An Abundance of Blessings Page 11

  “I used to sew for all the kids until they got too old to want to wear homemade clothes.” Charlotte easily remembered the last item of clothing she made for Denise, who was as fussy as her daughter.

  “Yeah. They get a little funny that way. Ashley was fussing about getting some new clothes too, but I’m not going to pay good money for pre-ripped and stained blue jeans.” Melody waved her hand in a dismissive motion. “I better make sure Ginny hasn’t put regular in the decaf coffee container again. Last week half of my older customers had the shakes. I’ll catch you in a minute.”

  Charlotte nodded and took a sip of her coffee, and looked out the window at the snow blowing down Main Street. She allowed herself a moment of melancholy. She had looked forward to spending some time window-shopping in Harding. There were some lovely kitchen stores that she enjoyed poking around in, seeing what kitchen gadget she simply couldn’t do without.

  The door opened and another gust of wind accompanied yet another customer seeking shelter and warmth at Melody’s.

  The woman wore an old plaid coat, faded denim jeans, and a cloche hat decorated with rows of oversized silver sequins. A complete throwback to the sixties. And for a moment Charlotte wondered if the woman, Hannah, her dear friend, had been digging in the same clothing boxes Emily had been mining for fashion finds.

  Hannah spotted Charlotte the same time Charlotte saw her and bustled over, her hat catching the overhead lights and sending out a myriad of sparkles. “My goodness, it’s a treat to see you here,” Hannah said as she settled into the chair across from her friend.

  “Do you have time for coffee?”

  “Always time for you,” Hannah said, smiling up at Melody as she set a mug in front of Hannah then filled it.

  “Can I get you anything else?” Melody asked.

  “Do you have blueberry muffins today, Melody?”

  “Coming up.”

  “With extra butter,” Hannah said with a grin. “I’m going to need the extra calories just to walk down Main Street today.” When Melody left she turned back to Charlotte. “So. What brings you to town?”

  “A car that quit on me.” Charlotte took a sip of her coffee and waited while Melody set a plate down in front of Hannah holding a muffin that looked large enough to feed a small family.

  “How are things going with Anna and Bill’s girls?” Hannah asked as she cut open the muffin and started slathering butter on it. “They homesick yet?”

  “Jennifer doesn’t seem to be, but Madison was upset the other day. Sam gave Jennifer a cookie and not her.”

  “That Sam. What a rabble rouser,” Hannah said with a tinge of irony in her voice.

  “Not too much rousing. He’s been a bit out of sorts lately.”

  “I’m thinking Sam’s whole life is based on trying to get as far away from sorts as possible. I think he likes to keep you and Bob guessing.”

  “I don’t like guessing. I like things laid out and in order.”

  Hannah laughed. “Sorry, Charlotte. As long as you’ve got kids in the house, order is just something you do in a restaurant.”

  The door jangled again and Ashley breezed in. “Hey Mrs. Stevenson, Mrs. Carter.” She stopped at the table where Charlotte and Hannah sat just as Melody came by with the coffeepot again.

  “Sure you don’t want a muffin too, Charlotte?” Melody asked.

  Charlotte shook her head. “No, but thanks.”

  Melody turned to her daughter and Ashley gave her a quick kiss. “Hey, Mom.”

  Charlotte couldn’t stop the hitch of envy at the ease of their relationship. She never had that with Denise, her own daughter, and she doubted she would ever have that with Emily.

  “You look like you’ve got some exciting news to spill,” Melody said, pausing a moment in her work.

  “All kinds of goings-on at school today.” Ashley fairly bounced in place, her reddish hair keeping time. “Someone moved Principal Duncan’s car out of the staff parking lot and let all the air out of the tires.”

  “You sound overly excited about this.”

  Ashley lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Not exactly excited, but it does keep things from getting dull.”

  Melody chuckled at that. “How can school be dull? Each day is an adventure in learning. Each day is exposure to God’s creation and delving into the mysteries thereof.”

  “Each day is listening to Mr. Carter explaining yet one more time what a trinomial is.” Ashley sighed. “So what do you want me to do today?”

