Sew Deadly (3 page)

Startled, Tori looked up from the satin-corded pillow she was working on and glanced at the clock propped against the wall, the postdinner hour and the fact that she didn’t know anyone making the knock at her door more than a little unexpected.

Back in Chicago, she’d loved when friends had stopped by her apartment unannounced. She’d throw open the door and share the contents of her refrigerator without a second thought to the hour. But that was
before
the breakup.
After it
, she’d learned to ignore knocks until they finally stopped, leaving her to the solo pity-party she’d grown to prefer.

But not anymore. Sweet Briar was her fresh start—even if she had to take it slow.

Removing the pin from between her clamped lips, Tori rose from the small wicker stool in the tiny alcove off her living room and covered the distance to the front door in mere seconds. The gathering dusk outside made it difficult to see much through the sidelight window that ran down the right side of the door, but she could tell her visitor was a woman thanks to the straw hat she wore.

Leona?

The thought was no sooner in her mind than it was out. Leona might have been the only person Tori had met so far, but she hadn’t told the woman where she lived. Not that she remembered, anyway. Then again, as Leona had pointed out many times that morning, Sweet Briar was a small town. Surely everyone knew which cottage the new librarian had purchased. . . .

She unlocked the door and pulled, her gaze coming to rest on the tall, dark-haired woman standing on her front step with a covered plate in her hand.

“Victoria?”

“Yes?” She extended her hand in response to the woman’s, felt it disappear inside the strong, capable grasp.

“I’m Georgina Hayes from a few blocks over and I wanted to stop by and welcome you to Sweet Briar.” The woman pointed at the light fixture to the left of where she stood. “You really ought to get a bulb in there soon. It’s not safe for you or your guests to have a porch light that doesn’t work.”

Confused, Tori popped her head out the door and stared at the bulbless light she’d replaced not two hours earlier. “I don’t know what happened, I put one in this after—”

“Let’s not worry about that now.” Georgina Hayes’s eyes left Tori’s face long enough to shoot a precursory glance around the partially unpacked interior before returning to their starting spot and crinkling at the edges. “I’m here to welcome you, not lecture you. So let me start over. Welcome to Sweet Briar—we’re tickled you’re here.”

“I’m glad to
be
here.” She stepped backward and gestured the woman inside, her thoughts vacillating between the unexpected gesture and the missing lightbulb. “Please excuse the mess. I spent most of the morning unpacking boxes until I needed a break. I escaped down to the town square for a few hours and then simply couldn’t find the energy to continue where I’d left off.”

Georgina Hayes handed the plate to Tori and pulled off her hat, her demeanor not the slightest bit ruffled by the flattened hair underneath. “That’s what tomorrows are for, Victoria.”

“
Tori
, please.”

“Excuse me?” Georgina furrowed her brows, a glimpse of something resembling distaste hovering in her eyes.

“I prefer to go by Tori.”

“You might want to change your mind on that.” Stepping farther into the tiny cottage, the woman stopped and looked around, her gaze missing nothing as she commented on her surroundings. “You know, when Douglas Harrison built these cottages, I just knew they’d be darling inside with the right touch. You’ve barely unpacked a third of your boxes and I can already tell it will be absolutely delightful once it’s all gussied up.”

“Thank you.” Tori glanced at the foil-covered plate in her hand and felt her stomach respond. Chocolate was near.

“Open it up. Let’s have some.” Georgina waved her hand at the plate then crossed the living room to the bold plaid chair Tori had picked up at a thrift store on her way into Sweet Briar the day before. Ordinarily, green and blue with a touch of red didn’t catch her eye, but together they’d conjured up a bit of the Scottish heritage she’d been given by her dad’s side of the family. And like the sewing box in Leona’s window, it had appealed to her need for a little nostalgic familiarity.

Tori forced her focus back to the treat in her hands, embarrassment washing over her as she mentally reviewed the contents of her unpacked kitchen. “I just realized I haven’t gotten to the dishes yet.”

