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I could’ve been the one joining him for dinner--only I wasn’t That had been ret…

CHAPTER 10

JACQUELINE DONOVAN

I n an attempt to hide her nervousness, Jacqueline poured herself a second glass of chardonnay After the first sip she stepped into the kitchen and brought out the hors d’oeuvre platter for their guests Martha had put together crackers artfully swirled with herb-mixed cream cheese and decorated with tiny shrimp Paul had phoned earlier in the week to ask if he and Ta

They’d spent the Mother’s Day weekend in Louisiana with Ta well Jacqueline had made a conscious decision not to take offense

This was the first time Paul had ever asked permission to visit the family home, and Jacqueline’s nerves had been badly frayed ever since his phone call

"Relax," Reese said, following her into the kitchen

"I don’t have a good feeling about this," Jacqueline lanced at the clock on the microwave and realized it was a full ten hter-in-laere due to arrive She cringed at the prospect ofsmall talk with Tammie Lee, and feared that Paul was about to announce he’d accepted a transfer to the New Orleans branch so Ta up an appointment to come over here isn’t like Paul"

"He was just being thoughtful" Reese walked around the counter and sat on a stool "Isn’t knitting supposed to soothe your nerves?"

"That’s another thing," Jacqueline snapped "I’ out of that ridiculous class"

His head flew back at the veheotten into you?"

"I have my reasons" She didn’t like the look on Reese’s face--as if he was disappointed in her But he wasn’t the one confronting that ill-mannered punk rocker or whatever those people called the htened her "Why should you care what I do?" Jacqueline leaned against the counter across from her husband

"You seemed excited about it last week," he said blandly It was obviously of no consequence to hiesture on your part I assu to be a good grandrandmother For heaven’s sake, what chance does a child of Tas’ feet" She shivered at the very idea

"Now, Jacqueline…"

"Actually, I blahtened and for a ht "You blame me for what?"

"For the fact that I’ class"

He frowned "You’d better tellwoine why she’d ever want to learn to knit, but it’s not important She’s vile, Reese That’s the only word I can think of to describe her Her hair is the most ludicrous shade of purple and she took an instant dislike to me when she learned that you’re responsible for what’s happening in the Blossohborhood"

Reese reached for his wine "Most people there welco at the end of the street" As far as Jacqueline could see, it was a rat-infested dump If it was slated for demolition, all the better Alix and her kind would need to look elsewhere for low-rent housing Girls like that weren’t wanted in an upscale neighborhood, which Blossom Street would soon become

"Ah," Reese murmured and sipped his wine "Now I understand"

"What’s planned for the building?" Jacqueline asked

"That hasn’t been decided" Reese gently swirled his wine against the sides of the goblet "The city is talking to the owner My idea was to completely remodel the place into condos, but it see now have the mayor’s ear"

"That’s unfortunate Those low-rent people will ruin the neighborhood You oodbye" She hated to sound like a pessimist, but if Alix was any indication of the quality of person living in that building, then the entire street was at risk

"Maybe you should give the knitting class another try," Reese suggested, ignoring her outburst

The truth of it was that Jacqueline wanted to continue She hadn’t found the class "awful" at all; that was an exaggeration for Reese’s benefit Other than the confrontation with Alix, she’d enjoyed the lesson At one point, Lydia had told them to walk around the shop and choose three balls of yarn in their favorite colors At the time it’d seeloss, a deep purple and a vibrant red Lydia’s next instruction had been to choose wool in the color she disliked ht yellohich was the color that appealed to her least Lydia had talked about contrasting colors and showed how they often complement each other In fact, the yellow had looked coainst the purple, and just as Lydia had said, the contrast was surprisingly effective

She’d discovered that sothe textures and colors, which was so she hadn’t considered before Jacqueline had walked out of the class with the realization that she’d learn farstitches That, however, did little to quell her uneasiness concerning Alix

"I inners’ session later in the summer," Jacqueline muttered, still unsure of what to do She’d paid for the entire six-week course and detested the thought of so her aith inti and Jacqueline felt the tension crawl up her spine While Reese answered the door, she forced a s rooreet Paul and Tammie Lee in the foyer