Tempest's Course: Quilts of Love Series (19 page)

Epilogue

One year later

G
ray House was nearly complete. Long months of construction, even through the wintertime, but Tom insisted they stay on track. The old man would have wanted it that way. The old man, even from the grave his body occupied since last fall, a mere two months after the fire, was still getting his way.

Gray House would open for overnight guests and tours, with Mary Gray’s quilt kept in a place of honor, framed in the front hallway. Kelly had painstakingly tried to repair it again. The results told them it would never function as a quilt again, its last comforting act protecting Kelly while Tom pulled them both through the window glass during the fire. Maybe that was the way it was meant to be.

God help him, he never wanted to let the regrets pile up over the years like the old man had. He’d spent so much time shutting out the family he did have, just like the old man. He was grateful to God every day that he’d wised up.

Otherwise he’d have never opened his heart to Kelly. Here she came, the back of her car filled with bags and such. Turn her loose in a home improvement store, and the shopping beast came out.

She bounced from the car and into his arms. “Mr. Pereira, wait until you see what I found for the dining room.”

“What’s that, Mrs. Pereira?”

“A table, just like the one ruined in the fire. Happy six months’ anniversary.” She grinned at him and planted a saucy kiss on his lips. If she kept at him like that, he’d never get the wood trim on the porch done but they’d end up back at their apartment, enjoying newlywed life.

“Is it in the car?”

“No, goofy, they’re going to deliver it later.” Kelly faced the house. “I can’t believe we’re going to move in, that Gray House is ours.”

“Yours.”

“Ours.”

“I wish the old man could see it now.”

“Maybe he can, somehow.” Kelly reached for Tom’s hand and placed it on her stomach. “I was thinking, if our baby is a boy, we could name him Jonas?”

“Baby?”

“Uh-huh.” Kelly grinned that megawatt smile at him. “He, or she, can grow up in Gray House.”

Tom swept her into his arms. A baby. A son, a daughter, it didn’t matter.

The old was gone, the new had come.

Tom had quit questioning these many months, had let the old dreams die and released them to the depths of his memory. The future, though, lay bright as the morning sun shining up over the harbor, its course held securely in the sights of their heavenly father.

Discussion Questions

1. Kelly has an industry rival who caused trouble and still carries a grudge. Have you ever had a coworker or colleague who always seemed to be competing against you? How did you handle that?

2. Because of his past failures, Tom tended to isolate himself from his loving family. What are some ways you can appreciate your family and interact with them, flaws and all?

3. At the beginning of the book, Kelly is broke and has car trouble. She hopes this new job will be an answer to those troubles and reignite her sputtering career. If you’ve had tough financial times, what has given you hope that eventually things will turn around?

4. Tom faces obstacles—emotionally and sometimes physically—and he’s afraid to try something new, like going to college. What kind of advice would you give to help him set a goal and strive for it?

5. Kelly believes the quilt is mostly unsalvageable, but she pushes through and works on restoring it as much as possible. What are some ways you’ve completed what might have seemed like an impossible project?

6. Both Kelly and Tom don’t know much about their family genealogies. What kinds of stories have you uncovered about your ancestors?

7. Sometimes family doesn’t mean being related by blood. Kelly discovers the family of her heart has been supporting and loving her all along. Who has been that kind of family in your life?

8. Jonas Plummer has many regrets, and he knows his days on earth are drawing to a close. He thinks leaving a financial legacy to his family will make up for his coldness in earlier years. What would you tell someone like Jonas, to encourage him?

9. Mary Gray made some disastrous choices that affected not just her immediate family but the generations that followed. How can God redeem the consequences of bad choices for those who are affected by them?

10. Kelly is haunted for a long time by her own bad decisions and the consequences that followed. What Scriptures can help someone who has a hard time forgiving themselves?

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And now for a sneak peek at

Scraps of Evidence

by Barbara Cameron

From the new
Quilts of Love
Series.

1

T
ess fought back a yawn as she walked into her aunt’s hospital room. Excitement had kept her awake half the night.

“I told you not to come,” her aunt said when she saw Tess. But she smiled.

“I wanted to.” She bent down and kissed her cheek. “You’re my favorite aunt.”

“I’m your only aunt.”

“Still my favorite.”

Tess pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and set the tote bag she carried on the floor. “What did the doctor say?”

“No concussion. But I have to stay another day for observation. Doctors,” she muttered, her mouth turning down at the corners.

Tess studied her aunt’s pale face. Sometimes when she looked at Katherine she missed her mother so much it hurt. She didn’t know what she’d do if she lost her, too.

She shook off the thought. Her aunt was just in her late fifties and in good health. There was no reason to believe she wouldn’t be around for a long time.

“Big day today, huh?”

“The biggest. It’s what I’ve been working toward since I graduated from the police academy.”

