The Stitching Hour Read Free

idea.”
    â€œSure,” she said. “And you can put candies . . . teeny little sewing kits . . . maybe those braided friendship bracelets the kids like. . . .”
    â€œYou have a ton of fantastic ideas, Vera Langhorne! You should be an event planner.”
    Vera laughed. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
    Just then, Reggie hurried into the shop. Although she was beautifully dressed in an Indian-style coral tunic with matching slacks, Reggie’s normally elegantly coifed short gray hair looked as if she’d barely taken time to brush it this morning.
    â€œHave you heard?” she asked us. “Somebody’s doing a haunted house next to your shop, Marcy!”
    â€œThat’s what Vera was telling me,” I said, my smile fading. “I’m getting the feeling you’re not in favor of haunted houses?”
    She dropped onto the sofa across from Vera and me. Angus came and placed his head on the arm of the sofa closest to Reggie. She patted his head absently.
    â€œI’m in favor of the
library’s
haunted house,” she said. “It’s one of our biggest annual fund-raisers. And now this fancy group is going to come in and ruin it for us.”
    â€œNo, they won’t,” Vera said. “Their haunted house isn’t geared for small children. It’s more for teens and adults. Paul interviewed the event organizers, and they told him all about it. Your haunted house is supposed to be funny and sweet. Theirs is supposed to be scary as heck!”
    â€œYou truly don’t think their haunted house will have an impact on our fund-raiser?” Reggie asked.
    â€œI know it won’t,” Vera said. “In fact, I’ll insist that Paul give the library equal time. I’ll see when he can drop in at the library and do a story on
your
haunted house. I’ll make sure he emphasizes the importance of the fund-raiser on the library’s annual budget. How does that sound?”
    â€œThat sounds terrific, Vera. Thank you.” Reggie smoothed her hair. “I’m sorry that I allowed the news of the new haunted house to upset me so badly. It isn’t like me at all.” She turned to me. “How do
you
feel about having a fun house right next door, Marcy?”
    â€œI’m not terribly happy about it,” I said. “I’m afraid it’ll drive Angus and my students crazy.”
    â€œShe was particularly concerned about the effect all the screaming might have on poor Muriel,” Vera said. “I told her Muriel probably wouldn’t even notice, no better than she can hear.”
    â€œTrue, but I see Marcy’s point,” said Reggie. “At least, they won’t be disturbing your business during daylight hours.”
    â€œThat’s true,” I said. “And it’s only for a month. What real harm can it do?”
    When would I ever learn to stop asking that question?
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    My sweetheart, Ted, came for lunch. Ted was the head detective for the Tallulah Falls Police Department. He worked for Reggie’s husband, Manu, who was the Chief of Police.
    Broad, strong, and well over a foot taller than me, Ted was a walking dream. He had black hair with a few flecks of premature gray and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. He wore suits for work, and he favored gray and navy. Today he wore light gray with a royal blue shirt and a blue, gray, and lavender striped tie. He looked yummy.
    On top of looking so mouth-watering, he brought my favorite lunch—chicken salad croissants from MacKenzies’ Mochas. I had bottled water in the minifridge in my office. I didn’t have a customer in the shop when Ted arrived, so I put the cardboard clock on the door, indicating that I’d be back in half an hour so we could go into the office and eat undisturbed.
    After we kissed hello, I got us each a bottle of water, and we sat at