A Stitch in Time

by Susette Williams

“Let’s give them something to giggle about.” Jeremiah used his index finger to gently turn her head back around to him. He leaned even closer, his lips claiming hers in a kiss that promised to erase the past and fill her future with hope, love, and possibilities.

  The only thing Lizzie knew for sure was, as soon as she got home, she was going to lock her great-great grandmother’s quilt away in the trunk at the foot of her bed and hide the key so that no one was ever tempted to pull the quilt out and use it again. She had no intention of going anywhere again—she was right where she wanted to be, and with the person she wanted to be with—through all of time.

  Dear Reader,

  Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have lived over a hundred years ago? Lizzie had the unexpected chance to find out. She also had a chance to learn that life goes on after heartache, and you can still find happiness in your future if you open yourself up and let others in.

  While I was doing research for this story, I learned several things about the 1904 World’s Fair, and my hometown. Did you know iced tea and waffle cones were believed to have been invented at the World’s Fair? I also found out one country represented there was supplied dogs… to eat! Even if we prefer to keep dogs and cats as pets, and not food sources, the World’s Fair gave people the chance to experience different cultures.

  The 1904 World’s Fair Flight Cage later became the cornerstone for the St. Louis Zoo. I think of all the treasures our city has because of the planning that went into such a magnificent event. If you ever visit St. Louis, you should make time to visit our zoo where you can still see the walk-through bird cage from the 1904 World’s Fair.

  Thank you for taking the time to read A Stitch in Time.

  Blessings,

  Susette

  (Go to the next page to read an excerpt of Little Orphan Annie.)

  Little Orphan Annie

  By Susette Williams

  CHAPTER ONE

  “We’ve got a problem. Annie found out she was adopted.” Roger Spelman sounded nervous as he relayed the information to the man who had handled their adoption.

  “So? I’m assuming you made up a story?” He clutched the phone in one hand and rubbed the top of his head with the other, while he waited for Roger to respond. Over the years, his hair had thinned. He was getting too old to dodge obstacles. Most ties to his past had been severed and he’d started over fresh. Apparently, he’d left a few loose ends and by the sound of it, they were starting to unravel.

  “Of course, I did. I told her that her biological parents were killed in a car accident.” Roger paused. “She wants to find out if she has any distant relatives. I told her if she did have family left, she would have gone to them instead of being put up for adoption, but she insists on looking anyway.”

  “Then it appears you have a problem. We can’t have her snooping around, asking questions about the agency or her biological family.”

  “But you closed the agency,” Roger insisted. “I’m sure she won’t get far in her pursuit. I just thought you should know.”

  “I’m glad you told me.” That way he could take care of something before it became a problem, namely a nosey little girl. “But Roger…”

  “Yes?”

  “If she gets too close, we will have to eliminate the threat.” He leaned forward in his chair, his fingers drummed methodically on the desk as he contemplated how to alleviate his problem. The last thing he wanted was to spend his retirement in prison.

  “You wouldn’t?” Roger’s voice quivered.

  It didn’t do for anyone to underestimate him. “I would.”

  * * *

  Annie Spelman tapped her French manicured nails along the rim of the steering wheel of her rental car while she waited for Child Rescue to open. She’d called numerous other agencies for help, and two of them had suggested she try this place. From what she’d been able to gather on her own, the adoption agency had been in Missouri, but there didn’t appear to be any current information on them. Coming here seemed the most logical choice, and she wasn’t about to let someone hang up on her or tell them they couldn’t help her. If need be, she’d guilt them with the fact that she’d had to fly here and rent a car just to make sure she could talk to somebody. They had to help her.

  Another glance at her watch revealed five minutes remained. She felt like a kid waiting for the toy store to open.

