Purl Up and Die (17 page)

“And kids. Hungry kids and hungry parents.”

“Gotta love it.”

Kelly put her hand over her breast and declared, “That made my accountant's heart skip a beat.”

“I'll bet,” Pete said after he stopped laughing. “Talk about a savvy businessman.”

Steve shrugged. “He's no different from anybody else who was willing to take a risk. He bought that land twenty
years ago when it was still farmland, believing that those crossroads would attract more traffic and more people. And they did. Harmony Road is a major business thoroughfare on the south of the city. It's the main artery now.”

“You know, twenty years ago we were already seeing development of stores and businesses and housing being built along Harmony. First, the section near College Avenue filled up, then development kept spreading east,” Marty said.

“Because it had no place else to go,” Jennifer jumped in. “The intersection of College and Harmony was already filled with shopping centers and stores. And going west on Harmony, it had become residential heading toward the foothills.”

“Yeah, you're right. If you were paying attention, you could see the inevitable spread of the city toward the east. The eastern edge.” Lisa reached for a slice of pepperoni. Only one slice left.

“We call that ‘city creep,'” Jennifer said. “Most cities will creep over their boundaries, spreading wherever there's more room and land to buy.”

“True, and Fort Connor is bounded by the foothills and the mountains on the western edge,” Marty said.

“And by Landport on the north and Loveland on the south,” Megan put forth.

“So, you see, the only direction where Fort Connor could spread or creep to was on the eastern edge of the city.” Jennifer sipped from her cola. “Whoever Curt's business partner is, I lift my hat to him. Or, raise my cola can.”

“He's gonna make out like a bandit,” Greg observed, chasing the last of his two slices of pizza with his craft brew.

“Risk and return,” Kelly opined. “The old investment adage. If you want a higher level of return, then you have to live with a higher level of risk.”

“Well, I'm for another round of cheers and hurrays for our own risk taker, Steve,” Jennifer said with a smile. “He took an even bigger risk when he gambled and jump-started his career all over again in Denver. Steve didn't have deep pockets or investors handing him money.”

“Hell, no,” Greg concurred.

Steve chuckled. “Most of what I had in my pockets was lint.”

“So, I repeat,” Jennifer continued, raising her cola can. “To Steve. Who's braver than any investor or builder or developer I've ever known.”

“Hear! Hear!” Pete joined in.

“Huzzah!” Marty and Megan chimed together.

Kelly watched her friends congratulate Steve one more time. And she felt herself getting a little misty. Instead of reaching for a tissue, she leaned over and gave Steve a kiss.

Monday morning

“Hey,
there, Cassie,” Kelly said as she walked into the main knitting room. “I was hoping to see you here today. How'd the camping trip go with Burt and Mimi?” Kelly set her briefcase bag on the table.

Cassie looked up from the pile of rainbow-hued yarns she was piling onto the library table and grinned at Kelly. “It was great! We had such a good time!”

“Wonderful. I want to hear all about it.” Kelly settled into a chair with her mug of coffee.

“Weather was perfect, too,” Cassie continued. “It was cooler up in the mountains farther up the canyon.”

“Oh, yes, that's another thing I love about going up into the canyons. It's cooler and beautiful and peaceful.” Kelly closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

“Oh, I know. I just
love
that about the canyon! You can
walk in the trees, and it's so green and pretty. And the river is close by, and it makes so much noise.” Cassie stared off into the room.

Kelly recognized that look. It came over people who had fallen in love with the Cache La Poudre Canyon and couldn't find the words to explain or describe it. “I know what you mean, Cassie. I feel the same way whenever I go up into the canyon. It's hard to explain. But something about it grabs hold of you inside and doesn't let go.”

Cassie smiled at her. “That's right. You said it, Coach.” Cassie took one of the fluffy lavender balls of yarn and tossed it to Kelly. “Catch!”

Kelly caught the really soft ball with one hand. Then she looked to the right side. “Aw, no one's on second base. Runner will score.”

“I thought you got him out at first,” Cassie played along.

“Nope, he got by me. He's on the way to third! Quick!” She tossed the yarn back.

Cassie snagged it out of the air. “Got him!” she cried, smashing the ball on the table.

Both of them laughed. “Which one was the tagged runner, the cookie or the scissors?” Kelly pointed to the table where the ball of yarn sat on top of a chocolate chip cookie beside a pair of scissors.

“I was aiming for the cookie,” Cassie joked. She gathered the balls of yarn together and started to stack the new yarns into an empty bin on the wall of shelves behind her.

Kelly leaned back into her chair. “Mimi said you did all the cooking again. Both on the portable gas stove and over the campfire grill.”

“Oh, yeah. I love cooking over the campfire.” Cassie shoved the last lavender yarn ball into the bin, then picked up another packing box and set it upon the table. “The smell of bacon frying then frying the eggs. Love all that.”

“You're making me hungry.” Kelly took a big sip of coffee.

“And I use Mimi's way to cook toast in the pan.”

“Which is?”