  “Don’t you have school?” Hannah asked.

  “I’ve got the afternoon off.”

  “Does Emily?” Charlotte’s mind raced backward, wondering if she’d missed some important communiqué.

  “Nope. And she was pretty bummed about that. We don’t have the same classes in the afternoon and the principal cancelled phys ed because someone egged the gym floor.”

  “Okay. That’s it.” Melody slapped her forehead with exaggerated horror. “I’m enrolling you in a private, all-girls’ school.”

  “Oh, Mother. Forget that.” Ashley protested with a laugh that made Charlotte sense this was a running joke between the two.

  “Don’t you think she’d look adorable in plaid?” Melody asked Charlotte, a twinkle in her eye.

  “Depends on the color,” Charlotte put in, but her attention wasn’t on the joke. “What I’d like to know is, Why this sudden rash of trouble at the school?”

  Ashley shrugged, pulling off her coat as her mother hurried away to take care of another customer. “I’ve heard different rumors, but some people are saying that it’s kind of weird that all this started happening when Miss Grienke’s brother, Adam, showed up.”

  Charlotte thought of the angry young man in Lisa’s vehicle. “He did seem rather upset about being here. I’m sure I’ll hear more when Emily and Sam come home today,” Charlotte said.

  Ashley frowned at Charlotte as if something had just occurred to her. “Are you back from Harding already? Emily said you were buying patterns and material.”

  “I didn’t make it. My car broke down. So I bought the material here, at Rosemary’s.”

  “Emily was pretty stoked about you teaching her to sew over the weekend,” Ashley replied, a wistful tone in her voice.

  Charlotte could sense that Ashley really wanted to come over, but she already had two extra children to care for.

  “I’ve always wanted to learn, but Mom doesn’t sew much,” Ashley continued.

  However, if Ashley came over, maybe she could tease Emily out of her mood. “Would you like to come over?”

  “I know you’re busy and all, but I could help you with the girls,” Ashley put in as if she had been reading Charlotte’s mind. “And I’d love, love to learn to sew.”

  “Then it’s set,” Charlotte said. What was one more?

  “Are you sure?”

  “I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it. Besides, Emily would love to have you. Why don’t you come tonight and stay for the weekend? That way we’ll have lots of time.”

  “Awesome.” Ashley turned to her mom, who happened to be zipping past them. “Is it okay if I go to Emily’s for the weekend?”

  Melody rubbed her daughter on the shoulder. “Of course it’s okay. If you’re gone I might not have to worry about air getting let out of my tires or fire alarms going off.”

  Melody gave Charlotte a wink and once again Charlotte envied their easy rapport.

  “Great. I’ll see you later tonight.”

  Ashley shot Charlotte another smile, then headed to the back of the coffee shop.

  “She’s a wonderful girl,” Hannah said, watching her as she left.

  “She is that. I’m so thankful she’s Emily’s friend.”

  “But you know, I think Emily is good for her.” Hannah picked up her mug and took another sip of her coffee.

  “How’s that?” Charlotte didn’t mean to sound so surprised.

  “I’ve known Ashley for some time. She seems pretty self-
confident, but I think she can fall into the whole small-town worry about what other people think. Emily doesn’t. Even after living around here for over half a year she’s still her own person. Denise was like that too.”

  “But don’t you think, in a community, that it’s important to be sensitive to the feelings of others?”

  “Well, sure. But you shouldn’t let what other people think make up your mind for you.”

  Charlotte was about to answer when the door opened again. Pete’s friend, Brad Weber, entered the shop. His heavy plaid coat added to his bulk, and his unshaven cheeks and messy hair made him look more like a drifter than a regular employee at AA Tractor Supply.

  “Pete has the same lack of caring what other people think,” Charlotte said, returning to the conversation. “But not in a good way.”

  Hannah frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Charlotte ran her finger down the side of her mug, aware she had already said too much. Her innate sense of privacy and self-preservation warned her to keep her thoughts to herself. Besides, even though Hannah was an old friend, Charlotte had no right to discuss Pete and his private life with someone outside of the family.

