The 12 Quilts of Christmas Read online

“Seriously?” Harriet said.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t have a picture with Santa from your childhood,” he said.

  “I do. But I was in middle school, and my friends and I were at the Christmas market in Annaberg-Bucholz, Germany.”

  “But still, a Santa picture. And even though you weren’t a baby, I’m betting you still have your Santa picture.”

  “What do you think, Luke?” she asked.

  He shook his head.

  “To tell you the truth, I don’t know what to think.”

  The smile left Harriet’s face.

  “Are we being too pushy?”

  “No, not at all. I just have no idea what’s normal.”

  James patted him on the back.

  “How about let’s not worry about what’s normal and just think about what feels right to you. If you want a family picture of all of us with Santa, we’ll do it. But if you don’t we’ll skip it.”

  “While you guys are pondering that, let me tell you about the horse I almost bought today.” Harriet said.

  “What?” James said.

  “For real?” Luke said at the same time.

  She laughed.

  “Let me explain,” she said and proceeded to tell them about her visit to Blood Moon.

  CHAPTER 6

  Annie’s Coffee Shop was strategically located through a short alley and around the corner from Pins and Needles, and was a favorite hangout of the Loose Threads.

  James parked in a prime spot across from the door.

  “Perfect.” Harriet said and reached into the back seat to get her tote bag. “Lauren’s meeting me at the quilt store, and then we’re going to run up to Blood Moon and hang this up. You guys can get us a good spot in the plaza to watch the ceremony. When the tree is lit and the choir has sung a few carols, people will walk down Main Street and store by store, the lights in the windows will be illuminated, revealing the quilt displayed therein.”

  James gave her an affectionate squeeze.

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  She got out of the car and slid the tote bag over her shoulder. James and Luke joined her on the sidewalk. She gave James a quick kiss and squeezed Luke’s arm.

  “Keep an eye on him. It appears he follows an ‘I spy, I buy’ philosophy at Christmas time. If he shops his way to the plaza, you’ll never get there.”

  Luke grinned. “I’m on it.”

  Harriet headed down the block and ducked into the alley, entering the quilt shop through the back door. Lauren was in the small classroom, a cup in front of her. She looked up when Harriet came in.

  “I’m ready,” she said and stood. “Let me get my coat.” She carried her cup to the kitchen then slid into her down jacket and followed Harriet through the quilt store and out the front door.

  “Your display quilt looks great,” Harriet called to Marjorie as they exited.

  “Thanks,” Marjorie called back.

  “Geez, slow down,” Lauren said and slowed her own pace. She glanced at her phone. “We’ve got thirty minutes.”

  Harriet acceded to the request.

  “So, have you heard anything more about the whole horse thing?” Lauren asked.

  “To be honest, I haven’t had time to think about it. I took Jade a check made out to the stable the morning after we talked to her.”

  “Good thinking, making it out to the stable.”

  “Since then, I’ve been chained to my machine, stitching quilts. It’s a miracle we got them all done in time for tonight.”

  “Hopefully, Jade will have that big month she needs.”

  They arrived at Blood Moon and entered.

  “Wow, Jade, it looks great in here.” Harriet surveyed the display shelves. There appeared to be a modest increase in soap and candle inventory, but the big change was that Jade had filled every blank space on her display shelves with fir boughs and holly and puffs of baby’s breath, with blood-red fabric bows tucked everywhere.

  “Nicely done,” Lauren agreed.

  Jade came out from behind the counter.

  “Thanks, I made as much inventory as I could, but it still looked a little empty.”

  “It looks great now,” Harriet assured her. “Did you get that dowel hung?”

  “I did.” Jade led them to the window where she had placed a step stool, ready for someone to hang the quilt.

  “Hold this,” Harriet said, and handed one corner of the quilt to Lauren. She set the stool onto the wide window deck and used it so she could reach to unhook the dowel from the wires. She stepped down, and Lauren slipped one end of the dowel into the triangular pocket on the back upper corner of the quilt while Harriet put the other end into the pocket on the opposite upper corner. She climbed back up onto the window deck and carefully climbed on the stool, lifting the quilt by the dowel and reattaching the wires.

