by Jan Fields
Then she looked down one street, and her breath caught in her throat. A rainbow. Annie’s mother had loved rainbows, and for a moment, Annie could hear her voice in her mind. “Every rainbow is a promise, Annie,” she’d said. “They remind us that God has a plan for this world.”
“God has a plan,” Annie echoed softly. Sometimes it was hard to remember that a bigger plan was at work. She was glad for reminders. That was something Gram was good at too, reminding Annie of the things that were real and true.
Annie thought of the day she’d called Gram, not long after Wayne’s death. Annie had been so lost without him. “Why is life about loss, Gram?” she’d asked, sobbing. “Mom, Dad, Wayne—loss after loss.”
“Annie,” Gram had said in her gentle voice, “life isn’t about loss. It’s about gain. Your mom, your dad, and Wayne. You had each of those amazing people in your life. They loved you, changed you and helped you become the woman you are. How blessed you’ve been.”
And with that, Annie had started, just started, on the road to healing. She still had a long way to go. “But I’m getting there,” she murmured.
She was pulled from her thoughts by a gentle bump.
“Oh, excuse me!”
Annie turned as a frazzled mom smiled at her apologetically. The woman was weighed down with packages and struggled to keep the hand of a squirming little boy who howled when she wouldn’t let go.
“Do let me help,” Annie said, taking some of the packages from the woman’s arms and smiling at the child. He stopped pulling on his mom as he stared at Annie. Nothing like a stranger to distract a little one from fussing, Annie thought.
The woman thanked her several times as Annie followed her to a dark green SUV parked in front of Malone’s Hardware. “There’s just so much involved in opening up the house for the year,” the woman said wearily. “I think I forget during the fall and winter. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be so eager to start this up again each spring.”
Annie nodded as she piled the packages into the car while the woman hefted her little boy into his car seat. The child peeked around his mother and offered Annie a small solemn wave. Annie waved back. “Have a good summer,” she said.
“That would be nice,” the woman agreed as she closed the backseat door and pulled open her own. “Maybe I’ll see you around Stony Point. Thanks again for helping.”
As Annie backed away from the SUV, she wondered if the young woman would see her around. Maybe she should begin planning how to close up Grey Gables, just in case she didn’t come back from Texas. The thought caused a pang to hit her stomach like a hammer. How could she leave here? Wasn’t this home now?
6
Annie was surprised to find Alice already at A Stitch in Time when she got there.
“Fancy meeting you here, neighbor,” Annie said, putting on her broadest Texas accent.
Alice held up a tiny pair of cloth shoes. “I brought these for the library doll. If they fit, I thought we could embroider something on them to match the theme. Once we decide on the theme.”
“Not to be nosy,” Mary Beth said, the sparkle in her eyes showing just how comfortable she was with being totally nosy, “but why do you just happen to have a pair of preemie baby shoes?”
“I have a whole box of baby shoes,” Alice said with a sigh. “I bought them at an outlet store in Portland two years ago last fall. I planned to decorate them with embroidery and trims over the winter, and then sell them to tourists. It’s one of my money-making schemes that never really came to anything. I didn’t have as much lonely work time this winter as I usually have.” She grinned in Annie’s direction. “Too many mysteries kept me busy.”
“I think all the Princessa jewelry and Divine Décor parties deserve far more of the credit,” Annie insisted. “I don’t think I’ve been inside a house in Stony Point where I don’t spot bits of Divine Décor, and that includes Grey Gables.”
“Gotta make a living,” Alice said.
“With everything you do,” Mary Beth said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you said you didn’t have time to breathe. Still, if you ever do embroider the shoes, let me know and we’ll put some in the shop. It does sound like something tourists would like.”
Annie smiled at her two friends. They were both incredibly business-minded, and Annie admired them for that. Wayne had been the businessman in their family, and now LeeAnn tended to take after him. Annie was good with numbers and perfectly happy to handle the books at their car dealership, but she was more prone to going with the flow than coming up with new ways to blaze a trail.