  She enjoyed the gentle breeze blowing through her open window. Back home, in the part of California she lived in, mornings were usually chilly. Not like the afternoon when you sought the comfort of an air conditioner. When she arrived at the hotel last night, she’d wanted to go for a walk and waited for the evening to cool down—but it never did. The weather in Missouri was different than back home. If she’d come in the winter, instead of the fall, she could have at least seen some snow. She’d only seen snow when she went on a ski trip her senior year.

  A red Avenger pulled up in front of her and all thoughts about the weather and growing humidity faded away. The driver’s side door opened and a tall, handsome man, with shoulders that looked broad enough to carry the weight of the world, climbed out of the car. While his stride exuded an air of self-confidence, his frown belied a hint of weariness. He ran a hand through his rumpled brown hair as he headed around to the passenger’s side and opened the door for the other person.

  Annie wondered if they were a couple who’d lost a child, until a woman well beyond childbearing years, wielding an attitude and sporting a cane between gnarled white fingers, climbed out of the vehicle. When he tried to help the woman, she pushed him away. As the woman lifted her cane and jabbed it toward the man in an attempt to get him to leave her alone, Annie giggled.

  “I don’t need any help,” the woman said in a loud crackly voice.

  Thoughts of her own grandmother melted Annie’s heart. The anniversary of her grandmother’s death would be in a few weeks, nearly a month before Annie’s twenty-fifth birthday. Her grandmother had been a very determined person, as well. She understood how the woman felt. When you spent your life nurturing your family you didn’t expect people to start taking care of you one day.

  She sighed. Would she ever find any of her real family? Losing the woman, she knew as Grandmother had shattered her world, even more than when she found out she was adopted. But in the midst of disappointment and hurt, she had hope. While her adoptive father said her birth parents had been killed in a car accident, there existed the slightest possibility that she may have a grandparent or other family member, even a distant relative still living. The fact that her adoptive father didn’t want her to pursue her biological family troubled Annie. Perhaps that’s why he never told her of her adoption—to keep her from looking. Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter now. In a few short minutes, the agency would open, and she’d be able to enlist their help to find her family.

  She glanced at her watch. Two minutes to go. The people who’d climbed out of the Avenger were going to have to wait along with her.

  The man fidgeted with his keys. He inserted one into the door, opened the agency and went inside. He continued to hold the door for his older companion. Apparently, they didn’t have to wait.

  Annie fumbled for her door handle. Grabbing her purse, she jumped out of her Lexus. She bolted for the agency.

  The man started to close the door, but Annie pushed against it with more force than necessary.

  “Whoa.” The man staggered backward and bumped into a desk. “What’s the hurry, Slick? There aren’t any sales going on in here.”

  “Sales?” He didn’t make sense. Neither did the fact that she couldn’t help but stare into his unbelievably blue eyes. “You lost me.” And so did his eyes. The color was almost hypnotic, like a rare gemstone.

  He laughed. “You came barging in here like there was a Black Friday sale going on.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” Annie blinked. Her cheeks warmed. “The secretary wouldn’t let me in earlier.”

  “That’s because we’re no
t open.” Mr. Wonderful smiled, revealing his pearly whites.

  Annie found herself smiling, too.

  “You are open, Ian.” The older woman tapped the watch on her wrist. “So, shouldn’t you get to work? The woman obviously came here because she needed help, not directions to the mall.” The woman winked at Annie, then meandered down the hall with her cane.

  “My grandmother’s right. I’m sorry.” A muscle in Ian’s jaw twitched. “Why don’t you give me a few minutes to get situated, and then we can talk.”

  “Thanks.” Annie sat in one of the chairs Ian gestured toward.

  Annie’s heart raced. She dismissed the thought that it may have something to do with Ian and chalked it up to the excitement of finding her real family.

  * * *

  Ian shook his head and took a deep breath, which he slowly expelled as he walked into his office. Grandma had already taken her seat at the makeshift desk near his and booted up the computer. He shouldn’t have taught her how to play Spider Solitaire. She complained and talked to the computer as if it could hear her.

