Embraceable You (Irish Hearts Series) (6 page)

"She wanted to sell our lace along with lingerie,"
Claire said wistfully. "She thought they were a natural pair, so to speak. But the town fathers frowned on it."

"Frowned?" Roberta clasped her forehead, mocking a major headache. "There was practically a rebellion!" She crossed her arms and mocked a man’s voice. "We’ll have no skivvies on display in our town!"

"Skivvies! Can you believe it?" Claire straightened a couple of books on a shelf. "Talk about old-fashioned. So I came up with the idea of lacy angels. That's what I made when I was a girl, back in Ireland. Roberta's idea was the lacy heart's desire pillows. But they've all grown stale and we just can't sell them anymore."

"I can prove
the magic works. I made a wish with my lace pillow, and it came true. Almost," Roberta claimed seriously. "We also make little sachets, for the tooth fairy and such."

Siena shook her head. Was this the Twenty-first Century or had she crossed into some time warp? "A wish? On a
n angel or pillow? This just can't be."

"Don’t you want to know what I wished?"

"Yes." What else could she say?

"That my children would come back home for Christmas. And they did.
Zoey came first and took over the kitchen. Said she wanted to make sure I ate all the right things. Then Zach decided to return and became Mayor. And Zane even brought his baby son for a visit from D.C. while his wife was on a secret mission in the Middle East." She smiled with such angelic expression that it broke Siena’s heart.

"Siena, we hope you’ll be happy here in Haven’s Point. We have a few good men, if you’re interested, including Roberta’s son, the mayor. Do you know Zach?" Carrie asked as she plugged in the hotpot
to heat water for tea.

"Uh, we’ve met."
Visions of sugarplums danced in her head. If these lovely ladies only knew! 

"Met?" Roberta laughed. "Why they used to be sweethearts, all those years ago. When they were just kids."

"I’m afraid my niece, Monique, has her heart set on capturing our fine mayor," Claire said with a wink. "He saved her life, you know, and now they’re almost engaged."

Siena blinked at
Claire, then at Roberta. Zach was engaged? What the hell! That certainly banished any lingering fantasies with the old boyfriend. And why did he lure her to his bed if he were engaged? "He saved her?"

"Last winter, snow up to our knees, Monique
was skating and fell through the ice on the lake," Roberta said. "A bunch of young people were skating and playing hockey out there. Too much goings-on and not enough of paying attention. Suddenly she was down in the icy pit. Could have died right then and there from hypothermia."

Claire
picked up the tale. "And it took the rescue crew so long to get there that Zach and a friend shoved an old kayak out onto the ice and pulled her to safety with that thing. My, my they’re such clever, strong fellows." She placed four delicate teacups on the counter.

"Oh yes," Carrie added. "Everyone was so very proud of him that they elected him mayor after that." The teapot whistled and she poured the tea while
Claire unveiled the scones.

A sweet bread aroma filled the air and Siena was swept into warm memories of cooking with Aunt Addie.

"Y’know, the amazing thing was that Zach never took credit for it by himself. Said it was a team effort and that became his campaign slogan. All of us, pulling together, can make it. And by faith, it worked." Claire took a bite of a blueberry scone. "Carrie, these are downright delicious!"

"How very
. . . heroic," Siena said. She felt sick. What an intruder – a fake - she was. She rode into town and became the other woman, just like the receptionist at her old company with Warren.               

The Lacy Ladies would not hush. They stayed all morning, sipping tea, nibbling scones, and creating their fine-needled lace. They showed Siena the differences between needlepoint, tatting and basic crochet lace; appliqué lace and Italian cut point; and old Irish laces like Montmellick and Carrickmacross. And she found herself admiring the
delicate beauty of the tiny stitches.

"There are an even dozen of us lace makers in town," Roberta said. "But we try not to all descend on Addie’s shop at once. There’s hardly room."

Carrie picked up the conversation. "Each of us has a different style that we prefer. But we all make the lace huggies. They’re so easy and fun. If only we could sell them."

"You can make one while watching the TV news every night. Which is why we’ve ended up with so many," Roberta said.

"What?" Siena asked. "Huggies?" She put her hand to her forehead, trying to grasp the concept.

"We called them huggies long before those diaper people used our name," Roberta said. "But we couldn't do anything about it because we didn't have a copyright or any right at all."

Siena shook her head, perplexed by the idea.

"You know, little socks for glasses or cups that keep them from dripping
or marking the table. Only we made ours of lace. Like coasters. And Claire designed one for a tea cup, so cute and fancy with a ruffled edge."

"Then the bottom fell out for coasters. Can’t sell the little darlings for love ‘nor money. Here, I’ll show you."

Claire opened the stock room door and pulled out a large plastic garbage bag full of lace coasters. "Probably have about a thousand," she mused.

Siena was momentarily speechless. "What – why? Why keep making them if there’s no market for them?"

"Addie said we would find a market someday and they would be a power source." Roberta sighed. "Maybe she meant loss leader. Looks like we'll have to give them away to get rid of them, if we can find anyone who wants them."

Siena just shook her head. She couldn’t bring herself to kick the Lacy Ladies out, so she made herself busy around the shop, rearranging products, checking on supplies, and making mental notes on everything. Behind the bag of lace huggies, she found an interesting item. "Hey, anyone know this lady?"

The women put down their stitchery and gathered around.

"Oh, it’s Venus," said
Claire wistfully.

Roberta put one hand on her heart. "Luciano was so artistic. He made her for Addie, carved from a local birch. Isn’t she beautiful?"

"Addie named her Venus," said Claire. "She was good at naming things."

Siena stood back and examined the exquisite, four-foot tall hand-carved manikin. "She’s a beauty. I guess Venus is a good name for her." After a few minutes, Siena asked, "Who’s Luciano?"