“Did you need more yarn for your granddaughter’s sweater?” Mary Beth asked, shaking Annie out of her wandering thoughts. “Or are you in need of something new? I have some yummy pastel cotton yarn that I hoped to tempt you with. You’d look gorgeous in the sea greens.”
“I actually finished Joanna’s sweater,” Annie said. “The rain was wonderful for my work ethic. I wanted to show the sweater to Kate. Is she coming in today?”
Mary Beth nodded. “She’s grabbing lunch for both of us from The Cup & Saucer. They’re so busy over there today with everyone rushing in after the rain that Peggy couldn’t break away to bring us something.”
“Speaking of bringing us something,” Alice said, “did you bring in the new mystery from the attic?”
“Only because I’m planning to take it over to the library with the tea set,” Annie said. “But the only mystery here is why Boots decided she wanted to claim the doll for herself.”
At Mary Beth’s quizzical look, Annie pulled the doll from her bag and set it on the table while she told them about the way Boots kidnapped it from the table. She sheepishly admitted she’d been worried she had a burglar.
“You do,” Alice said laughing. “A cat burglar.”
The women moaned at Alice’s pun, and then Mary Beth added, “I don’t blame you for being jumpy. You’ve had more than your share of scary things since you got here, and they’ve all been connected to the attic.”
“I’m just glad I didn’t call the police when the doll disappeared,” Annie said. “Can you imagine how embarrassing that would have been? I’ve already seen more than one of the young policemen around here look at me like I was imagining things when I’ve called before.”
“And you were always proven totally right,” Alice said, firmly defending her friend. “And you can always call me, you know.”
“Well, this time I didn’t really need to call anyone, and I’m glad. It’s about time the attic produced something not totally scary,” Annie said, gently smoothing the doll’s dress. “She’s just a nice simple rag doll.”
“Was she yours?” Mary Beth asked.
Annie shook her head. “I’ve never seen her before, but she’s nicely made. I don’t know who she belonged to. Clearly someone loved her a lot. I’d love to get her back to the owner, but I don’t have much to go on.”
Mary Beth felt the fabrics. “These are fairly modern bits in the clothes, so she couldn’t have been from Betsy’s childhood. Maybe she belonged to your mom.”
“Annie already ruled her out,” Alice said. “Not a dolly girl.”
“I could see someone making it for her,” Annie said. “Every girl ends up with a doll at some time or other. But this one was clearly loved, and Gram always said Mom never liked dolls. She was more of a tomboy apparently.”
The bell over the door jangled as Annie spoke, and they turned to see Kate with Ian trailing after her, carrying a small pile of foam takeout boxes. “Look who followed me home,” Kate said with a laugh. “He even insisted on carrying my heavy burdens.”
“Hey, they can’t be too heavy. I don’t eat that much,” Mary Beth said, smoothing her long cotton sweater over her slightly padded figure.
“I’m sure you eat like a bird,” Ian said, setting the containers on the counter.
“Of course, the Discovery Channel says most birds eat half their weight in food every day,” Alice put in with a grin.
Ia
n held up his hands in mock surrender. “I give up,” he said. “I do not intend to get involved in any discussion that includes women, food and weight. It’s time for me to escape while I’m still alive, but I would like to take Annie with me. Smelling those lunch containers made me hungry. Would you join me for lunch, Annie?”
“I’d like that,” Annie said, “but I wanted to show my granddaughter’s sweater to Kate first. I finished it!”
Kate admired the bright beads, bits of embroidery, and the lacy look of the sweater’s edging. “I think she’ll like this,” she said. “It’s very girlie. What are you planning to do for John?”
“I really don’t know,” Annie said, thinking of her rambunctious grandson. “I don’t think he would be excited about a sweater. He’s always nice about my crocheted gifts, but I’d really like to give him something that wows him this time. And it’s hard to wow a little boy with yarn.”
