Knit to Be Tied

by Maggie Sefton

  Marty jerked up in his chair. “Where? I didn’t see any lasagna.”

  “Julie just brought it out of the kitchen,” Greg said with a wicked grin. “I got the first slice.”

  “You dog,” Marty said, jumping from his chair as Lisa walked up. “Here, Lisa, take my chair. I’m hitting that buffet table again.” And he was off.

  “Sounds like old times,” Steve joked, then tipped back his Fat Tire ale. “You guys want to get together and watch the Broncos game tomorrow?”

  “Not sure they’re going to let me jump ship two days in a row. Boss Nurse was staring at me and shaking her head when I left.” Greg frowned.

  “Hey, why don’t we watch the game over at Greg’s rehab center?”

  Lisa looked dubious. “I don’t know if a whole bunch of us could gather there like that.”

  “Yeah, we’re a rowdy crew,” Megan said. “Boss Nurse would probably throw us out.”

  “Or maybe we could ask if there’s a family room at the facility,” Steve suggested. “We could rent it if we had to. That way we wouldn’t be disturbing the other patients.”

  “I think there are some open areas at the end of a couple of hallways,” Lisa offered. “There are TVs, too. But we’d have to be quiet.”

  “Quiet? Our gang?” Kelly asked, incredulous.

  “Hey, we can do it,” Megan said. “Consider it a challenge.”

  “What’s a challenge?” Marty asked as he walked up to the group. A half-eaten slice of lasagna sat on his plate.

  “Greg probably won’t be able to get away from the facility two days in a row, so we thought we might watch the game from there tomorrow.” Lisa grinned. “If we can manage to be quiet, that is.”

  Marty’s impish grin lit up his face. “Piece of cake.”

  Kelly joined her friends’ laughter, leaning back into her chair. She sipped her Fat Tire and listened to Marty and Greg exchange verbal jabs and challenges.

  “Just you wait a month,” Greg vowed.

  “Excuses, excuses,” Marty replied before downing another delicious-looking bite of lasagna.

  Kelly relaxed, watching her friends and listening to their fast-paced repartee. Glancing at the large cottonwood trees above, she saw that the leaves were still green. Now that it was September, there would be a gradual changing of the seasons. Cooler nights would signal the sap in the trees to slow and gradually stop. Leaves would turn from green to bright yellow, orange, and red. Then, in November at the latest, they would crumble and fall. Leaf raking would become a standard weekend activity. Then much as Kelly hated to admit it, winter would arrive. There would be the first snow. And then more. Colder temperatures would force wearing of coats and scarves. Brrrrrr.

  The passage of the seasons. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. The eternal passage of time. Kelly sipped her craft brew and watched Cassie roll a ball to little Molly, who was crawling as fast as she could manage across the green grass. Still green for a while.

  Then out of the back of Kelly’s mind, a tiny thought wiggled. It’s been over a month. Kelly let it play through her mind. What a strange thought, she mused. And then . . . then Kelly let the entire thought play through her mind. Center stage. She stared out into Mimi and Burt’s backyard gardens.

  Is that possible? It’s been over a month. Can that be? What if it is? Good Lord!

  Kelly continued to stare out into the backyard while her friends’ repartee and laughter flowed by her. Obviously a quick stop at the drugstore on the way home was in order. She glanced around for Steve and spotted him at the buffet table chatting with Burt. Then she saw Jennifer and Pete walking toward the group and pushed the wayward thought to the back of her mind. Now was the time for celebration.

  Kelly held up her Fat Tire. “To the bride and groom,” she saluted.

  All of her friends joined in as a beaming Pete and a radiant Jennifer joined the rest of the gang.

  • • •

  Kelly stared at the test strip in her hand. Positive. Again. She had tested twice, and the results were the same each time. She was pregnant. Definitely pregnant. Good Lord. She continued to stare at the strip as a jumble of thoughts bounced around her brain.

  Pregnant? Her! Good grief! How was that possible? Well, she knew how it was possible, but . . . but her? Good grief!

