CHAPTER1
Shona sat at her sewing machine surrounded by stacks of quilting fabric and spools of thread. She loved nothing more than being at home in the peaceful solitude of her sewing room where she could lose herself in the hum of the machine and the soothing repetition of her needle moving up and down.
For her, quilting was more than a hobby or a way to pass the time. Over the last couple of years, it had become her primary source of income. Between two part-time jobs, she stitched and planned projects for customers who contacted her after seeing the quilts she sold at The Christmas Shop and on her website.
If she was ever short of inspiration, all she had to do was look through the window and take in the glorious view of the tall spruce, oak, and pine trees growing on the edge of her Montana property.
Each day in Sapphire Bay was a blessing. Especially when her son was home from college.
“Do you know where my backpack’s gone, Mom?” Nate, her nineteen-year-old son, stood in the doorway. When he saw what she was working on, he smiled. “I can’t believe you’re already doing the topstitching. Kylie only had her baby a week ago.”
“I’ve been working on her quilt for a while. Your backpack’s beside the kitchen counter.”
“Thanks.” He turned to leave and then stopped. “Are you going to the tiny home village this morning?”
“Not to the village, but I am going to the old steamboat museum. Do you want me to drop something off on my way through town?”
Nate shook his head. “It’s okay. I’ll see Pastor John tonight.”
Each Friday night, Shona volunteered at The Welcome Center. When Nate was home from college, he went with her. Sometimes, they peeled potatoes or made large pans of lasagna. On other evenings they set up the dining room, cleaned the kitchen, or helped make beds in the accommodation wing for unexpected guests.
It didn’t matter which jobs they were allocated, it was their way of giving back to a community that had given them so much.
“Be careful on the road.”
“I will. I’ll see you after I’ve finished work.”
After he left, she changed the decorative stitch she was using and followed the edge of the fabric. The pink and purple quilt would look pretty on the cradle Kylie and Ben had rescued from the top of their barn.
With a contented sigh, she planned the rest of her day. After she finished this row, she’d prepare some fabric for a quilt she was making for a customer. And, after that, she’d take two quilts into the old steamboat museum for the tiny homes that were almost finished.
She may be just one person sitting in a small room with a sewing machine but, through her quilts, she was able to touch the lives of so many others. And, for her, that was the greatest gift of all.
* * *
Joseph lifteda sheet of drywall into place with an apprentice who was helping to build the tiny homes. Henry was a good kid who’d had a rough start in life. With the help of the local church, and the construction program Pastor John had started, he’d found something better than the life he’d known.
“Make sure the sheet is hard against the wall,” Joseph told him. “Otherwise, nothing will line up.”
“It’s tight.” Henry took the electric drill off his toolbelt and screwed the drywall into place.
The tiny home was going to a development that was based on what they were doing in Sapphire Bay. With chronic homelessness and rental affordability an issue in many towns, the tiny home project provided much-needed accommodation in communities across Montana.
When the sheet was secure, they picked up another and attached it to the wall. So far, they were on track to have three homes ready for plastering tomorrow morning.
They both turned when someone knocked on the exterior wall. Joseph smiled at the woman standing in the doorway. He’d spoken to Shona Milligan a few times since he’d moved to Sapphire Bay. With red-brown hair, gray eyes, and a personality that was as genuine as her smile, she was one of the nicest people he’d met.
“Hi, Joseph. I’ve made two quilts for the homes you’ve finished. I was going to leave them in the office, but no one’s there.”
He looked at the folded fabric. “I’d offer to take them to the tiny homes, but I’ll get them dirty. I could show you where they need to go?”
“That would be great. Hi, Henry.”
“Hi, Mrs. Milligan. Will Nate be home later tonight?”
“He’ll be at The Welcome Center until eight o’clock, but home after that.”
“I’ll text him to see if he wants a visitor.”
