Road Trip (3 page)

“I was hoping to have some token,” the man said, pulling himself together and speaking again in his odd formal tone. “Something to remember Elizabeth by. Perhaps a single piece of her work. I know she was a brilliant needlecraft artist.”

“I don’t have any of my grandmother’s work that I care to sell,” Annie said. “Every piece is quite precious to my family and me. The pieces in the hands of Gram’s friends were given to them by her.”

The old man nodded. “I see you doubt me, young lady. I can understand that. It’s wise. These are duplicitous times we live in.” He paused, clearly expecting some response from Annie.

“As I don’t have any of my grandmother’s work to share with you,” Annie said, “is there anything else I can do for you?”

The older man sighed. “Perhaps I could come in. Even just a few moments in Elizabeth’s home would mean a great deal to me. I’m quite sensitive to spiritual vibrations. It runs in my family. I’m sure being in her house would be like being with her—if only for a moment.”

Annie stared at the odd little man. Spiritual vibrations? Annie certainly didn’t want this strange man in her home, but she felt a little sorry for him, and she felt her strong resolve waver. She could see how Betsy’s warm nature could be appealing to a lonely old man. Maybe Gram had exchanged mail with this man, as she had with many others, and he’d read more into her friendly nature than was meant. Annie had faced a similar situation when she first moved to Stony Point and a local sheriff’s deputy confused her friendliness for romantic interest.

The sound of footsteps behind her signaled Alice’s approach. “I’m afraid we really need to be somewhere,” Alice said to Mr. Harvester. “And you can certainly understand that we wouldn’t be open to letting strange men in the house. But if you’re interested in seeing more of Elizabeth Holden’s work, I know she’s being honored at a convention in Texas in a couple of weeks. Also, if you go downtown, you’ll find examples of Mrs. Holden’s work in many of the public buildings.”

The man’s face lit up with interest. “That’s very interesting. Where and when would this convention honoring Elizabeth be?”

Alice smiled. “I don’t have the exact details. But you could ask in the needlework shop in town. The owner knows about the convention.”

“Thank you,” the man said. “I’ll do that.” He turned and lumbered across the porch. He paused at the top of the steps to run his hand fondly down one of the porch supports, then clumped down the stairs and headed for his car.

Annie stepped back and closed the door.

“Phew!” Alice said. “That guy was creepy.” Then she turned and pointed at Annie. “I can’t believe you were considering letting him in the house. You’re way too nice.”

“I felt sorry for him.” Then Annie gave Alice a wry look. “I’m not sure Mary Beth will thank you for sending him along to
her
.”

Alice shrugged. “Mary Beth is a lot tougher than you are. And at least he won’t be asking to get inside her
house
.”

Annie shuddered.

“Do you want me to hang around a while?” Alice asked.

“I thought you had a party to prep for.”

“That is
not
more important than a friend in need,” Alice said firmly. “I don’t want you to be here alone if he comes back looking for a tour.”

“Well,
if
he comes back, I promise not to let him in the house,” Annie said, and then she smiled. “And I’ll take Boots to the door with me.”

Alice laughed at that. “I don’t think that the creepy old guy did anything
that
bad.” Boots had quite a reputation for being fiercely protective of Annie and Grey Gables. More than one person had discovered that the chubby cat had sharp claws and teeth, and she didn’t mind using them.

After Alice left, Annie shook off any lingering nerves and settled down for some crocheting. As always, the movement of the soft yarn through her fingers soothed her. To her surprise, the afternoon passed with no return visit from the strange man. The closest thing she’d had to a visitor was when Boots hopped up on the couch and tried to push Annie’s yarn ball off onto the floor to make room to lie down.

Annie laughed at her own worries. She’d experienced more than a few mysteries since she’d come to Stony Point, and a few of them had turned a bit dangerous. She supposed all those tight situations had made her paranoid. “Not everyone is hiding a mystery,” she said aloud, eliciting a sleepy glance from Boots.

The days that followed didn’t bring the man back either, though Annie did get a postcard with a generic picture of Stony Point’s Main Street on it. “Hope to see you at the convention” was written on the back in large script. The card was signed “Edgar Harvester.”