  “See how it looks from the outside,” Harriet suggested.

  “Thanks again for paying Becky’s rent,” Jade said when she and Lauren were back inside, having proclaimed the quilt-hanging a success. She went to her work counter at the back of the store and returned carrying two boxes wrapped in gold foil paper with a big red bow on top of each one. “These are for you two for helping me so much. And it’s not part of your payback. It’s a thank-you.”

  “Well, thank you,” Harriet said. “You didn’t have to do this.”

  “I appreciate your help so much. With Becky safe, I was able to concentrate on making the shop the best it can be. Hopefully, it will be enough to turn everything around.”

  “We better go,” Lauren held her box up. “Thanks for this.”

  Harriet collected her empty tote bag and slid her box inside.

  “I’ll be back for the window lighting.”

  When she and Lauren were outside, she paused, looking at the fir-branch, ribbon, and candle arrangement along the bottom of the window. “I probably should have used a bluer red.” she said.

  “It looks great. Besides, she could have told you she was going to do the blood-red ribbon thing.”

  “I suppose.”

  Harriet and Lauren bought steaming cups of apple cider from a kiosk at the edge of the plaza and continued on to the front-row spot James and Luke had secured.

  “Wow, good job getting the best spot,” Harriet said as she slipped between them.

  James grinned.

  “It’s sort of embarrassing—everyone made a place for us, and I’m pretty sure they did it in hopes of getting a better table at the restaurant the next time they come.”

  “You didn’t ask them to do that, so it’s their problem,” Lauren said after a sip from her cup

  James blew out a breath.

  “It’s a little more delicate than that. I don’t want to lose customers if they can’t get a window seat.”

  A group of teenagers pushed through the crowd and wedged themselves into the front row. Two girls were giggling and trying to catch Luke’s attention.

  “Do you know those girls?” Harriet asked him.

  He turned slightly so his back was to them.

  “They go to my school.”

  “If you want to go hang out with your friends, you can. We won’t be offended.”

  Luke’s face darkened, and his jaw tensed.

  “They aren’t my friends, and I don’t want to hang out with them. I’m going to go get some cider. Do you want any, James?”

  “Sure, that would be nice.”

  Harriet watched the young man skirt the crowd, avoiding the girls, before continuing on to the cider station.

  “I wonder what that was about?”

  “He clearly doesn’t like that pair, at least” Lauren said.

  Harriet sipped her cider.

  “I wonder why? I’ve asked him if he wanted to have any friends over to the house, but he sort-of brushes me off. He doesn’t really talk about school at all. I don’t know if that’s a boy thing or if he’s having issues.”

  “Are we allowed to ask the school counselors how he
’s doing socially?” James asked.

  “I wouldn’t,” Lauren said before Harriet could answer. “My brother Les had some problems in high school, and believe me, the counselors made it all worse. And if Luke found out he might feel very betrayed.”

  James rocked back on his heels.

  “Okay, scratch that.”

  “Maybe we can volunteer at the school. That would give us a reason to be there, and maybe see how he interacts,” Harriet said.

  Lauren tilted her head back, hoping for a last drop from her cup, but it was empty.

  “We should talk to Connie about it.”

  Harriet smiled.

  “We?”

  “Yes, we. I’m practically his aunt. That should count for something.”

  “Of course it does,” James assured her. “It takes a village, right?”

  Thankfully, the mayor’s speech was short and stuck to holiday greetings and announcements of upcoming events. The junior high choir sang several Christmas carols, accompanied by the high school band.

  “Whoa!” Harriet exclaimed when the tree was finally lit. “They’ve outdone themselves.”

  “I’m glad they used colored lights,” Lauren commented. “I’m getting tired of everyone using those little white ones everywhere.”

  Jorge and Beth joined them, and Beth slid her arm around Luke’s waist, giving him a squeeze.

