The Knitting Diaries by Debbie Macomber Read Free Book Online Page B

much she continued to care about Tim, despite all her efforts not to. For months she’d buried her feelings for him, not realizing how ineffective those attempts had been.
    “I’m dating Mel now.” Mel was her future, not Tim.
    “Mel,” Lydia murmured.
    “Yes, Mel. He’s generous and…and kind and sweet.” She knew she was trying too hard to convince Lydia.
    “Yes,” Lydia agreed softly. Holding Anne Marie’s gaze, she said, “But he isn’t Tim Carlsen.”
    “Tim couldn’t care less about me. By his own admission, the only reason he has anything to do with me is Ellen.” Her voice cracked and she struggled to hold on to her composure.
    Lydia glanced up from her knitting and, again, leaned forward to press her hand over Anne Marie’s. “Don’t be so sure. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

Six
    April 26
    Something’s wrong with Mom. I don’t think she likes the new house and I think she misses the apartment. I thought I’d hate living away from Blossom Street, but I don’t. April isn’t in my class, but we go to the same school. I didn’t know that. She said I could sit with her on the bus and I promised to teach her to knit. Mom gave me a pair of needles and some yarn and I’m going to show April. I told her it feels awkward at first but it won’t take long to figure it out. She thought it was great that I knit Baxter’s green sweater. She wants to knit one for Iris and I told her she could, but she should start with something easier. She’s going to knit a pot holder for her mom. I knit one for my mom and she really likes it.
    “C an April stay for dinner?” Ellen asked Anne Marie the minute they walked in the door Monday night. Her daughter and her new friend had played at April’s houseafter school that afternoon. The two girls had been inseparable since they’d met on Saturday.
    Anne Marie was delighted Ellen had made a friend so quickly. Even better, they attended the same school, although they had different teachers. They’d become instant friends, the way kids did at that age.
    “Ah…” Anne Marie had no idea what to prepare. “Sure, April can have dinner here, as long as it’s all right with her mom and dad.”
    “It is,” Ellen told her. “We already asked.”
    Anne Marie did a thorough search of her kitchen cupboards. She’d gone to the store and stocked their shelves, and she could cook any number of dishes—but she couldn’t decide on even one. That showed how depressed she was; she wasn’t capable of making such a simple decision. Of course there was always the old standby. “How about macaroni and cheese?”’
    “We had that for lunch,” Ellen called back.
    Well, the freezer was her next option. She was about to check it when her cell phone buzzed. Sorting through the packages of frozen food, she answered it.
    “Hello.”
    “What are you two doing for dinner?” Mel asked.
    “I don’t know yet. Why?”
    “I thought I’d stop by and take you and Ellen out to eat.”
    “Thanks, but I don’t think that’ll work. Ellen invited her new friend over.”
    “She has a new friend already?”
    “She does. April lives down the street. She found Baxter on Saturday, which is when we met her.”
    “Why don’t I bring dinner?”
    This was an offer too good to refuse. “Sounds great. What do you have in mind?”
    Mel chuckled. “How about if I pick up one of those roasted chickens with all the fixings?”
    “Thanks!” Mel was so thoughtful—and he’d just solved the problem of tonight’s dinner.
    “I figured you must be exhausted after last weekend.”
    “I am.” The move had taken more out of Anne Marie than she’d realized. That, and what she’d learned about Tim’s feelings toward her.
    As soon as she’d closed her cell, she walked down the hall to Ellen’s room, where the girls were playing with Baxter and Iris. “Mel’s coming by with dinner. He’s bringing chicken. Would you two set the table?”
    Ellen and April exchanged a glance.