White Lace and Promises (27 page)

His forehead wrinkled into three lines. “Maggie, I’m not giving you a ring.”

He couldn’t have shocked her more if he’d dumped a bucket of ice water over her head. He wasn’t giving her the ring! “Oh.” She disentangled herself from his arms. “I … guess it was presumptuous of me to think that you would.” Her eyes fell to his shirt buttons as she took a step backward.

“Just so there aren’t any more misunderstandings, maybe I should explain myself.”

“Maybe you should,” she agreed, feeling the cold seep into her bones. It never failed. Just when she was beginning to feel loved and secure with their marriage, someone would throw a curve ball at her.

“After the hassle we went through with the wedding rings—”

“I love my rings,” she interrupted indignantly. “I never take them off anymore. You asked me not to and I haven’t.” She knew she was babbling like an idiot, but she wanted to cover how miserable and hurt she was. All those months she had put so much stock in his grandmother’s ring and he wasn’t even planning on giving it to her.

“Maggie, I had the ring reset into a necklace for you.”

“A necklace?”

“This way you won’t need to worry about putting it on or taking it off—or losing it, for
that matter.”

The idea was marvelous, and Maggie was so thrilled that her eyes misted with happiness. “It sounds wonderful,” she murmured on a lengthy sniffle, and rubbed the tears from her face.

“What is the matter with you lately?” Glenn asked, his head cocked to one side. “I haven’t seen you cry this much since you were six years old and Petie Phillips teased you and pulled your braids.”

Maggie smiled blindly at him. “You mean you haven’t figured it out?”

“Figured what out?”

Glenn’s dark brown eyes widened as he searched her expression as if expecting to find the answer hidden on her face. His eyebrows snapped together. “Maggie,” he whispered with such reverence one would assume he was in a church, “are you pregnant?”

A smile lit up her face and blossomed from ear to ear. “Yes. Our baby is due the first part of August.”

“Oh, Maggie.” Glenn was so excited that he longed to haul her into his arms and twirl her around the room until they were both dizzy and giddy. Instead, he pulled out a chair and sat her down. “Are you ill?”

“Only a little in the mornings,” she informed him with a small laugh. “The worst thing is that I seem to cry over the tiniest incident.”

“You mean like me packing my bags and leaving you.”

“Yes.” She giggled. “Just the minor things.”

“A baby.” Glenn paced the area in front of her, repeatedly brushing the hair off his forehead. “We’re going to have a baby.”

“Glenn, honestly, it shouldn’t be such a shock. I told you in the beginning I wasn’t using any birth control.”

“I’m not shocked … exactly.”

“Happy?”

“Very!” He knelt in front of her and gently leaned forward to kiss her tummy.

Maggie wrapped her arms around his head and held him to her. “Merry Christmas, my love.”

Glenn heard the steady beat of Maggie’s heart and closed his eyes to the wealth of emotions that flooded his being. She was a warm, vital woman who had made him complete.
Wife, friend, lover … the list seemed endless, and he had only touched the surface. “Merry Christmas,” he whispered in return, and pulled her mouth to his.

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DEBBIE MACOMBER

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Jo Marie’s Crochet Shawl
Designed by Ellen Gormley

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Length:
35″

Depth:
14″

MATERIALS

Debbie Macomber’s Blossom Street Collection
Petals Socks
(100g/462 yds; 50% fine merino, 30% nylon, 20% angora) Color 601 Cherry Blossom—1 ball

Hook:
US Size F-5 (3.75 mm) hook or size to obtain gauge

Notions:
6 lock-ring stitch markers

GAUGE

16 sts × 11 rows = 4″ in patt st, blocked

Save time, check your gauge
.

PATTERN NOTES

Chain 2 at the beg of row counts as 1 dc.

Markers are placed at the increases. Move markers as work progresses.

SPECIAL STITCHES

Cluster (CL):
* Yo, insert hook in first specified st and draw up a lp to height of dc; yo and draw through 2 lps; yo, insert hook in next st and draw up a lp to height of dc, yo and draw through 2 lps **; sk next st, rep from * to ** once in next 2 sts; yo and draw through all 5 lps on hook; CL made. (After the foundation ch, all CL will be worked in ch-3 sps straddling a dc.)