The card reminded Annie that she needed to haul the box from the attic over to A Stitch in Time. Maybe Mary Beth would have some ideas about Gram’s odd admirer.

Mary Beth and Kate remembered the man quickly enough. “He was disappointed that I didn’t have any of Betsy’s work to sell him,” Mary Beth said. “He spent over an hour here, combing through everything. Though he did buy one of the small Betsy Original kits. I didn’t even know I had one left; I sold so many after Betsy passed. He found the kit mixed in the bin I keep some of the slightly shop-worn items in.”

“He did seem like a very focused person,” Annie said. “I can’t quite picture him doing cross-stitch though.”

“I didn’t like the way he implied he had some kind of relationship with Betsy,” Kate said, frowning. “I don’t believe that for a second.”

Annie sighed. “I suspect he wrote to Gram. You know she always answered any mail from people who enjoyed her work, and Gram was always so warm and encouraging. I suppose I can see how the poor man could read more into that than was really there.”

“I expect you’re right,” Mary Beth said. Then she looked a bit worried. “He said he was planning to be at the convention. But I guess those things are so big and bustling—there really is no reason to imagine we’ll see him there.”

“Except he suspects that I’m going because Gram is being honored,” Annie answered. “He knows about the award thanks to Alice’s slip of the tongue. And certainly that’s why he is going as well. It’s probably a bit optimistic to think we won’t bump into him.” Then she sighed again. “Besides, he certainly seems to think he will see us.”

She rooted through her tote and pulled out the postcard. She handed the card over to Mary Beth and waited while the older woman read it. “Do you suppose he was being friendly or ominous?”

Kate peeked over Mary Beth’s shoulder. “Friendly,” she said after a moment.

“Really?” Annie asked.

“Otherwise, the creep factor would keep me awake,” Kate admitted.

“Thanks,” Annie said wryly. “That makes me feel loads better.”

Mary Beth grinned at Annie. “You know, we could cram one more person into the SUV. I’d bet Ian could find someone to look after things long enough for him to ride along as your bodyguard.”

“I believe I can guard my own body,” Annie said. She felt her face warm with a blush. “Plus,” she added quickly, “we’ll all be together most of the time. I don’t think I really need to worry about one elderly man.”

Mary Beth patted her arm. “I’m sure you don’t. I just like to tease.” Then she asked Annie how the baby blanket was coming along, and they settled into less threatening banter about crocheting. Annie pulled out the bit of blanket she’d completed so far and both women admired it.

“You know,” Kate said, “I know a really nice quick edging you could do that would look lovely with that pattern and yarn. This is such a simple design, and it would show off the edging well.”

“I don’t know,” Annie said. “I was just going to do a quick binding. I have to have the blanket done by the time we leave.”

Kate nodded. “But look at how much you’ve accomplished so far. I think you’ll have plenty of time to finish. Here, let me just show you how it looks.” She rooted under the counter for some scrap yarn Mary Beth always kept there to demonstrate techniques to customers. Then she crocheted a few inches of the edging, showing Annie the process.

“You’re right,” Annie said. “That’s lovely. You have such a great eye for design.”

Kate blushed a bit, hiding it by snatching up a business card from the shop so she could write out the stitch directions on the back. Annie thanked her again, and then bundled up her crochet and headed out, excited to get back to work on the project.

Later, as she settled back down on the sofa with a lapful of warm cat and crocheting, Annie realized that going to the convention was going to be more than a chance to honor her grandmother. It would allow her to mix with lots of talented people like Kate. “Who knows what I’ll come home inspired to do?”

Boots only snuggled down deeper, so Annie gave up on conversation and focused cheerfully on her crocheting.

4

The warm spring days passed quickly—almost too fast for Annie to really prepare for the double job of speaking at the ceremony and playing model for Kate. Not that preparing to model required anything of her except picking the right shoes to wear with the dress. Since Mary Beth had sent the dress off to Texas, Annie couldn’t compare potential shoes against the dress itself.

She finally just brought a box of shoes to Mary Beth’s shop and had the women help her pick the ones that worked best. Kate pointed out a pair of pewter-color sandals with a slight heel. “This pair looks like it would match the buttons on the jacket exactly,” Kate said, “and the heel is low enough to walk in.”

