Secrets on Cedar Key (28 page)

I looked to the foot of the bed and witnessed the miracle of life as Fiona said, “A girl? Really? Is she okay?”

It was then that I realized we were both laughing and crying, clasping each other's hands.

“See for yourself,” the doctor said, holding up the most beautiful newborn I'd ever seen. “Give us a minute to get her cleaned up and you can hold her.”

Fiona looked up at me with pure love in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said, still weeping. “Thank you so much for being here, Marin. I don't know what I would have done without you.”

Hearing those words caused me to start sobbing with profound love for Andrew's daughter and gratitude that I was able to be a part of this momentous occasion.

The nurse placed the swaddled baby into Fiona's arms, and I looked down at Andrew's granddaughter.
My
granddaughter. The look on Fiona's face radiated pure joy, all the pain of the previous hours forgotten as she looked into the face of her daughter.

Fiona gently stroked the baby's forehead. “She has a name,” she said softly. “I'm naming her Andrea, after my father, and her middle name will be Marin, after you.”

In that moment I didn't think that anger or hurt or betrayal had ever existed—because all I felt was an intense and powerful love surrounding me.

W
e had Fiona and Andrea back home at Safe Harbor by early the next afternoon. I was sure I wasn't going to be able to sleep a wink the night before, after such an emotional experience, but after one glass of wine to celebrate the birth of my granddaughter, I nodded off in bed against Worth's shoulder, and the next thing I knew it was six in the morning.

When I had gone out to the lounge to let Worth know Fiona had a daughter and everything was fine, that was when I first thought of Greg.

“Oh, my God,” I'd told Worth. “I was supposed to call him right away. I was supposed to call him as soon as she went into labor.”

Worth had pulled me into his arms and laughed. “I called him when I went to park the car, Marin. I knew you were a little frantic.”

And Greg would be arriving within the hour to meet his daughter for the first time.

I had just finished preparing crab salad for sandwiches later, along with clam chowder, which simmered in a pot on the stove, when the phone rang.

I answered to hear my mother. “How's everybody doing? I take it Fiona and the baby got home from the hospital okay?”

“They did. They're both resting, and Greg should be here shortly. Are you coming over to see your great-granddaughter?”

“I don't want to intrude,” she said. “Do you think it would be okay? I really would love to see her.”

“Don't be silly. Of course it's okay. Fiona would be disappointed if you didn't come.”

“I'll be there in about an hour,” she said, and I was certain a smile covered her face.

 

My mother had visited with Fiona and the baby and we were sitting on the patio with Worth when Greg arrived.

Fiona was resting on the sofa, surrounded by pillows, Andrea sleeping away in the cradle beside her. He went directly to Fiona, placing a kiss on her lips, and passed her one of the largest bouquets I'd ever seen.

“Oh, my gosh, Greg,” she exclaimed. “Did you leave any flowers in the florist shop?”

He laughed. “Hey, it isn't every day that a guy has a daughter. And you did a super job,” he said.

“She did, didn't she?” I agreed. “She delivered that baby within three hours of arriving at the hospital. I'm very proud of her. And did you ever see such a beautiful baby?”

He was leaning over the cradle as he held Fiona's hand. “She's gorgeous,” he whispered.

Fiona swiveled on the sofa to get up and reached in to take the baby in her arms before sitting back down. “Andrea,” she said. “I want you to meet your father.”

I saw the tears in Greg's eyes and the look of rapture on his face, and I realized that those words had never been spoken to Fiona.

I turned around to rejoin Worth and my mother on the patio, allowing the happy couple some private time.

Worth was removing a bottle of champagne from the ice bucket. “I do believe a celebration is in order,” he said, popping the cork.

I smiled and accepted the flute after he passed one to my mother. Raising his in the air, he said, “Here's to baby Andrea. May she have a long and happy life. And here's to Andrea's grandmother and great-grandmother.”

“To Andrea,” my mother and I said, touching glasses.

