Read The Jewel of His Heart for Free Online Page B

punctual. I like that.”
    “Good morning, Mr. Spencer.” Juliana stood before him, suddenly feeling helpless. Where had her confidence flown?
    “Juliana, I want you to call me Albert. I don’t stand on formality around here. Besides, that makes me feel sooo old.” He quickly added, “And I am, but don’t tell anybody.”
    She liked his sense of humor. That could make working fun— and anything was better than what she was used to doing. “All right, Albert it is.”
    Albert walked over to a small desk cluttered with paper and books, and Juliana followed. “First we need to clean a space on this desk for you to work. I’ve sharpened some pencils.” He motioned to the tin can holding them. “And here’s a tablet and Noah Webster’s dictionary. Any other reference material you need, just ask me.”
    Juliana pulled out the chair and took a seat, untying her bonnet and laying it aside on the desk that was old and scarred, but a desk nonetheless. She had always wanted one, but of course that was a luxury she could never dream of. “What exactly would you like me to do, Albert?”
    “First thing I’d like is for you to proofread an article I’ve just finished about the town council meeting last night. I’ll be setting the printing press for tomorrow’s paper that I will put together tonight. But with you helping to proof what has already been written, it’ll save me a lot of time. Then I’d like you to tackle that stack of papers on my desk and alphabetize them according to the title.”
    He handed her a sheaf of papers to read just as the tinkling of the bell above the door sounded again, and a tall cowboy entered, spurs jingling against his boot heels. Over his long legs he wore leather chaps. Juliana noticed the gun strapped to his hip. He smelled of outdoors, leather, and stale tobacco. His light brown hair was long under his Stetson hat.
    “Wes, what can I do for you so early this morning?” There was no trace of the friendliness in Albert’s face that she’d seen earlier.
    “Well now. What do we have here?” Without waiting for an answer, the man said, “And where have you been all my life, beautiful?”
    Juliana felt her face flush, and she stayed seated at her desk.
    “Cut it out, Wes. This is a lady, in case you missed that little detail,” Albert said.
    “A lady? Someone told me she’s a washer woman who washes men’s drawers,” Wes said. His long mustache curled up into a big S on either side of his mouth. Juliana didn’t like the glint in his hazel eyes or the way he referred to her previous job.
    “This is Juliana, my new assistant. Now state your business.”
    “Boy howdy! Assistant? Well, you sure can assist me. I’m Wes Owen.” He bent downward, extending his hand toward Juliana. “Glad to meet such a gorgeous woman today.”
    Juliana squirmed in her chair. She did not shake his hand and spoke in a businesslike manner. “What can we do for you?” she asked, not knowing how to respond to his overt flirtations.
    Wes pulled his hand back with a frown. “I want to run an ad in the paper for horse wranglers. I know a lot of the miners do a bit of both around these parts.”
    “Juliana, will you write up his ad? I’ll see to it that it gets in the paper tomorrow.” Albert nodded at Wes, leaving Juliana to take care of the matter.
    Juliana swallowed hard, opened her tablet, and took a pencil from the tin can. “Tell me exactly how you would like the ad to read.”
    “Now, hold on a minute. We need to get acquainted, don’t you think? Are you from these parts? I don’t recall ever seeing you.” She swallowed hard and said, “I lived here awhile . . .”
    “Well, your mama must have kept you under lock and key, or I would’ve come calling.”
    “Is that so?” Her heart lurched at the mention of her mama. “Now, tell me what kind of pay and experience you want placed in the ad,” she said briskly, hoping he would drop the subject.
    “Not so quick, missy. How about I