Her aunt reached for her hand and squeezed it. “I’m happy for you.”

“Brought you something.”

“You shouldn’t have. You look tired.”

“Gee. Thanks.” She pulled the makeup bag from the tote and her aunt pounced on it.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Katherine cried. “They gave me a comb, but a girl needs her lipstick to feel human.”

She pulled out a compact, opened it, and grimaced. “Oh my, it’s worse than I thought.”

Using her forefinger, she dabbed some concealer cream on the delicate skin under one eye, then shook her head.

“Going to have a bit of a shiner there,” she said with a sigh. She patted on some powder, applied some lipstick, then smiled at her appearance. “Not bad.”

“You look great. No one expects you to look like a beauty queen in the hospital.”

“One must keep up one’s appearance,” Katherine said, folding her hands primly on top of the blanket covering her.

Aunt Katherine had always reminded Tess of Grace Kelly, the icy blond actress in the old movies they’d watched together years ago.

Tess was the opposite. She wore her blonde hair in a no-nonsense short cut, hated makeup, and instead of being dainty, had been five-foot-ten since high school. Oh, and there was that ten unwanted pounds that persisted in sticking around no matter what she did.

Her aunt turned the mirror on Tess. “Forgot something?”

She wanted to roll her eyes, but decided not to. With a big sigh, Tess pulled a tube of lip gloss out of her pocket and swiped it across her mouth.

“My, my, don’t be primping so much,” her aunt said with a touch of sarcasm as Tess tucked the tube back in her pocket.

“Makeup just slides right off my face in this heat.”

“I like your new look.”

Tess stared down at her lightweight navy jacket and slacks worn with a crisp white shirt. She liked what it represented more. Not that she’d ever minded wearing a uniform. It was what had gotten her to this point. Now she simply wore a different one.

She reached down and withdrew a blue quilt from the tote bag and placed it on her aunt’s lap. “I thought you might like to have it here to remind you of home.”

Her aunt brightened, and she tried to sit up. Tess sprang out of her chair, helped raise the bed a bit, and adjusted the pillow behind her aunt’s head.

“Better?”

“Yes, thanks.”

Tess watched as Katherine unfolded the quilt and stroked it. “It’s my favorite.”

“I know.”

She raised a corner of it to her cheek and her eyes closed, then opened. “I’ll never forget the day Gordon walked into my shop.”

“He was this big, burly police officer,” Tess prompted with a smile.

“So you’ve heard the story, eh?”

Tess laughed. “About a million times,” she said.

Katherine nodded, but she smiled and didn’t take offense.

“But tell it to me again.” She leaned back in her chair.

“I thought he was coming to tell me I was illegally parked out front or something,” her aunt said, her eyes beginning to take on a faraway look. “It was so hard to find parking because they were working on the street for the longest time. But he had this bag of scraps in his hands. Fabric scraps.”

“Pieces from dresses worn by his sisters and mother.”

“Um hmm. He thought his mother would enjoy having a quilt made of them. Mother’s Day was coming up.”

“So he brought in a few pieces each week, and you made the quilt.”

“That’s right.” She examined the stitching on one square and then, apparently finding it satisfactory, tucked it around her. “Something just clicked into place. We had coffee a couple of times, began dating. We were married by the time Mother’s Day rolled around.”

“So Gordon’s mother got two presents.”

Katherine frowned. “I don’t think she saw it that way. We weren’t very good friends at first. Gordon could have been a little more diplomatic about letting her know our plans to get married.”

Tess felt his presence before she saw him. She wasn’t sure why but it had always been so.

“What’s this, I’m not diplomatic?” Gordon said in his booming voice. He strolled into the room, a tall, big-boned man whose white dress shirt stretched tightly over his barrel chest.

Her aunt jumped. “Gordon! You startled me.”

He just laughed, removed the toothpick dangling from his mouth, and bent to kiss her head. “Oh, stop the fussin’, Kathy,” he drawled.

“If you hadn’t done that—” She stopped, pressed her lips tight and plucked at the quilt.

Gordon turned to Tess. “So, hear your new partner’s due in today. Big-city guy, eh?”

“That’s what I hear.”

She watched him as he prowled around the room, peering at the bouquets her aunt had been sent. When he passed a mirror hung on one wall, he peered into it critically and checked his crew cut. The short strands stood at attention on his head as if not daring to lie down on the job.

Then he began moving around the room again, as if restless. He pulled a card from an arrangement of daisies and frowned at it. “Who’s this Lee?”

“A woman at church.”

“You sure?”

Katherine sighed. “Yes. You met her once. Lee Weatherby.”

“Hmm. Yeah. I remember. Old biddy.” He tucked the card back in the bouquet and glanced at his watch. “Gotta go. I’ll check in on you later.”

“You can’t stay for a few minutes?”

