Read Online The Friendship Star Quilt by Patricia Kiyono, Stephanie Michels - Free Book Online Page A

shocked expression turned to concern when he saw her clutching the front of her sweater.
    â€œAre you okay, Miss?” he asked in a voice muffled by the window glass.
    Anne nodded, slowly regaining her composure from the shock of finding someone who resembled her ex-husband on the door stoop. Once her heart stopped racing, she realized that although this man shared Jeffrey’s coloring and height, he was a bit heavier than her ex-husband. He wasn’t exactly fat, but he had the soft appearance of someone who sat behind a desk most of the day. His eyes were sky blue, too, not the intense steely blue color which haunted her dreams most nights. Right now, the man’s eyes radiated concern. After a couple more beats, Anne’s heart returned to a normal tempo, and she had the presence of mind to unlock the front door and open it.
    â€œI’m very sorry,” the stranger quickly apologized. “I didn’t mean to startle you, Miss. I was trying to read the store’s hours of operation on your door sign.”
    â€œWell, it certainly woke me up better than my morning coffee did,” Anne replied with a nervous little chuckle. “Do you need something from the shop? We aren’t usually open this early, but after the nasty shock we gave each other, I’ll be glad to make an exception for you.”
    The man shook his head. “No. My wife saw your shop the other day and wondered if you were open on the weekends. She works during the week, so I told her I’d check out your hours on my way to work.” He glanced around the shop. “Are you the owner?”
    For some reason, the question made Anne uncomfortable. “I’m just an employee. The owner… hasn’t arrived yet. I’m opening the shop today.”
    â€œWell, it’s a nice little place,” he said. He cast a final glance around the interior then saluted her with his coffee cup and bid her good day.
    Anne watched him cross the street and go into a building housing a big accounting firm. Taking a deep breath of the cool morning air, she scolded herself for being so jumpy. She needed to calm down and not be scared by every shadow. Her check of OTIS the night before should have assured her Jeffrey was still safely incarcerated in Jackson. Still, this morning’s encounter had set her nerves in edge. Jeffrey’s indulgent parents had deep pockets. Their powerful connections had helped to get their darling son elected to office. An office he’d abused almost as thoroughly as he’d abused her. She needed to make sure they weren’t looking for her.
    Since the shop usually wasn’t very busy early on weekday mornings, Anne decided to put her mind at ease and check further on her former in-laws’ whereabouts. She hurried back to the office but made sure she had a clear view of the front entrance from Myra’s desk. Once Courtney arrived, Anne wouldn’t need to watch for customers coming into the shop, but she might have her search done by then. Before she started her Internet search, Anne pulled up the email for her StitchPost1 email ID to check for any mail from the account Myra used. The shop owner hadn’t written in a couple of days, and Anne hoped her silence meant Myra and Ed were having a good time. Maybe, if they relaxed and had a good enough time, Myra would reconsider her decision to sell the shop when she returned. The very thought of it being sold worried Anne. Would she be able to maintain her low profile under a new owner? For that matter, would a new owner even keep her on? Anne pushed aside the thought. No use fretting about it until the time came.
    There was no mail from Myra, so Anne began to browse some of her favorite places for information on Jeffrey’s family. Her first stop was Harper Happenings , the thinly disguised blog of Jeffrey’s youngest sister. Like many young people, Tarah lived her life online. Using only initials, she blithely posted