I’ll help you take care of everything. Don’t you worry.”

When Juliana pulled away from Marion and lifted her eyes, she saw a stranger silhouetted in the doorway behind the doctor. His shadow fell across her face. She hadn’t noticed him enter the room.

He lifted his hat. “Miss, I’m really sorry about your mother.” He had a week’s worth of beard on his face and dark, sun-streaked hair. He wasn’t a large man, but somehow his presence filled the room the moment she heard him speak. His voice, a rich baritone, smooth as glass, resonated from deep within his thick chest.

“Juliana, this is Josh McBride, a sheepherder who works in the area. He’s the one who brought your mother in,” the doctor said in quiet tones. The man wasn’t much taller than she, but broad across the chest, which hinted at muscles underneath the plaid chambray shirt and tan leather vest.

Juliana murmured her thanks, though it was barely audible.
Hazel eyes with a fleck of amber . . . Now where have I seen those
before?
His look conveyed that he understood her sorrow, and his kind eyes matched his gentle voice.

“I am very sorry, Miss . . .”

“Juliana Brady,” Marion answered for her. “And I’m Marion Stockton.”

“If there’s anything I can do . . .” He backed away toward the door, twisting his hat in his deeply tanned hands.

Juliana noticed that his hands were not large but were capable. Safe. Startled by her thoughts, she turned back to Marion. “What am I to do?”

Josh watched, feeling helpless as the sobs shook the girl’s slight frame. She wore a faded blue housedress, the hem sagging near the back. The sharp curve of her shoulders blades poked out when she leaned over to hold her face in her red, chapped hands. When she finally lifted her head, the square angle of her jaw seemed in sharp contrast to the woman he had just seen crying.
I’ll bet underneath that exterior, she’s a fighter.
Something in the way she held herself, chin up, and her direct eye contact when they were introduced made him take notice. Her eyes were an odd blue with huge irises, and he could see himself reflected in them.

Dr. Barnum motioned to Josh and led him to the front door. They stepped out into the gathering dusk. Both men were quiet for a moment.

Gathering his thoughts, Josh thrust some bills into the doc’s hands. “Here, take this and see that the gal’s mother gets a decent burial. I’m just in town for a few days, so I don’t usually carry much cash.”

“I’m sure that will be a big help. From the looks of her, it doesn’t look like she’s had too many square meals.”

“Do you know her?” Josh conjured up the vision of the dark-haired girl. She was tall and slender, but not delicate. She had the most gorgeous eyes and high cheekbones.

“Not really. I heard she lived with her mother in a cabin on the edge of town. She takes in miners’ wash. Someone said her father, Davin, left for the gold mines in Colorado years ago and never returned.”

“Well, guess I’d better mosey on and take care of my horse for the night. I appreciate you doing what you could for her mother.

If there’s anything left over from the burial in what I gave you, just give it to the young lady. Maybe it’ll help.”

The two men shook hands and parted. Josh wondered if he’d see the young woman again. He knew he wanted to. But the question was, why? Was it her penetrating eyes that made contact with his soul? Come to think of it, they were the exact color of the cornflower blue stones that he’d fished out of the creek and now lay nestled in his vest pocket.

4

Grieving her mother, Juliana lay underneath a heavy quilt, her eyes tracing the wallpaper. The fancy print seemed elaborate after the simplicity of her cabin. She couldn’t be more grateful to Marion and her father for giving her a place to stay.

Sleep would not come as she went over the funeral again and again. After the last shovelful of dirt had fallen upon the pine box, Marion had escorted Juliana out of the little cemetery back to the waiting carriage. The wind rattled the carriage awning and blew slanted sheets of cold rain against them.

Juliana felt that the tears coursing down her cheeks were the size of raindrops. It had been a sad and pitiful little ceremony paid for by a stranger, with few in attendance. She made a mental note to discover the benefactor the first chance she had.

She twisted the wet handkerchief in her fingers nervously. What would happen to her now? She had no family and didn’t know how to reach her father, even if he was indeed alive. The Stocktons had told her she could stay with them indefinitely. But Juliana knew this arrangement couldn’t last forever. Being too proud to take charity for long, she would earn her own way. The cabin was little more than a shack, but she could continue doing the miners’ wash. Then she would have to decide what to do.

Juliana turned on her side, pulling the pillow to her face to muffle her sobs.

Thank God for people like Marion and her family.