“I can see how that would be a problem,” Kate agreed. Then she picked up the rag doll. “Whose is this?”
“I found it in the attic,” Annie said. “I don’t know who it belonged to. I’m going to put it in the old toy display at the library.”
Kate gently straightened the doll’s long yarn hair. “It was clearly well-loved. There’s something sad about an old doll. Imagine all the secrets she’s heard, and the scary things she kept at bay. Now she’s all alone—just a reminder of growing up and away from the simple things.”
“Spoken like the mother of a teenager,” Mary Beth said.
Kate nodded. “It was tough seeing Vanessa outgrow dolls. She never had a rag doll like this, though. It’s a real beauty. There’s so much personality in a homemade doll. What’s this on the apron?”
“Some kind of bird,” Alice said. “Whoever owned it must have been trying her hand at needlework.”
Kate nodded. “Who knows? Maybe she grew up to love embroidery and comes in here all the time? You know who you should ask about it? Stella. She was here when she was young. She might remember it.”
“I don’t think it goes back to Stella’s childhood,” Annie said, “but I still might ask her. I’ll hang onto it until the next Hook and Needle session. But then it’s off to the library. I really don’t need another mystery with everything else in my life right now.”
“We don’t always get to pick our mysteries,” Alice said, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter. “Sometimes they pick us.”
“And on that ominous note,” Ian cut in, “can we solve the mystery of whether the mayor is going to starve in the presence of the most lovely ladies of Stony Point?”
“Only Ian could mix a complaint and a compliment in one smooth package,” Mary Beth said, laughing. “You should go let the man eat, Annie. If he collapses, I’m not certain we could pick him up.”
“That’s OK,” Alice said. “You could throw an afghan over his body and use him for additional seating.
“We’d better go before they redesign me as a lamp,” Ian said, guiding Annie toward the door with a hand at her back.
As Annie and Ian headed toward the door, Annie glanced back to see all three women grinning at her. She knew that the one thing they loved more than a mystery was a romance. She smiled in affection and shook her head gently.
“What?” Ian asked, glancing at her as he held the door.
“Just thinking about what good friends I’ve found here in Stony Point,” she said.
“Enough good friends to make you finally decide to stay?” he asked, quizzically raising a single dark eyebrow.
“Enough to make staying very tempting,” she answered as she looked back down the street for a glimpse of the rainbow she’d seen earlier. But it was gone. Then she turned and glanced up at Ian’s familiar profile. Ian had high cheekbones and a strong jaw. Wayne’s face was square and boyish. Wayne had always kept the sturdy build that reflected his years playing college football, while Ian was slender but broad-shouldered.
Though he looked totally different, Ian’s warmth and charm often brought up memories of Wayne so sharply they took Annie’s breath away. No matter what the ladies of the Hook and Needle Club hoped, Annie definitely wasn’t ready for romance yet.
Ian looked down. “We do try to be tempting.”
Annie blinked, taking a moment to relate his comment to her last remark. Her woolgathering seemed to be getting worse. Pretty soon I’ll be able to make a sweater from all the wool I’ve gathered, she thought.
Ian pulled open the door to the diner and stepped aside so Annie could enter. Peggy caught sight of them and waved brightly, her short, dark hair bouncing with her excitement. She pointed toward an empty table near the front windows.
Ian gallantly held Annie’s chair as she sat, and then took a seat opposite her as Peggy rushed over with a coffeepot in hand. “Do you need menus?” she asked as she turned over the coffee mugs on the table and poured the rich-smelling coffee. “We’re having a chilly day, Mr. Mayor. Is it officially a soup day? I’m never sure during the spring.”
“I’ve become horribly predictable,” Ian said in protest.
“Not predictable,” Peggy insisted, “comfortable.”
He shook his head, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “That sounds even worse. Now I feel like a chair.”
“I give up,” Peggy said. She straightened up and asked very formally. “Good day, sir. What would you like?”
After a pause, Ian asked, “What kind of soup do you have?”
