The Secret of the Quilt Read online

“You won’t lose something as strong as that,” Miller advised. “Let the relationship develop. The friendship will never disappear.” Kim smiled.

  “That’s what Rob says,” she admitted. “Don’t tell Jazz I told you that,” she finished with a grin.

  “I won’t,” Miller answered and stood up to go. Cherie called on her cell to say that two men had arrived to see about the coffee shop.

  “No rest for the wicked,” Kim said and walked with her across to the shop. Miller went off to find Jules, and Kim spotted Clay Craven beside the counter. She walked over with a hand stretched out.

  “Hello Clay. Thanks for helping with this.”

  “This is Mario Cleves,” he answered. “Mario, Kim Summers.”

  “I desperately need your advice.” She smiled. “You are standing in what will be the coffee shop. I have no idea at all where to start or what we need.” The man smiled and turned around in a full circle. He pointed out where the serving counter should be and what other areas were needed to display food and drink.

  “Ten tables, some fours and some twos, will be enough to start with and you can always order more if needed. I’ll add in all the glasses, cups, cutlery, etc., that you need as well.” He handed her some leaflets and scribbled on a piece of paper. “The cost will be around this amount unless we find major problems. Choose the color scheme and let me know when you need the work.” Kim glanced at the paper and it was a lot less than she had been expecting.

  “That looks fine,” she was saying when she realized that Mario was looking across the shop.

  “Is that Corby Santana?” he asked, and before she could answer, he walked away from them over to where Corby was working. Kim looked at Clay and he told her that Corby’s ex-husband had once upon a time been Mario’s friend, but he had been a crook and gone to jail. Then when he came out, he went back to Corby but treated her so badly that she had to go to the hospital.

  “I only know what I hear,” he added. “But she is well rid of him from what people say.”

  “Poor Corby. She is such a nice woman. Thanks for letting me know.” She walked over to Corby. “I gather you two are old friends,” she said. “Take a quick coffee break if you like, Corby. I’m taking Clay to the new building.” Clay had followed behind her, and they set off for the construction site.

  “Nicely done,” he said. “I had better see where these units are going anyway.”

  The building was like an enormous aircraft hangar, and when the machinery was still, there was an echo to everything you said. The roof was on over the main building, though, and she could see that two men were doing the area leading to the shop. Clay consulted the plan and said it was easy when you had a blank canvas. Mario came to join them, and the two men said they would be in touch.

  “His price was good,” Kim said and showed Rob the paper.

  “They don’t need me here,” he said and walked back with her to the shop. Tomorrow, they cut the hole in the wall,” he told Cherie.

  “And tomorrow lots of new stock arrives. We are clearing a greenhouse to store everything,” Kim added. They went to see if that was underway, and Jamie asked if his mom could come and see her in the morning.

  “About ten,” Kim told him. “Gives me time to get organized.” Rob’s phone rang, and he spoke to his mother. He looked at Kim.

  “She wants to know if we would both like dinner. She has pie,” he said, and Kim answered that she would love to. Rob set off to see to his own business and arranged to meet at his mom’s house. Kim finished the shop and nursery off for the day.

  Jenny was delighted to feed them both and hear all the latest, and Kim was delighted to relax and eat something cooked and put in front of her. “Thanks for that, Jenny.”

  “Now tell me everything,” Rob’s mom said as they settled with coffees into easy chairs. Between the two of them, they brought her up-to-date about the new building, the stock, Christmas, and the quilt. “Will I be in the way if I come and inspect it in the morning?” Jenny asked, and Kim laughed.

  “Love to see you, but I’ll put you to work.”

  “That is fine by me,” Jenny answered. Rob and Kim helped her clear up and went back to the nursery. All was quiet, and Kim said again how happy she was that he was staying.

  “You know, I have never been concerned about being on my own, but since all this with the weird quilt, it’s changed somehow.”

  Rob slipped an arm around her shoulders and said, “Let’s have a quick look at it. Once the problem is solved and the thing put back together, everything will all go back to normal.” She took out the quilt, and as they unfolded it, the music briefly played again somewhere in the atmosphere, and Kim clutched at his arm.

  “It is very strange,” she said and looked at the pattern. “If that word is and, then it is a female name at the beginning and maybe just a missing pattern underneath.” They were getting better at spotting the letters hidden in the pattern and soon worked out that the whole thing said, "KATE AND ROBBIE MACMANUS."

  “We’ve got the names.” Rob grinned. “We know who they were.” He ran his hand over the words. “We only need the missing pattern and it can go together.” He ran his hand over the spot in question and then lifted it.

  “What?” she said and made the same movement. “Did you feel something?” He nodded.

  “Yes, it was warm.” Kim agreed that she had felt the same. They tried it again and it seemed to have some sort of heat in the square that was missing. “Stranger and stranger,” she added.

  “We have to press on and try and finish it. I think the strange stuff will stop if the quilt is whole again.” He looked at her. “I’m getting soft in my old age.” He laughed, and she put her arms around his neck.

  “I quite like this soft side,” she said, and he bent his head and touched her lips with his own. The quilt lay on the table unnoticed as they sank onto the sofa and explored the new relationship a little further.

