The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt (30 page)

Anna remained on her knees, contemplating things a bit longer. Then she snatched the bracelet and hurried out of Susan’s room. She would decide what to do about this in the morning.

C
HAPTER
26

A
nna studied her youngest sister from across the breakfast table, wondering what she was thinking. Did Susan know the bracelet she’d taken from Anna’s purse was no longer in her possession? Her face revealed no telltale sign of guilt or unease as she ate a slice of toast and giggled with their sister Becky about hiding from Arie earlier this morning.

Anna had planned to confront Susan about the bracelet on Thursday, but due to her work schedule and Susan being in school all week, she wasn’t given the opportunity. If she didn’t do it soon, however, it would be time to leave for the quilting class, so she was determined to speak to Susan after breakfast. Since it was Arie’s and Becky’s turn to do the dishes, and Susan would probably go outside to play after their meal, Anna decided that would be the best time to catch her. She was sure Susan hadn’t told Mom about the bracelet, because if she had, Mom would surely have said something. Not only that, but if Susan had mentioned the jewelry to Mom, she would have had to admit that she’d snuck into Anna’s room, gone through her purse, and taken the bracelet.

Anna ate her ham and eggs in silence, and as soon as breakfast was over, she cleared her dishes, grabbed her sweater, and followed Susan out the back door. Anna waited until her sister was a safe distance from the house. Then she hurried across the yard to where Susan knelt on the grass, petting a black-and-white kitten.

When Susan saw Anna approaching, she jumped up and started to move away. “Wait a minute. I need to talk to you,” Anna said, placing her hand firmly on her sister’s shoulder.

Susan looked up at Anna with a wary expression. “About what?”

“I think you know,” Anna said sternly. “You took something of mine, and you had no right. You shouldn’t have been in my purse.”

Susan dropped her gaze as the kitten pawed at the hem of her dress. “I–I’m sorry, Anna. I was looking for some gum, and when I found the bracelet, I thought it was pretty, so I put it in a shoebox where I keep some special things.” Her lower lip trembled. “You’re not gonna tell Mom and Dad are you? I’d be in big trouble if they knew what I did.”

Anna shook her head. “I won’t say a thing, but you must promise never to do anything like that again. It’s not right to take something that doesn’t belong to you.”

“I—I know. I’ll go up to my room and get the bracelet right now.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Anna said. “I already found it and took it back.”

Susan’s eyes widened. “You snuck into my room?”

Anna wasn’t sure what to say. She’d just given her sister a lecture about sneaking into her own room and messing with her belongings, yet she’d done the same thing. “I suspected you had taken the bracelet,” she said, carefully choosing her words. “So on Wednesday night after I was sure you were asleep, I went to your room to look around and found the bracelet in the shoe box in your closet.”

“Guess we’re even now,” Susan said. “I took your bracelet, and you snuck into my room.” Picking up the kitten, she skipped off toward the barn.

Anna sucked in a deep breath.
That went well enough. Now I’ll either need to find a safe hiding place for the bracelet or give it back to Carmen
.

Shipshewana

Cheryl had just stepped out of her car when she heard the familiar roar of an engine. Turning, she saw Terry pull into Emma’s yard on his motorcycle. When he turned off the engine and removed his helmet, he waved. She felt her face flush, which seemed to be happening a lot lately, especially whenever Terry was around.

“How you doing?” he called, swinging his leg over the cycle and pushing it toward the big tree to park it.

Cheryl waited until he’d put the kickstand down and caught up to her, then she smiled and said, “I’m fine. How about you?”

“Doing good, but I’ll be better if you’ll agree to go riding with me after class today,” he said with a lopsided grin.

“I’m sorry, Terry,” Cheryl said with regret, “but Blaine and I made plans for this afternoon.”

Terry’s smile faded. “Oh, I see. Guess that’s what I get for waiting till the last minute to ask.” He kicked a small stone with the toe of his boot and sent it skittering up the driveway. When they reached Emma’s front porch, Terry stopped and turned to face Cheryl. “How about tomorrow afternoon? Would you want to get something to eat after church and then go for another ride on my Harley?” When Cheryl hesitated, he quickly added, “Or did the first ride freak you out too much?”

“I was scared at first,” Cheryl admitted, “but once I got used to being on the bike, it was kind of fun.” She hesitated, biting her lip. “Actually, I was hoping you’d ask me out again.” Her eyes widened, and she stepped back, regretting what she’d just said. Cheryl had never been that forward before—not even with her former boyfriend.

Cheryl held her breath and waited for Terry’s response, knowing if she tried to explain, it could be even more embarrassing.

“You were?” Terry’s smile returned. “Does that mean you’ll go out with me tomorrow?”

Cheryl nodded and quickly stepped into the house. For a twentyeight-year-old woman who was normally quite confident, she felt shy all of a sudden and needed to put a little space between herself and Terry. Aside from her reservations, Cheryl had enjoyed Terry’s company last Sunday and figured she probably would again. Besides it was fun to be dating again—especially when she had two very different men taking an interest in her.

Following Cheryl, Terry was about to enter Emma’s house, when Selma showed up. He waited, holding the door for her.

“I’m not late, am I?” Selma asked as she stepped onto the porch, panting as though short of breath.

“Well, if you are, then I must be, too,” Terry responded with a teasing grin.

Selma’s forehead wrinkled. “I slept longer than I’d planned this morning, and then—” She stopped talking and brushed a hand across her beige-colored slacks, where a glob of gray fur was stuck. Picking the hair off her pants and blowing it from her fingers, she watched as the air took the fluff and floated it into Emma’s yard.

“Is that cat hair?” Terry questioned, remembering Selma’s comment about not wanting any pets. He hadn’t forgotten that Selma thought four-legged creatures were a nuisance.

Selma sheepishly nodded. “Yes, it is cat hair.”

“Is that from the same stray cat you were telling our quilting class about? Scruffy, was it?”

Her cheeks reddened. “Yes, that’s the cat that’s been hanging around my place, and he’s been getting into the house through the vent in my bedroom floor. To make matters worse, for the last several days I haven’t had any heat coming up from that vent.”

“Did you call the furnace company?” Terry asked as he and Selma entered the house.

She nodded. “But they haven’t made it out to my house yet.”

“Want me to take a look?” Terry offered. “I could follow you home after class.”

“I don’t have a basement, so you’d have to crawl under the house and you’d probably get dirty.”

Terry shrugged. “That’s no big deal. Being a roofer, I get dirty almost every day.”

Selma’s thin lips formed a smile. “Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”

Crawling under Selma’s house sure wouldn’t be as much fun as going out with Cheryl, but at least Terry would be doing a good deed. He’d learned from Jan how good it felt to do something helpful for the older generation. He figured, too, that keeping busy today would take his mind off Cheryl and her date with Blaine.

C
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27

G
ood morning,” Emma said after everyone had taken their seats around the sewing table. “Today we’ll begin the quilting process, and if anyone has a question as we go along, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Terry’s hand shot up.

“What’s your question, Terry?” Emma asked.

“Will we be using the sewing machines again? I had a hard time holding the material straight while I tried to sew last week.”

Emma shook her head. “The quilting is done by hand with a needle and thread. Now, will everyone please place your work on the table?”