  “I’m going to beat your score today,” she said over her shoulder.

  Ian doubted it. He’d beat the easy level in ninety-one moves. His grandmother hadn’t won in less than a hundred and twenty. He smiled. When he was a kid, Grandma would let him win games to encourage him. He wondered if she regretted that now. “I’m going to be interviewing a client in a few minutes, Grandma. Can you promise to be good?”

  “I’m always good, my boy.” Grandma’s mischievous smile contradicted her claims.

  What could he do? Grandma had run off several women he’d hired to help her. Maybe he should look for a young, handsome man who would keep her mind off of being obstinate. Who was he kidding? Handsome men didn’t take jobs as caregivers to aging clients, especially if the clients didn’t have money.

  Ian sighed as he sat behind his desk. He picked up the phone. “Jan, if you haven’t already, would you have our guest fill out a new client form, and give me at least ten minutes before you send her in? Thanks.”

  He couldn’t believe he hadn’t even taken the time to introduce himself to the woman. It wasn’t like him. He couldn’t afford to lose business by being inconsiderate. If he didn’t find someone to help with his grandmother soon, he’d be sunk.

  Ian opened the folder on his desk. A picture of Jeremy stared back at him. I’ll find your killer, Ian promised himself. He was close. Tracking fugitives on the run proved an interesting challenge, but he experienced more satisfaction when he found a missing child and reunited the family.

  One case in particular haunted him. If it hadn’t been for Janie Lohman’s disappearance, he would have never gotten involved in this business or started his own agency. As each day passed, hopes of finding her dimmed. Too many other cases demanded his immediate attention. He wouldn’t finish the case he was on before another client walked through the door. He had little time to dedicate to looking for his neighbor’s daughter. Having to play babysitter to his grandmother didn’t help matters either. Guilt washed over Ian. He shouldn’t ponder selfish thoughts. If it weren’t for his grandmother, he wouldn’t have had anywhere to go when his parents died. He loved his grandmother like a mother.

  The clicking of the office door handle brought Ian back to the present. He closed Jeremy’s folder and put it aside, then stood. “Please come in and have a seat.”

  “Thank you.” The woman handed him the clipboard in her hands. “Your secretary got a phone call. I told her I could find my way to your office.”

  Ian took the clipboard while offering his other hand for her to shake. “Thank you. I hope you don’t mind that my grandmother is keeping me company at work today.”

  “No, that’s fine.” Annie’s smile looked genuine.

  With formalities out of the way, he glanced down at the form as they both took their seats. He continued to read. She hadn’t filled in the name of her husband. Maybe they were separated due to the loss of their child. “Will your husband be joining us?”

  “I’m not married,” Annie said.

  “Wait a minute.” Ian paused as he reread the form. “Your parents are the missing persons?” Ian looked up and saw quizzical brown eyes staring at him.

  “Yes.”

  Grandma laughed.

  Ian wanted to reach over and nudge her into silence.

  “We find missing children,” Ian said. “That’s why our agency is called Child Rescue.”

  “I know.” Annie sighed. “But I’ve tried everywhere I can think of to find the adoption agency my parents went through and haven’t had any luck. My adoptive parents won’t help. In fact, my father has practically disowned me because he’s so angry that I insisted on pursuing this.”

  Was that a tear? It wrenched his gut to see a woman cry. Annie brushed her rosy cheeks with the side of her index finger.

  “I require a five-thousand-dollar retainer.” He didn’t know what made him open his big mouth and encourage her. He didn’t have time to take on her case. Especially if he’d have to take Grandma in tow everywhere he went. Once he found a caregiver for his grandmother, he could take on more cases. Until then—he was stuck.

  “I don’t know that I can spare that much.” Annie’s brown eyes glistened. She blinked rapidly a few times. She swallowed hard before going on. “I work for my father’s company, but he won’t allow me to work there if I continue to look for my real family.”