  “I swear you’ve grown another inch,” she said with a smile.

  Luke blushed. “It’s hard not to with all the good food James makes.”

  Jorge clapped James on the back.

  “Hey, my man, have you picked up your Christmas tickets yet?”

  “Not yet,” James replied. “I thought I’d ask Daniel when we get to his shop. He’s one of our stops on the window quilt trail.”

  “What are Christmas tickets?” Luke asked Harriet.

  Harriet tossed her empty cider cup into the recycling bin behind him.

  “Each participating business in town will have a ticket with some sort of discount or free gift or something. When you shop in a store, they’ll give you a ticket to be used at any other participating business, and when you use that ticket, you’ll get another one. The idea is to encourage people to shop local.”

  “That’s cool,” Luke said.

  James took Harriet’s hand.

  “The crowd’s moving. Shall we follow?”

  Members of the Foggy Point Business Association led the procession up the street. The lights had been dimmed in the shop windows so that each quilt could be dramatically illuminated as the crowd arrived.

  Connie was in front of The Cupcake Shop, and Harriet, James, and Luke crossed the street and joined her.

  “Your quilt looks fantastic,” Harriet told her.

  She pressed her lips together.

  “I wasn’t sure about the crystals. I think people are starting to overdo them.”

  Harriet moved closer to window and examined the cupcake images on the quilt.

  “I think they’re the perfect accent on the frosting. Was Sunny thrilled?”

  Connie considered for a moment.

  “I’m not sure ‘thrilled’ is the right word. I’m sure she likes it all right, but she’s been overwhelmed with Christmas business. I know bakers keep long hours, but her lights are on here past midnight and she starts in the wee hours of the morning.”

  “Seems sort of early in the season to be that busy,” Harriet said.

  James twined his fingers in hers.

  “Lots of groups do their Christmas parties early.”

  “If she’s got that much business, why doesn’t she hire help?” Harriet countered.

  “I asked her,” Connie said. “But she just changed the subject.”

  James put his free arm around Connie’s shoulders.

  “Well, whether Sunny appreciates it or not, I think your quilt is beautiful.”

  Connie smiled and looked from him to Harriet.

  “This one’s a keeper,” she said.

  “Who’s next,” James asked, his face turning red.

  “Mavis and the yarn store,” Harriet answered.

  Harriet’s quilt in the Blood Moon window was the last display on their side of the street. She stepped close to the window and stared at it.

  “I should have realized that, with a name like Blood Moon, she’d decorate with a bluer red.”

  Aunt Beth patted her arm.

  “You had no way of knowing. Besides, I think your traditional shade of red, and the green and gold work better with the quilt blocks you’ve chosen.”

  Harriet shook her head.

  “That’s kind of you to say, but I still think a more blood-red would have worked better.”

  “It’s done now, so no point in fretting about it,” Beth told her. “Let’s go across the street to the print shop. I haven’t seen Robin’s crazy quilt since she put all our blocks together.”

  “Wow, you’ve outdone yourself,” Harriet said as the group gathered around Robin on the sidewalk in front of the print shop. Aunt Beth stepped closer to the window and peered at the quilt.

  “How did you have time to embroider all the seams?”

  “I had a lot of help. DeAnn did a lot, plus I taught my daughter how to do the herringbone stitch,” Robin pointed to the lower left corner of the quilt. “She did this whole section.

  Harriet leaned in for a better look.

  “Wow, she did a great job.”

  James put his hand on her arm.

  “I’m going to go inside and see if Daniel has my tickets ready.” He headed inside along with Jorge and Luke.

  Harriet shivered and rubbed her arms.

  “I’m going inside to warm up.”

  Robin pulled her cape more tightly around her shoulders.

  “You all should go inside. Daniel has a coffee and hot cider set-up for the public. I’m going to wait out here for my family.”

  Daniel Muhler was by his computer screen behind the shop counter. He was a tall, slender man with thinning hair and deep laugh lines etched into his tanned face. He looked up as they came in.

