Gracie actually smiled too. “No!”
“Then you have plenty of time to get it done.”
“I guess so,” she hesitated. “But will you still help me?”
Jenny wasn’t sure how to answer her. She’d always planned to go back to San Antonio to teach. “I’ll promise you this, Gracie, I’ll do my best.”
The girl wasn’t excited by her answer. “You said you’d help me finish it.”
“And if possible, I will. Besides, if you keep practicing, just think how good you’ll get and you can do it yourself.”
The child looked sad. “Does this mean I can’t be in the class any more?”
“Oh, no. We want you to stay in the class. Would you be willing to work on another project, something simpler?”
Gracie nodded eagerly.
“Good. We’ve come up with an idea and all you girls can work together. Even Mrs. Perry is going to participate in this project.” Jenny stood. “Come on, I’ll announce to everyone what’s going to happen.”
Gracie hurried back to her seat as Jenny turned to Allison. “She took it better than I thought.”
“She seemed relieved.”
But Jenny wasn’t sure she was out of the woods yet. Hadn’t she been the one who had fought to get Gracie into class, assuring Evan she could handle it?
Why should she care what he thought? The man had run hot and cold, kissing her, making her want more. But she hadn’t seen or heard from him since. Apparently he’d wanted to put some distance between them.
She could deal with rejection. If only he would stay away, stop making her long for more, making her want what she couldn’t have—a man who would never be hers.
Jenny walked back to the group. “Girls, it’s about quitting time and I’d like to talk to you all.”
They stopped and looked at her.
“First of all, I want to tell you how pleased I am with the work you’ve all accomplished in just a few short weeks.” She looked around. “Is everyone having fun?”
The group cheered and Jenny’s chest swelled. She glanced at Lily. “Well, if you like what you’re doing, we’d like to go a step further. When the class began, we talked about everyone making their own quilt, but that’s a big project, and it can take a long time, especially with school-work and chores at home. How about we each work on a section of blocks, then everyone combines them to make one quilt?” She rushed on to say, “It’ll still be about your family, but we’ll put everyone’s together.”
There was silence.
She continued, “Why not make a quilt that tells a story about the town, about past generations? You are the future of Kerry Springs, but we should know where we came from, too. I know a lot of you are already using fabric from your relatives. That’s perfect. Now with the assistance of mothers and the helpers, you can embroider those people’s names and dates on the blocks so we’ll know who they are.” Jenny moved aside so Lily could join her. “And now Mrs. Perry is going to tell you more about this project.”
“Hello, girls.”
“Hello, Mrs. Perry,” they said in unison.
“I’m also impressed with the work you’re doing here. And I’m taking a personal interest in this project, since both my daughter and my mother are working on it, too.
“When I first heard of Jenny’s idea, I thought, what a great idea, to preserve our town’s history in a quilt. And then I thought, as well as a quilt, how about an essay contest? We have Founders’ Day coming up in July. So what better way to celebrate it than to write about the families that make our town great?”
Jenny watched as the girls took in the idea.
“This isn’t a school requirement. It’s strictly for this class and for your own curiosity. But the girls who turn in stories will have them published in the town paper. Even better, Jenny and Allison will display the finished quilt in the shop window so everyone in town will see your hard work.” Lily smiled. “How do you feel about that?”
The girls cheered. “We should do it,” Cherry said. It was seconded by girl after girl.
“Okay, that gives us three months to finish. So you’ll keep working in class, but you’ll need to interview your parents and grandparents, learn their stories. Good luck to all of you.”
The room buzzed with excitement as the girls put away their sewing while discussing what they were going to do. Jenny glanced toward the back of the room and saw Evan.
Now it was her job to get him to go along with the sudden change of plans.
Evan watched as Jenny moved around the room talking to each student. It was obvious the girls adored her. She had an ease around kids, around everyone.
Not him. Outside of family, he’d always had trouble talking to people. He’d rather be alone than in a group. Megan hadn’t been eager to bring him out. She’d had her own social groups; besides quilting, there was her work at the church. Yet now, he could see his daughter needed more.
Although he’d once loved the solitude of working the vineyard, he’d found of late he was lonely. More so when he thought about Jenny Collins. Whenever he got close to her, he could feel the pull. Then there was the memory of the sweetest kiss and the stirring in his body that told him he wanted more, needed more as well.
His daughter came running toward him. “Daddy, guess what?”
“What?”
“We’re all going to make a big quilt together and have a writing contest. I need to get some old clothes from Grandpa for my blocks ‘cause I’m gonna write about him being from Ireland, and you and Uncle Matt, too.”
He looked at Jenny, who had arrived next to his daughter. “So you’re working on a new project already?”
“We’re taking a little detour,” Jenny answered.
Allison and Cherry walked up. “How about us girls go for some ice cream, Gracie? Then your dad and Jenny can talk.”
“Can I go, Daddy?”
Evan dug into his pocket for a few dollars and handed them to her. “Sure, but only get one scoop and don’t take too long.”
He watched as they left the shop, then turned back to Jenny. “What’s going on?”
“First of all, I was planning to tell to you about it when you got here.”
“Well, I’m here.” He glanced at Millie, who was with a customer. Both ladies were watching them with interest. “Is there somewhere private we can talk?” he asked.
“I can’t leave Millie.”
“I’ll be fine,” the saleswoman assured her. “You two go talk.” She smiled at Evan. “Good to see you again, Evan. Say hello to your father for me.”
He nodded. “I’ll do that.” He followed Jenny toward the back of the shop. She went to the office, then bypassed it. “The bookkeeper is working in there.”
Evan was surprised when Jenny opened another door that led to a staircase and started up. He followed her, and they ended up in her apartment.
He looked around, and then walked to the narrow window. “You can see Main Street.”
“Yeah, the view sold me on the place.”
He turned his attention to her. She looked tempting in