Read The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt for Free Online

long?”
    Carmen leaned against the porch railing. “I want to take a quilting class.”
    “Are you kidding me? I sent you there to get a story, not spend your time with a needle and thread.” Mr. Lawrence’s voice raised a few notches. “This is not a vacation, you know.”
    “I—I realize that, sir, but the quilting class is held in an Amish woman’s home, and I think if I can get acquainted with her, I might be able to find out what I want to know about rumschpringe.”
    “Is that so?”
    “Yes, and if I’m able to take the quilt class, which starts today and ends in six weeks, I’m sure I’ll have a good story.”
    “Well, it better be, because the paper can’t afford to send reporters on wild goose chases—especially for that length of time.”
    “I don’t think it’ll be a wild goose chase, Mr. Lawrence.”
    There was a long pause. Then, “Okay, if you think you’re going to need six weeks, that’s fine. Just make sure you come back with a top-notch story.”
    “Thanks, I’ll do my best. Good-bye, Mr. Lawrence.” Carmen hung up, drew in a deep breath, and stepped back into Emma’s house.
    “It’s all set,” she said, smiling at Emma. “Just tell me how much I’ll owe for the classes, and I can get started today.”
    Once Emma discussed the price, Carmen turned to Paul and said, “I know you have other things you need to do today, so you can just leave me here and pick me up when the class is over.”
    Paul stared at her with a look of disbelief, but finally he nodded.

     
    “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Blaine mumbled as he parked his SUV on a graveled driveway where a white minivan was about to pull out. If he just hadn’t lost that bet with Stuart when they’d gone fishing last Saturday. Blaine had been so sure he would catch the biggest fish that he’d stupidly agreed to take a six-week quilting class if he lost the bet. He’d never expected Stuart to pull a twenty-eight-inch largemouth bass from Lake Shipshewana. If he hadn’t actually seen Stuart land the fish, he wouldn’t have believed it, but even before his friend pulled the fish out of the water, Blaine knew it was going to be big. It had practically bent Stuart’s fishing rod in half, and surprisingly, it didn’t break.
    Inwardly, Blaine had hoped the fish would roll and detach itself from the hook, but that didn’t happen. Why would it? The week had been rotten. Earlier, he’d almost caved in when he’d been forced to give the fly-fishing demonstration to a large group of people. Somehow, dry mouth and all, Blaine had managed to get through it without letting on how uncomfortable he’d felt. And now he was stuck going to a quilting class of all things!
    The fish Blaine caught had only been twenty-two inches long. What a disappointment that had been, especially when Stuart looked at Blaine’s smaller fish and grinned at him in a teasing way.
    Sure wish I could get out of taking this class
, Blaine thought.
Maybe I could go inside, sit through the first few minutes, and then develop a sudden headache
.
    Blaine was about to get out of his vehicle when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and saw that it was Stuart.
Oh great. What’s he doing…calling to check up on me?
    Blaine was tempted to let his voice mail answer the call, but changed his mind. If he didn’t answer, Stuart would probably think he’d chickened out and wasn’t going to take the class after all.
    He snapped open his cell phone. “What’s up, Stuart? Are you calling to check up on me?” Blaine’s tone was harsher than he meant it to be.
    “Hey, man, don’t get so defensive,” Stuart said. “I just wanted to make sure you were able to find Emma’s house okay.”
    “Yeah, I found it. I’m sitting in her driveway right now.”
    “That’s good. I’ll be anxious to hear how your first class goes. I’m sure it’ll be a walk in the park.”
    “I’ll bet.”
    “What was that?”
    “Nothing.” Blaine glanced at