To Capture the Sky (Choices of the Heart, book 2) by Jennie Marsland

Author:Jennie Marsland [Marsland, Jennie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing
Published: 2017-02-28T18:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Beth stood at the mercantile’s dry goods counter, flipping through a catalog of dress patterns. She’d never had any trouble choosing a pattern for a dressmaker to sew for her, but choosing one she could make herself was another matter. She’d had a hard enough time stitching plain curtains.

Wavering between two styles, she looked up when the bell above the door jangled.

June spoke to the person coming in. “Hello, Holly. Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Hello, Mrs. Baker,” a young voice answered.

Was this Ben’s friend? Beth stole a look at Holly out of the corner of her eye. She seemed aptly named. In her red calico dress, with her pale complexion, black hair, and delicate features, she would have been a good choice for the role of a winter sprite in a Shakespearean play. No wonder Ben was smitten.

After giving Mrs. Baker her supply order, Holly headed for the dry goods counter. When she saw the smoky-blue muslin Beth had laid on the cutting table, she reached out to touch it, then, with a shy glance at Beth, drew her hand back. “It’s a beautiful color.”

Beth smiled and laid a hand on the fabric. “Isn’t it? I’m trying to find a pattern for it – one that isn’t too difficult.”

Holly looked up and down the shelves. When she spotted a bolt of spring-green cotton, figured with leaves of darker green that matched her eyes, her face lit up. She had a good sense of color, Beth decided. After a moment’s thought she reached for the green fabric, laid it beside the muslin, and unrolled a yard or two.

“Did I hear Mrs. Baker call you Holly?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“My name’s Beth McShannon. My husband and I are friends with Ben Reeves’ parents. Ben happened to mention your name the other day. Holly, I’ve never made a dress before and I don’t know how I’m going to get this done in time for the spring dance. I wonder if you might know someone who could help me with it, for the price of a dress length of this cotton.”

Holly hesitated. “I can sew, ma’am, but I’m usually needed at home when I’m not in school. I could probably work a couple of Saturday afternoons between now and the dance, but I can’t promise when. Oh, there’s Pa now.”

Simon Grier looked surly and mean, but Beth thought that most of all he looked defeated. A fairly big man, he seemed to have shrunk into himself. His hair must have once been black like Holly’s, but it was graying now. He kept his gaze fixed on the floor. It wasn’t difficult to picture him bullying someone smaller and weaker. Would Beth only be making trouble for Holly by trying to help her? “Mr. Grier, may I speak with you for a moment?”

Holly’s father glanced at Beth out of dull gray eyes before his gaze slid to the floor again. “You’re speaking to me now.”

With her doubts growing, Beth introduced herself. “I was just telling your daughter that I could use help with some dressmaking.

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