Stitches in Time by Terri Dulong Page B

okay?”
    I looked at the scrape on my elbow and moved my wrist. “My wrist still aches a little, but I’m fine.”
    â€œDo you think you need an x-ray?”
    I wiggled it again. “No, it’s not broken. Maybe a slight sprain but nothing more.”
    He pulled into the parking lot of the yoga studio. “Here, let me take that in for you.”
    I passed the container and bag to him. “Tell them I’m so sorry and I’ll see them on Monday morning.”
    He returned a few minutes later. “They thanked you for getting the order to them and said to take care.”
    â€œOh, I owe you for the coffee and muffins.” That was when I realized my purse was still in my car. With the keys. Thank God I hadn’t locked the door.
    â€œNo, no. Really. But I was thinking, since you live here now, maybe we could get together sometime. Would you be free for dinner?”
    A dinner date? I hadn’t been out with a guy on a date since before I met Roger. And a woman could certainly do much worse than Chadwick Price.
    â€œOh . . . yeah. Thanks. That would be nice.”
    â€œGreat.” He reached for his cell phone. “Give me your number and I’ll give you a call. Tomorrow morning I’m flying to Atlanta for a few days, but can I call you next week?”
    â€œYes, that would be fine,” I said, shooting him a smile and telling him my cell number. “Well, again, I don’t know how to thank you for all of your help. But I’d better get back to the tea shop or Yarrow will be worried.”
    â€œOkay, you take care of that arm and I’ll talk to you next week.”
    I walked over to my car and was about to get in when I heard his car horn and looked up to see him wave good-bye.
    I started the ignition and heard Springsteen singing “Hungry Heart.” As the lyrics said, I had gone out for a ride, and who knew where this morning would lead?
    * * *
    Yarrow glanced up from the counter when I entered the tea shop.
    â€œOh, God! What happened to you? Are you okay?” She ran toward me and inspected my arm.
    â€œYeah, I’m fine,” I told her and went on to explain my ordeal.
    Chloe heard us and came from the yarn shop to check out my arm too.
    â€œAre you serious?” she said and started laughing. “Oh, I’m not laughing at you , but really? Chadwick Price? He rescued you in the rain just like he did me last year?”
    I grinned and nodded. “Ah, yup. It would seem that way. When I mentioned it to him, he laughed and said he did have a knack for rescuing damsels in distress.”
    â€œWow,” Yarrow said.
    â€œInteresting,” Chloe added.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” I questioned.
    â€œI bet he remembered you from last summer at LuLu’s, didn’t he?”
    â€œYeah, actually, he did, why?”
    â€œOh, nothing . . .” she said in a way that begged me to question her more.
    â€œCome on,” I demanded. “What do you mean?”
    â€œWell . . . it’s just that I remember when I introduced you. He seemed quite interested that day and I remember thinking there was some chemistry going on there.”
    I waved my hand in the air, but I wondered if Chloe was right, because I recalled how I’d felt the moment I met him. “Don’t be silly. He’s just a nice guy. You know that. Look how he helped you with that flat tire and then took you for dinner. So he did the same for me.”
    â€œHe asked you for dinner?”
    â€œWell, he said he’d call me next week.”
    Chloe nodded her head and grinned. “Hmm, right. Nothing to it at all.”

Chapter 9
    H aley flew in the back door that afternoon followed by her new friend, Tina, both of them consumed with excitement.
    â€œGuess what? Guess what?” she yelled, jumping up and down as Basil danced around her feet.
    I looked up from the mug of coffee I’d just poured and laughed. It seemed this was