Annie and Peggy burst out laughing together. Then Peggy named off the soups, and Ian chose the corn chowder. Annie asked for the same, and Peggy rushed away.
“Well, I’m predictable, but you’re always full of surprises,” Ian said, his chocolate brown eyes warm as he looked across the table. “What are you doing these days? How are the repairs going on Grey Gables?”
“I’m actually almost running out of things to do. Not that you ever run out of home repairs, but the house feels safe and looks the way Gram would approve of again. So, I haven’t really been doing anything terribly interesting,” Annie said. “I finished a birthday present for Joanna, as you saw. I’m totally stuck on what to give John. You were once a little boy. Maybe you can help. I want to give him something really personal, but I don’t think there’s anything I can crochet that would wow him.”
“Maybe you could buy him a toolbox,” Ian said. “I think I was about that age when my father gave me a toolbox.”
“I suspect my daughter would not be pleased if I armed John with a saw and a hammer,” Annie said. “I can imagine the carnage. She’d have three-legged tables and boards nailed to every wall.”
“If you ever lure LeeAnn here with the children, I could get Todd to give him a ride on the boat,” Ian said. “Sometimes Todd takes members of our family out on a private whale watch. You should come; it’s amazing to see the whales. You really never get tired of it. They’re breathtaking every single time.”
“I’d like that,” Annie said, “and John would love it. He’s been crazy about boats since he saw his first pirate movie.”
Peggy arrived with two thick crocks of chowder and small bags of oyster crackers on the side. As she put the crocks on the table, she cut her eyes toward Annie. “You weren’t mad about how long it took Wally to fix your chair, were you?”
“No, of course not,” Annie shook her head. “I had nearly forgotten I bought it. He did a wonderful job with the repair. It looks like it was never broken. And the cushion you made matched perfectly.”
“I’m glad.” Peggy’s face lit up. “Wally does do wonderful work, doesn’t he? I told him you wouldn’t be upset about the wait. It took him almost that long to make that bird palace that Gwendolyn Palmer designed last year. You should see that thing. It’s huge, but definitely pretty. Gwen really has a unique sense of style.”
Annie stared at her for a moment, an idea dawning. “Do you think Wally could make a boat?”
Peggy laughed. “If he could, he sure would have by now. I
think that’s a little bigger project than he could put together out in our little shed.”
“No, I’m sorry. I meant a toy boat. I suddenly thought that would be the perfect present for my grandson. He loves boats, and it would be something homemade. Do you think Wally could do something like that? I don’t know if it would be harder than a bird palace. I think Gwen said she drew sketches for that birdhouse, but I really don’t have many ideas about what a boat should look like.”
“I’m sure he could do it.” Peggy’s face nearly glowed with pride. “And he’d like it even better if all the details were up to him. Do you want me to ask him?”
“Please do,” Annie said, “and tell him I’d expect to pay well for it. I want something special for John.”
“I will,” Peggy practically floated away, clearly happy at the thought of a new, paying project for Wally. Peggy and Wally both worked hard, but it could be a struggle, especially with Wally having missed some lucrative handyman time last summer with his broken arm. Annie knew that sometimes a few months of lost income took far longer to make up. At least Ian’s brother had found him some work aboard the lobster boat while his arm was healing.
“Another good deed by Annie Dawson,” Ian said as they gazed after the young waitress as she wove in and out of the tables with new energy.
“Wally will be the one doing the good deed if he can make that boat,” Annie said as she spooned up some chowder. “I was really stumped for a gift, and that would be perfect.”
Ian saluted her with his coffee cup. “I still say you spread good cheer wherever you go.”
“That wasn’t always the case around here.”
He set the cup down and leaned forward to look at her intently. “It has always been the case with me.”
Startled by the suddenly intimate tone, Annie stared at Ian’s handsome face for a moment, not knowing what to say. Then his serious expression broke into a smile, and he turned his attention to his soup. “This looks delicious.”
