The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt (34 page)

As Cheryl switched her bag of purchases to the other hand, she looked for the spot where Blaine had parked his SUV before they’d gone to eat.
What’s going on? Blaine’s vehicle isn’t there. Did he move it? Could I be mistaken about where he parked it?

Feeling a sense of panic, Cheryl dashed up and down the aisles of parked cars, searching for Blaine’s rig, but to no avail. Out of breath, she halted and looked at her watch. She’d gotten here fifteen minutes later than when they’d agreed to meet, so at least she wasn’t too far off the mark. But then, she started blaming herself.
This is my fault. I should have been paying attention to what time it was and spent less time shopping
. Was it possible that Blain had become impatient and left without her? Was he capable of doing such a thing?

Why didn’t he call me?
Cheryl fretted, reaching into her purse to retrieve her cell phone. When she didn’t find it there, she remembered having set it on her dresser this morning to charge the battery. “That’s just great; I left home without it,” she mumbled, looking both ways and wondering what direction to take.

As Terry approached Winona Lake on his Harley, he lowered his speed. The resort town looked busy today, with many cars lining the streets. Even the parking lots were full. He saw several boats on the lake and people walking from shop to shop.

Terry hadn’t planned on coming to the area today, but after he’d left Selma’s and taken to the road, he’d just kept going, enjoying the ride. Winona Lake was where he ended up.

Think I’ll look for a spot to park my cycle and then head into one of the restaurants for something to eat
, Terry thought. The sandwiches he’d eaten at Selma’s had filled him for a time, but he’d worked up an appetite riding down here from Shipshewana.

When Terry turned onto the next street, he spotted a blond-haired woman coming out of a parking lot. She looked kind of like Cheryl. After doing a double-take, he realized it
was
Cheryl!

Terry pulled his cycle next to her and stopped. She gave him a blank look at first, but then her mouth formed an O. “Terry, wh–what are you doing here?” she stammered.

“After I finished helping Selma with a little problem she had, I decided to take a ride, and this is where I ended up. It’s a nice fall day for a road trip, fresh air and all. I’ve been here before, but not for some time.” He studied Cheryl a bit and noticed that her face was red and her forehead glistened with sweat. “What are you doing here? And where’s Mr. Clean? I thought the two of you had a date this afternoon.”

“We did, but we went our separate ways after lunch and were supposed to meet back at his car. But when I got there, Blaine’s SUV was gone.” Cheryl’s forehead wrinkled. “And I wish you wouldn’t call him ‘Mr. Clean.’ ”

Ignoring her last comment, Terry said, “Where’d the guy go? Don’t tell me he went home without you.”

“I—I don’t know. I’m worried that he might have, because if Blaine was still here, I’m sure his vehicle would be in the lot. Why else would he have moved it?”

Terry shook his head and muttered, “Some date he turned out to be. I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of in my life, but I’ve never left a date stranded.”

“Do you have a cell phone?” she asked. “I need to call him.”

Terry shook his head. “No cell phone for me today. I forgot and left it home this morning. Where’s your cell phone?”

She frowned. “I left it at home.”

“Well, if you need a ride, I’d be happy to give you a lift,” Terry offered. “I always carry an extra helmet with me.”

Cheryl hesitated, but finally nodded. “Thanks, I appreciate that, but what about my package? How am I supposed to carry it if I’m holding on to you?”

“That’s not a problem.” Terry pointed to the saddlebags on the back of his cycle. “Just stick it in there.”

“Okay, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to ride around town once or twice and see if we can spot Blaine’s vehicle. Before we head home, I just want to be sure he’s not still here someplace, looking for me.”

“Sure, we can do that. But if we don’t see the guy, then I say we head outta here. We can stop on the way back to Emma’s, where you left your car, for a bite to eat. I was gonna eat here, but I can wait.”

