“I don’t mean to pry, honey,” Olive said, obviously noticing her discomfort. “Although Drake would sure be lucky to be with a woman as lovely as you. I’ve always thought what a handsome young man he is, with a heart as big as his talent.” She waved her hand in the air as if to push the tangential comments aside before continuing. “In any case, I was thinking if you were going to be in town for a little while longer, perhaps we could convince you to teach an art embroidery class.”
“Me?” Instantly, the familiar panic bubbled up. “Teach a class?”
“I can tell you for a fact that Christie isn’t the only one who would like to learn about your techniques. I would too. And if we posted a picture of your work on our website and in the local paper, it would be a packed house in here, no question.”
“I don’t—” Rosa shook her head. “I’m not sure...”
“My mother doesn’t mean to pressure you,” Denise said. “Why don’t you take some time to think about it and let us know if you feel comfortable setting something up?”
Rosa appreciated that Denise was giving her a way out, but she’d just spent the past week taking time and thinking about it. Just minutes before walking into the store, she’d decided she was done running. Done hiding. Done worrying about how difficult it would be to make a fresh start—and just make one already.
This was her chance. So even if she was scared, she needed to take it.
“I’d love to teach a class.” She could feel Christie’s surprise, even as the other woman tried to hide it. “But before we schedule it, you should know a few things about me, because I’d hate for your customers to get upset about your being connected with me.”
“What could they possibly have to be upset about?” Olive asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
“Nothing.” Denise’s fierce tone took them all by surprise. “Not one damned thing. I’m very sorry for what that creep did to you, Rosa.”
Tears jumped into Rosa’s eyes before she could stop them. She wiped them away with her fingertips. “I am too. But I’m done hiding now. Done feeling like it’s my fault.”
Denise’s arms drew her in, held her tight. “We’re all on your side.”
Christie nodded vigorously. “We were high-fiving each other over at the inn when we saw what Smith Sullivan said to the press—about how he’d never work with any of them again if they ran any more stolen pictures of you.”
“You’re all so kind.” The strength of the women around Rosa helped feed her own strength. She turned to Olive. “I have a few big things to deal with before I can be certain of my schedule, but I can tell you that even though I’ve only been in town a few hours, I already know I’d like to stay at Summer Lake for as long as I possibly can.”
“Wonderful. Any help you need on any front, you know where to come.” Before Rosa could start blubbering again, Olive said, “Now, you take your time browsing.” She put a hand on Rosa’s shoulder and led her over to a display against the right wall full of sumptuous color and luxurious texture. “You might want to start with this silk floss we just brought in from Italy. Nothing better to work your way through the ups and downs of life, if you ask me. And I should know...”
With a firm squeeze of her shoulder, Olive left Rosa to marvel at her luck in finding so much support everywhere she went from women she’d never met before, like Suzanne and these three wonderful women in the knitting store. And most of all, she marveled over finding Drake.
The man she loved.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rosa felt a million times lighter as she and Oscar walked back through the woods to Drake’s father’s house. As she’d said to the lovely women in the yarn store, she still had plenty to deal with. But even if her load hadn’t yet changed, her perspective on it had. She was ready. Finally ready to face it all head on, no matter how difficult it might be.
But first, she needed to talk to Drake. She needed to tell him how much he’d meant to her from the moment he’d found her drenched and scared on the side of the road in the middle of a rainstorm. She needed him to know just how much she loved him. And she needed him to know that she was finally brave enough to trust that their love could last through any firestorms that might come her way in the future.
Oscar seemed just as happy as he lazily splashed through puddles and loped after squirrels and birds. Every few minutes, he’d saunter back to her side and nuzzle her hand.
“You feel it too, don’t you? It’s home.”
She knew he couldn’t really understand her—and certainly couldn’t answer—but yet again, it felt like he did when he licked the palm of her hand, then gave her a big doggy grin.
“You’re such a big part of it,” she told him. “You and Drake.”
The beauty of the Adirondacks, the incredibly kind welcome of the women in the yarn store, the silence broken only by the chirp of a bird and the croak of a frog—those were all big things. But the man she still couldn’t believe she’d found, and his big sweet dog, were what completed her. Truly and deeply, in a way she’d never thought possible.