  A loud thumping on the bathroom door broke through Kelly’s thoughts. “Hey! You falling asleep in there? I’ve made coffee. Come and get it,” Steve called from the other side of the door.

  Kelly disposed of the test strips, splashed some water on her face, and stared at herself in the mirror. Her? A mother?

  Still slightly dazed, she left the bathroom and walked toward the kitchen. September sunshine was streaming through the windows. Steve was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the Sunday Fort Connor newspaper.

  “I’ve already poured you a cup. We’ve got doughnuts. That should hold us until we get to the hotel for the wedding brunch.” He grinned at her over his mug before taking a sip.

  “Thanks,” Kelly said as she zeroed in on her coffee. Taking a large sip, she closed her eyes and let the caffeine rush start. She’d need some caffeine for the conversation she was about to have. A tiny thought in the back of her head wiggled forward. Caffeine. Caffeine. Good Lord. She needed to go online and research. Right now, she needed the coffee.

  “I’ve already put the wedding gifts in the car,” Steve said as he returned to the newspaper.

  Kelly looked over at Steve, innocently reading the Sunday newspaper, clueless.

  Of course he’s clueless. How could he know? Kelly’s inner voice jabbed. She gulped down more coffee.

  Steve glanced back at her. “What’s the matter? You have a funny expression on your face.”

  Kelly opened her mouth to say something, but she didn’t know what to say. Should she try to work into it? Or lead up to it? Or . . . or . . .

  “What?” Steve started to laugh as she stood there with her mouth open.

  Finally, Kelly’s natural instincts took over. Just go for it.

  “Steve . . . I’m pregnant.”

  Steve just stared at her for a few seconds as his grin disappeared. “Are you serious?” he asked, his brown eyes wide with surprise.

  “Yeah,” Kelly said, nodding her head. Dazed and confused, that was her.

  Steve let his mug drop on the table as he leaped from his chair. “Fantastic!” he yelled as he raced over and grabbed Kelly in his arms, lifting her up as he spun her around the kitchen. “I can’t believe it! Are you sure?”

  Kelly laughed as he set her back on the floor. “Yes! I tested twice, and it was positive twice.”

  Steve stared into her face. “How do you feel? I mean, are you happy, or . . .”

  Kelly didn’t have to think. She could feel a warmth inside her chest. A good feeling. “I’m happy, I guess. I’m just . . . I don’t know . . . shocked. I mean . . . whoa . . .”

  Steve grinned as he pulled her close. “Whoa. Oh, yeah.” And he lowered his lips to hers. Kelly encircled her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Oh, yeah.

  • • •

  “Marty, if you take any more bacon, I swear, you’re going to grow a snout,” Megan teased as she watched her husband deposit yet another full plate of breakfast food on the dining table.

  Marty just grinned and made a snorting sound before he gobbled another slice of bacon.

  “The hotel staff are staring at you, too, Marty,” Lisa said as she returned to her chair beside Greg. “They’re incredulous.”

  “We ought to come back here for breakfast when I’m in fighting shape,” Greg said. “Then we can really horrify them.” He poured some cream into his coffee.

  Kelly looked around the hotel dining room Jennifer and Pete reserved for their wedding brunch. It was packed with people. Everyone who had attended the weddi
ng showed up this morning for the wedding brunch. Friends and family all surrounding Jennifer and Pete with their love and affection. It made Kelly feel good inside, and somewhat eased that nervous feeling of excitement she had. She felt weird. Kind of excited and a little confused. And definitely dazed. Dazed and confused. Still.

  Steve leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I’m dying to tell everyone. How about now?”

  Kelly turned to the most important man in her life and smiled into his dark brown eyes. “Go for it. This will be fun to watch.”

  Steve gave her a quick kiss. Then turned to Pete, who was seated beside him. “Watch this.” Then he glanced down the table and called, “Hey, Burt, why don’t you turn on your video camera. I’m going to say a few words.”

  “Sure,” Burt said with a smile and grabbed his cell phone from the table.

  Steve rose and clanged his fork against the water glass beside his plate. “Everyone!” he called out.

  Kelly watched all her friends and acquaintances turn their attention to Steve.

