Blossom Street Brides (Blossom Street #10)(37)

“Casey?”

Alix shrugged. “She was too busy chasing Jack around the rink.”

Lydia smiled. That figured.

“Did the girls write anything in the notebook?”

“Oh, that was cool,” Alix said. “The girls wrote short notes of encouragement.”

“To those who would be knitting the scarf?” Lydia asked.

“No, to the homeless person who would receive the scarf. I wasn’t sure if that was the original intent, but one of the girls thought of doing that, and it seemed like a good idea. I was sure this whole thing was your mastermind marketing program.”

Lydia was all the more perplexed. This was the third time she’d heard of someone finding a yarn basket. “I wish I had thought of it myself.”

“Don’t look so concerned,” Alix told her. “I think it’s great and it’s sure to generate business. Whoever is doing this clearly buys the yarn from you.”

All the way to the parking lot, Lydia mulled over what she’d learned. Brad and the kids were already in the car, and as soon as her husband saw her, he started the engine.

Lydia opened the front passenger door and scooted inside.

“What did Alix want?” Brad asked, and then, without giving her time to reply, asked a second question: “Is she recruiting you for another one of her church projects?”

“As a matter of fact, no.”

Brad arched both brows to show his surprise. Alix Turner operated on the theory that if the church needed a task accomplished, she should look to Lydia. As busy as she was, Lydia always seemed to be able to pull a project together.

“Alix mentioned that she saw another one of those knitting baskets at the roller rink on Friday.”

“Mom,” Casey said, so excited she practically came out of her seat belt. “I forgot to tell you about that.”

“I saw one, too,” Cody piped in.

Brad twisted around to look at their son. “Where?”

“Charlie’s mother showed me one after baseball practice last week. She said it was a really smart thing Mom’s doing.”

“I wish I was that smart,” Lydia whispered.

“Where was it?” Brad asked.

Cody hesitated. “If I tell you, you might get mad.”

“I’m not going to be mad,” his father assured him.

“McDonald’s.”

His confession was followed by a short silence.

“Wednesday night? You mean to say you ate a hamburger right before your dinner, young man?” Lydia asked. “No wonder you barely touched your meal.”

“I didn’t eat a hamburger,” Cody murmured. “I ate two, and they were cheeseburgers, not hamburgers.”

“Oh, Cody.” Lydia remembered that he’d barely touched his dinner, and Cody had insisted he wasn’t hungry. Lydia had been concerned he might be coming down with a flu bug. It simply wasn’t like Cody, a growing boy, not to be interested in food.

“You said you wouldn’t be mad.”

“I wish you’d told me earlier.”

“I would have, but you don’t like it when I eat before meals.”

“I wonder why that is,” Brad said. “Your mother cooked you a perfectly good dinner that went to waste.”

“I know,” Cody said, sounding contrite. “But I was hungry and Charlie’s mom had a meeting and that was his dinner.”

“Yours, too, apparently,” Brad added.

Lydia could sympathize. “Honey, next time just let me know, okay?”

“And you won’t get upset or anything?”

Lydia was mildly afraid she would break her promise. “I’ll do my best, if you do the same. Deal?”

“Deal,” Cody echoed.

“Where are we going?” Casey asked, when Brad turned off from the street that led to their house.

“To McDonald’s.”

“For lunch?” Cody asked excitedly.

“I like Burger King better,” Casey piped in.

“Five Guys for me,” Brad said.

“Brad?” Lydia asked, keeping her voice low. She didn’t have a clue what her husband was up to now.

His gaze momentarily left the road to meet hers. “I think it’s time you took a look at one of these knitting baskets, don’t you?”

Lydia didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of that herself. “Yes, it is time.”

“It might be gone by now,” Casey said. “From what I understand, they don’t stick around long.”

“Good. Try to get Dad to swing by Burger King,” Cody said with a pout.

“We’re not buying lunch,” Brad said. “If we want to take a family vacation this summer, we need to save our money.”

“That sucks,” Casey muttered.

“Everything that is worthwhile demands sacrifice of some kind,” Lydia reminded their daughter.

“When the time comes, you’ll be glad,” Brad promised.

“But August is months and months away.” Cody didn’t seem to agree.

“It’ll be here before you know it,” Lydia promised.

“I’ve never been to Oregon or California,” Casey said. “I can hardly wait.”