He shook his head. “Have to see the chief. I’ll check in on you later.” He patted her head and turned to Tess. “You working tonight?”

“You know I am,” she said mildly.

He grinned, removed his toothpick and tossed it in the trash. It missed, but he didn’t slow down to pick it up on his way out of the room.

Tess turned to her aunt and saw that the woman watched her husband’s exit with a mixture of sadness and bewilderment.

“Aunt Katherine?” She waited until she turned to look at her. She hesitated, then plunged ahead. “Is everything okay with you and Gordon?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Of course. Why do you ask such a question?”

“I still don’t know how you got hurt.”

“Oh, it was so silly,” Katherine said. “I just tripped over Prissy, that’s all. She always seems to be underfoot.”

Prissy was a very spoiled Persian her aunt had had for many years. Tess had never known her to hang out anywhere but the sofa and around the food bowl. “You’re sure?” Tess asked quietly.

“Of course.” She looked over the side of the bed. “Now, I don’t suppose you have anything else in that tote bag, do you?”

Laughing, Tess picked it up and handed it to her. Katherine grinned as she pulled out the quilt she was currently working on. Tess helped her spread it out, find her needles and thread in the sewing basket she’d brought. Then she sat back as her aunt happily began working.

“You didn’t bring yours?”

Tess shook her head. “I knew I wouldn’t have enough time. But maybe tomorrow. I’m off.” She glanced at her watch. “I’m sorry, but I need to get going. Anything you need before I leave?”

“Not a thing. Oh, did you feed Prissy when you went by the house? Gordon forgets when I’m not home.”

“Sure did.” And Prissy had simply looked at her disdainfully from her place on the sofa.

Katherine held out her hands, and Tess took them. “Father, walk with Tess and protect her and keep her safe. Help her to do her job to the best of her ability. Thank you. Amen.”

Tess squeezed her hands and smiled, then stood and hugged her. “See you tomorrow. Call me before then if you need anything.”

The heat hit her like a wet blanket the minute she left the building. Another July in St. Augustine, oldest city in the country. She was that rare thing—a native Floridian—and in all her twenty-six years she couldn’t remember a hotter one.

As much as she wanted to hurry into the air-conditioned haven of her car, she forced herself not to rush. Hurrying just made it feel hotter, and besides, she’d likely be out in the heat for much of the rest of the day. She started the car, turned the A/C on high, and knew she’d probably be at the station before the car cooled off.

A sightseeing tram pulled in front of her at the light beside the police station. The driver recognized Tess and she waved.

Tess smiled and muttered, “Hurry up,” beneath her breath. Nothing was slower than the tram. Except for the horse-drawn carriages. Thankfully, none of those were in sight.

With time to spare, she pulled into the parking lot, gathered her things, and hurried inside.

Marlene from Records sat eating a sandwich in the break room. Tess stowed her lunch in the refrigerator.

“First day on the new job, huh? How’s it feel?”

“Pretty good.”

“Met the new guy yet?”

“Not yet.”

Marlene fanned herself with her hand. “Hot.”

Tess shook her head and left the room.

Two men stood just inside the roll call room, their backs turned to her.

“Ever had a female partner before?” she heard one of them ask.

She recognized the voice as belonging to Tom Smithers.

“No.”

Tess froze, wondering what Smithers was going to say next.

“Well, you’ve got your work cut out for you, buddy,” Smithers said, and he laughed.

The other man turned and he saw Tess. Her training had taught her to capture an impression quickly, and what she got was intense: his eyes were green and honed in on her, his posture military straight, and his stance at attention. He was tall, probably six-two, and like Marlene had said, he was hot: model pretty with black hair and an easy grin.

“Aw, heck, she’s right behind me, isn’t she?” Smithers asked when the man grinned.

He laughed. “What do you think?”

Stepping forward, he offered his hand. “Detective Villanova. Nice to meet you. I’m Logan McMillan.”

She had a nice, firm grip and looked him straight in the eye. “Tess.”

He liked the way she observed Smithers slinking off, muttering about getting some water. Maybe she was good at hiding her expression—well, actually, she better be because no cop survived without being good at keeping a non-emotional front—but she didn’t waste a second on a glare at him or any kind of comment.

“Never a good idea to talk about someone,” he said quietly as she looked down at the hand he still held.

She shrugged, but couldn’t hold back a small smile. “And if you’re going to do it, be bright enough not to stand with your back to the door.”

Other officers began crowding in the door. Logan gestured for Tess to precede him in finding a seat and sat next to her. The shift supervisor went over the previous night’s activity and bulletins, then introduced Logan.

He tried not to fidget as the supervisor read off his list of accomplishments. They sounded great, but in the end, did that sort of thing matter?

“So make him feel welcome to our fair city,” the supervisor was saying. “Let’s go out there and protect and serve, people. And stay safe.”

“They say the same thing everywhere?” he whispered to Tess.