Sister's Choice (35 page)

“Grandma,” Ellie said, “didn’t I tell you we had to get busy working on—just a minute.” Ellie went to Mama’s chest by the hearth, opened it, and took something out. With Grandma’s help they opened it and revealed a quilt top, the one Ellie had been working on earlier in the Sister’s Choice pattern.

“You finished the top!” Maggie exclaimed.

“I got Grandma to help. I knew there wasn’t going to be much time, that you were very close to making your
choice
. Now you’ll have at least two quilts for your quilting bee—this one and your sampler.”

Mama found her voice at last, though it was still a little shaky. “You should have twelve, you know.”

Maggie sat in the chair facing her mother and grasped her hands. “Are you okay with this, Mama?”

“Evan’s a fine boy.” Mama spoke as if in a daze.

Well, no wonder. It was obvious this was the last thing on earth Mama expected to hear. And most likely it hadn’t sunk into Mama’s head yet that this would also mean that she and Mrs. Parker would soon be related. Maggie decided to leave it at that, to let Mama come around in her own time. Maybe Maggie and Evan would be a modern Romeo and Juliet, bringing together feuding parents, though in a much happier manner.

She did think she ought to prepare her mother more in another vein, a little better than she herself had been prepared for the realization that she loved Evan. “Mama,” she said in a soothing tone, “I don’t think there is going to be time for twelve quilts.”

“Oh my!” Mama fanned herself with her hand, flapping it vigorously.

“Now I have an important errand to run,” Maggie said. “I’ll take your horse, if that’s okay, Mama?”

Then Maggie excused herself, anxious to accomplish another important mission that day.

She was halfway to the Parkers’ when she saw a riderless horse chewing grass on the side of the road. It was the Parkers’ horse, Daisy.

“Daisy, where is your rider?” she said, dismounting. She rubbed Daisy’s nose.

“Here,” came a familiar voice. “I’m down here.”

“Evan!” Maggie cried. “Did Daisy throw you?” She carefully climbed down the muddy ditch.

“No . . . not really . . .”

“You’ve got to quit riding that ornery animal before she kills you!” Maggie scolded.

When she got to the bottom of the ditch, thick with brush and blackberry bushes, she saw Evan scramble out from the middle of one of the bushes. He had a few scratches from the thorns. Leaves and twigs were stuck in his hair and clothes—a plaid shirt and denim dungarees he had bought the last time they had gone to St. Helens. She had never seen him dressed like this and thought he looked every bit as wonderful as he had in his expensive Boston suits. And since he was on his feet, he was apparently unharmed by his spill.

“I couldn’t let her get the better of me,” Evan replied defensively. “I did get her under control after the snake spooked her. But I dismounted, thinking to walk her until she calmed down. I lost my footing in the mud and went down.”

“You fell in the bush?”

“My spectacles did. I was looking for them.”

“Still, that animal can’t be trusted,” Maggie declared. “I’d feel terrible if anything happened to you.”

“You would?”

“Of course I would!” She gave her head a shake. “I care about my friends, you know! But I’ve come to tell you—”

“Maggie, wait,” Evan said in a rush. “I was on my way to see you, as well. Please, let me say what I have to say. I have been practicing all morning, and I want to get it right.”

She nodded.

He took a breath and continued, “Maggie, I know I am not the best catch in this county. There are a dozen better-looking fellows and dozens who are more adept at . . . well, at everything. They don’t fall off horses, slip in the mud, trip over carpets, or get queasy stomachs when they do their jobs. But, Maggie, you will never, ever find a man in this county, even on this earth, who loves you more than I do, who adores every little thing about you, or who would do more than I to make you the happiest woman in the world. I thought I could love you best by letting you go to the man you wanted. But, Maggie, I know in my heart that Colby will never love you as much as I do nor make you as happy. I know I don’t deserve you, but I can’t let you go because I am sure you and I are meant to be. And you know I don’t often get this sure about many things.”

“I know we are meant for each other, too, Evan,” Maggie said with a grin.

“You do?”

“I love you, Evan!” Her grin grew wider. She could hardly contain her joy.

“You do?”

“But one thing, Evan, I don’t want to hear anymore of this business that you don’t deserve me. You deserve every good and wonderful thing, and if that’s me, then so be it. You are the finest man around and the best looking, too, if you ask me!”

Then she did what she had been wanting to do since he had climbed out of the blackberry bush. She flung her arms around him and pressed her lips against his. It took him but one stunned instant to lift his arms, wrap them tightly around her, and return the kiss.

Pulling back slightly, he grinned, wider and broader than when he had been chasing chickens. And though the kiss had momentarily paused, he continued to hold her and she him.

“Maggie, might I be so bold as to propose marriage to you?” he said with his impeccable manners.

“You better be so bold!” she laughed.

“Do you think a Christmas wedding is too soon?”

“I think that’ll be enough time to get our mothers to accept this.”

He laughed. “I forgot about them. My mother is also going to have to get used to the idea of my being a lawyer here in Columbia County.”

“You have decided to keep practicing law?”

“It is what I am best at, aside from the minor inconvenience of internal upsets. And despite all my failings, God has shown His faithfulness to me in so many other ways. Above all, He has taken a misfit and allowed him to fit perfectly with the woman of his dreams.”