“Oh good,” Annie said. “I was hoping those would work. They don’t hurt my feet either. It’s hard to concentrate on being graceful when you’re in pain.”

Kate laughed. “I would be too busy concentrating on not fainting to worry about grace.”

“I think I can avoid fainting,” Annie said, “and with these shoes, maybe I can avoid tripping, stumbling, or totally falling on my face.”

Over the course of the last two weeks, Annie had made nearly a dozen calls to Texas. She chatted with Dorothy Kohler, one of her dear friends from Texas, about the convention. As Annie expected, Dorothy was going to be there. Annie told her that she’d be bringing a baby blanket for the missionary closet and asked if she could give it to her at the convention.

“Of course! You know, I told everyone that you wouldn’t take off and forget us,” Dorothy said. “We’ve always been able to count on you. I was over to your house just last week to do a little sprucing up for a family coming in from Africa.”

Annie smiled. She liked thinking about the home she’d shared with Wayne sheltering weary missionary families. “It’s great knowing that I have such good church friends in Brookfield. That helped me make the decision about my house,” Annie said.

Annie told Dorothy about the plan to honor Betsy at the convention. “Oh, how exciting!” Dorothy said. “I never met your grandmother but I feel like I have since you talked about her so much. You know I’ll have to come hear your speech. I’ll tell Ida Mae and Lily too. They’re both in the CGOA, as you’ll remember. Lily wasn’t going to go to this convention, but I know she’ll want to be there for this!”

“I’ll be glad to have such good friends in the audience,” Annie told her.

“And we’ll be glad to have a chance to see you again,” Dorothy said. “But we should make a plan to get together before that last day. You’ll be amazed at how many people attend these events. If you don’t have a plan, it can be hard to connect.”

“But I don’t really know the hotel at all,” Annie said. “So I’m not sure where we should plan to meet.”

“Perhaps the restaurant?” Dorothy asked. “Or I suppose we could be high tech and just call one another. I finally broke down and got a cellphone. My grandchildren think I’m very ‘with it’ now.”

Annie smiled; she was fairly certain that no one said “with it” anymore, but she knew what Dorothy meant. Sometimes Annie felt like LeeAnn’s twins were growing up in a totally different world than the one Annie had. Joanna and John were just now getting old enough to think of Annie as terribly old-fashioned.

Annie and Dorothy chatted a bit longer about small things, and Annie hung up feeling as warm and happy as if she’d just been hugged.

She also called LeeAnn several times to chat about things Annie might mention in the speech. On the last call, LeeAnn had good news. “I talked to Herb and the twins,” LeeAnn said, “and we’re all coming to hear your speech and see the display of Gram’s work. I called, and the convention coordinators said it would be OK for us to attend just that ceremony, even though we aren’t signed up for the actual convention. The twins are incredibly excited.”

“You got Herb to take time off from work?” Annie was truly surprised. Herb was one of the most driven workers she’d ever seen. She worried about it. In fact, he reminded her so much of Wayne that way.

“I know, what a shock—right?” LeeAnn said. “But he really is trying to work on his priorities. You know, after Dad died, I tried to talk Herb out of working so hard.” LeeAnn’s voice grew a little husky with emotion as she continued. “I told him I wanted him around to be Grandpa for the twins’ kids. Then last year, well, one of his co-workers had a heart attack. The man wasn’t that much older than Herb. I think it’s starting to get through.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Annie said. “And I’ll be delighted to see you all.”

“I’m planning to drive over to catch you for lunch too,” LeeAnn said. “On Friday I should have time to get there, eat and get back before the kids get off the bus after school.”

“That would be great,” Annie said. “The more times I see you, the happier I am.”

“Then I’ll see what we can manage. If it were up to me, you’d be sick of us by the time the weekend was over.”

“That, I can’t even imagine,” Annie said. “We’ll be together before you know it!”

Annie’s words certainly felt true as the last days before the convention trip whizzed by. At the Hook and Needle Club meeting, she collected the lovely little baby quilt from Peggy, and then Gwen surprised her with a sweet knitted baby blanket as well.

