The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt (27 page)

Jan whistled. “I’ve gotta hand it to you, buddy. All those crazy stunts you pulled Saturday night must have impressed that little gal. I woulda thought the opposite, though. And going to church…Well, if it took trying to land a date with the pretty little blond to get you in church, then I have to say, ‘Amen’ to that, ’cause I’ve tried everything but stand on my head to coax you into going to church, and you always come up with some lame excuse.”

“You don’t have to rub it in.” Terry bent down, grabbed an armful of shingles, and tossed them into Jan’s utility trailer. “You know what?”

“What?”

“I kinda enjoyed the church service. The preacher read some verses from the Bible that sorta opened my eyes to the truth about some things.”

“Such as?”

“He talked about temptation. Even said Jesus was tempted, and that He’s able to help those who are tempted.” Terry scratched the side of his head. “I think he said the verse was found in Hebrows something or other.”

Jan laughed and poked Terry’s arm. “It’s Hebrews, and it’s a great verse for you—especially since you’re struggling with the temptation to smoke.”

“Yeah. I’ve been doing a little better with it today, though,” Terry said. He patted his pocket. “Been chewing a lot of gum.”

“That’s good to hear.” Jan loaded more shingles into the trailer and paused to wipe his damp forehead. Despite the autumn chill, they’d both worked up quite a sweat. “So where’d you go to church?”

“That church in Goshen, where your friend, Ruby Lee’s husband, pastors. That’s why I asked you where it was, remember?”

Jan smiled. “Star and I have been there a few times, but we mostly go to a church near my place in Shipshe. Pastor Gene’s a good man, and Ruby Lee…Well, she’s a sweetheart.”

Terry bobbed his head. “She was real friendly and made me feel welcome. When church was over, she introduced me to her husband, and they both said they hoped I’d come back. I even saw a motorcycle in the church parking lot, so I know I’d have something in common with someone in the congregation.”

“Think you’ll go back?” Jan asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure of it.”

“That’s good to hear, but you shouldn’t be going to church because of Cheryl. There’s a lot more to it than that.” Jan thumped Terry’s shoulder. “Can I offer you a piece of advice?”

“Sure. You usually do,” Terry added with a snicker.

“I can see by the starry look in your eyes that you’re pretty hyped up about Cheryl. Just be careful you don’t get your heart broken. She might have gone out to lunch with you and taken a ride on your Harley, but she went bowling with someone else, so don’t get your hopes up.”

Terry shrugged. “Don’t worry, I’m not. Even if I do go out with Cheryl again, it’ll just be for fun ’cause I have no plans of getting serious about anyone.”

Jan chuckled and thumped Terry’s back. “That’s what they all say before they’re reeled in.”

“Hey, wait up a minute, would you?” Stuart called as Blaine was about to leave the sporting goods store at the end of his workday.

Blaine halted near the door as he put on his hunter-green zip-up jacket. “What’s up?”

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to you all day and wanted to hear how things went with Cheryl on your bowling date.”

“It was okay, I guess,” Blaine replied in a nonchalant tone, anxious to get home after a grueling day. He’d been on his feet the entire shift, and between helping customers and stocking shelves, his recliner and a good DVD were all he could think about. Extra shipments of goods were starting to arrive for the upcoming holidays. A busy time of the year for the store was fast approaching, but for now, all Blaine wanted to do was get home and prop up his feet.

“Didn’t you enjoy your date at all?” Stuart asked, nudging Blaine’s arm.

“Cheryl’s nice, but she’s not Sue.”

Stuart opened the door to let a late shopper out. “Do you think it’s fair to compare the two women?”

“Maybe not, but—”

“You need to forget about Sue and get on with your life.”

“I guess you’re right,” Blaine admitted. “And I did enjoy being with Cheryl—at least until Terry showed up and started showing off for her.”

“Did she leave with him?” Stuart questioned.

“Well, no, but she didn’t leave with me, either. She drove her own car to the bowling alley, and I met her there.”

“Was Cheryl impressed with Terry? Did she pay him any attention?”

Blaine shrugged. “I don’t know if she was impressed, but she did laugh at his corny jokes.”

“Maybe you ought to ask her out again,” Stuart suggested. “Take her someplace where Terry’s not likely to show up.”

“Such as?”

“How about one of the nice restaurants on Winona Lake? Pam really likes it when I take her there. With all the little stores in the village, she could spend hours shopping.”

“I don’t know. Winona Lake’s in Kosciusko County, over an hour away.”

Stuart thumped Blaine’s back. “Exactly! I mean what are the odds that Terry would show up there?”

“Slim to none, I guess.”

