An Elm Creek Quilts Sampler (126 page)

“Not everything she wanted.”

“You went back to her.”

“No, I didn’t,” he said firmly. How he regretted every minute he had tried to soothe his loneliness for Megan by giving in to Natalie’s requests to try again. “Not in the way you think.”

She fixed him with an inscrutable look. “And how is that?”

“You think I love her, but I don’t. I couldn’t. How could I love her, when I’m still in love with you?”

She was silent. “Are you?” she asked softly.

“Yes, I am. And you’d better get used to it, because you can doubt me as much as you like, but I’m not Keith and never will be. And I’m not going to stop loving you no matter how much you want me to. And if you don’t want to see me again, you’d better forget about ever coming to back quilt camp, because I’m going to be here every year to drop off Nana and pick her up again, and every time I see you here, I’m going to ask for another chance.”

He had to pause to take a breath, but her expression would have cut him short anyway.

She was smiling.

Two sisters pulled out of the parking lot behind the manor and drove across the bridge over Elm Creek, discussing whether they should stop at the charming quilt shop in downtown Waterford on their way home, or if the delay would cause their husbands to worry. They had just decided to drop by for a moment when they rounded the bend beside the barn and spotted two cars parked at the bottom of the hill where the road disappeared into the trees. A man and a woman stood beside the car closest to the forest.

“What’s this?” said the elder sister, who was driving.

“I have no idea,” said the younger, who looked more carefully and added, “Isn’t that Vinnie in the first car?”

Sure enough, Vinnie’s familiar cloud of white hair was visible above the front passenger seat headrest.

“Has there been an accident?” the elder sister wondered aloud. Vinnie smiled brightly through the window and waved as they passed.

They waved back, puzzled. “Should we stop and offer to help?” the younger sister asked.

The elder sister, her eyes on the young couple by the second car, suddenly broke into laughter. “They must be all right,” she said. “She’s kissing him.”

The younger sister let out a wry chuckle. “Maybe we should ask
them
to help
us.
”

Laughing, the two sisters drove past the couple in their warm embrace and into the shade of the forest, while behind them, within gray stone walls just down the road and across the creek, Sylvia Compson and the Elm Creek Quilters were congratulating themselves on another week of camp successfully concluded and preparing to welcome the next group of quilters, friends, and friends-to-be.

About the Author

Jennifer Chiaverini lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to the six volumes in the
Elm Creek Quilts series, she is the author of Elm Creek Quilts: Quilt Projects Inspired by the Elm Creek Quilts Novels
and the designer of the Elm Creek Quilts fabric line from Red Rooster Fabrics.

Table of Contents

The Quilter’s Apprentice

Round Robin

The Cross-Country Quilters