“I couldn’t let Peggy have all the fun,” Gwen said. “Besides, it’s like sending a bit of me along with all of you. I really wish I were going.”

“It’s going to be fun,” Mary Beth said, her eyes twinkling. “You sure you don’t want us to cram you in?”

“I do,” Gwen said, “but John doesn’t. He went a bit droopy just from my talking about it. We’ve gotten so set in our ways.” She shook her head, but smiled fondly.

Annie felt a small pang as she listened to Gwen. She knew just what her friend meant. When LeeAnn went into labor, she and Wayne had gone to Dallas to be there when the twins were born, but Annie had stayed an extra two weeks to help out. When she got home, one of the salesmen at the car dealership said Wayne moped around terribly without her.

“I’m sure we’ll come home with lots of stories,” Annie said.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Mary Beth quipped. “What happens at convention, stays at convention.”

“Oh, right,” Alice said with a laugh, “because you all are going to be surrounded by wild, handsome men at a needlework convention.”

“Don’t be so sure we won’t,” Mary Beth said. “Needlework isn’t
just
for women, you know.”

“Really?” Alice said. “Name one guy who can do needlework.”

“Ian Butler,” Mary Beth said.

All the women in the room looked at Mary Beth in surprise. “You made that up!” Alice exclaimed in accusation.

Mary Beth shook her head. “No, really. Ian can knit. He told me that his mother taught him and his brother when they were boys because they said they were ‘bored’ one too many times. I don’t think Todd knits anymore, but Ian sometimes does in the winter. You watch this winter when he’s walking Tartan. The sweaters the dog wears—Ian makes those.”

Annie just shook her head. She thought she knew all about Ian, and here was something she never imagined. She thought about Ian sitting down with some knitting on a cold winter day. She pictured him in one of his thick flannel shirts with the sleeves rolled up, his long legs stretched out in front of him, and Tartan curled up on the floor. It was a nice homey image.

“Hello! Earth calling Annie,” Alice said.

Annie looked up, startled. “Sorry, I guess I was woolgathering.”

“Really?” Alice said. “It wouldn’t have been wool in the hands of our handsome mayor, would it?”

Annie felt her cheeks warm. Then Stella broke in and gave them all a chiding glance. “How about we move on with other topics?”

For once, the women gave Annie a break and let Stella distract them from the entertainment of imagining Annie’s romantic life. The rest of the meeting was spent talking about the convention.

****

The morning they were set to leave was overcast, and the alarm clock went off while Annie’s room was still darkly shadowed. Still, Annie resisted the urge to snuggle back down for a few more minutes of sleep. She had so much to do!

“So, are you ready for the Great Convention Adventure?” Alice asked a few hours later as she walked through the front door of Grey Gables.

“I think so,” Annie said. “I’ve packed and repacked three times. I couldn’t decide what I should wear for the day of Gram’s ceremony.” She smiled at her friend. “Thanks so much for getting up early and driving me into town.”

“I’m happy to help,” Alice said. “Besides, I don’t want you guys zipping out of town without saying goodbye.”

Suddenly a gray blur skittered along the wood floor and slammed into Alice’s leg. “Oh!” Alice gasped. Then she scooped up the cat and looked into her face. “You know, Boots, the vet may have a point about your weight.”

“Boots has been crazy all morning,” Annie said. “I think it was the sight of the suitcases.”

“Probably,” Alice said. “Cats are smart, and Boots is practically a person. Aren’t you, fuzzy-face?”

Boots wriggled in Alice’s arms until she set the cat back down. Then the cat dashed back down the hall. “See?” Annie said. “Crazy. Good luck with checking in on her.”

“We’ll be fine,” Alice said. “So what did you decide to wear for your speech?”

“My pale green sundress with that white lace jacket I bought from A Stitch in Time,” Annie said.

“The one with the little crocheted flowers on the lapel?” Alice asked. “I love that one. Kate is an amazing designer.”

“She is,” Annie agreed as she led the way to the sofa where she’d piled her bags. “And after this convention, maybe even
she
will believe that.”

