A Spicy Secret Read Free Page A

explanation. After a few minutes, Gwen stood and discreetly gathered the others’ plates still laden with Alice’s “experiment” and took them into the back room to quietly empty them in the store’s big trash can before settling back down with her knitting.
    “That certainly is odd,” Kate interjected, “but we have other important things to discuss. I know what our next group project could be.” Her face glowed, just like it did every time she got excited about something. She picked up a stack of the latest edition of The Point and handed them out. “Clearly our esteemed editor, Mike Malone, had to dig to fill up even this one sheet, but look.” She tapped the story on the front page, at the very top. “Some members of the Stony Point Community Church are going on a mission trip this June to Haiti. They plan to work in an orphanage and help build a school.”
    By now, Kate’s face was so bright that she could have stood in for the light at Butler’s Lighthouse.
    “And how, pray tell, do we fit in?” asked Gwen, no-nonsense as always.
    “We-e-e-e-ell …” Kate drew the word out into four or five syllables, prompting Alice to throw a wadded-up napkin at her. “OK, I surrender! Our next project should be making blankets for the orphans. We can get the ladies at the senior center involved, and maybe the high school students too. I bet we could make a bunch of blankets by the time the volunteers go—maybe even one for each child.”
    As Kate talked, Annie smoothed her copy of The Point and read the short article, which included a map of Haiti and a photo of the church’s pastor, to herself:
    Reverend Roy Wallace from Stony Point Community Church will be leading a mission this June to Haiti, one of the poorest and least-developed countries in the world.
    “I have been reading a lot about Haiti,” Reverend Wallace said. “In recent years, the island has struggled with political upheaval, health crises, hurricanes, and that terrible earthquake. The children are the ones suffering the most—so many of them have been orphaned. Since children truly are our future, we plan to visit an orphanage that currently houses about a hundred orphans and assist the organizers in any way we can.”
    Reverend Wallace said that the group also plans to help build a school at the orphanage.
    “We hope the community will pitch in and help us with raising funds for building supplies and to help pay for our trip.”
    Annie felt overwhelmed with the thought of making one hundred blankets in less than six months, and she was also heartbroken that so many children had to live without parents. The story also made her think of her own missionary parents, who had spent so many years selflessly serving others.
    “Don’t forget the people working with the kids,” Annie said suddenly. “I bet they could use blankets too.”
    “Indeed, they probably could,” said Stella. “I say we find out if they do and get started right away—on the blankets and our new mystery.”

2
    The morning after the Hook and Needle Club meeting, Mary Beth and Kate sat at the table in the back room of A Stitch in Time, enjoying a cup of hot tea before they opened the store. Part office, part kitchen, part stockroom, and part break room, the space defied any and all attempts to keep it tidy. Even though business was slow, and they weren’t ordering as much as they did during spring and summer, it seemed that wayward items ended up cluttering the space until both ladies wanted to scream.
    “Seriously, how does this happen?” asked Mary Beth. “Thank goodness for my SUV. It feels like I take boxes to the recycling station every single day, and there’s always more!”
    “It’s almost like they’ve told their cardboard friends that this is a good place to hang out,” replied Kate. “And I swear I stock new items as soon as they come in, or store them on the shelves back here with the rest of our extra inventory, so where did this pile of