The woman plopped into the chair and shrugged. “Who needs plates. We both have hands, right? Besides, brownies were never made for plates.”

Brownies?!?

“Come, sit. Let’s get acquainted.”

“Okay.” Tori crossed the room and perched on the edge of the love seat she’d brought from her apartment in Chicago. Slowly, she peeled the cover from the top of the plate, careful not to get any stray crumbs on the cushions.

Brownies, indeed.

Tori’s stomach grumbled. Georgina laughed.

“My stomach would be doing the exact same thing right about now if I had been able to fit the last brownie from the pan onto that plate.” The woman’s green eyes sparkled as she patted the slight bulge beneath her mint green summer shirt. “But I wasn’t.”

Tori laughed. Maybe Leona was both right
and
wrong. Right that people would grow to accept her—wrong on how long it would take. Helping herself to a brownie, she set the plate down on the small end table that separated the angled love seat and chair. “I probably wouldn’t be so hungry if I hadn’t pinned my way through dinner.”

The woman looked a question at her.

“I’m sorry. I tend to think everyone is a sewer.” Tori took a bite of brownie, savoring its rich, chocolaty taste. “I thrive on multitasking. Today it was unpacking, exploring, and working on a pillow for that chair.” She pointed at the chair where Georgina was seated.

“You sew?”

Tori nodded as she took another bite, fighting the urge to let her eyes roll back in her head. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was.

“Can I see what you’re working on?” Georgina’s head popped upward like a periscope as she canvassed their surroundings.

“I haven’t gotten far. I stayed up last night cutting the bias strips and pinning them together. I managed to stitch the cording to the strips before my eyes started crossing from lack of sleep.” Tori stood and walked into the alcove that would soon be her first-ever sewing room. Lifting the dark green satin pillow into her arms, she returned to her spot on the love seat and held her work out to her guest. “I wanted to soften the chair somewhat and felt an accessory pillow would do the trick.”

Georgina took the pillow from Tori’s hands and turned it over in her own. “Oh Victoria, your work is beautiful. How long have you been sewing?”

“Since I was six. My great-grandmother taught me.”

With her bottom lip jutted outward, the woman nodded, her attention still focused on the pillow. “I like the twist you’re adding to the corded trim—that’s going to take some time to get just right.”

Tori shrugged softly. “I know, but it’ll be worth it.” She leaned over and touched her hand to the top half of the pillow. “When I’m done with the blue trim, I’m going to add a matching ribbon in a
V
pattern right here . . . with a red tassel that hangs down from the point of the
V
.”

She was just about to retrieve the embroidered ribbon she’d found for the middle of the tassel when she realized Georgina was studying her intently. Suddenly uncomfortable, Tori opted to remain on the love seat instead.

“I’m sorry. I guess I got off on a tangent just then. I’ve always been a little bit of a sewing nut.”

“Then you’re a nut among many here in Sweet Briar. In fact, if you’d be interested, perhaps you’d like to come to our sewing circle tomorrow night?” The woman looked down at the pillow in her lap once again, her hands running slowly across the satiny fabric. “It’s a rather exclusive group—all members must be descendants of the original founders of the Sweet Briar Ladies Society or unanimously voted in by the group.”

“Well, then I couldn’t possib—”

“In order to get voted
in
, they must first have a chance to meet you.” Georgina handed Tori’s work back, then placed her hands on the thighs of her off-white cotton slacks. “And you’ll attend as my guest.”

“I’m not sure I—”

“Nonsense. You’ll come. It’s the least I can do for our town’s new librarian.” She pointed at the plate of brownies. “Those were part of my
unofficial
visit. The invite to the sewing circle can be part of my
official
visit if that would make you more comfortable.”

“Official visit?” Tori asked in confusion.

“Yes. In addition to being part of my very own unofficial little welcoming committee, I’m also the mayor of Sweet Briar.”

Ohhhh.