Despite the overcast skies, the morning was pleasantly cool and not quite windy enough to make a mess of Annie’s hair—at least not until Alice drove down the highway in her peppy little convertible. Annie finally resorted to pulling her hair back in a ponytail with a scrunchie from her purse. Otherwise, she was going to spend the day looking like she just fell out of bed.

“How come your hair always looks good?” Annie said.

Alice laughed. “Lots and lots of hair product.”

Annie looked over at her friend. Actually, she suspected, Alice’s thick auburn hair just pulled off a tousled look better than Annie’s.

When they finally pulled into the small employee lot behind the Main Street shops, Annie saw Mary Beth and Kate staring into the back of the SUV. “What’s up?” Annie asked as she got out of the convertible.

“We’re playing car Tetris,” Kate said, “and trying to figure out the best configuration of boxes and luggage.”

Mary Beth turned to look at Annie. “You didn’t bring a ton of luggage, did you?”

Annie shook her head and pointed to the small suitcase on wheels. “Just the one and a couple of totes. I can put them at my feet in the car.”

“We’ll see what we can manage,” Mary Beth said. “Let’s hope Stella packed light too.”

They didn’t have to wait long to find out. A sparkling clean white Lincoln Continental pulled up, and Stella’s driver quickly hopped out. He nodded to the women standing around the SUV, and then walked around to open the door for Stella. The older woman got slowly out of the car. Annie wasn’t sure if Stella’s slow exit was really from age, or if she just liked making a grand entrance.

Alice grinned at Jason and Stella as they walked around the car. “Every time I see your car, I’m inspired to go to the car wash and try to make mine look presentable.”

Stella looked over at Alice’s Mustang. “Your car looks perfectly fine. Though I cannot imagine driving around while being pelted by bugs.”

“The bugs aren’t a problem,” Alice said. “The windshield blocks them. But don’t get me started on seagulls.”

Stella raised a hand with a grimace. “I would rather not start a trip with that kind of image in mind, thank you.”

As the women chatted, Jason walked to the back of the car and pulled out two suitcases, each about the size of Annie’s. Stella gestured toward them as Jason carried them to the SUV. “As you can see, I packed light, just like you requested.”

Mary Beth sighed, but didn’t mention that Stella’s version of “light” involved twice as much luggage as anyone else. She turned back to the SUV and began trying to shift bags again. She gave everything a mighty heave to one side and a small make-up case fell out. Luckily, it hit one of the suitcases still sitting on the ground, so it didn’t burst open.

“Excuse me,” Jason said, surveying the pile of luggage on the ground and the crammed back of the SUV. “Perhaps I could help?”

“You couldn’t do any worse than Kate and I,” Mary Beth said, backing away to give him room.

Jason pulled all the bags and boxes from the back of the SUV. Then he stared at the pile for a moment before quickly putting it all back in. The women stared in surprise when he easily fit every bit and even had a small space left.

“Thank you, Jason,” Stella said.

“Happy to help,” he said. His eyes sparkled as he backed away to stand beside the Lincoln again.

“Hey!” Mary Beth interjected. “What are we going to do when we have to pack to leave Texas, and we don’t have Jason?”

“Each of you should remember where your own suitcases are now,” said Alice. “Or maybe you should just draw a diagram.”

“I think we’ll manage,” Annie laughed. “If nothing else we can pack some things in a box and mail them home.”

With everything packed, they all said their goodbyes quickly.

“Remember,” Annie said to Alice, “don’t fall for the starving act from Boots.”

“I will be totally unmoved,” Alice promised, but Annie knew better. She just hoped she wouldn’t come home to find Boots even plumper.

Eventually everyone was sorted out to the correct vehicle. Alice pulled out of the lot first, waving cheerfully as she turned onto the street. Then Jason followed at a more sedate pace. Finally, the adventurers were on the road. Mary Beth took the first shift as driver, and Kate rode beside her. Annie and Stella took seats behind them. Stella immediately pulled out her knitting and settled into her project.

Annie looked at her project bag, but left it alone. She decided to do a little scenery watching first. She loved spring and looked forward to seeing plenty of flowers along the way. She loved to drive south in the spring and north in the fall—both times of year meant driving into more and more color.