Page 69 of The Rancher's Wedding

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I’m looking for something to bring back for my wife.”

The woman nodded. “Is there anything piquing your interest?”

“This all here is nice, but I was wondering if you had anything extra special that I could take to her. Maybe something you don’t keep on display?”

“Something for a special occasion?”

Was it a special occasion? In its own way, it was. Not an anniversary or birthday or anything of that sort. No, it was the kind of special occasion that one couldn’t plan for. Something Michael never could have expected. What could possibly be a good enough gift to your wife to celebrate that you both realized that you love you each other?

“Yeah,” Michael said, “I’d say it definitely qualifies.”

“Wait here one moment,” she said, then walked through two doors separating the store from the back, where the bulk of the inventory was kept. When she returned, she had a necklace with a deep red stone hanging from it, large, but not so large as to be gaudy.

“This,” she said, “is a necklace with an almandine garnet stone.”

He looked at it and saw how the light reflected through its body, a seemingly perfect shape with tight edges and smooth faces.

“This particular piece was made in the late 1700s in what was then known as the Ottoman Empire. It belonged to the wife of a soldier, who wore it every day, waiting for him to return from war. She wore it until the day she died, when she passed it on to her daughter. That daughter eventually passed it onto her daughter, who one day sold it to my father, who bought it off of her for his personal collection and never intended to sell it.”

“Can I hold it?” Michael asked.

The woman handed it to him and he felt the weight in his hand, moving his fingers along the silver clasps holding it together. There was something about it that just felt right. Not too heavy, but still solid, and cool to the touch. He could imagine the gem resting on Estelle’s chest, reminding her that he was with her, right by her heart.

“I could let you have it for $80,” she said.

Michael had taken in $20 from the butcher for the cattle he brought in, but also had money he’d been saving, including a hefty chunk of savings left to him by his parents. The necklace was pricey, but still something he could afford as a luxury purchase for Estelle. It would be his wedding gift to her.

“You’re willing to part with it?” Michael asked.

“I’m not particularly sentimental,” the woman said. “This is a lovely piece, but it’s just been sitting in a drawer, like much of my father’s personal collection. Something like this belongs around the neck of a beautiful woman and, from the look in your eyes, it sounds like your wife fits such a description.”

“She does,” Michael said. “Very much so.”

“This is a very good deal I’m offering you,” she said, “I hope you realize that. Take it to any other jeweler out there and they may offer you twice as much for it, but you don’t look the part of someone who would resell it.”

“If you can get twice as much for it, why not sell it to them?”

The woman brushed away the thought. “I didn’t get into this business to make money. It was handed down to me from my father. His job was making money. I just fell in love with the pieces: their beauty and their history. Too many people, my father included, don’t respect the jewelry. They buy it and hide it away until they die. For what? You can’t take it with you.”

She shook her head.

“I love this piece,” she said. “I am running a business, but if I see an opportunity to give it a good home, I’ll take that opportunity. I think we both end up with what we want out of the deal.”

Michael considered the necklace, looking at it in the light some more. Then, as he had with the other necklaces, he imagined what it would look like as he draped it over Estelle’s head and clasped it in the back.

This is it, he thought.This is the one.

“I’ll take it,” he said.

“Very good,” the woman said, taking it back. “Let me wrap it for you. Do you need to stop at a bank?”

“No, ma’am.”

Michael pulled out his billfold and took out four twenties, fresh from the butcher, then placed them on the counter.

“Wonderful,” she said. She placed the necklace in a small box, which she wrapped with thin tissue paper, then handed it over to him.

“Take good care of her,” she said. “Both of them, actually. Your wife and the necklace.”

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