alley?”
“That is you, isn’t it?” Marie asked. “The yarn had a sticker that said it was from A Good Yarn shop.”
The confusion must have shown on Lydia’s face because Marie added, “I had my book group on Tuesday night and my husband is in a league with the guys from work. He drives a Pepsi delivery truck. After the meeting with my book club, I stopped off to see how Les’s bowling team was doing, and I found the basket with the yarn and needles.”
“Were there instructions?”
“Not really. It was more of an invitation to sit down andknit. I think the note said when the scarf was finished it should be delivered to a homeless shelter or dropped off at your yarn store. You aren’t the one doing this?” Marie questioned.
“No.”
“I just assumed from the yarn label and instructions that you must be responsible.”
“I heard about this just recently. It’s a great idea; I wish I could say I’d thought of it, but I didn’t.”
“No harm done,” Marie said, as they stepped into the waiting elevator.
Lydia mulled over the conversation as she drove home. When she walked into the house, the scent of simmering tomatoes with Italian spices confirmed her suspicions. Brad had cooked spaghetti.
“Is that you, sweetheart?” her husband called out. He peeked his head around the opening to the kitchen and grinned when he saw it was Lydia. “Dinner’s just about ready. Cody’s got the bread and the salad on the table. How’s your mother?”
“She thought I was Margaret,” Lydia said, as she removed her sweater and tucked away her purse. “The oddest thing has been happening,” she said, coming into the kitchen. The pot on the stove boiled furiously. She reached over and turned off the burner while Brad removed the strainer from the lower cupboard and set it in the sink.
“What’s that?” he asked, steam rising from the cooked pasta as he carried the boiling pot to the sink and drained off the liquid.
“Someone is leaving baskets with knitting needles and yarn around town with a note asking people to knit for the homeless.”
“Really?”
“The yarn is apparently from my shop.”
Her husband was preoccupied with mixing the sauce and the noodles together and setting it on the table.
Lydia brought out the silverware. “Will you keep an eye out for one of these knitting baskets?”
Brad looked up at her, paused, and blinked, and Lydia guessed that the entire conversation had gone directly over his head.
“What was that, sweetie?”
“Never mind,” she said, grinning. “I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Cody!” Brad shouted. “Dinner.”
This was her life, Lydia mused, and it was good.
Chapter Eight
Max was exhausted, butt-sore, and ecstatic.
He’d followed Bethanne home from the yarn store on his bike and parked it in the empty slot in her garage. Other than a few items of clothing, he’d packed light. From the trips he’d made to Seattle since their marriage, he kept enough of a wardrobe at Bethanne’s not to worry about bringing much with him.
Bethanne waited for him by the garage door that led into her kitchen. Her eyes were all over him as though even now she couldn’t believe he was with her. Max’s feelings matched hers, although he felt they needed to discuss a number of issues. With this trip, he wanted to settle the matter with her ex-husband once and for all.
While this house was the one Bethanne had once shared with Grant, Max wasn’t comfortable with her ex-husband stopping by anytime he pleased. He might be exaggerating, but it seemed Grant found an excuse to connect with Bethanne nearly every day. It had gottenout of hand, and if she didn’t recognize it, he did.
“I still can’t believe you rode all those hours to be here,” Bethanne said, as she stepped into the kitchen and turned off the security alarm.
“I can’t, either.” He waited until they were inside the house before he brought his wife into his arms and kissed her with both