Allison Leigh - Little Cowgirl Needs a Mum / Once Upon a Proposal - Little Cowgirl Needs a Mum

Dear Reader,

Welcome back to Texas. I can’t tell you how excited I am about starting THE QUILT SHOP IN KERRY SPRINGS series. It is centred around the The Blind Stitch quilt shop on Main Street, and the women—young and old—who gather there at the corner table to work on their quilts and share their hopes and dreams.

In the first story, Little Cowgirl Needs a Mum, Jenny Collins moves to Kerry Springs to manage The Blind Stitch. One day she puts a sign in the window for a beginners’ class and her first student is eight-year-old Gracie Rafferty, who wants to work on a quilt she and her mother started before her death. Jenny soon learns Gracie’s mother made her daughter promise that she’d finish it. The little girl took it to heart.

That brings good-looking rancher/vineyard owner Evan Rafferty into the shop, but he refuses any help or ideas from his daughter’s new friend. Of course that doesn’t stop Jenny—even if it means butting heads and risking her heart to a stubborn man who clearly doesn’t want to share his.

There are so many wonderful characters in this small Texas town, I couldn’t wait to tell this story.

Hope you enjoy it, too.

Patricia Thayer

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Originally born and raised in Muncie, Indiana, PATRICIA THAYERis the second of eight children. She attended Ball state university, and soon afterwards headed West. Over the years she’s made frequent visits back to the Midwest, trying to keep up with her growing family.

Patricia has called Orange County, California, home for many years. She not only enjoys the warm climate, but also the company and support of other published authors in the local writers’ organisation. For the past eighteen years she has had the unwavering support and encouragement of her critique group. It’s a sisterhood like no other.

When not working on a story, you might find her travelling the United States and Europe, taking in the scenery and doing story research while thoroughly enjoying herself accompanied by steve, her husband for over thirty-five years. Together they have three grown sons and four grandsons. As she calls them, her own true-life heroes. On rare days off from writing, you might catch her at Disneyland, spoiling those grandkids rotten! She also volunteers for the Grandparent Autism Network.

Patricia has written for over twenty years and has authored over thirty-six books. She has been nominated for both the National Readers’ Choice Award and the prestigious Rita. Her book Nothing Short of a Miracle won a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice award.

A long-time member of Romance Writers of America, she has served as President and held many other board positions for her local chapter in Orange County. She’s a firm believer in giving back.

Check her website at www.patriciathayer.com for upcoming books.

To Harrison John,

Your smiles melt my heart.

And thanks to our family and friends who supported

the Wright Bros in the Autism Speaks Walk.

JENNY Collins stood looking in the storefront window of the Blind Stitch, eyeing the new sign behind the glass.

Beginner’s quilting classes starting on Wednesday and Saturday. Everyone welcome.

Okay, it was official—she was in over her head. She was a high-school English teacher, not an expert on quilting. She never should have listened when Allison had told her to jump in with both feet. Unfortunately, Jenny didn’t know any other way to do things, and it sometimes got her into trouble.

Yet, her friend had confidence in her. How could she let her down?

Even after Jenny’s life had fallen apart, she’d got the manager’s job, along with an apartment above the shop, thanks to Allison Casali. The job was hers as long as she wanted to stay in Kerry Springs, Texas. That was the million-dollar question. How long would she be staying?

The shop door opened, bringing Jenny back to the present, and Millie Roberts poked her head out. In her sixties, Jenny’s part-time employee had short, gray hair cut in a flattering style. Petite and slender, Millie was energetic and friendly and, best of all, knowledgeable about quilting.

“We just got a delivery.” She smiled. “It’s the new fabrics Allison ordered.”

Jenny followed her inside the store. “Good, we were getting pretty low on stock.”

“Well, that’s to be expected since you’ve sold nearly everything in the store.”

They walked past several quilts hanging along the high walls, all custom designs by the shop owner and, most recently, Jenny’s boss.

There were stands that displayed colorful bolts of fabrics in every print a quilter could ever want or need. A long cutting table divided the front from the back of the store. A cash register sat on the counter and beside it were several large delivery boxes.

“Oh, boy,” Jenny said. “Allison must have bought out the entire wholesale house.” She knew the company gave the quilting icon a good deal just to have their textiles associated with the name Allison Cole Casali. Her loyal followers would buy a lot of their products.

Jenny opened one box and started to remove bolts of colorful fabric. She and Millie were examining the new materials when a soft voice drew Jenny’s attention. She turned around to see a small dark-haired girl standing in front of the counter.

The cute child was dressed in a pair of jeans, a pink shirt and white sneakers. Her large blue eyes widened as she gave a tentative smile.

Jenny walked away from the boxes and stopped in front of the girl. “Hello, I’m Jenny Collins.”

“I’m Grace Anne Rafferty, but everybody calls me Gracie.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Gracie Rafferty. This is Millie.”

“Hi, Gracie,” Millie greeted her, then continued to sort through the boxes.

Jenny turned back to the child. “What can I do for you, Gracie?”

The little girl pointed to the window over her shoulder. “I read the sign. I want you to help me make my quilt.”

Jenny glanced at Millie. “Well, Gracie. I don’t know.” How could she tell the child she was too young? “This class really isn’t for children.”

“I’m eight years old and I know how to sew. I even have a quilt started … well, my mother started making it, but she can’t help me anymore.”

Jenny’s heart went out to the child, seeing her sadness. “I wish I could help you, Gracie, but the class is for adults.”

The child’s shoulders slumped, but her blue eyes widened. “But I hafta finish it ‘cause I promised her.”

Jenny leaned down to the small child. “Then you and your mother should finish it together. What about if she joins the class?”

The girl shook her head, causing her ponytail to swing back and forth as tears welled in her eyes. “She can’t, ‘cause she’s in heaven.”

Evan Rafferty had searched up and down all the aisles of Sayers Hardware, but there was no sign of his daughter anywhere. He hurried outside to his truck, hoping she’d gotten bored and left. Gracie wasn’t there either.

He glanced up and down the small town’s main street. Where had she gone to? Dear Lord, could someone have taken her? No, not in Kerry Springs. He sent up a silent prayer as he hurried next door to the drug store. Maybe she’d gone in to buy candy. She wasn’t there either. He couldn’t slow the pounding of his heart, the dread that threatened to overtake him.

He couldn’t even take care of his own daughter. Had Megan been right? Maybe he wasn’t cut out to be a father.