A Spicy Secret by D. Savannah George Read Free Book Online Page A

liked the patterns, but she decided that no one loved orange that much, and she knew that trying to figure out that many different stitches, along with the proper gauge, would take too much time.
    She decided on two tried-and-true granny-square stitch patterns she’d made in the past and two different yarn colors—a pretty sky blue and white. Settling into the window seat with Boots and a skein of the blue yarn, she got started.

4
    Kate didn’t have to work at A Stitch in Time that Saturday, but she still got up at her usual early hour. She spent a lot of time working on a blanket for the project, and when her hands needed a rest, she looked out the kitchen window at the snow and thought about the recipes Alice and Annie had found. Of all the mysteries the club had encountered, this one seemed the silliest, and yet it was so intriguing. Try as she might, she couldn’t remember anyone other than Alice living in the carriage house. And she couldn’t imagine why someone would hide recipes.
    She crocheted a little more, and then she flipped through one of her needlework books. She’d been collecting them for years, ever since Betsy Holden had given her a copy of Crocheting for Beginners . Betsy had patiently taught her first how to hold the hook, and then taught her all the basic crochet stitches. It wasn’t long before Kate had mastered them and started crocheting more and more elaborate patterns.
    Kate practiced crochet and spent as much time with Betsy as she could. Today she wouldn’t give up her skill for anything in the world. She had been careful not to make her daughter feel like she had to crochet too, but Vanessa had happily taken up the crochet hook and learned basic stitches when she was merely five, and she had crocheted off and on as she’d gotten older. Mackenzie had only been introduced to needlework and crafting when she and Vanessa became friends, but she thought it was cool and always wanted Kate to make her things.
    Kate smiled to herself. If a cheerleader liked needlework, the other kids could hardly make fun of it. And everyone loved Mackenzie. So they might not love crochet or other needle crafts, but they would keep their opinions to themselves.
    She glanced at the clock above the kitchen table. Mackenzie had come over to spend the night with Vanessa so they could work all day Saturday on the flyer about the blankets for the orphanage. It was already after ten o’clock; Mackenzie and Vanessa would eventually wake up and come out for breakfast. Kate had heard giggling when she’d woken up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, so it could be a while.
    Kate had always loved to sleep in on the weekends, but her mother had never let her and had in fact been vehemently opposed to it. Kate had vowed back then to let her own children sleep as late as they wanted, as long as they got up on time for school during the week.
    The phone rang, and she jumped up to grab it before it woke up the girls.
    “Hello?”
    “Hey Kate,” she heard her ex-husband, Harry Stevens, say.
    “Handsome Harry!” she heard herself reply, groaning inwardly. She hated that she still called him that after everything they’d been through. He was handsome on the outside, but not on the inside. Plus, calling him that only added to his oversized ego.
    “Yeah, so I haven’t had Scooter over for a while, and thought I should arrange for a weekend visit.”
    Kate smacked herself in the forehead. She and Harry supposedly had joint custody of Vanessa, but he rarely bothered to see his daughter. If he actually made plans, typically he’d back out at the last minute. To top it off, because they had joint custody, and he supposedly made less money than she did, he didn’t have to pay any child support.
    She wanted to scream at him, but replied calmly, “You know she hates that nickname.” He’d christened his daughter with the name when she first learned how to walk—because mostly she’d scooted around on her bottom