"Don’t you know?" Carrie smiled and seemed proud that they knew some secret that Siena didn’t know. "He was Addie’s lover, who she claimed as her husband. He was tragically killed on the high seas, or so we were told. And she never married again."

"Some said he went back to Italy
where he had a family. But we never believed that. He wouldn’t leave Addie like that. He loved her too much." Claire glared at Carrie. "She believed he died at sea, and so do we."

"I didn’t know Aunt Addie had uh, anyone," Siena said trying to imagine her white-haired aunt in a man’s embrace. She admired Venus’ feminine beauty and voluptuous assets, carved from the hands of a man who undoubtedly knew Aunt Addie’s youthful beauty.

"Oh yes, he made all our stained glass mermaids around town. Even has one hanging in the Smithsonian, I hear."

"He made the mermaid
s over the door?" Siena walked over and looked at it.

"Oh yes. And many more. They’re all tucked away because they reveal more
than they should. According to some."

As Siena listened to their stories, she felt a small connection with the Lacy Ladies and especially Aunt Addie.  No matter what their ages, they all had similar desires for love and happiness. And they all suffered broken hearts at some time or other, just like she did.

"I think," Siena stated firmly, "that Venus has been in hiding long enough. We need to bring her out of the storeroom and into the light."

So, with the Lacy Ladies’ help, she created a lacy display on Venus that was sure to attract attention – and hopefully sell some lace. And just to make sure she’d be seen, they moved Venus into the front show window.

And damn, they left before Siena thought to ask if they knew anyone who would be willing to take the cats. But Carrie seemed a good candidate since she’s the one who brought treats for them.

Zach showed up at the shop just as she was about to close that day. Her feet were suddenly clay, unmovable, locking her to the floor. She just stared at him, heart pounding, remembering, reliving their lovemaking. And trying to forget.

"I wanted to see how you are today, Siena. If you're okay about last night. If you feel like I do about
us."

"About us?"

He shrugged. "I can't stop thinking about you."

"What a bunch of bull! I got a visit from the Lacy Ladies." She shifted, facing him with arms folded. "They said you were engaged. About to marry
the rich girl in town, Zach? Then why would you invite me home with you? And straight to your bed?"

His face tightened, his lips thinned. "I am not engaged. There are a bunch of wagging tongues in this town who have nothing better to do than spread rumors."

"But your mother – "

"My mother doesn’t know squat." He came closer.

OMG, she could drown in his eyes, touch him if she reached out. She didn’t dare.

"Remember when we swam in the lake, Siena?  Naked."

She grinned, shook her head. "Don’t remind me."

"Young love."

"Young lust."

"It gives us a bond."

"How do you figure that?" She looked away from the magnetism of his gaze.

He grinned. "I’ve held you close, Siena. We’ve had great sex. Just last night. Isn’t that a bond?"

"I don’t know anymore."

"Why? What wrong with that?"

She shrugged. "I have doubts. About all this."

"Don’t." He hooked a hand around her neck and pulled her close, pressing a fierce kiss on her lips. She felt his tongue teasing the sensitive inner part, and she opened to him. Fully and willingly. She wanted, in that moment, to take him completely, to feel him in her again, to know his sexy strength. Finally, he lifted his head. With lips still barely touching, he said, "Don’t doubt this Siena. What we had is still there. I feel it, don’t you?"

"I don't know anything anymore."

"You're here for a reason. You and me. We're good together." He kissed her again, quickly. "See you later."

He exited the shop as abruptly as he had arrived, leaving her breathless and feeling thoroughly kissed. And very confused. Could one glorious night remove all doubt and change the course of her life? No, definitely not. 

Siena knew that memories were fickle. They made you think things were better than they actually were. Or perhaps even worse. But most memories weren’t entirely accurate. They were a distorted illusion of how things were and what happened. That's why different people at the same scene often recalled it differently. Siena tried to remember the first time she ever saw Zach. He said he remembered her falling, the time she broke her arm. But she remembered an incident earlier than that.

Siena was young, maybe seven or eight, when Aunt Addie taught her to make banana muffins.  She had been through a rebellious stage that resulted in her being dumped on Aunt Addie while Dana tried to build a relationship with her latest boyfriend. At least that’s what she told Aunt Addie, which Siena overheard because she was a little snoop and listened through the door.

What she said to Siena was, "Come on honey, you’re going to Aunt Addie’s for a few weeks to keep her company while I take care of some business. She loves having you there because she’s lonely."  And what that meant to Siena was that Mama didn’t want her around while she had a new boyfriend. So Siena started calling her Dana, like she was a big sister, not a mama.

Siena remembered some of her rebellions. "Euwwww, bananas? I hate bananas."

"Well then," Aunt Addie said patiently, "we’ll mash them and hide them in muffins so they can be nutritious and taste good, too." Siena recalled that Aunt Addie was always cheerful, not moody like Dana.

Siena was not eager to cook bananas into muffins, so she folded her arms and watched. This was way before the current rage for muffins.

Aunt Addie got the ingredients and pan and set them on the counter.  "One really great thing about muffins is that you have a small piece of a tasty cake that’s easy to share. Friends can eat them or take them along. They always bring people together to eat and that’s a good thing. They attract attention. So if I take them downstairs to my shop, they might draw more customers in. We can even put a surprise in them to make them unique."

"A surprise? Like a toy?"

"No, not a toy. Something good to eat. Like a couple of craisins. Or orange zest. Or a little dab of jam. What would you like to put into them, Siena?"

"Whatever. Will it bring my ma—uh, Dana back?"

"Probably not right away. But maybe a new friend will stop by."