Read The Fountain of Infinite Wishes (Dare River Book 5) for Free Online Page B

yours?”
    “That sounds horrible,” Sadie said, shivering at the thought of a stranger touching her so intimately. “Sometimes I have to wonder what people are thinking.”
    “I hope you gave him a what-for,” Susannah said.  
    “I handled it,” Tory said, “but since I’m trained as an anthropologist, I find it equally interesting and annoying. Okay, your turn.”
    Susannah got this moony look on her face that implied she was thinking of the kind of story that could not be shared, then blushed profusely and said, “I had a client ask for a wax figure of General Stonewall Jackson. The man’s a Civil War buff and has more money than God. I told him I had no idea where I could commission a wax figure like that, but I’d look. Can you believe I actually found someone online?”
    “That’s crazy!” Tory exclaimed. “Beats my belly toucher hands down. Do you have any news, Sadie?”
    Shelby and I hired a P.I. to find our daddy. She cleared her throat and looked away, trying to think of something else to say. Her mind seemed to be filled with sand. Oh, how she hated to lie, even by omission. “I…can’t think of anything.”
    “Did you have any new quilt orders come in?” Susannah asked as they stepped back onto the deck to head inside through the back door.
    Shelby waved at them from her seat on the patio furniture next to J.P., who also waved. Then their stepfather, Dale, and Rye’s parents joined in. Suddenly it was a wave party.
    “I’m making one for Shelby,” she said absently, envisioning the purple and orange pattern she’d designed. It was the boldest one she’d ever created, but it suited Shelby to a T. Her middle sister had always been the most daring of the four of them, and their quest to find Daddy would require plenty of bravery from both of them.
    “What are you making her one for?” Susannah asked. “Did she ask?”
    She turned to look at her sister. Was that jealousy in her voice? Of course, the last time she’d made a quilt for Susannah had been for her birthday some four years ago. That year, she’d made all her siblings quilts. That was the year she’d finally decided her quilts were good enough to give as gifts.  
    “I…” Holy heck, she couldn’t say it was her way of contributing to their Daddy Search Fund. “A pattern just came to me, and it’s…perfect for Shelby.”
    Her sister’s eyebrow rose. “Oh. I thought you were only making ones to sell now.”
    “I can make you one too if you’d like,” she said immediately. “I thought you’d prefer the jam.”
    Susannah loved jam. Of course she’d made Shelby four jars of jam too, per their agreement. They hadn’t heard from Vander again since agreeing to meet with him on Monday to discuss their options for next steps, and while that made sense—it was the weekend, after all—Sadie had needed something to take her mind off the search. And the guilt. She’d given her mama jam too, professing it was a super late Mother’s Day gift, choking on the words. She’d lied .  
    She was a horrible person.
    “I’d like a quilt for our bed,” Susannah said, her cheeks turning pink. “When you have the chance.”
    Sadie nodded over-enthusiastically. “Of course! Anything you want.”
    Her sister narrowed her eyes at her—she sensed something was off, all right—and Sadie turned to Tory to escape her regard. “I’m making one for the baby too, in case you were wondering.”
    Tory patted her arm. “I wasn’t, but thank you. We’ll cherish it, Sadie. I’m so happy you decided to sell your quilts through the craft shop. A talent like yours shouldn’t be hidden away.”
    Her mama had always told her that too. She’d mentioned one of her projects—a cathedral window quilt she was making for a woman at church—to her boss, Debra Shumen, and the older woman had asked to see it. When Sadie had brought it in, Debra had exclaimed that her quilt making was more than a hobby. Sadie was a master at it. She’d asked