  Then Brad saw her, waved and walked over. “Hey, Miz Stevenson. Miz Carter. Howzit goin? Pete still giving you trouble?”

  “Pete is Pete,” Charlotte said diplomatically.

  “Yeah. We’ve been palling around more than usual the past few days. It’s been fun.”

  If you wanted to call staying out all hours fun, Charlotte thought.

  “But now the guy dumped me for a date with some girl. Can you believe that? Some friend.” Brad grinned.

  Some girl? The questions fairly burned in Charlotte’s mouth, but she wasn’t going to ask which girl.

  “Can’t figure what he sees in that Miz Grienke. Skinny and uptight if you ask me.” Brad adjusted his dusty cap on his hair, grimacing. Charlotte’s unspoken questions were answered. “No accounting for taste, though. Thought him and Dana were an item, but he won’t talk about her.”

  You don’t want to know more, Charlotte reminded herself. A few of the patrons sitting close to them glanced over, looking far too interested in the conversation.

  Please stop talking, she thought.

  “So what’s been keeping you busy this time of the year, Brad?” Hannah asked, raising her voice above Brad’s.

  Charlotte could have hugged her.

  “Well, lots of fixing. Farmers are hard on equipment. Some of them don’t even know what the word ‘oil change’ means.” Brad frowned. “Actually that would be two words, wouldn’t it?”

  “Unless you hyphenate it,” Hannah offered helpfully.

  “Would you?”

  “No. But you might.”

  Charlotte relaxed as Hannah teased Brad onto a different path. Bad enough that she knew so little of what went on in her son’s life. To be informed about her son’s love life by his best friend in a public place was borderline embarrassing.

  “Well, I better go get my coffee ’fore I run into trouble with the boss.” Brad tipped his hat to both of them. “Tell Pete I said hey, would you?” he said to Charlotte.

  “I’ll do that.” Charlotte granted him a tight smile.

  As he walked away, Hannah closed her eyes and shook her head, her gesture saying more than any words.

  “Thanks, Hannah,” Charlotte said, lowering her voice.

  Hannah reached across the table and squeezed Charlotte’s arm. “What are friends for but to keep Brad from telling the whole world what’s happening in Pete’s life?”

  “I’d tell you more myself, but I’m not sure what’s happening either.”

  Hannah held up her hand. “You don’t need to say a word.”

  “But I need to talk to someone about this.” Charlotte felt the words spill out of her. “It’s been bothering me for the past week. I don’t know what happened between Dana and Pete, but one minute it seems they are getting more serious, and the next, he doesn’t want to talk about her and he’s dating Lisa Grienke!”

  Charlotte didn’t want to make it sound like she disapproved, but at the same time she couldn’t imagine Pete with Lisa. Or how this had come about.

  “It isn’t exactly a match made on the Love Boat,” Hannah said with a wry note. “Actually I don’t know where a match like that could have been made. Someplace where someone has a weird sense of humor.”

  “He’s over thirty. I don’t need to meddle anymore, but still—”

  “You’d like to see him settle down.” Hanna finished the sentence for her. “And you’d like to see him settle down with someone who’d be a good daughter-in-law. Someone who will challenge him and support him.”

  “Yes. I mean it’s not that Lisa isn’t a nice person. I’m sure she’s wonderful—”

  “You’re going to get a sore back bending that far over backward,” Hannah said. “Lisa is probably a good person, but not for Pete.”

  Charlotte gave a slight nod, still struggling with her mixed emotions.

  Hannah finished off the last of her muffin, then wiped her fingers with a napkin. “Good to the last crumb.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “How long do you have to stick around?”

  Charlotte glanced at the clock herself. “Actually, I think I could go now. Hopefully my car will be done.”

  She opened her purse to pay, but Hannah forestalled her. “I’ll cover this. You can get it next time.”

  “Thanks, Hannah. I accept.”

  Hannah got up and opened her oversized, black-vinyl purse. As she dropped some bills on the table, she gave Charlotte a smile. “And don’t worry about Pete. He might be feeling a bit nervous about Dana. He’ll come around.”

