Read Online Stitches in Time by Barbara Michaels - Free Book Online Page A

something…Honey, please don’t wave that hatchet around. Leave it till Joe gets home, he’ll do it.”
    The shop bell sounded. Kara reached for a towel and wiped her fingers. “I’ll go.”
    â€œTake that plate of cookies,” Cheryl said, her voice muffled by pine needles as she struggled with the recalcitrant tree. “You’d better check the punch, too, it’s getting low.”
    â€œWhat plate of cookies?” Kara, stopped, halfway to the door.
    â€œDidn’t I…Oh, darn, I forgot. Wait a minute.” She tried to free herself from the affectionate grip of the tree.
    â€œI’ll do it,” Rachel said quickly. Rolling her eyes, Kara hurried out, and Rachel got a plate from the shelf. It took some time to arrange the cookies to Cheryl’s satisfaction—a paper doily underneath, sprigs of pine artistically arranged around the edges. She left Cheryl scolding one of the cats, a huge tabby with a perverse and perilous taste for chocolate, who had taken advantage of her distraction to steal a brownie.
    Unruffled, her voice smooth as cream, Kara was entertaining a customer. Mrs. Baxter didn’t buy for herself but she had a granddaughter on whom she doted and who was “into” vintage. She had been in twice before looking for a present for the girl, and she was still in the process of making up her mind. Accepting a cookie, she studied the garment Kara was holding.
    â€œIt’s beautiful. But I don’t know that green is her color. She’s blonde, you know, with lovely blue eyes. Maybe the black would be better.” She waved the cookie at the black dress, which had crystal and jet beads covering the bodice and hanging in festoons down the skirt. Kara moved discreetly back, avoiding the scattering of crumbs, and Mrs. Baxter went blithely on. “That twenties’ style suits her, she has such a pretty slender figure. That one might be too big, though. She has such a slender—”
    The door opened and a man entered. He was young, casually dressed in jeans and a down jacket, brown hair brushed back from a high forehead, horn-rimmed glasses riding low on his nose. Could this be the mysterious Adam, Rachel wondered? Apparently not. With a nod at Kara he sauntered toward the display case that contained jewelry.
    Rachel hesitated, wondering whether she should withdraw or attend to the new customer. Mrs. Baxter obviously wasn’t about to conclude her business in a hurry.
    â€œI’ll be with you in a minute, Mr. Dupuis,” Kara said. “Mrs. Baxter, would you like Rachel to model the black dress? She’s just Marian’s size. What about another glass of punch?”
    It was very smoothly done. By the time Rachel had changed, Mr. Dupuis had selected a garnet bracelet for his wife and Kara had boxed and wrapped it.
    Mrs. Baxter loved the fashion show. Feeling like a fool, Rachel also modeled the green dress and the peignoir. After asking the price of the last, Mrs. Baxter decided on the black dress and Rachel was able to escape. Kara soon followed her into the kitchen.
    â€œSorry about that, Rachel,” she said. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot, but I had to do something to force that woman to a decision. She’d sit all afternoon if I let her.”
    â€œWhat did she pick?” Cheryl asked. “Not the peignoir, I hope.”
    â€œNo, the black flapper dress. We’d be a thousand bucks richer if she’d bought the peignoir.”
    â€œI don’t care. I love that garment. It’s Callot Soeurs—the only one we’ve ever had.”
    â€œIf you like it so much why don’t you keep it?” Tony asked.
    Cheryl leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. “Tooexpensive. And too impractical. Besides, that pale pink is the wrong color for me.”
    â€œThe wrong color for mousy Marian too,” Kara said cattily. “With those washed-out blue eyes and wispy hair