Blossom Street Brides (Blossom Street #10)(35)

“Glad to do it. He’s a gem. You couldn’t find a better man than Rooster Wayne. He’d never tell you this, but Max would have lost his business and a whole lot more if it hadn’t been for Rooster.”

Lauren glanced up at Rooster and smiled.

He frowned back. It made him uncomfortable to have Bethanne sing his praises.

Lauren looked to be on the verge of laughing. “I think you might be right. I better go. I’m getting the evil eye from Rooster. Bye, Bethanne.”

“Bye. Oh, before I forget, how’s the baby blanket coming along?”

Rooster stiffened. Baby blanket.

“Okay so far.”

“Me, too. I’ve just finished knitting the border.”

Rooster knew about the “husband list,” which had intrigued him, but now it seemed Lauren was thinking about getting pregnant … unless, of course, she was already in that condition. He swallowed hard. It just might be that he’d bitten off a bigger bite than he’d realized.

With the call ended, Lauren returned the cell to her purse.

“You’re knitting a baby blanket?” he asked, hoping he didn’t sound as skeptical as he felt.

“Yes. I thought I mentioned that. That’s what Bethanne and I were knitting when you and Max showed up at the yarn store.”

“Is there any particular reason you’re knitting a baby blanket?” he asked, afraid his voice didn’t sound quite right. He examined her closely, wondering if he’d missed something earlier.

“Well, yes, for my sister.”

“Your sister?” Now he remembered. Learning her younger sister was pregnant was what had prompted this entire desire to create this husband list of hers. The tension left him, and he felt the almost irrepressible urge to laugh.

Lauren paused mid-step. “Rooster? Did you think? You thought … I was … me, pregnant? Oh, honestly!”

Unable to hold back his amusement, Rooster started to chuckle, and soon Lauren was laughing, too. He stopped when he realized how beautiful she looked in her pretty pink sweater. His gaze wandered to her lips, and he felt his chest tighten with the need to kiss her. It didn’t matter that they stood in the middle of the sidewalk in a section of town that was less than desirable. Nothing mattered but bringing Lauren into the protection of his arms.

The laughter drained out of her eyes as she read his intent. It seemed to Rooster that she leaned toward him at the very instant he reached for her. Then his mouth covered hers and his hands tangled in her hair. This was good, better than good. She tasted of mint and springtime as she opened to him and he to her, slanting his mouth over hers in an effort to be close, intimate. She was warm and welcoming, her arms wrapped around his neck. Their bodies fused together, close and tight, as though they were made for this. The disappointment he’d experienced the night before lifted from his shoulders, the irritation and regret wiped out with a single kiss. His heart rate quickly accelerated as the realization hit him that he could easily fall for this woman. The thought frightened him, but not enough to put an end to what was happening between them. Not nearly enough for that.

Someone walked past and bumped into him, and Rooster reluctantly broke off the kiss. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Okay,” Lauren whispered.

He didn’t have a single idea where they would go. Not that it mattered, as long as it was a place where he could kiss Lauren again.

Chapter Fourteen

Color is a feeling for me. I work by feeling!

—Tina,

Freia Handpaint Yarns,

www.freiafibers.com

Sunday morning, Lydia and Brad had barely arrived at church before Casey and Cody shot off in different directions. Casey to the youth group section and Cody to the kid zone. Bible in hand, Lydia started down the center aisle. She liked to sit on the right-hand side about halfway up. Not too close and not too far back. They sat in the same pew nearly every week; it was almost as if they had their own designated row.

After greeting a few friends and getting an update on the Women’s Comedy Night, which was scheduled for a week from Friday, Lydia and Brad slipped inside the pew. After Lydia took a moment to be reflective and silent, Brad handed her the church bulletin.

Leaning his head toward her, he whispered, “Jordan’s preaching today.”

“Oh, good.” Jordan Turner served as the youth pastor and gave the sermon once a month. Jordan had married Alix Townsend. That had been a few years earlier, and they now had a toddler named Tommy, who Casey adored. For that matter, so did Lydia. The toddler had the sweetest disposition.

Alix would always be close to Lydia’s heart. She’d been a member of the very first knitting class Lydia had taught soon after opening A Good Yarn. At the time Alix had been a young adult and a little rough around the edges—well, actually, more than a little rough. In the beginning, Lydia had been tentative about her attending the knitting class. How wrong she’d been to prejudge the girl.

These days Alix worked as a baker at The French Cafe and was a wife to her fifth-grade sweetheart and a mother to Tommy. Lately Lydia had heard talk about the couple wanting to add to their family.

Not surprisingly, the gritty Alix had turned out to be a talented knitter. Over the years, Lydia had looked on proudly as Alix tackled one complex pattern after another. When it came to yarn and life, Alix Turner was fearless.