“He has done the same with me, Evan. We fit together like two peas in a pod. I am so glad I finally realized it!” She hitched up on her toes and kissed him again. Christmas seemed a long way off. Perhaps she could talk her mother into a Thanksgiving wedding instead.

S
ISTER’S
C
HOICE
P
ATTERN

This block will finish to 10 inches. I’ll give the directions using light and dark, but I have seen this pattern in many pretty variations using lights, mediums, and darks, so be creative!

Fabrics: Background or light (BG) and dark (D)

Cutting: From background fabric

Eight 21/2" squares

Four 27/8" squares, each cut once on diagonal

From dark fabric:

Nine 21/2" squares

Four 27/8" squares, each cut once on diagonal

Sew together the BG/D triangle pieces so that you have eight half-square triangle units.

Arrange these units with the squares of BG and dark as indicated below, then sew together in rows.

Enjoy your block! Alone, it can make a nice pillow or front of a tote bag. Or make several for a wall hanging or larger quilt.

Quilt Drive

In honor of Judith Pella’s newest series,
P
ATCHWORK
C
IRCLE, Bethany House Publishers is hosting a quilt drive for those in need. The following is a list of charitable organizations that accept quilt donations.
If you would like to donate a quilt to one of these, visit
www.judithpella.com/quilts
to make a Good Faith Commitment and receive a free Bethany
House novel!
Be sure to let us know which organization you will send the quilt to. We will post a virtual quilt block to Judith’s Web site to recognize each donation.

Convoy of Hope
A Christian compassion organization that meets physical and spiritual needs: mobilizes resources, and trains churches and other groups to conduct community outreaches, respond to disasters, and direct other compassion initiatives in the United States and around the world.

Vineese Childs
330 S. Patterson, Springfield, MO 65802
417-823-8998 •
www.convoyofhope.org

Home to Home, Inc.
Equips “local churches and pastors to minister through friendship, outreach, evangelism, and discipleship to our local Jerusalem in the name of Jesus.”

Wayne Wingfield, Affiliate Director
326 Habersham Rd., Suite 103, High Point, NC 27260 Email: [email protected] Go to
www.hometohomehp.org
for more information.

Lutheran World Relief
Distributes quilts to people around the world: those fleeing conflict, suffering from a disaster, living in chronic poverty, or refugees.

Brenda Meier, Director for Parish and Community Engagement
Email: [email protected]
Go to
www.lwr.org/parish/quilts.asp
for more information.

Oklahoma Campers on Mission
A Christian camping organization whose women sew for needs in the communities where their men build, restore, and remodel buildings, especially churches.Your quilts will go to children who are victims of recent diasters.

Fran deCordova
Trinity International Church
1329 NW 23rd, Oklahoma City,OK 73106-3617
Email: [email protected]
For more information go to
www.bgco.org/com,
then click on the “kids comfy quilt” link.

Sewn-N-Love
Provides quilts to cancer patients and their families.

Sandy Wilson, Co-founder
Email: [email protected]
Go to
www.sewn-n-love.org
for more information.

United Methodist Committee on Relief Sager Brown Depot
Dispatches tons of supplies worth millions of dollars to points around the world, domestic and international.

Kathy Kraiza, Executive Director
Phone: 337-923-6238
Email: [email protected]
Go to
www.sagerbrown.org
for more information.

Wrap Them in Love Foundation for Children
Collects donated quilts and distributes them to children in need around the world.

Ellen Sime 2522 A Old Hwy 99 S, Mt.Vernon,WA 98273
Phone: 360-424-9293
Email: [email protected]
Go to
http://wraptheminlove.org
for more information.

Boise World Relief
Your made-with-love quilt will welcome a refugee family to a new life in Idaho, cheering their hearts and their homes.

H. Renee Hage, Director
6702 Fairview Avenue, Boise, Idaho 83704
[email protected]

Minneapolis-St. Paul World Relief
Reaches out to refugees and immigrants; partners with churches to provide tangible help to needy families while embracing them with God’s love and care.

Woubejig Shiferaw (Docho), Volunteer Coordinator
1515 East 66th Street, Richfield, MN 55423
Email:[email protected]

Sacramento World Relief
Provides refugee resettlement for family reunification, including case management, donated home goods and clothing, immigration services, and tutoring.

Betty Eastman, Assistant Director/Fiscal Officer
4721 Engle Road, Suite #11, Carmichael, CA 95608
Email: [email protected]

Seattle World Relief
Their mission is to be the hands, feet, and face of Jesus Christ to refugees and immigrants. Your quilt will go to a recently arrived refugee family.

Kelly Pearson
Web site:
www.wr-seattle.org
Email: [email protected]

Tri-Cities World Relief
Assists new refugees with basic needs such as food, blankets, and furniture.

Scott Michael
2600 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite 206
Richland, WA 99352
Email: [email protected]

World Relief – Spokane
Works with church partners to help refugees and immigrants begin new lives.

Linda J. Unseth, N.W. Regional Director
1522 N.Washington, #204, Spokane, WA 99201
Email: [email protected]

For more information on regional World Relief offices,
go to
www.wr.org
and then to “Where We Work.”

More Heartwarming
Fiction from Judith Pella