  But as she and Hannah left the shop, Charlotte wished she could feel as confident about a good outcome as her friend did.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Can you hurry it up?” Pete shouted from the cab of the tractor he was driving. “I got other things to do.” “Like what?” Sam shouted back. “Go out on the town again tonight to whoop it up?”

  Pete swung out of the tractor, pushed his way through the herd of cows milling at the large metal feeder and jumped up on top of the round bale he had just dumped beside the bale Sam was cutting strings on.

  “You shouldn’t talk like that. Makes Grandma cry,” Pete retorted.

  “Well, what you do makes Grandma cry. Where are you going tonight?”

  “None of your business.”

  Over the noise of the hungry cows pushing their heads through the bars of the feeder, Sam caught a defensive note in his uncle’s voice.

  And then he figured it out.

  “Don’t tell me you’re going out on a date with Miss Grienke?” Sam asked as he dug his knife into the strings. Ever since Miss Grienke had given Sam the envelope to pass on to Uncle Pete, he’d been wondering what his uncle was up to.

  “Okay, I won’t. But I am and why do you want to know?”

  Sam couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed. Though his uncle’s social life wasn’t his concern, he liked Miss Simons. She’d been a friend of his mother. She was a connection to his past. But he wasn’t going to tell his rough, tough uncle this.

  “Just curious,” Sam said with a quick shrug to show Pete that he didn’t care. Much.

  “Lisa got me tickets. It’s a night out. I don’t have to pay.” Pete shrugged as he pulled the strings away, almost hitting a curious and hungry cow on the nose. A few of the other cows hung about, steam rising from their bodies, waiting until Pete and Sam were done so they could eat. “What’s not to like about that?”

  “Where are you going with her?”

  Pete shrugged and hopped into the feeder to help Sam finish cutting. “Some place in Harding. A play, I think.”

  “You have to wear a suit, you know,” Sam said, making the words sound ominous.

  Pete yanked on a string. “I can do that.”

  Sam stopped and turned to his uncle, dropping the whole detective thing and going
straight for the information he wanted. “But you and Miss Simons. What happened with that?”

  Pete gave the strings an extra hard tug and started rolling them up, his movements jerky, scaring the cows. “We had a disagreement, okay?”

  “No. Not okay. Since you started making eyes at Miss Grienke, I’ve got her pushing her brother on me.”

  “Lisa says he’s a good kid, just a bit messed up. His parents are talking divorce. That’s why he came out here.”

  Though Sam wasn’t best buddies with Adam and though he resented how Miss Grienke had practically pushed them together, Sam couldn’t help feeling sorry for the guy.

  Sam had lost his own mom in a car accident and he had no clue where his dad was. He knew what it was like to have the place you saw as home, as sanctuary, torn apart.

  “Too bad,” he said, tugging on the strings of the bale.

  “Yeah, well. That’s life. That’s marriage.”

  Sam realized that Pete had managed to sidetrack his previous comment about his disagreement with Dana. He was still curious.

  “Miss Simons asked about you at school the other day.”

  “She did?”

  The hopeful look on his Uncle Pete’s face made Sam wonder if his uncle still cared about Dana even just a little bit.

  “So what did you fight about?”

  “Why do you want to know?”

  “Curious.”

  “Nosy, more like it.” Pete wound the strings around his gloved hand. “We didn’t fight. We … talked.”

  “So, what did you … talk about?”

  “Getting in touch with my feelings.”

  “I can’t imagine Miss Simons talking like that.”

  With his boot, Pete nudged some of the cows, now gathered around the feeder, out of the way before he jumped down. “Maybe not the getting in touch with feelings part, but she does think I should get in touch with God. That kind of thing.”

  Sam didn’t know how to reply to that. He wasn’t sure himself where to put God in his life. He went to church with Grandpa and Grandma because he was supposed to, not ’cause he wanted to. But as soon as he could get out of here—

  He let the thought drift off. From where he stood, on top of the hay bales, he could see the farm and the rolling hills beyond. The snow sparkled in the late afternoon sun, and as Pete drove the tractor away, silence followed in its wake.