The Forgiving Quilt by Lenora Worth

Author:Lenora Worth [Worth, Lenora]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 2022-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The big event would be in two weeks, and everyone was in an uproar planning this year’s Harvest Festival. The kitchen staff moved chaotically through the hallways and the restaurant, setting up extra tables on the deep front porch of the inn. They’d also put tables out on the lawn. The off icial Shadow Lake Harvest Festival was celebrated all over the township, but tourists knew the way to the Shadow Lake Inn, so it had become tradition to be ready with extra food, a pumpkin patch, and a craft show. Part of the proceeds went to the local community—the fire department, the clinic, and several other organizations.

Which meant everyone had to pitch in and help.

Aenti Miriam had made herself the supervisor of all things.

“I want this place spic-and-span,” she’d announced this morning.

“My kitchen is always sparkling clean,” Edith had retorted with a stiff smile as she flounced back to the pantry.

Edith ran a tight kitchen and today, even Eliza got involved in the cooking and cleaning. Jonah and Levi had the stables under control, so she had no excuse to hide away out there. They’d get Peaches ready for the pony rides that the kinder loved so much. Eliza didn’t mind hard work; she just preferred being outside in the cool air and warm sunshine.

So here she sat, peeling apples and crimping crust. They always sold pies at the festival. The whole town turned out with food booths, arts and crafts, and all kinds of jams, jellies, and preserves. And the quilts—the inn displayed them in the main lobby, and people came from all around to buy them.

Of course, Eliza’s quilt would not be on display. She’d have to explain it, and she wasn’t ready to shout her story to the world. Aenti Miriam was already wondering if she’d found a man with no memory as Abigail had. But Eliza’s man had a gut memory. Too good.

“Why do you stare at him?” Aenti Miriam had asked several times.

“Because he’s there, in my staring range,” Eliza finally told her.

“You girls, always with the boys on your mind.”

“He’s not on my mind; he’s in my way.”

Her aenti, who liked to huff, huffed her way straight to Mamm to warn her of her daughter’s callous ways.

Mamm had nodded and gone to work on anything she could find.

“What are you dreaming about?” Colette asked as she sank down on the stool next to Eliza. “If I see another apple pie, I might throw up.”

“I’m thinking about how I wish I could be in the stables,” Eliza admitted. “And please, don’t throw up. Edith might banish you from the kitchen forever.”

“And you’d rather be banished than have me go, ain’t so?”

“I’d rather be with my horses and books.”

“And Levi,” her sister replied. “You two have been walking out a lot.”

“So I hear, especially from Aenti,” Eliza replied. “We are not walking out. We walk . . . together.”

“Is there a difference?” Colette asked with eyebrows raised.

“I need the exercise,” Eliza explained. “And yes, there is a difference for us.

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