Claire wondered about the other woman’s story. She had heard from Ruth that the woman was a widow who had moved with her three children to be closer to her mother and aunt. Moving this close to the end of the school season seemed an odd choice for a mother, but Claire wasn’t about to pry.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what are you working on?” Janie asked. “It looks as if it’s going to be exquisite. I love that big heart pendant. Is it rose quartz?”
Claire closed a jump ring with her pliers. “It is. It was found by a rock hound friend of mine not very far from here.”
“It’s a great centerpiece to the design.”
“Thank you. I hope it will come together soon. I’m afraid I’m not at my best beading form right now. It’s a necklace I’m making for the scholarship benefit.”
The challenging piece used various precious and semiprecious gems all found natively in the Rockies. She had designed it using a variety of beading techniques and right now, Claire didn’t feel proficient at any of them.
“I imagine the cast makes things awkward.”
She smiled. “A bit, but I’ll soldier through it. I’m hoping the piece does well at the scholarship benefit.”
“Oh, you are a wicked girl. Let me take a look.” Sarah shifted toward the table and Claire wanted to hide the whole thing suddenly. Sarah was a true artist, in every sense of the word. The renowned painter owned a vacation home in the area with her husband, but unlike most of those who purchased second homes in the area to take advantage of the skiing, they rarely spent time in Hope’s Crossing in the winter. She said they preferred winters at their primary residence in Tucson, but both came to the cooler mountains to paint in the summer.
She was one of Claire’s favorite customers and she always enjoyed having her in the store, except today when she was struggling so much with the necklace design.
“It’s still a work in progress,” she said.
“Oh, don’t be coy. You know it’s going to be spectacular, especially the contrast between that aquamarine and the topaz. Why don’t you let me just pay you for it now and forgo all the trouble of having to bid for it at this auction?”
“What’s the fun in that?”
“You’re going to be difficult, aren’t you?”
“I’ve got to have something to auction off. I’m in charge of the whole thing.”
“I hadn’t heard about an auction,” Janie said. “When is it?”
“Two weeks from tomorrow. We’re actually having an entire day of activities to encourage people to help their neighbors. It’s in honor of a girl who was killed in a car accident last month.”
Janie’s eyes softened. “What a lovely idea!”
“You bought a house over on Sage Hill Road, right? If you have anything around your new home you could use help with, please let us know. Right now we have more volunteers than projects.”
“I can’t think of anything. Our house is quite well-maintained, but I’d love to volunteer my children. If nothing else, it will get them out of the house and perhaps help them make some new friends.”
“We’re hoping it’s fun for everyone who participates. We’ve got raffles and giveaways, free food throughout the day. We’re going to set up a bounce house and several other inflatable attractions like that over at Miner’s Park and for every half hour of time they volunteer, the children get a ticket.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought of everything.” Janie smiled as she finished off her second earring. “I have to say, I’ve been really impressed with Hope’s Crossing. I didn’t expect to feel so welcomed from the very first day we arrived.”
“It’s not perfect,” Claire said, thinking of Riley and the opposition that had become vocal and annoying, led by J. D. Nyman. “But it’s a nice place.”
“It’s why we keep coming back year after year,” Sarah said. “Every time we think it’s just too difficult keeping up two homes, we remember that’s one thing we love most about Hope’s Crossing, besides Walter’s beloved fishing streams. We don’t find that same sense of community during the winter when we’re home in Tucson.”
“The moving van wasn’t parked at our house ten minutes before we had four or five neighbors over asking if they could help us unload,” Janie said. “It was a bit disconcerting, if you want the truth. I thought it was because they somehow knew my husband had just died.” She forced a smile. “But I don’t see how that could be possible. I have a feeling they would have showed up regardless of our situation.”
Claire tried to imagine losing her husband after a long, debilitating illness, as Ruth had told her was the case. She couldn’t wrap her head around it. She vowed to have Janie and her children over to dinner as soon as the craziness of the benefit subsided and she could breathe again.
“You know,” she said as she was ringing up the other woman’s bead purchases, “your family might be interested in helping with the construction of new playground equipment at that small park near you, the one that has only a couple measly little swings and a slide now. I can get you the information if you’d like.”