“I don’t really look the part right now, do I?” Georgina looked down at her shirt and brushed at a piece of the brownie she’d conceded to eating. “But after raising four children and losing my first husband to cancer, I had much too much time on my hands. Sewing and visiting with friends can only fill so much of my day. So I ran for mayor.”

“Wow. That’s quite an undertaking.” Tori shifted in her seat in order to avoid the temptation of a second treat.

“It really wasn’t that much of a stretch for me. In fact, leading this town is more or less in my blood. My father and his father before him—and his before him—had been mayor of Sweet Briar at one time, too.” Georgina looked around the room again, her eyes roaming across the pictures Tori had propped against walls in preparation for their eventual hanging. “Of course I didn’t expect to marry again, but love can find you in the strangest of places.”

Let’s hope not
.

“I met Thomas a year ago and we were married six months later. He’s charming and funny and wonderful. But he travels so much with his business that I need my work with the town to keep me from getting too lonely.” Tori watched as Georgina’s gaze fell on the clock along the eastern wall, her mouth slacking open momentarily only to recover in quick and apologetic fashion. “Oh I had no idea it had gotten so late. I hadn’t intended to take up so much of your evening.”

“No, please. I’ve enjoyed it.” And Tori meant it. So far the women of Sweet Briar were nothing short of wonderful.

“Aren’t you sweet for saying so.” Georgina rose to her feet, plucking her hat from the coatrack along the wall where the entryway met the living room. “Tomorrow night’s meeting is at Debbie Calhoun’s home. Fifteen Tulip Lane. Debbie has a few extra sewing machines for those who need them, but if you have a portable one that’s best. Less time wasted waiting for a machine. Oh, and everyone brings a treat to share—something homemade, never store-bought. And we start at seven—
sharp
.”

Tori smiled. She’d always wanted to be part of a sewing circle, but had set the idea aside in favor of spending every spare moment with Jeff. Attending tomorrow night’s meeting would be one more way she’d be reclaiming her own dreams and making Sweet Briar her new home.

“I’ll be there.”

“Perfect.” Georgina Hayes pulled the door open and stepped onto the porch, turning to look at Tori one last time as she pointed upward and to the left. “Now don’t forget,
Victoria
—we like our homes to be lit at night. It reinforces our desire for Sweet Briar to be seen as a
safe
place to live.”

Chapter 3

Tori didn’t need the numbered mailbox to tell her which was the correct house. The women walking up the porch steps with sewing boxes and covered plates told her all she needed to know.

Debbie Calhoun’s home was a true southern beauty, with a pale yellow two-story exterior, wraparound front porch with white wicker rocking chairs and hanging flower baskets, and large mossy trees that shaded the expansive yard on either side. In fact, it was the kind of home Tori herself dreamed of living in one day.

Carefully, she removed the pitcher of homemade lemonade she’d wedged into the floor of the backseat and shut the door, her sewing box and pillow tucked securely into the large bag on her left shoulder. A quick check of her reflection in the driver’s side window removed any lingering worry about the effects of her exhausting day in the library’s catchall room and the unexpected flat tire that had capped it all off.

From the moment she’d seen the makeshift storage area that morning, Tori had known it would be the perfect children’s area—equipped with comfy reading corners and a small homemade stage for acting out favorite stories. She just needed to convince the board that her vision not only had merit but solid reasoning behind it as well.

A task that would be a lot easier if she could simply
show
them. And show them she would.

But not tonight. Tonight was about making new friends, learning more about Sweet Briar, and surrounding herself with people who enjoyed sewing as much as she did.

By the time she crossed the street and headed up the Calhouns’ sidewalk, the women had moved inside, their laughter escaping through the screen door and bringing a smile to Tori’s lips. Her great-grandmother had always said the best medicine for any ailment a woman had was time with true friends. Time spent in good-natured gossip, occasional male-bashing, and shared tears. But most of all, she said time with other women was for laughing from deep within your soul. Something Tori hadn’t done in a very long time.