  “If you’re looking for your Christmas tickets, I’ve got the Tico’s Tacos ones ready, but, James, yours won’t be ready until tomorrow morning. If you wait until noon or so to pick them up, I’ll have your holiday menus ready, too.”

  “That’ll work,” James said. “Can I go ahead and pay for them now?”

  A look of relief came over Daniel’s face.

  “That would be great. I mean, I can invoice you if that’s more convenient.”

  James smiled. “I’ll take care of it now. I know things can get tight around Christmas.”

  “That was nice of you,” Harriet said when they were back outside.

  He put his arm around her shoulders.

  “I heard from some of the business owners that this Christmas ticket thing puts Daniel in a real bind. He has to front the cost of printing all the tickets plus all the holiday cards and advertising flyers and things like my menus that people do this time of year. Under normal conditions, businesses pay sixty days after the work is received.”

  “That sucks,” Luke said.

  “It’s how business works,” James explained. “A lot of people start businesses without realizing how much money they have to have up front to cover that time period. They need more money to cover the people who take more than sixty days or don’t ever pay.”

  “As busy as the print shop seems to be, I’m surprised Daniel isn’t more solvent,” Harriet said.

  James blew out a breath.

  “You just never know. Maybe his expenses are high. He could be making payments on all those printers and copiers.”

  Harriet stared through the window into the shop.

  “I suppose.”

  Beth and Jorge came out of the print shop and paused for another look at Robin’s quilt.

  “That has to be one of the nicest quilts in the group,” Beth said. “No one would ever know how quickly it was put
together.” Her gaze shifted to the shop directly across the street. “I wonder why Keystroke Computers doesn’t have a quilt?”

  Jorge shifted his package of tickets to his left arm, freeing up his right to encircle Beth’s shoulders.

  “It’s a voluntary activity. Chris declined. The committee pressed pretty hard, since he’s the only one who didn’t want one. They tried to get him to put some sort of display in his window, if not a quilt, but he wasn’t having it.”

  “I guess that’s his right,” Harriet said. “Is he anti-religion?”

  Jorge shook his head.

  “I don’t think that was it. He just didn’t want to be bothered. He’s not doing Christmas tickets, either.”

  “Well, bah, humbug,” Luke said, and everyone laughed.

  CHAPTER 7

  Beth, Mavis and Connie were sitting at the big table at The Steaming Cup, Foggy Point’s other, larger coffee shop, on Monday when Harriet arrived. She unwrapped the knitted scarf from her neck and slid out of her jacket.

  “I thought it was supposed to get warmer this week.”

  “Go get a hot drink, and you’ll be fine,” Aunt Beth told her.

  “I can’t stay too long. Lauren is meeting me here, and after we go to the quilt store to find some fabric for her brother’s quilt, I’ve got to pick up James’s printing. I’ve got time for a quick hot chocolate, though,” she added and headed for the counter.

  “I know we can’t expect everyone to be as enthusiastic about our quilts as we are,” Connie said when Harriet returned. “But did anyone else think the shop owners were a little subdued?”

  Mavis sipped her tea then set her mug down on the table.

  “I wasn’t going to say anything, but I thought Mildred would be a little more appreciative. I mean, they get a free quilt out of the deal. She didn’t seem to care what I made for the yarn store or how I hung it, for that matter.”

  Harriet stirred the whipped cream into her cocoa.

  “Jade is having financial problems at Blood Moon, so I wasn’t surprised when my quilt wasn’t the first thing on her mind, but she did thank me.”

  “There are a couple of dominate members on the Business Association committee,” Beth said. “Maybe this whole month of Christmas activities is too much for the smaller businesses, but they were afraid to go against the bigger players. Now, the expense of the extra activities is threatening their survival.” She leaned back in her chair. “Serena’s doing a land-office business at the kitchen store. She’s selling all the quilted tablecloths she and her friends can make, and her shelves are well stocked with kitchen tools, dishes, and cookbooks, and every other possible item that could be associated with a kitchen.”