The Jewel of His Heart by Maggie Brendan Page B

“You haven’t always lived here?”
    “No, I’ve lived in the house less than a year. I moved from Colorado nearly three years ago.”
    “I see. This is a nice-size kitchen. You’ll have plenty of room for a large table.” She walked to the large glass window, clapped her hands, and said, “Oh, this is a wonderful backyard with those big trees. I love it. This would be a perfect place for the sink when you get one, right under the window.” She surmised that he was using the big tub on the floor to wash the dishes in.
    Shebe ran past her straight out the back door when she glimpsed a rabbit, and Juliana and Josh laughed.
    “I’m glad you like the place. Come on, let’s have a seat at the table, and you can give me some more ideas about what I need to do with this place.” Josh pulled out a chair for her, then came back with a pencil and paper. He drew the outline of the kitchen and indentations for the windows and doors on the paper and pushed it to her. “Show me what you would put in here and where.”
    “But I can’t draw. At least not anything that’s recognizable.” She tapped the pencil on the table.
    “Doesn’t matter. Write it out for me.”
    Juliana placed a small rectangle where a new table should be and a circle to represent the sink under the window. Next to the fireplace, she drew a rocking chair and an overstuffed chair facing each other. Along one wall near the stove, she drew doors halfway down the wall to represent the cupboards. On another wall, she sketched several shelves to hold some plates or utensils. She handed him the paper. “This is the best I can do, but you get the idea, don’t you?”
    “Not bad. I thought you said you couldn’t draw.”
    “You’re joking.” She chortled.
    “No, I’m not, really. What color should I paint the walls?”
    “You could paint it a bright sunny yellow and trim out the woodwork in white for a nice contrast,” she said, looking around the room.
    “Mmm. Sounds rather feminine to me. Remember, there are no ladies living under my roof. I was thinking about a more masculine color.”
    “Well, from the looks of things, unless there’s improvement around here, there won’t be any females,” she teased. Juliana enjoyed this comfortable bantering back and forth.
    “Now look who’s teasing,” Josh said.
    “Hey, I’d better get out of your way and let you do your planning.” Juliana rose from her chair.
    “You’ve helped me out a lot. I needed a different perspective. Next time you can help me with the bedroom.”
    Juliana felt her face go pink, but he continued to give her a playful grin while twirling the pencil in his fingers.
    “By the way, I do apologize for that night in the restaurant,” Josh said. “I didn’t mean to be so clumsy.”
    “Don’t even trouble yourself thinking that. It was entirely my fault,” she said. “If it hadn’t been me, I would have thought it was funny.”
    “Oh, I almost forgot.” He reached inside his pocket and took out a small chamois bag, spilling its contents across the table. “These are the Yogo sapphires I was telling you about.”
    Juliana sucked in her breath and said, “Oh, they’re beautiful.” She picked up one of the stones and turned it to the light. “Such a beautiful blue. I’ve never seen that color before.”
    “I have,” he said huskily.
    “Oh, really? Where?”
    “I’m looking at it now. It’s the color of your eyes, Juliana. Beautiful and unusual.”
    She squirmed, not knowing what to say, while his small amber eyes looked squarely into hers, searching.
    “I think I’ll call you Jewel to represent these beautiful Yogos.”
    A sharp pang filled her heart, and she felt breathless with his face bending so close to hers. “What’s wrong with my name? Don’t you like it?”
    “I like it fine, but I think you’re rare like the Yogos.” He said it so softly that she almost thought she’d heard him wrong. Josh reached out and squeezed her hand, which lay on the