Free A Love For Keeps (Truly Yours Digital Editions) by Janet Lee Barton Page B

Natalie, and I don’t want to be late.”
     
    Meagan’s heart gave a sudden little twist. She didn’t much like the idea of Nate having dinner with this woman—even if they were related by marriage. “It won’t take long at all. You may use the screen behind you to remove your dress. Just let me know when you are ready.”
     
    When Abigail called, Meagan made quick work of getting her measurements. She wrote them down carefully in the notebook she kept for such purposes. “That will do it. I’ll make note of these with your order. I’d like to make a muslin pattern and fit it to you. Can you come for a fitting a week from now?”
     
    “I should be able to,” Abigail said from behind the screen. “If not, I’ll let you know.”
     
    “I’ll give you an appointment card with the time before you leave.”
     
    She couldn’t leave too soon for Meagan. When Abigail dressed and was ready to go, she took the card from Meagan and walked out the door without a word. Meagan released a huge sigh of relief. The very last thing she wanted was to sew for that woman, but there was absolutely no way to get out of it.
     
    She locked the shop door and pulled down the shade that said C LOSED on the other side before gathering the teacups and tray and heading to the kitchen to see her mother. She set the tray down and dropped into a chair at the table.
     
    Her mother turned from shaping the bread she was making for supper. “Her majesty has taken her leave, has she?”
     
    “Finally. Oh, Mama! I do dread having to try to please her. I’ve a feeling there will be no way I can do it.”
     
    “Just do the best you can, dear. It’s all you can do.”
     
    “But what if she hates my work for her and spreads a bad word about me?”
     
    “Her papa owns the bank that gave us the loan. She’s not going to risk causing him to lose money by hurting your business, dear,” her mother assured her.
     
    “Surely she wouldn’t.” Meagan got up to heat water for a cup of fresh tea.
     
    “You needn’t worry anyway, dear. You are an excellent seamstress. She won’t find anything to complain about.”
     
    “Oh, I hope you are right, Mama. She is one of the rudest women I’ve ever dealt with! I’m sure she was taught better.”
     
    “I certainly hope so.” Her mother chuckled and shook her head. “Evidently she didn’t learn it very well.”
     
    Meagan’s sisters burst in from school just then, and the talk turned to their day. It seemed there was a new boy at school, and Becca kept teasing Sarah about him. From the color flooding her sister’s cheeks, Meagan had a feeling that she might have taken a liking to him. She visited with the girls for a while and then went to finish trimming the dinner dress she’d been working on when Abigail came in. Her thoughts wandered as she hand stitched the trim around the bodice. Could it be possible that Nate had sent Abigail to check on her? No! He came in with Natalie often enough to know how her business was going. Besides, he wouldn’t do that. Perhaps it was just because she wanted to find out herself how Meagan did business. Or perhaps it was because she wanted to make it very clear to Meagan that she had claim to Natalie and Nate ….
     

nine
     
    It seemed to Nate that he only saw Meagan when he took Natalie in for a fitting or briefly at church—although he never had a chance to speak to her there. Abigail saw to that. She seemed to be at his shoulder, slipping her hand through his arm as soon as the service was over. She always had something “important” to tell him or someone to introduce him to. By the time he got free, Meagan and her family had already left.
     
    He was beginning to feel frustrated with the whole situation. He hadn’t run into Meagan since the day he treated her to a soda, and just seeing her in the shop wasn’t enough for him. She seemed to be in his thoughts often during the day, and he’d even begun to dream about her. He wanted to