“Right. A guy like him probably wouldn’t even go to a fancy restaurant, let alone drive that far to get there.”

“Hmm…” Blaine pondered Stuart’s suggestion. “Maybe when I see Cheryl at the next quilting class I’ll ask her out to lunch. Better yet, maybe she’d like to go fishing with me sometime.” Blaine had never been to Lake Winona, which was south of Mishawaka, but he was game to find new places where he might want to venture for some good fishing. He remembered one of his customers saying he went to Lake Winona every year and rented a cottage there, but Blaine couldn’t recall what the man had said about the fishing.

“I don’t know about Cheryl, but I know all too well how Pam resented me going fishing so much,” Stuart said. “Maybe you’d better stick to taking Cheryl out to lunch for now. Since you’ll be at the lake, the subject of fishing might come up, and you can ask her then. And I think it might be better if you asked her out over the phone. That way, Terry won’t know about your plans.”

Blaine nodded. “You’re right. That would be better than asking her during class. I’ll give Cheryl a call tonight.”

“You’re late. What took you so long?” Mandy asked when Anna entered the Dairy Queen and found her friend sitting at a table.

“Sorry, but it couldn’t be helped. Dad made me stay longer than usual this afternoon because he had a couple of orders that needed to go out.” Anna sank into the seat beside Mandy. “Have you already had your ice-cream cone?”

Mandy shook her head. “I was waiting for you.”

Anna smiled. “Good, because I’m hungry and more than ready for a treat. Let’s go order our cones now, and then we can visit.”

Anna and Mandy returned to their table a few minutes later with chocolate-vanilla swirl cones. “This hits the spot,” Anna said, swiping her tongue over the sweet frozen treat. “I love soft ice cream.”

“Me, too,” Mandy agreed. “Guess this will probably spoil my appetite for supper, but I probably won’t eat much of it anyway, because Mom’s fixing baked cabbage tonight, and I don’t like it.”

Anna wrinkled her nose. “Me neither. Besides tasting yucky, cooked cabbage stinks up the house.”

“Have you had any luck finding another job yet?” Mandy asked, switching the subject and glancing at the English boys a few tables away.

“No, Dad keeps me so busy at the window shop that there’s no time to go looking.”

“I’m going down to Sarasota this winter,” Mandy announced with a grin. “I’ll be working at one of the restaurants outside of Pinecraft.” She clasped Anna’s arm. “Why don’t you come with me? I’ll see if I can get you a job there, too.”

Anna’s eyes widened. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Of course. What else are friends for? It would be more fun being there if we were together.”

Anna smiled. This might be the opportunity she was hoping for—a chance for a new job—in a place where Mom and Dad couldn’t watch every move she made. She’d be able to make her own decisions and not worry about anyone telling her what to do. She had a good head on her shoulders and could never understand why Mom and Dad didn’t see that about her.

“So what do you think?” Mandy asked, bumping Anna’s arm. “Will you go to Sarasota with me in December? Think about it—it’s right by the Gulf, and we could go to the beach during our free time. Imagine getting a tan in December.”

“That does sound appealing. Where will you stay while you’re there?” Anna asked.

“I’ll be renting a small house in Pinecraft.” Mandy smiled widely. “Just think how much fun it’ll be for us to spend the winter where it’s warm.”

“I would like to go.” Anna paused to finish her cone. “You know what, Mandy?”

“What?”

“If I like it there, I may just stay and never move back.”

C
HAPTER
24

Shipshewana

S
elma turned out the lights in her living room and padded down the hall toward her bedroom, dreading the coolness of the room. She’d called the furnace company, but they said they were swamped and couldn’t send a man over until early the next week. Out of desperation, Selma had gone next door to see if Jan might be able to help her out, but he wasn’t home; just that big mutt of his, barking and jumping at the fence in his dog run. She knew she shouldn’t complain. At least Jan had remedied the problem, and Brutus hadn’t found a way to break out of the pen Jan had built for him.

Selma stopped at the linen closet in the hall and grabbed a heavy blanket. The nights had been getting colder lately, and with no heat in her room, she would need the extra blanket. She’d switched to flannel sheets when she’d remade the bed last week, and since then, each morning it was harder to get out of her warm, cozy cocoon.

When Selma entered the bedroom, she placed the blanket on the bed, changed into her nightgown, and turned down the covers. She was about to climb into bed, when she heard an unfamiliar noise. Unexpectedly, the floor vent popped up, and the scruffy cat poked his head through.

Selma jumped. Then, trying hard not to laugh, she shook her finger at the cat and sternly said, “So that’s how you’ve been getting in, is it? You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you, Scruffy?”