My chat date approaches with Coffee Time Romance. It is this Friday, February 17th at 5 PM to 9 PM EST. I have a lot I need to do to prepare for this and will no doubt fall flat on my face in trying to make effective use of this important scheduled chat. Okay I'm going to try pasting my Motorcycle Woman excerpt in this post.
His
motion slow and deliberate, he removed the blue felt, revealing a beautiful
jewelry box. She gasped. Johnnie’s workmanship, always topnotch, soared to a
new level on this project. It would command a high price compared to his other
efforts. Earlier, he showed her the router bits he used to put borders around
the box base and lid. He utilized his fanciest bit to place ornate curves,
channels, and edges along the base and lid of this box. The inlay of flowers,
which he had called marquetry, spread across the lid, different colors, red,
green, light brown giving it a realistic floral look. The wood, highly polished,
reflected Tess’ face from the soft sunlight illuminating the lid and sides. She
had not seen this kind of wood on the other boxes. Johnnie mentioned using
mostly walnut, some cedar, and some cherry. She slid her hand over its smooth
surface. It stood about four inches tall, six inches wide, and ten inches
across the front.
“This is the most beautiful jewelry box I’ve
seen you make. What kind of wood is this?” She looked at Johnnie a few seconds
then back at the box, continuing to feel its smooth surface.
“A
rare wood called teak. Open the lid, Tess.” He touched the front of the lid
with his forefinger, and then withdrew it as she moved her hand toward the box
lid.
Opening
the lid part way, she heard Beethoven’s Fur Elise begin to play. Raising
the top full open, she centered on the fancy cursive writing on the inside of
the lid. Tears came to her eyes as she read, “To Tess, All My Love, Johnnie.”
“Oh, Johnnie.” Her voice caught.
“Before you get onto me about getting
personal, I don’t remember you including the written word in that restriction.”
His
face told her he did not expect that excuse to hold up.
She closed the lid, the music stopped, and she
turned away from him, holding her mouth, trying to keep from shaking with sobs.
“Don’t you like it?” he asked, his voice
betraying his uncertainty.
She could not answer, only nodding, remaining
turned away until she managed to say, “Of course, I do.”
She could not hide her tears, her voice giving
her away. As she turned to face him, he took her hand. She did not resist as he
raised it to his lips and kissed it. Her breath caught, the sensation of the
kiss almost tearing down her defenses. She fought the urge to throw her arms
around him.
“I
never intended for this to happen,” she whispered.
“If
you mean me falling for you, the only way you could have prevented it was pass
me by in Minnesota,” he said, releasing her hand.
She continued to look into his brown eyes, the
eyes that had pierced deep into her soul from the start. He breathed deep and
asked with a dreadful fear in his voice.
“You’re leaving soon, aren’t you?” She
swallowed hard, nodding.
“I know I can’t talk you out of it. I just
want to say knowing you for these five weeks will be a time I’ll always
cherish.” His eyes filled with tears.
Tess turned away again, gritting her teeth.
Her eyes dwelled on her photo, the head and shoulders shot. The framed picture
sat on a shelf above a workbench where Johnnie did much of his work.
Well, the cover image didn't actually paste. I had to browse to get it.