SHAWLETTE

Ch 186.
Row 1 (RS):
Sc in 2nd ch from hook; * ch 4, sk next ch, CL over next 5 chs, ch 4, sk next ch, sc in next ch; rep from * across; with RS facing, counting in from the beginning of the row, pm (place marker) in the 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th CL, ch 4, turn—23 CL.
Row 2:
* Sc in top of next CL, ch 3, dc in next sc, ch 3; rep from * across, ending last rep with ch 1, dc in last sc; ch 3, turn—24 dc, 23 sc.
Row 3:
Sc in next sc, ** * ch 4, CL in next 2 ch-3 sps, working half of CL in each ch-3 sp, ch 4, sc in next sc; rep from * twice, to next marker: [ch 4, CL in next 2 ch-3 sps, working half of CL in each ch-3 sp, ch 4, sc in
same
ch-3 sp, ch 7, sk sc, sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 4, CL in
same
ch-3 sp and next ch-3 sp, ch 4, sc in next sc]; rep from * to * twice to next marker, rep from [to] one time, rep from ** in pattern across, ending last rep with ch sc in
last sc, leaving remaining sts unworked;
ch 1, turn. Move the markers to the ch-7 spaces—22 CL, 5 ch-7 sps.
Row 4:
Sc in first CL; [* ch 3, dc in next sc, ch 3, sc in top of next CL; rep from * to marked ch-7 sp, ch 3, dc in sc before ch-7 loop, ch 3, sc in ch-7 sp, ch 3, dc in sc after ch-7 loop, ch 3, sc in CL]; rep from [to] across, ending last rep with sc in
last CL, leaving remaining sts unworked;
ch 4, turn.
Row 5:
* CL in next 2 ch-3 sps, ch 4, sc in next sc; rep from *, ending last rep with sc in last sc, ch 4, turn—26 CL.
Row 6:
* Sc in top of next CL, ch 3, dc in next sc, ch 3; rep from * across, ending last rep with sc in last CL; ch 4, turn.
Row 7:
Rep row 5—25 CL.
Row 8:
Rep row 6.
Row 9:
Sc in next sc, ** * ch 4, CL in next 2 ch-3 sps, ch 4, sc in next sc *; rep from * to * twice, [ch 4, CL in next 2 ch-3 sps, working half of CL in each ch-3 sp, ch 4, sc in
same
ch-3 sp, ch 7, sk sc, sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 4, CL in
same
ch-3 sp and next ch-3 sp, ch 4, sc in next sc]; rep from * to * twice, rep from [to] one time, rep from ** in pattern across, ending last rep with sc in last sc, leaving remaining sts unworked; ch 4, turn. Move the markers to the ch-7 spaces—24 CL, 5 ch-7 sps.
Row 10:
Rep row 4.
Row 11:
Rep row 5—28 CL.
Row 12:
Rep row 6.
Row 13:
Rep row 5—27 CL.
Row 14:
Rep row 6.
Row 15:
Sc in next sc, ch 4, CL in next 2 ch-3 sps, ch 4, sc in next sc, *** ch 4, CL in next 2 ch-3 sps, ch 4, sc in next sc *; rep from * to * twice, [ch 4, CL in next 2 ch-3 sps, working half of CL in each ch-3 sp, ch 4, sc in
same
ch-3 sp, ch 7, sk sc, sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 4, CL in
same
ch-3 sp and next ch-3 sp, ch 4, sc in next sc]; rep from * to * twice, rep from [to] one time, rep from ** in pattern across, ending last rep with ch 4, CL in next 2 ch-3 sps, ch 4, sc in last sc, leaving remaining sts unworked; ch 4, turn. Move the markers to the ch-7 spaces—26 CL, 5 ch-7 sps.
Row 16:
Rep row 4.
Row 17:
Rep row 5—30 CL.
Row 18:
Rep row 6.
Row 19:
Rep row 5—29 CL.
Row 20:
Rep row 6.
Row 21:
Sc in next sc, * ch 4, CL in next 2 ch-3 sps, ch 4, sc in next sc *; rep from * to * 5 more times, ** [ch 4, CL in next 2 ch-3 sps, working half of CL in each ch-3 sp, ch 4, sc in
same
ch-3 sp, ch 7, sk sc, sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 4, CL in
same
ch-3 sp and next ch-3 sp, ch 4, sc in next sc], rep from * to * 5 times; rep from ** across; leaving remaining sts unworked; ch 4, turn. Move the markers to the ch-7 spaces—28 CL, 3 ch-7 sps.
Row 22:
Rep row 4.
Row 23:
Rep row 5—30 CL.
Row 24:
Rep row 6.
Row 25:
Rep row 5—29 CL.
Row 26:
Rep row 6.
Row 27:
Rep row 21—28 CL, 3 ch-7 sps.
Row 28:
Rep row 4.
Row 29:
Rep row 5 –30 CL.
Row 30:
Rep row 6.
Row 31:
Rep row 5—29 CL.
Row 32:
Rep row 6.
Row 33:
Rep row 9 (same as row 21)—28 CL, 3 ch-7 sps.
Row 34:
Rep row 4.
Row 35:
Rep row 5—30 CL.
Row 36:
Rep row 6.
Row 37:
Rep row 5—29 CL. Fasten off. Block to enhance lace effect.