Blaine had driven past all the shops in town several times, but there was no sign of Cheryl. Since his cell phone was dead, he’d gone to a pay phone and tried to call her, but all he’d gotten was Cheryl’s voice mail. This was frustrating, and he wasn’t sure what to do. Cheryl had to be somewhere in town, and he sure couldn’t leave without her, so he decided to go back to the parking lot where they were supposed to meet and check one more time. If Cheryl wasn’t there, he’d leave the SUV parked and walk into every single shop until he found her.

A few minutes later, Blaine pulled into the parking lot. The spot he’d been in before was taken, but there was another slot a few cars away. He didn’t see any sign of Cheryl, however. Pulling into the empty spot, he turned off the ignition and got out.
Guess I’d better head for the shops
, he told himself.

Blaine had only walked a short distance when he heard the roar of a motorcycle. Looking to his right, he spotted a guy on a Harley, and a woman with blond hair on the back. She held on to the biker’s waist as they headed out, in the opposite direction. Blaine blinked a couple of times and stared in disbelief as realization set it in. Even with his helmet on, he could see it was the redheaded roofer from the quilting class driving the bike, and Cheryl, with wisps of blond hair sticking out from under her blue helmet, was his passenger on the back!

C
HAPTER
30

B
laine’s hands shook as he stood on the sidewalk and watched Terry’s bike disappear out of town.
The nerve of that guy, running off with my date! I’ll bet he had it planned all along. For all I know, Cheryl might have been in on it, too. I wonder if she told him we were coming here today?

If Blaine hadn’t been so far from his vehicle, he would have gone after them. But trying to catch up to the fast-moving motorcycle would be a challenge, and with his luck, he’d probably end up with a speeding ticket.

Stuffing both hands into his jacket pockets, Blaine walked back to the place where he’d left his rig and continued to mull things over.
Should I try calling Cheryl when I get home and demand to know why she rode off with Terry, or do I just let it go and forget about her?

Blaine wished now that he hadn’t taken Stuart’s advice and asked Cheryl out in the first place. Terry had shown up on their first date at the bowling alley, and now again today!
Strange coincidence, if you ask me
.
Or is it?
Blaine hated feeling this way, but what else could he think?

“Maybe I should give up on women,” Blaine mumbled as he approached his car. His track record wasn’t good. First Sue walked out of his life, and now it appeared as if Cheryl had done the same without even giving them a chance to get to know each other.

Of course
, Blaine thought as he opened the vehicle door and slid in behind the wheel,
I haven’t really tried to get to know Cheryl
.

He remembered that back at the restaurant most of their conversation during lunch had been about him. He’d barely listened when Cheryl read the history of the BoatHouse Restaurant. Since it didn’t have anything to do with fishing, he hadn’t been that interested. Still, he should have at least made some effort to be involved in the conversation.

Blaine decided he would give Cheryl a call when he got home. Perhaps he’d jumped to conclusions, and she’d been looking for him while he’d gone looking for her and thought he’d left. He hoped that was the case and that she hadn’t planned to meet Terry the whole time.

Shipshewana

When Anna left Emma’s after the quilt class, she pedaled her bike around Shipshewana for a while, feeling sorry for herself. It wasn’t just that she’d been forced to give up the beautiful bracelet. She felt sad because there were only two weeks left of the quilting classes, which meant Carmen would be going back to California. Anna would miss the talks they’d had, although she really didn’t know a lot about Carmen. During the times they’d spent together, Anna had mostly talked about herself. Of course, that was partly due to Carmen asking so many questions about the Amish way of life. Anna wondered why Carmen was so curious. Of course, Anna was curious about things concerning the English life, and more times than not, she found herself wishing she could wear beautiful garments like Carmen’s instead of her plain clothes.

Knowing she should be getting home before Dad came looking for her, Anna turned her bicycle in the direction of Middlebury. She’d have to offer an excuse for being late, and the only thing she could think to say was that she’d been hungry after class and had gone to a restaurant in Shipshewana for something to eat. It wouldn’t really be a lie, since she had eaten a hamburger and chocolate shake at one of the restaurants.

As Anna continued to pedal toward home, she thought about her decision to move to Sarasota. If she’d kept the bracelet Carmen had given her, she could have taken it with her. Oh well, it was too late for regrets.