“She butters both sides and browns them lightly on each side in the pan.” Cassie flipped open the box cutter knife on the table and sliced through the packing tape on the top of the shipping box.

“Divine.”

Cassie looked up at her and smiled. “Do you want me to ask Eduardo for an order of bacon?”

“Don't you dare. I don't need it. My yogurt and fruit should be enough.” Kelly protested, halfheartedly.

“If you say so,” Cassie said, grin spreading. She opened the shipping box and lifted out a layer of baby blue yarn and dumped the skeins into a pile on the table.

They looked different to Kelly. The twist wasn't as thick or as fluffy. “That kind of looks like cotton, but I can't tell from here.”

Cassie read the label. “Good guess, Kelly. Looks like some others we've got in those baby bins.”

“Baby bins, that's funny,” Kelly said, chuckling.

“That's what I call them because Mimi keeps all those baby yarns together in those bins in the workroom. Be right back.” Cassie carried the box through the door into the workroom.

Kelly opened her briefcase bag and was about to take out her laptop, then decided she'd rather use the time to catch up more with Cassie. She reached beside the laptop and pulled out the last of the ribbon scarves she'd knitted for her girls' softball clinic. The others were finished, fringe and all. She'd already told Cassie what she was making, and Cassie had picked out her colors. Two shades of blue for the Colorado Blue team. Kelly decided she might as well let Cassie finish the fringe for her own scarf.

Cassie walked back into the main room and spotted the scarf on the table. “Hey, is that my ribbon scarf you said you were making for us? That is
so
pretty.” She walked around the table to Kelly's side.

“It sure is. Turquoise blue and sky blue.” Kelly held up the slender ribbon creation. “When I first started knitting at Lambspun years ago, I knitted up a couple of these scarves for myself. I used them as decorative scarves then someone showed me they worked equally well as colorful belts for jeans during the colder months.”

“I love these colors!” Cassie's eyes lit up as she took the ribbon scarf and ran it through her fingers. “This is awesome. You used the knit stitch, right?”

“Yep. They're super easy. You just cast on ten stitches, then start knitting. One ball of ribbon yarn will make the entire scarf plus fringe.”

“Fringe?” Cassie asked. “Is that hard?”

“Nope. Real easy. It's so easy, I'm going to let you finish your own by making the fringe.”

Cassie's eyes popped wide. “Wow! Really? How do I do that?”

“Sit down, and I'll show you. You can always stack those yarns later. Yarns aren't going to get up off the table and run away.” Kelly reached over to the center of the table to the accessory tray and found the scissors.

Cassie pulled out the chair beside Kelly and pushed aside several stacked books on knitting, crocheting, and spinning. Lambspun was an equal opportunity spot for fiber workers of all kinds.

Not only knitters and hookers, as crochet enthusiasts called themselves, but lace makers, lovers of tatting, felters, even those who specialized in custom dyeing of fibers, and, of course, the always-present spinners and weavers—everyone showed up at the shop. Some people would drive several hours a day from other locations to take one of Mimi's workshops or even a private class.

“Okay, I've already bound it off, so the ends are ready to attach the fringe.” Kelly reached inside her bag for the remaining bunch of ribbon yarn. “So, you'll measure off how long you want the fringe at both ends of the belt or scarf. You can use it for either. Whatever you like.”

Cassie examined the end of the scarf, fingering the yarn. “Hmmmmm, how long should I make it?” Cassie wondered out loud. Then she held out her thumb and forefinger about four inches apart. “That looks pretty good.”

“Okay, that looks about four inches. Hold it right there while I mark it on this paper.” Kelly reached inside her briefcase bag and withdrew a lined sheet of ledger paper, devoid of numbers. “You know, this paper looks about eight inches along the side. What do you think?”

“Yeah, that's about right.” Cassie nodded.

“Let me measure it to be sure. Then you can use this to measure each ribbon strip to cut. That way they'll all be even.”

“Eight inches? Why double?”

“Because you're going to thread each folded strip through the last stitches on the edge, one strip for each stitch. Then you'll slip the ends through the loop and tie it off. And, voilà! You have two layers of four-inch fringe hanging from the edge.”

Cassie's eyes lit up again. “Hey, that's cool! And it sounds easy. But I want to see you do it first.”

“Trust me, it's easy. If I can do it, you can.” Kelly smiled. “Okay, let me mark this paper for you, then you can start measuring the ribbon yarn and cutting it into eight-inch strips.” Kelly reached into the middle of the table again and snagged the tape measure. Then she measured one side of the ledger paper and marked eight inches with a blue pen. “Here you go,” she said, handing the paper to Cassie. “I'll do the first strip of fringe for you so you'll know how to do it.”

“Gotcha,” Cassie said, imitating several of Kelly's friends who used the same expression. Cassie laid the ribbon yarn beside the ledger paper and began to cut.

“You'll need twenty strips in total.”

Cassie snipped the yarn with the scissors then looked up. “Twenty? There're only ten stitches.”

Kelly grinned. “On each end of the scarf.”

Cassie closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “Duh,” she said.

