Country Wishes

by RaeAnne Hadley

  A man wearing a suit, who Ben suspected must be the manager, stood in an office doorway, ready to make a swift retreat at any sign of more violence. There were no other customers or employees in sight. Ben addressed the manager. “Can you put out the closed sign.” He then pulled the bank robber to his feet. “What’s your name, kid?”

  “Joey,” the young man answered with a slur. His bloodshot eyes and sour breath added to Ben’s suspicion the man was high.

  Pushing him to a chair near the window, Ben said, “Well, Joey, you just sit right here and don’t say a word. The Sheriff will read you your rights when he gets here.” Ben was too anxious about his daughter to worry about him. Joey slouched in the chair, near tears, but Ben had no sympathy. His daughter could’ve been hurt because of Joey’s bad decisions...an unforgivable crime. Keeping one eye on the perp, he looked out a window which allowed for a view of the store where he’d sent Aidyn. On their way to the bank, she had stopped on the sidewalk to see their Christmas display. He’d known Aidyn would remember the elves. The sign over the door read Hopeful Quilts, and he knew the owner. Or he did once, a long time ago when they were kids.

  Ben couldn’t see inside the shop from his position, and his anxiety increased as he waited for back-up. He hated sending Aidyn outside by herself, but the thought of her being anywhere near the perp made him ill. What sort of man attempts to rob the bank in a nice town like Hopeful?

  Once Joey was hauled away, Ben hurried to get his daughter. Aidyn was his life and if any harm came to her…

  Chapter Two

  “The placemats came out perfect, Stephanie. Your sister will be pleased.” Robyn Meadows, the owner of Hopeful Quilts, stood near the cutting table as she examined her friend’s work. She lifted one corner of the placemat again to inspect the binding. “The edges are perfectly mitered, and the snowmen are delightful.”

  Robyn handed the craft project back to her customer, envious of Stephanie. Not for her handiwork, but for her picture-perfect family; three children and a doting husband. Even her dog was adorable. Robyn had none of the above and this holiday season was taking a toll on her emotions. Watching sappy Christmas movies and eating popcorn alone wasn’t helping her mood. After spending years of dedication to building Hopeful Quilts into a successful enterprise in her hometown, there were times when she couldn’t help but wonder if it was all worth it.

  “I couldn’t have done it without your workshop,” Stephanie said.

  “You did all the hard work, and you finished early. Are you making anything else for Christmas?”

  “Not for Christmas. I’m starting back on Emma’s graduation quilt.” Stephanie folded the placemats and placed them back in her bag.

  Robyn placed a hand on her friend’s arm. “Emma is lucky to have you as a mom.” At thirty-one, Robyn’s opportunity to have a family of her own was running out. The fabric shop which she opened five years ago with her grandmother’s help was her only baby. With her schedule, even a pet was out of the question at the moment. Despite keeping busy and having plenty of friends, Robyn admitted she was lonely. Not that she could do anything about it. Men had this bad habit of telling her what to do and how she should feel. She’d never been one to stay in the kitchen and she wasn’t about to start now. Lonely or not, her life was perfectly fine the way it was and she had her own ideas on how to improve it. She sighed. Once she made it through this first holiday season without her grandma, things would get better.

  She enjoyed time spent at her fabric store helping fellow crafters and quilt lovers create their stunning handmade projects. Several evenings during the week, she sponsored workshops on designing and piecing together craft items. She even ran a charity, Hopeful Quilts for Veterans, which brought the local community of quilters together to stitch gifts for those in need…and, if she were honest, to gossip. Like many who lived in small towns, Hopeful’s citizens liked to keep up with each other’s lives.

  As Stephanie browsed the racks, Robyn straightened rows of fabric and took a moment to examine her window display. The theme for one of her fall workshops had been Elves and the top six mini-quilts from the participants were on display. Also included was a round worktable made by her grandpa, sized just right for the collection of elves she’d made with her grandma years ago. She’d posed each one in a funny position around the table with a sewing project of their own. With added splashes of holly and mistletoe, the display came together perfectly. She sighed. Without her grandma here, she had trouble finding the magic of the holiday.

