Chapter 1
Thea was tearing greens for a salad when she stopped and tensed. She tilted her head to the side, concentrating on the feel of the air, the vibes in the wind. Something was different. She could sense it. Not like the vibes she felt last week. Those were a chaos of energy, disturbing. These were odd, confused.
She closed her eyes, emptied all thoughts from her head, and immersed herself in the moment. An energy pulsed in the room. Not the usual pang she felt when a baby dropped and a mother was about to give birth. This was different. Alien. She couldn't pinpoint it. She hadn't been able to identify the first vibes, either.
A moment later, the buzz was gone. Her body relaxed, and she got busy finishing lunch. Her three, close friends would be here any minute. Thea lifted the lid on her soup pot and inhaled the heady aroma of bouillabaisse. Mmm, liquid heaven. A little extravagant, but this would be their last regular quilting session for months. A loaf of crusty bread sat on the heavy pine table in the dining nook. Beside it, a chocolate pavlova waited for its topping of freshly beaten whipped cream.
Shari was the first to gun her car up the long, winding drive that led to the cabin. Thea saw her white, Cadillac convertible streak past the windows to park under the overhang of the A-frame's deck. Soon, she heard Shari trot up the steps to the side door.
"My God, it smells good in here." Shari tossed a sweater on the back of the tan, leather sofa, then plopped down at the pine table to visit while Thea drizzled olive oil into raspberry vinegar. "I told Hank to grab something to eat at the bowling alley tonight, because I sure wasn't going to cook for him."
"Who's watching the inn?"
"Hank's mom. She's at loose ends since she retired, poor woman. Bored out of her skull."
"Must be nice for you." Thea did a little rumba as she shook the salad dressing. Shari was unimpressed. "Not really. She calls me all the time, asking if I want to run here or there with her. I could take off every once in a while in the afternoons during our slow season, but we're already busy enough that I've started asking her to come to the inn and help me."
"And does she?"
"Like a shot. Even helps change the sheets when Tillie doesn't show up."
"Is that often?" Thea saut\u00e9ed pecans in a hot pan.
"Not since she graduated from high school. Tillie's saving for her wedding. I think the baby's going to beat her to it, though. The girl looks like she's going to pop."
Thea removed the nuts from the burner and let her mind drift for a minute. She'd learned the hard way that a moment's distraction could mean a burned meal. Shari reached for a chunk of cheese from the array on the table. All of Thea's friends recognized the look in her eyes when she zoned for a few minutes. They understood.
Was the energy that she'd felt earlier a sign that Tillie was almost ready to give birth? She listened to the hum of the universe and shook her head. Nope. It wasn't that.
"You back?" Shari asked, reaching for a small clump of grapes.
"It'll happen soon," Thea said, "but not yet. What are you going to do when she has the baby? Do you have to find someone else?"
"Nope, we've already talked about that. Hank's mom is going to help out until Tillie's ready to come back."
"Won't that take a while?"
"No, she needs the money. She's going to bring the baby with her. We've already set up a play pen in the break room."
A black BMW sped past the floor-to-ceiling windows at the front of the chalet-style cabin.