  In the morning Rob answered the telephone and took the message and coffee in to waken Kim. He perched on the bed and told her that Jules had found the ship and the passenger list. I told him the names and he looked down the list while I was on the phone.

  “They were both on the Wilhelmina in December, eighteen ninety.”

  “Wow,” Kim said. “That is a real step forward. They were married and they did arrive in the USA. We have to find out what happened to them.” Rob agreed.

  “But today, Rob said, “we have to concentrate on the nursery.” He softened it with a kiss on the top of her head and went to get dressed. She watched him go with a smile on her face and let herself admit that she loved having him around the place.

  10

  The following morning saw the start of the big move toward the changeover. Jenny arrived at about half past nine and saw the new building. She asked what she could do to help, and Kim told Cherie that she had a new helper. The space was ready for the new stock, and then Jamie’s mom came and introduced herself as Màiri Hoskins—spelled the Scottish way. Kim showed her around and then took her into the house for coffee and a chat. The woman was in her forties and very smart. It appeared that she had been trained by one of the big supermarkets and was well used to running a department or solving problems with checkouts and customers.

  “I loved the job,” Màiri told her, “but I was ill for quite a few months and gave my notice.” She explained that she was well again and ready to go back to work.

  “Are you willing to take charge of the Christmas section and everything going on there?” Kim asked, and Màiri smiled and said she would be delighted. “I will need at least two more part-timers for Christmas time, and you can help me with that as well,” Kim added.

  “Actually, Jamie’s cousin is looking for Christmas work before going back to university after the holidays,” Màiri suggested, and Kim told her to ask the girl to get in touch. “Not a girl, a boy,” Màiri replied with a laugh. “He’s called Mack. We all have these Scottish-flavored names in my family. I think
the family claimed to have Scottish roots, but I don’t know how true that is.” She stopped talking and looked at Kim’s face. “Have I said something wrong?” Kim shook her head.

  “No, it is just all of these coincidences.” She took out the quilt and did a quick explanation of the story. She pointed. “You get used to seeing the pattern. It says Kate and Robbie MacManus, but there is still a piece missing.” She hesitated and then told her about the music. “Sounds crazy but when Rob and I both touch the quilt, we hear a slight sound of the Scottish song, 'Màiri’s Wedding.'”

  “And your initial is K,” Màiri pointed out.

  “Oh, I had never thought of that,” Kim gasped. “That is another one.”

  “Well maybe we were all intended to come together and make this a success,” Màiri suggested with a smile, and Kim rolled the quilt back up.

  “That is a good attitude,” she said. “When can you start?”

  “Anytime you like,” Màiri told her, and they went back out to meet Cherie and the rest of the crew. Rob came in and asked if they would all stand back, because shortly, there would be a big hole in the wall. Even as he spoke, the cutting machine made its deafening noise, and they watched the sparks make a pattern that would be the archway from the coffee shop to the main hall. It came through with a clatter, and they all gave a round of applause. The customers who were in had come to watch as well, and the workmen stepped through grinning broadly. They moved the piece of wall away and invited everyone to step through the archway.

  In the middle of all of this activity, an enormous truck drove into the nursery yard, and they realized that the stock was being delivered. The day was becoming more and more manic. Rob left the construction men to finish up and lent a hand with moving stock. There was never a letup until the place was closed, and everyone went home exhausted. Rob and Kim sank onto the sofa.

  “I’m ordering in pizza,” he said and used his phone.

  “My goodness, how many days like that can we manage?” she asked the air in general and put her feet up on the coffee table.

  “We’ll get there,” he told her and sank down as well. They were dozing when the pizza arrived, but Kim managed to make coffee and found ice cream.

  “I feel better now,” she said and told him about the quilt and Jamie’s mom. Then she went and pulled open the drawer with the quilt; and her hand flew to her mouth and she stood stock-still.

  “What’s wrong?” Rob asked and came over to look in the drawer. “Oh, oh,” he said, and between them, they lifted out the quilt and put it on the table. It was ripped in several places, and the section that had replaced the missing part, was completely torn out. No music played as they smoothed it out and surveyed the damage.

  “Who would want to do that?” Kim asked, and they both went to sit back down to think it over.

  “Why? is the other question,” Rob added and slipped an arm around her shoulders.

  “Has someone been in the house? When? And why did they not touch anything else?” She looked around. “I suppose we had better check.” He agreed, and together they went through every part of the house. Nothing was out of place. There was nothing to show that anyone had been in any part of the building. Nothing was stolen, and nothing was damaged, apart from the quilt.

  “The house is always open because I go back and forth into the nursery. It has never seemed that there was any risk in doing that,” Kim said as Rob went and brewed some coffee.

  “Nobody can come into the house without coming through the shop,” he said as he handed her a mug.

  “So maybe it was somebody we know?” The awful realization dawned on her as she took in what he had said. “But none of them would want to damage an already damaged quilt.” The two of them settled on the sofa, and they could make no sense of the situation at all. “We were all so busy all day, that we wouldn’t notice anyone walking toward the house.”

  “And if they did, we would just assume they were taking or collecting something,” Rob finished.

