you something."
She wiped her hands on a towel and stepped over to him
expectantly. Then he pulled out a small wooden box and
handed it to her. It was intricately patterned with various 296Melody Carlson
colors of inlaid wood, and looked perfect for a few choice
pieces of jewelry.
"This is absolutely beautiful, Jed," she breathed, exam-
ining the delicate pattern with appreciation. "I assume you
made it, but it hardly seems possible." She was afraid to
open it, afraid to appear as if she thought something should
be inside. But she didn't want him to think that the lovely
box wasn't enough in itself. For it surely was.
"Go ahead and open it," he said with a smile.
Almost afraid to breathe, she did, but the beautiful box
was empty. It was lined with a layer of fragrant rose-colored
cedar. She held it to her nose and inhaled deeply. "Lovely."
"Remember?" he asked.
She smiled. "Of course. And just for the record, I no
longer think that it's a waste of wood."
They both laughed, and the brief uncomfortable moment
passed. Had he known she'd wondered if there was some-
thing else? She hoped not. She didn't want to seem like one
of those women who always wanted more. Really, she
didn't. She was completely happy with life just as it was.
Content. She was perfectly content!
arry and Rebecca joined Maggie and Spencer for one
' more skiing day after Christmas, and the following
day they prepared to depart. "I just can't believe the
life you guys live here," said Barry with a frown as he loaded
their things into his car. "It's just not fair."
"Not fair?" exclaimed Maggie, hoping for his sake to
play down what she considered to be a perfectly wonderful
life. "We live out here in the sticks with little more than
weather and small-town gossip to entertain us while you two
have all the glamour and glitter of city living. I'll bet that
you're already planning some fantastic big~ity New Year's
Eve celebration."
Rebecca laughed sarcastically. "I'm not even going to
honor that with a response."
"Oh, come on, sis," urged Barry. "Admit it, you've got it
pretty sweet here."
She smiled sheepishly. "Okay. Well, I happen to like it,
but it's certainly not for everyone."
He shook his head. "I don't know. I might like to give it
a try someday...
She grabbed his arm. "Are you serious, Barry? What
about your fancy job in that prestigious international design
firm?"
297.
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