Tides of Hope by Irene Hannon

Author:Irene Hannon
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2009-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

When a knock sounded on her back door Friday night as Kate unloaded the dishwasher, she wiped her hands on a towel and headed across the kitchen.

“Is Mrs. Shaw bringing us a treat?” Maddie looked up from her coloring book, her expression hopeful.

“How do you know it’s Mrs. Shaw?”

“Because only the Shaws come to our back door. And Mr. Shaw’s favorite TV program is on tonight.”

Her four-year-old’s deductive reasoning never failed to impress Kate. “Maybe.”

But she hoped not. If her neighbor was bearing food, it meant she was either hunting for information or had news to impart. And lately, a certain lieutenant had been high on her list of newsworthy topics.

As Kate pulled the door open, the plate of oatmeal cookies in Edith’s hand confirmed the purpose of her visit. But Kate was more distracted by the mass of damp wool dangling from the woman’s other hand.

Craig’s sweater.

She’d forgotten about him hurling it into the backyard the night of Maddie’s asthma attack.

“I found this on your bench.” Edith inclined her head toward the sweater and raised an eyebrow.

“That’s the lootenin’s,” Maddie informed her, peeking under Kate’s arm.

“It’s a long story,” Kate told Edith.

“I have plenty of time. What do you want me to do with this?” She hefted the sweater.

“Leave it on the porch. I’ll deal with it later.”

Dropping the garment, Edith handed Kate the plate of cookies and stepped inside. “These just came out of the oven.”

“They look great. Go ahead and hang your coat on a peg. And wash your hands,” Kate called over her shoulder as she carried the plate into the dining area.

“I washed them before I left the house.”

“That sweater you picked up had a close encounter with a c-a-t.”

“Ah.” Edith moved to the sink and turned on the water. “That explains it.”

She was drying her hands as Kate came back in. After pouring two mugs of coffee, Kate handed her one and filled a glass with milk for Maddie, who’d already homed in on the plate of cookies.

“These smell good, Mrs. Shaw,” Maddie called from the dining area.

“Let’s sample them, by all means.” The older woman headed for the table and took her seat. Selecting a cookie, she broke off a piece and popped it in her mouth as she addressed Kate. “You told me about the episode Tuesday night, but not the cause.”

She should have expected that lapse to come back and haunt her, Kate thought in chagrin as she perused the plate of cookies and selected one. Very little got by Edith.

“Are you talking about my asthma attack?” Maddie took another cookie.

Or her daughter.

“Yes, honey. To answer your question, Edith, I didn’t see any reason to embarrass him. He felt bad enough as it was when he found out about the feline issue.”

“The lootenin stayed for my treatment,” Maddie volunteered. “He told me a story. It was fun while he was here.”

“I’ll bet.” Edith stirred some cream into her coffee, flashing Kate a satisfied smile. “What a nice picture of domesticity.”

“And Mommy and me went to his house to see Vicki’s bedroom.

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