  When Stephanie selected a bolt of fabric with splashy red ribbons, Robyn headed to the cutting table to meet her. “I thought you were done with Christmas projects?”

  “I was, but this is too cute. I’ll add it to my stash.”

  “Ahh, I knew you’d get addicted.”

  Stephani grinned. “All it took was that first workshop.” She passed over the bolt. “A yard should do it.” While Robyn measured and cut, Stephanie said. “Did you hear about Mabel’s place getting broken into last night?”

  “No.” Robyn looked up from the table. Mabel lived north of town, not far from her own isolated ranch house. “What happened?”

  “They came home from Bingo and the door was standing wide open. Mabel said her TV was so old, she’d have been glad to give it away.”

  Robyn led the way to the cash register. “What did they take?”

  “Al’s laptop, some of Mabel’s jewelry, a little cash. They tried to break into his gun cabinet, but it was locked up tight.”

  “Who would do something like that? Hopeful is such a peaceful little town.”

  “Someone desperate, I suppose. You need to be careful, Robyn, living all alone in that big old house of yours.”

  Robyn gave Stephanie a reassuring smile. She’d spent most of her life in the ranch house outside of town. When her grandma passed away, she inherited the house and some of the land. “I may get a dog. That should help, don’t you think?”

  Stephanie raised a finger and gave it a wag. “You don’t need a dog, sweetie. You need a man.”

  With her best Scarlett O’Hara impression, Robyn tossed back her head and fanned her face. “Fiddlesticks, my dear. I can manage quite well on my own.”

  Stephanie grinned, but placed her hand on Robyn’s arm. “I’m serious, Robyn. I worry about you out there by yourself.”

  “I know you do.” Grateful to live in a town with so many good friends, she added, “I really will be fine. Now tell me about your kids. How are they doing?”

  After confessing to the mixed anxiety and excitement of having three kids underfoot for the holidays, Stephanie said, “Speaking of kids, I have to finish my errands. You stay out of trouble, okay.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  When her only customer left the shop, Robyn headed back to the accounting books and tried to get her mind off the local crime and onto her personal stress of running a successful business. If only community funding was as bountiful as the community spirit in Hopeful. Business in the town of 20,000 kept the lights on in her shop, and covered the salary for a full-time sales clerk, but Robyn had other dreams to explore. Her Aunt Kerri and Uncle Dale inherited most of the large acreage attached to the property, but Grandma made sure Robyn had enough pasture to keep horses if she wanted. Seeing the empty barn and pasture empty was breaking her heart. If her plans for extra income worked out she might afford a horse or two; and there was plenty of room to board more.

  Finding other sources of income would allow her that dream. Her first idea was to build a website and take her quilting workshops to the next level. She was teaching the sewing classes anyway, so why not put them online and generate revenue from ads or charge a fee. She’d never get rich that way, but it might be fun. More importantly, she wanted to rent out her spare rooms as an Airbnb. Her grandparents’ old room and the guest room were mostly ready, but she’d been hesitant to go through with the online listing. Weeding out the bad characters from the good made her nervous. She was a
lone out in the country and she couldn’t rent to just anyone. She wasn’t even sure she could go through with it if someone did message her about renting one of the rooms.

  The bell tinkled above the front door and Robyn looked up from the numbers on her computer screen, surprised to see it was a child pushing the door open. The girl was by herself and she hurried inside, letting the door swing shut as she came to a stop. Maybe seven or eight years old, she wore purple jeans and a heavy black coat with fur around the hood. A light snow was falling, and giant snowflakes rested on her shoulders.

  “Hi, may I help you?,” Robyn asked as she stood and walked around the counter, curious as to what brought the child into her shop. Was it the Christmas elves displayed in the window? Maybe she thought this was a toy store.

  The girl pushed her hood back and unzipped the coat. “My dad said to wait in here. He has to talk to a man.”

