The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt by Wanda E. Brunstetter Page A

blond is available.”
    Jan’s eyes narrowed. “Are you serious?”
    “Yep.”
    “Give me a break, man. I mean, you can’t just waltz in there and start plying the woman with a bunch of personal questions.”
    “I’m not gonna ask a bunch of questions. Just need to find out whether she’s single or not.”
    “How do you aim to do that? Are you just gonna introduce yourself and then blurt out, ‘Oh, and by the way, are you married?’ ”
    “No way! I’m not dumb enough to do that. I’m gonna get to know the woman first.”
    “How’s that gonna happen in the few minutes you’ll be in the house? It don’t take that long to drink a glass of water, you know.”
    Terry rubbed the side of his face. “Hmm…You’re right. That could be a problem, unless I take a slow drink.” He tapped his foot and contemplated things a bit more. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. “I’ve got it! If I can’t get the answers I want right away, then I’ll see if Emma has room for one more in her quilting class.”
    “Ha! Ha! Ha!
Now that’s a good one!” Jan rocked back and forth on his heels, laughing so hard, tears ran down his cheeks.
    “It’s not funny,” Terry mumbled. “If you can learn to quilt, then so can I. And if I find out the little gal’s not married, I’m gonna ask her out.”
    “Well, if you’re determined to do this, then I’m going in with you, ’cause this I’ve just gotta see!”

C HAPTER 7
    S houldn’t we have knocked first?” Terry asked when Jan opened Emma’s back door and stepped into her kitchen.
    “Nope,” Jan said, going to the cupboard and getting two glasses down. “When I told Lamar we’d be coming by today to pick up the old shingles, he said if we needed anything, the back door would be unlocked and to just walk right in.” He handed Terry one of the glasses. “Here you go.”
    “Any ideas how I can find out whether the little blond’s married or not?”
    Jan filled his glass with water and took a drink. “Beats me. This was your dumb idea, so you figure it out.”
    “Maybe we could go in there and tell Lamar and Emma that we’ve finished picking up the shingles and will be back Monday morning to start putting on the new roof. Then, maybe one of ’em will introduce us to their quilting students.” Terry filled his glass with water, took a drink, and set it on the counter. “But then, even if we are introduced, I’ll only know the blond’s name, not whether she’s married or single.”
    Jan snickered. “If you wanna know bad enough, I’m sure you’ll figure out some way to find out.”
    Terry rubbed the side of his face. This could be a challenge. He’d have to think fast on his feet. He released his hair from the ponytail, letting it hang loosely around his shoulders. “Do I look okay?”
    Jan eyeballed him a few seconds, then shook his head. “I’d put the hair back in the ponytail if I was you.”
    “How come?”
    “Some gals might not like guys with long red hair.”
    “Well, I can’t do nothing about the color, since I was born with it, but if you think it’ll improve my chances, I’ll put it back the way it was.” Terry pulled his hair back and secured it with a rubber band. “Is that better?”
    Jan gave a nod. “Looks good to me. Let’s go.”
    Terry picked up his glass and followed Jan into Emma’s quilting room, hoping this wasn’t a mistake and that the blond wasn’t married. If she was, he’d bow out real quick.
    When Terry and Jan entered the room, Emma looked up with a startled expression. “Oh, I didn’t realize you two had come in. Is there something we can do for you?”
    “Just came in for a drink of water,” Terry said. He glanced at the cute little blond looking curiously at him, then turned to Lamar, who stood near one of the quilts on display. “Also wanted to tell you that we’ve got all the old shingles picked up and will be back Monday morning to start on the new roof.”
    Lamar smiled. “That’s great.