  “The freaked-out feeling had gone and now it’s come back,” Kim said and shivered a bit. She stood up and looked down at the quilt. “I thought you were happy we were getting you sorted, Scottish quilt,” she said grumpily and then turned to Rob. “And now I am a bit annoyed that somebody came and spoiled the work already done.” He came and stood beside her and took the mug out of her hands. “In fact," she said, “I think we keep this entirely to ourselves, and I am going to try and sew some of this back together. I can’t sleep anyway.” He nodded and said he would doze on the sofa and to just ask if there was anything he could do. Kim saw—with a guilty feeling—that he was really tired and almost asleep on his feet. “You get some sleep and I will try and restore this damage.” He put his pillows on the sofa and pulled the duvet over himself. She saw that he was asleep almost before his head touched the pillow.

  Kim had been working on single squares of material as she had time, and there were a number finished. She took them out and started to unpick the squares they were to replace. Some of these were the ripped ones, and the job mended some of the damage. She was engrossed in the work and was glad her sewing machine ran quietly because Rob was sleeping peacefully. She decided to add the new back sheet and the filling so that it became more like a quilt again, and she was really pleased with the result. It was amazing what a difference the padding made. There were only two ripped pieces to be replaced, and she left one side unstitched so that she was able to reach those pieces as well. She spread the quilt out and swore she heard that music just very faintly as she did so. She ran her hand over the missing section and lifted it quickly. It had a definite warmth to it.

  “So, you are happier now,” she said to the quilt and folded it up. It was too big to go in the drawer so she took it into the spare room and folded it on the bed. Then she closed the door and looked at her watch.

  “Goodness gracious,” she said as she saw the time. Tiredness hit her like a hammer, and she lifted the duvet over Rob and slipped in beside him. He woke and found her tucked in and deeply asleep and smiled as he pulled her close. The thought crossed his mind that if anyone tried to hurt her, he would be uncontrollable.

  “Nobody will get close,” he murmured and brushed her hair away with his finger. The time was seven in the morning, and he closed his eyes to enjoy the sensation of holding her close for a little while longer. In the end, he knew they would have to get busy before people arrived. He tried to sit up without waking her, but she opened her eyes and saw his concerned face close to hers.

  “Morning, handsome man,” she said, and he lifted her up.

  “Morning, beautiful lady,” he answered. “Unfortunately, it is seven thirty.”

  “What?” she shouted and leapt off the sofa. “I’ll have to change and open up.” Then she came back and took his face in her hands. “You are wonderful,” she said and then rushed off to get started. When she came back down the stairs, she had the quilt in her arms. “I made it into a quilt again.” She laid it on the table and they both touched the material. The lilt of “Màiri’s Wedding” floated in the air and faded away. “It’s happy again,” she said.

  “And it is starting to look fabulous. You are clever to make the ribbon look like the original.”

  “I’ll leave it in the spare room out of the way, and we won’t say anything,” she said, and he nodded.

  “You can’t help wondering who had the opportunity to rip it like that,” he added. “It will be sad if we find that somebody did sneak in and do the damage.” He paused. “I suppose it could have been caught in the drawer and damaged by mistake.”

  “Possible I suppose,” she said doubtfully.

  With the quilt safely in the spare room, Kim locked the door and told him that the key was in the bathroom.

  “Just in case,” she added, and they went to open up the new building and the nursery. People arrived and another manic day began. Màiri brought Jamie’s cousin Mack with her, and he was put to work moving things from the s
hop to the greenhouse, out of the way. Kim checked that Jamie had everything under control in the greenhouses and went to work with Cherie planning the changeover. When it was nearly lunchtime, the construction company finished, and everything was ready for the electricians and floor installers. She thanked them and then took Cherie and Jamie to walk around it all with Rob. They had to plan the next stage.

  11

  “Tell me anything you think of,” she told them, “because the electricians and floor installers start tomorrow.”

  “It will be fabulous with all of the merchandise in,” Cherie answered. “I would like to be able to see most of it from the checkout.” Kim made a note to ask Clay about that one.

  “Plant section nearest to the windows and then it is automatic to walk out into the plant area,” Jamie contributed, and there were some other suggestions. Kim noted them down.

  “If we start with the plants, what comes next?” They walked through and all of them knew in their heads where each section would be.

  “Where is the Christmas section and grotto?” Jamie asked, and they decided to put it near the door to make the area more festive.

  “You will walk through a darkened area with all of the trees and twinkling lights and then through the gifts and baubles to the grotto. Parents taking their kids to see Santa will pass through the Christmas section on the way,” Kim answered, and Cherie added that coming out of the grotto, customers should be channeled into the main selling area.

  “We will move the present shop stock into the main area as soon as the flooring is down and then the coffee shop can be started,” Kim finished as they walked back to the nursery.

  “My mom is thrilled to be starting work here,” Jamie said. “Thanks, Kim.”

  “She has a lot of useful experience, and we need all the help we can get. As soon as the floors are ready she can organize the Christmas area.” He went back to his plant kingdom, and Corby finished serving a customer and came to ask where the quilting section would be. Kim walked back to show her what they had decided.