  Steve held up his newly filled champagne glass. “Another toast to the newlyweds. To Jennifer and Pete! Happiness always!” He raised his glass and drank to accompanying cheers and calls of agreement.

  Kelly sipped from her champagne. She’d never really liked champagne. She watched Steve hold up his glass again, then he glanced to her with a big grin.

  “I don’t have another toast, but I do have an announcement. Kelly and I both. We’re going to have a baby.” Steve tossed down the rest of the champagne in his glass as the dining room went from silence to raucous uproar in a matter of seconds.

  “Oh my God!”

  “I can’t believe it!”

  “Damn, dude!”

  “Whoa, so cool!”

  “Wheeeeeee!” Cassie squealed.

  “Oh my, how wonderful!”

  “Oh, wow!”

  Kelly laughed as she was suddenly swept up in the outpouring of her friends’ affection and their love. Showering over her. Her friends hugged her and laughed and cried and squealed and congratulated and kissed her on the cheek. Sweeping her up in their love. Kelly let herself be swept up. With family. Her family.

  Llama Headband

  FINISHED MEASUREMENTS IN INCHES:

  Approximately 4” wide x 20” long

  MATERIALS:

  100% Hand-dyed Baby Llama (~100 yards)

  NEEDLES:

  Size 4–5 needles or size needed for gauge.

  Removable marker

  One button

  GAUGE:

  5–6 sts per inch

  ABBREVIATIONS:

  K = knit; P = purl

  YO = yarn over

  K2tog = knit 2 together

  SSK = slip two stitches one at a time knitwise, knit them together through the back.

  SK2po = slip one knitwise, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over.

  St(s) = stitch(es)

  RS = right side

  WS = wrong side

  INSTRUCTIONS:

  Cast on 9 stitches.

  Next Row (RS): K4 place marker, K5.

  Knit 9 more rows.

  Row 1 (RS): K1, YO, knit to 1 st before marker, SK2po, knit to last 2 sts, YO, K2.

  Rows 2 and 4: K2, purl to last 2 sts, K2.

  Row 3: K2, YO, K1 into the hole 2 rows below, knit to 1 st before marker stitch, SK2po, knit to last 2 sts, K1 into the hole 2 rows below, YO, K2.

  Repeat last four increasing rows until there are 23 stitches.

  Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until piece measures 15 inches from cast on.

  Row 1: K1, YO, K2tog, knit to 1 st before marker stitch, SK2po, knit to last 4 sts, SSK, YO, K2.

  Rows 2 and 4: K2, purl to last 2 sts, K2.

  Row 3: K2, YO, knit to 1 st before marker stitch, SK2po, knit to last 2 sts, YO, K2.

  Repeat last 4 rows until 9 stitches.

  Next row (RS): K3, bind off 3 sts, knit to end.

  Next row (WS): K3, cast on 3 sts, knit to end.

  Knit 2 more rows. Bind off. Sew in all loose ends. Sew button for decoration.

  Pattern courtesy of Lambspun of Colorado, Fort Collins, Colorado. Designed for Lambspun by Larissa Breloff.

  This bread is quick to make and cranberries can be found year-round. I kept tinkering with recipes until I came up with the flavors that I especially like. Give it a try and enjoy!

  Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

  2 cups all-purpose flour

  1½ teaspoons baking powder

  ½ teaspoon baking soda

  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  ½ teaspoon salt

  1½ cups white sugar

  1 cup orange juice

  ¼ cup melted butter

  2 eggs

  1 cup fresh cranberries (not frozen)

  1 cup chopped walnuts

  ½ cup grated orange peel

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one regular-size bread loaf pan (or two small loaf pans). Dust pan lightly with flour, dumping excess. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in large mixing bowl. Combine sugar, orange juice, melted butter, and eggs in another bowl, mixing well. Stir into flour mixture along with cranberries, walnuts, and orange peel. Mix well, blending all ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until knife inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Remove pan to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then run knife around edges of pan and turn out onto rack to cool completely.

  Keep reading for an excerpt of the first book in Maggie Sefton’s New York Times bestselling Knitting Mysteries . . .