“I asked the same thing,” Kelly confided. “Megan and Lisa laughed at me.”

Cassie chuckled as she measured the next strip. “At least you didn't laugh.”

“Well, well, what are you two up to?” Mimi asked as she walked into the main room. “Is that one of those scarves you've been knitting for your softball girls, Kelly?”

“Yes, indeed, and I thought I'd let Cassie do her own fringe, so she could learn how.” Kelly leaned back in the chair and took a big drink of her iced coffee.

“I'll finish filling up the yarn bins after I finish this, Mimi. I hope you don't mind.” Cassie never looked up from her measuring and cutting while speaking.

Mimi grinned over at Kelly. “Don't even bother with the rest of that yarn, Cassie. I'll finish it up now. That way I can spend some time with you girls.”

Kelly always had to smile whenever Mimi referred to her, Megan, Lisa, and Jennifer as “girls.” A little past her midthirties, Kelly felt a long way from girlhood. Her friends were all around the same age.

Mimi walked over to the open box of cotton yarn and scooped up a large armload, then went into the workroom. Kelly looked over at Cassie. “How many have you got so far?”

“This is the sixth,” Cassie said, keeping her eyes on the scissors cutting through the ribbon yarn.

Kelly had to admire her concentration. Not every thirteen-year-old could concentrate as well as Cassie. Kelly noticed Cassie had the same concentration whenever she was learning something new. Learning how to bat, learning how to throw overhand with correct form, even learning how to knit for the first time. She recalled when Cassie first came to live with Jennifer and Pete last year, she had taken to Lambspun
and all things fiber right away. And Mimi—being Mother Mimi—taught Cassie to knit within her first week at the shop. Kelly had noticed then how Cassie concentrated on everything Mimi told her to do, trying each stitch slowly.

Concentration was an admirable trait to cultivate early. That ability to focus would help Cassie not only in her subjects at school but also as she attempted to learn any new skill in life. Cassie already had a leg up, in Kelly's way of thinking.

Mimi returned to the main room and started on the last box. “What's the yarn in that box, Mimi? Cassie and I noticed the last box had cotton yarn for baby clothes.”

“Right you are, girls,” Mimi said with a smile. “And this box has a selection of frothy mohair and merino yarns. All colors.” She slit the box open with an expert slice of the box cutter. Opening the flaps, Mimi lifted out an armful of multicolored froth.

Cassie looked up from cutting the strips briefly to glance at the mohair and merino colors and declare, “Oooooooh, pretty.” Then back to the ribbon strips. “I'm on sixteen.”

“Wow, you really are efficient,” Kelly said. “Snip that one and I'll show you how to tie each strip through the yarn loops.”

Cassie snipped the scissors, then handed the strip to Kelly. “Here you go.”

Kelly picked up the turquoise and blue ribbon scarf. “First, you use your knitting needle to open up those last bound-off stitches. Just enough so you can get a crochet hook through with the ribbon yarn.”

“You crochet it?”

“No, you just use the hook to pull the ribbon through
the loop.” Kelly picked up the knitting needle and demonstrated how to widen each end loop by pushing the needle into each loop. “See? Now, each loop has a little more space.”

“Yeah, it does,” Cassie said, peering at the scarf.

Kelly picked up a crochet hook from the accessory tray and hooked the ribbon yarn over it. “Now, you insert the hook through the loop, then carefully pull the doubled end of ribbon through the loop.” Kelly demonstrated, pulling about half an inch of doubled ribbon yarn through the loop with the crochet hook.

“About that much?”

“Yes. Now, watch. You carefully take that little loop of ribbon yarn off the hook, then put the hook down. Now, you can take the ends of the strip on this side of the scarf . . .” Kelly carefully did exactly that. “And you insert them through this little loop on the other side of the scarf like that.” Her fingers demonstrated. “Now, you slowly pull the ends of the strip until it makes a little knot with the loop. And voilà! You have fringe at the end of the scarf.”

Cassie blinked. “Hey! That's cool! I love it! Can I do one now?” She reached for the scarf.

“Be my guest,” Kelly said, smiling at Cassie's enthusiasm. She leaned back in her chair and watched Cassie deftly imitate the simple technique. Meanwhile, Mimi beamed down at both of them. Mimi's girls at work.

•   •   •

“Is
that one of Pete's Wicked Burgers I see?” Burt asked as he walked up to Kelly's favorite small table beside the windows that looked out onto the garden patio.

Kelly waited to swallow the delicious bite before answering. “Indeed, it is, Burt. And you, I have to say, are casting envious eyes upon it. So, you'd better order one, because I'm hungry enough to finish this myself.” She took another big bite, and this time made all manner of savoring sounds and yums of delight.

Burt laughed, watching her. “You're a great advertisement, I'll say that. Okay, I give in. I'll order one if you promise not to tell Mimi.”

“Burt, you know we never snitch on our customers' eating habits,” Jennifer said as she appeared from the kitchen area. “One more Wicked Burger with everything, coming up,” she said as she scribbled in her waitress pad. “Iced coffee to go with that or hot?”