Jackie stoodin the middle of the organized chaos of her soon-to-be knitting store. For the last forty minutes, a group of men from the church’s construction program had been lifting the furniture she’d found at the old steamboat museum into the cottage.
As she asked two muscly men to move a sideboard a foot to the right, she wondered if she’d get everything in the correct place before they had to leave.
Holding the plan of where everything would go in her hand, she hurried across to the front door. Another four men stood on the veranda, about to lift the oak bookcase Aidan had found into the cottage. Bending in unison, they picked up the heavy piece of furniture and carefully maneuvered it through the doorway, their brows furrowed in concentration.
“Watch the door frame!” Jackie called out as they struggled to fit it inside. They exchanged glances and reluctantly backed out of the door and started again. “You’re doing a great job,” she told them. And they were. None of the furniture was light and, apart from the old-fashioned chairs she’d found, everything was an awkward shape.
She hurried across to another two men who were moving a large, rectangular table across the room. “Let’s put it here,” she told them, pointing toward a corner near the window. “If you sit it about four feet from the wall, it’ll be perfect for a knitting group to use.”
The men nodded and set to work. As they lowered the last piece of furniture into place, Andrea arrived with a tray of takeout coffee and cookies. She beamed at Jackie, her eyes twinkling with excitement.
“I thought everyone could use some fuel after all that hard work,” she said, setting the tray down on a just-assembled table.
The men who were helping were incredibly grateful. With a chorus of thanks, they left the cottage with their hands full of coffee and cookies, and smiles on their faces.
Jackie sank into a chair and sighed. “I’m glad everything could be lifted into the cottage in one piece.”
Andrea handed her a takeout cup of coffee. “It looks fabulous, and it didn’t take that long to get everything sorted.”
Taking a sip of her coffee, Jackie enjoyed the warmth and comfort it brought her. “This is divine. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I’m dying to know where you found all this gorgeous furniture. It’s perfect for what you wanted to create.”
Jackie looked around the store. Even with the layers of dust and grime still covering each piece, they gave the cottage a cozy feel that would have been hard to replicate with new furniture.
“Pastor John offered me some furniture from the old steamboat museum. Most of what you see came from there. But these chairs and a couple of the small coffee tables came from an estate sale in Bigfork. I bought the table from a house a few miles out of Polson. With a few modifications, it’ll make a wonderful sales counter.”
Andrea looked over her shoulder at the table. “You’re right. All you need is a shelving unit on each end, and it’ll be great.”
Jackie reached for a cookie. “Talking about great, how was Tennessee? The photos you posted on Facebook were amazing.”
“The boys loved every minute. David was so patient. It didn’t matter what Andy and Charlie wanted to do or how long it took, he was happy to stay with them if it made them happy. We ate some delicious meals and had so much fun.”
Andrea deserved all the happiness in the world. Her first marriage was an absolute disaster, and Jackie couldn’t imagine how scary it must have been starting a new relationship with David.
Andrea bit into a cookie. “Now, tell me how you’re doing. And, by the way, I love the name you’ve chosen for your store. A Stitch in Time conjures up everything you wanted your business to become.”
Jackie smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “I’m glad you stopped by. I needed someone to lift the doom and gloom off my shoulders. We’re so busy at The Flower Cottage that organizing my store and creating the Christmas gala for Aidan is almost too much.”
“It won’t be long until you finish working with Paris. After that, you can look forward to working in your own store.”
“That’s the part that worries me the most,” Andrea confessed. “All it will take is some unforeseen event and I could be bankrupt.”
Andrea squeezed her hand. “Don’t let it get you down. We’re all in the same boat, but we manage to keep our heads above the water.”
“I’ll try not to let it worry me. I’d like to show you something.” Jackie collected a box from the far side of the room. “Kathleen Armstrong showed me these sweaters she’d knitted. She wanted to know if I was interested in selling them.” Carefully, she lifted the first piece of knitting out of the box. The pale pink sweater was perfect in every way. “Isn’t it adorable?”
Andrea touched the arm of the sweater.
With its delicate lace-like pattern running from the neckline to the hem, it was one of the most feminine knitted sweaters Jackie had seen.
“The color’s amazing,” Andrea said. “And the pattern is pretty without being too flouncy. Does that make sense?”
“They were my thoughts, too. Here’s the next one.”
Andrea let out a soft sigh. “Ilovethis one. The deep burgundy wool is so me. How much would you sell it for?”
Jackie had discussed the prices with Kathleen last night. Wanting to keep her commission as low as possible, they’d found a fair price that suited them both. Turning over the sales tag, she showed Andrea.