  Kids came into the fabric store with their parents all the time. Not too many bothered coming in by themselves. What sort of parent was this little girl’s dad anyway? Did he expect Robyn to entertain his kid while he was off shopping for hardware or getting a drink at the bar? The dad must be a real dud but his girl was a sweetie despite looking nervous and flustered. Maybe she was lost?

  “Do you sew?” Robyn asked, trying to engage the child in conversation and find out more about her.

  “No. Mommy never taught me.” The girl glanced anxiously out the window as she took off her gloves and stuffed them in a pocket.

  “Where is your mom?” Robyn followed her gaze, believing she must be waiting for one of her parents to come get her. She smiled and tried to relax. The girl shrugged out of her coat, revealing her jeans were cute purple dungarees over an alligator print shirt. Long honey-blonde hair flowed down her back. Wavy, as if she’d recently worn braids. Clean and respectable; not that too many homeless stayed in their mountain town over the cold winter months. But in the summer time, they had their share.

  “Mommy’s in Florida with her boyfriend,” the girl answered as she looked out the window again. “She doesn’t like the snow.”

  Robyn caught her breath. The child was so matter of fact about it. Divorced parents. A girl being raised by a single dad. A product of divorce herself, Robyn could relate. Her young parents had gone their separate ways when she was just a baby. Her grandparents had taken custody of her and raised her in Hopeful. Robyn never knew her dad. Her real mother remarried and divorced twice without fighting the custody arrangement. She had a few half-siblings and stepsiblings living in California, but she seldom saw her mother or them. Robyn was lucky though, having enough aunts, uncles, and cousins living in Hopeful to make up for the lack of real parents. She paused at that thought. Her grandparents were as real as any other parent and she loved them just as much as anyone could love a mom or a dad. She sympathized with the child though, while wondering about the kid’s dad. Where was he? Why was his daughter running around town by herself?

  Robyn crouched down to her level. “What’s your name?”

  “Aidyn Louise Dawson,” the girl said.

  Robyn had known a Dawson once, way back in high school. She flashed back on the star baseball player from her younger days…and that lazy smile of his. One of life’s regrets, not getting to know Ben Dawson better when she had the chance. As far as Robyn knew, no Dawsons had lived in town since then.

  The girl looked curiously at the rows and rows of shelves holding colorful bolts of fabric, many reaching clear to the ceiling. Quilts and smaller projects for sale on a consignment basis covered nearly every other inch of available wall space. “What is this place?” She asked with curiosity.

  Robyn took the damp coat from the child and set it on the counter. “This is a quilt shop. And I’m the owner, Robyn Meadows. It’s very nice to meet you, Aidyn.” Robyn waved her arm to encompass the showroom floor. “People buy fabric here and they take classes to learn how to sew.”

  “Can I take a class?” Aidyn’s eyes twinkled as she looked up at Robyn, excited by the idea.

  “Of course. If you have your parent’s permission. And if you don’t mind learning with a bunch of old ladies.”

  “I don’t mind. But I’m not sure how long we’ll stay here.”

  “Are you just visiting?”

  “We live here, but it’s not our house. We might move again.”

  Aidyn was so matter of fact about the issue that it took Robyn by surprise. Robyn had her roots in Hopeful and had no great desire to move anywhere else, while this young child took moving around as a fact of life. In any case, the little girl’s smile was a ray of sunshine and, except for her nervous glances out the window, her countenance was of a happy well-adjusted child. Was she neglected, allowed to run around town by herself and always on the move, or was she part of a loving, secure family? In either case, it was not any of Robyn’s business. Unable to stop herself, she reached out to brush the girl’s hair back from her shoulders. Soft, and fine as silk. Whoever her parents were, they were lucky to have such a lovely, intelligent child.

  Robyn took a business card off the counter and gave it to Aidyn. “Give this to your dad. He can call anytime and I’ll get you in a sewing class.”

  Aidyn pronounced Robyn’s name on the card, reading it slowly – “Ro-b-yn.” She glanced up. “You have a Y in your name, the same as me.” Her eyes sparkled with pleasure, melting Robyn’s heart.