  KNIT ONE, KILL TWO

  Available from Berkley Prime Crime!

  Kelly Flynn nosed her car onto the gravel driveway and pulled to a stop in front of the familiar little house perched beside a golf course. Everything looked the same. Aunt Helen’s beige stucco, red-tile-roofed cottage looked as cozy and inviting as always. Golfers were scattered about the lush greens, doggedly working to improve their games. In the background the Colorado Rocky Mountains, still snow-capped in late spring, loomed over the entire scene. It was all picture-postcard pretty, just like Kelly remembered, except for one thing. Aunt Helen was dead—murdered a week ago in her picturesque cottage.

  A “burglary gone bad” the police called it. Kelly’s gut still twisted at the thought. Aunt Helen would have fought back. Kelly knew she would. Even though she was thin as a stick and a foot shorter than Kelly, she was wiry and tough. And she had spirit. Spunk. She’d never go down without a fight. Not Aunt Helen. No way.

  Kelly felt tears rise to her eyes again as she remembered her aunt’s favorite admonition: “Never give up, Kelly-girl. If you want something bad enough, don’t you ever give up.” The tears escaped, running down Kelly’s cheeks, and she swiped them away with the back of her hand. She’d never even had the chance to say good-bye. At least with her dad, Kelly’d been able to tell him how much she loved him. Cancer might be an ugly way to die, but it was slower. Murder was a thief in the night, creeping in to steal away valuable loved ones. And this thief stole the only mother Kelly had ever known.

  A cold, wet nose shoved against Kelly’s neck, and she turned to pat the shiny black Rottweiler head resting beside her shoulder. Carl always sensed her moods. “Don’t worry, boy, I haven’t forgotten you. You’re looking at that grass, right?” She pointed to the manicured golf course, stretching from her aunt’s property all the way to the river that meandered diagonally through the scenic college town north of Denver.

  Kelly let herself gaze. It had been six months since she’d returned to Fort Connor, where she spent her early childhood. Every time she returned, she wondered how she’d ever make herself leave again. The sky was bluer here, the air was cleaner, and the sun was brighter by a mile. “A mile high to be exact,” as Aunt Helen used to say. W
hat a gorgeous day. If her aunt was still alive, she and Kelly would take one of their favorite hikes along a trail in the nearby Poudre Canyon. How could it be so beautiful with Helen gone?

  Carl whined to get her attention, clearly eager to explore. “Okay, boy, but you can’t run on the course. The greenskeeper wouldn’t appreciate your lifting a leg on every tee.” Carl rolled his soft brown eyes to her in pleading mode.

  “Nope. You’ll just have to make do with the yard.” Kelly opened the car door and slid out, grabbing a leash as she did.

  Carl’s ears perked up at the magic jingle, and he gave an excited yelp. That meant outside and play. Snapping the leash to his red collar, Kelly headed toward the small backyard. Tall cottonwood trees surrounded the property, shading both house and yard. Flower boxes were already planted, even though Kelly knew the frost date in northern Colorado was a yearly gamble. Somehow, Helen always won out. Her green thumb or gardener’s luck could overcome even Colorado’s capricious weather.

  Kelly made a mental note to water the plants that evening. She wasn’t about to let Helen’s plants die with her. She swung the back gate open and ushered Carl inside. “It isn’t the golf course, boy, but it’s bigger than your yard for sure,” she said, referring to her postage stamp–size townhouse yard on the outskirts of Washington, DC. Carl didn’t waste time. He took off the moment his leash was unsnapped, nose to the ground.

  The sound of another car coming down the gravel driveway caught Kelly’s attention, and she turned to see a red minivan drive up to the larger stucco and red-tile-roofed house across the drive. A woman exited the van and entered the sprawling mirror-image of Helen’s cottage.

  Both houses and the assorted outbuildings nearby occupied a pie-shaped wedge of land that clung to the corner of a busy intersection. Kelly remembered when both streets were country roads cutting through fields of sugar beets and sheep farms. Now, a big box discount store swallowed the opposite corner and townhouses clustered across the street.