  “Why is your adoptive father against you finding your biological parents?” Ian thought it odd that they would go to such great lengths to keep her from looking for her family but held his tongue so as not to make her defensive.

  “I don’t know,” Annie stammered. “He’s jealous. I’m sure that’s all it is. My parents weren’t even the ones who told me about the adoption.”

  “How did you find out?” Ian asked.

  “My cousin made a flippant comment while we were shopping. She said you’d never know I was adopted by the way I spend money.” Annie blushed. “She was only teasing, but it slipped out. Apparently, she’d overheard her parents talking about it when she was little. They told her not to tell anyone, even me. She said she’d wanted to tell me for a long time, but figured it was best if it came from my parents.” Annie sighed. “I went home and confronted my mom and dad. I think they’re still in a bit of shock. They didn’t have any time to prepare for how they’d tell me.”

  “Seems they had over twenty years to prepare,” Grandma mumbled.

  Ian cleared his throat. “I’m not sure what I can do to help you. I can’t take this case pro bono.”

  “You mean for free?” Annie frowned.

  Grandma reached over and smacked him on the shoulder. “Let her pay as she goes.”

  He shot his grandmother a dirty look, which she returned with glaring eyes and pursed lips.

  Ian turned back around toward Annie. Her eyes sparkled with a glimmer of hope. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t do this for free. He needed the money to run the agency, not to mention pay his own bills. But something compelled him to help her.

  Then a thought came to him. “Have you ever had any experience caring for children?” Ian glanced over his shoulder toward his grandmother, and added, “Or adults?”

  “Huh?” Annie blinked. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. “I helped take care of my grandmother . . . before she died.”

  “Died?” Ian swallowed the lump in his throat. Maybe his idea wasn’t as good as he thought.

  “She had cancer.”

  Ian suppressed a sigh of relief.

  “I’ve got a solution to both our problems.” He covered his mouth and coughed. He didn’t mean to refer to his grandmother as a problem. But she needed care—care he couldn’t give her and work at the same time. “I need a live-in helper to look after my grandmother. She’s a brittle diabetic and she needs someone around to monitor her blood sugar. If you agree to take care of her, I’ll research your case in exchange. What do you say?
”

  Impulsively, he bit his lower lip. He didn’t know if he wanted her to say yes or no. He needed to get work done and it proved to be a challenge with his grandmother tailgating him all day. But Annie’s gorgeous brown eyes would distract him to no end. Either way he was doomed.

  “It would give me a place to stay instead of the hotel.” Annie frowned. The way she stared off into space, Ian could tell she was deep in thought, probably weighing her options. Her lips slowly eased into a smile. “Okay.”

  Ian knew his ship had sunk when his grandmother cheered. This couldn’t be good. His grandmother had already devoured six live-in helpers. There had to be an ulterior motive behind her sudden compliance.

  “I’ll need a couple references.” Ian handed a blank piece of paper across the desk to Annie. “People who can vouch for you.”

  Annie nodded. She took the paper and smiled as she grabbed a pen out of the cup holder on his desk. “Thank you.”

  He didn’t have a prayer. Between Annie’s smile, and Grandma’s sudden pliability, he had the feeling he was headed for the guillotine with no escape.

  Annie handed back the paper. He scanned the three names, one of which was a pastor.

  “Let me do a background check and call these references. Then I’ll get back in touch with you later today.” Ian smiled as he pushed to his feet, extending his hand.

  She stood and shook his hand. “Sounds wonderful. Thanks.”

  After Annie left, Ian picked up the phone and dialed a friend from the precinct.

  Jason answered on the third ring. “Hey, buddy, what can I do for you?”

  “I need a favor.” Ian laughed. He knew Jason expected as much whenever he called. It was usually why he called his friend. “I need you to find out all you can about an adoption agency and while you’re at it, find out all you can on Annie Spelman. I need the latter ASAP. And while you’re at it, check out her adoptive parents. I’ll fax you over the information.”