  Robyn nodded. “That settles it. We should definitely be friends.” She held out her hand. “Let me show you around.”

  As she led the girl past the red and green rows of Christmas fabric to the children’s prints, sirens suddenly blared from down the street. Alarmed, Robyn rushed to the front window to see a patrol car stopped at the bank down the block. What was going on? The door to the bank opened and a hunched over guy in an army green jacket walked out of the building. Robyn’s mouth dropped. His hands were cuffed behind his back. A tall man wearing a heavy gray parka prodded him from behind toward one of two patrol cars parked in front of the bank. Robyn recognized the Sheriff when he got out of the driver’s side of one of the cars. The criminal was loaded in the back seat of the other. Had someone tried to rob the bank? Robyn’s heart beat with alarm. Her Aunt Kerri was a teller in the bank.

  As the Sheriff shook the hand of the man in gray and carried on a conversation, Robyn’s Aunt Kerri came out of the bank and she sighed with relief. She wanted to run out there and see what was happening, but the girl was watching the scene with her. She didn’t want to frighten the child. When the man speaking to the Sheriff turned her way and pointed in the direction of the quilt shop, her heart took an extra beat. Even from here, she could see he had a badge on his jacket. He must be one of the Sheriff’s deputies, but why was he headed in the direction of her store? He was looking right at her.

  Instinctively, she placed a hand on Aidyn’s head as if to ward away harm. Had Aidyn’s dad been arrested for trying to rob the bank? Is that why Aidyn was alone and why they moved so much? What would happen to her if her father was in jail?

  Aidyn looked at the girl, surprised to see Aidyn didn’t look the least bit worried. She had a happy smile across her face and her amber eyes twinkled. When the deputy got closer, Aidyn rushed to grab her jacket. “Bye,” she said, giving a wave and hurrying out the door before Robyn could say a word.

  Chapter Three

  As Ben strode toward Hopeful Quilts to get his daughter, he saw her through the window safe and sound, standing near a woman. That had to be Robyn but the sun reflecting off the glass made it impossible to be sure. Would he even recognize her after all these years? He did know she owned the store and he’d planned on stopping by one day but what with starting the new job, getting the rental, and enrolling Aidyn in school, time had slipped away from him. That’s what he told himself anyway. He was no longer a shy young man…until it came to Robyn.

  He’d moved to Hopeful with his parents in the ninth grade and he’d had a crush on her until he moved away. Not that she k
new anything about it. Robyn was one of the popular girls back then, the type he tended to shy away from as a lonely teenager. His parents moved often; his dad blamed wanderlust but Ben sometimes wondered if there was more to it than that.

  Anyway, after two years of living in Hopeful, his family moved on and he missed a chance with the cheerful, outgoing girl. He envied her not only for her popularity but for her permanent roots in the small town. Ben never seriously approached her although she had smiled at him a time or two. He never forgot those smiles, but coming from the wrong side of town he knew Robyn was of his league.

  Now he knew better but he wasn’t looking for love. His ex-wife had cured him of that. Nope. It was just him and Aidyn from here on out. Even if he did hook up with someone now and then, but he had no intention of bringing anyone home to meet his daughter. He might weather another broken heart, but he’d not put Aidyn through it again.

  Aidyn saw him coming and ran outside, slipping on her coat even as she moved. He crouched down as she ran up to him, and he lifted his daughter up as though she were light as a feather. His relief overwhelmed him and he swung her around. She giggled and he did it again. With Aidyn safe in his arms, his thoughts returned to the owner of the quilt shop and he looked through the glass again. The woman on the other side looked back. Robyn was older, but her face was the same as he remembered from high school. Maybe even prettier now that she had matured some. He gave her a short nod of gratitude. This wasn’t the time to renew old acquaintances. He had to get back to the station and fill out paperwork on the robbery. Aidyn was safe and nothing else mattered.

  “Should we get ice cream?” he asked.

  “Yeah, ice cream,” Aidyn said as he set her back down. She did a couple of skips beside him as they hurried away.