“Very nice,” she said after taking a sip.

She sat back in the chair and let out a sigh. “It's moments like these that make life so special, isn't it?”

I nodded. “It is.”

The three of us sat there for a few moments lost in our own thoughts, and then I heard my mother say, “Annalou would be very happy, you know.”

I looked over and saw a smile on her face. “I know I didn't want you to purchase this house, and you know the reason, but I was wrong. Because something tragic had occurred here, I didn't think this would be a good place for you to live. But it wasn't up to me to decide that . . . so I'm glad that you listened to your own heart, Marin. I know that you have brought a lot of love into this house over these past months. And now—a baby has been brought here. A baby that is so wanted and surrounded by so much love.” She nodded her head slowly. “Yes, I know without a doubt that Annalou would be very happy about that, and that makes me happy.”

“Me too,” I said, reaching over to squeeze my mother's hand.

We finished our glass of champagne and my mother got up to leave.

“I'm just going to pop in to say good-bye,” she said, kissing my cheek. “But I'll be back tomorrow to see that beautiful baby.”

I laughed. “You'd better be.”

Worth pulled me into an embrace as he kissed my forehead. “Another glass of champagne?”

“Yes,” I said, glancing down toward the shore.

He refilled our flutes and touched the rim of mine. “Here's to the most beautiful grandmother I know.”

I smiled. “That has a nice sound to it,
grandmother
.” I took his hand. “Walk with me down to the water.”

We stood there, holding hands, sipping our champagne, watching the water ripple where mullet were jumping. I thought of Julian Cole. I thought of Annalou Carter, and I thought of Andrew.

I leaned over to kiss Worth's cheek. “You know,” I said. “If not for Andrew, I never would have received the gift of Fiona and Andrea.”

“You're right,” he said, sliding an arm around my shoulder.

“And if not for Andrew . . . I never would have received the gift of
you
.

“Thank you, Andrew,” I whispered, and my gaze was caught by dragonflies once again hovering over the water, causing me to smile.

The Maine coon cat in my story is based on my very own Maine coon kitten, Toulouse. He's the third one we've owned, and while I love all cats (and dogs!), I have a special place in my heart for this breed. Our Toulouse was born in October of 2012 and came from the breeder Lisa Red at Icoons Cattery in Youngstown, Florida. I had fun writing the fictional Toulouse into my story, and I hope my readers will also enjoy this delightful ball of fur. If you'd like to follow the real-life antics of Toulouse, along with photos, he has his own fan page at Facebook: Toulouse The Maine Coon Cat On Cedar Key.

A lot of my fans raved about the Cedar Key Friendship Bread that was served at my knitting retreat, and I've mentioned it in this book. For the retreat, it was made by local islander Dottie Haldeman. Everybody wanted to know the special ingredient; it was fresh juice from key limes! A basic Amish bread recipe from the Internet can be used, but if you squeeze in some real key lime juice . . . that's what will give you that extra-special taste.

Cedar Key Fudge is also mentioned in this book when somebody brings it to the knitting group to go with coffee. We really do now have homemade Cedar Key Fudge available on the island, and I can vouch for the fact that it's delicious! And it's not at all sweet, because it's made with cream. Thank you to Roberta and Bruce Wilson, owners of Ada Blue's, on SR 24, for making this great fudge. It has quickly become an island favorite!

In this book Miss Dora designs a shawl for her daughter, Marin, and has called it the Cedar Key Compassion Shawl. Dora is pleased that Marin has learned to forgive, despite the difficulty of doing so. Once again, I called upon my friend and personal assistant, Alice Jordan, to design the shawl for my story. I wanted something fairly simple for my readers to make, but a finished project that would be both pretty and practical. If you made the Cedar Key Scarf in
Postcards from Cedar Key,
then you'll recognize the pattern of waves that Alice designed. Along the edges, she incorporated some yarn overs for a lacy effect because I feel in order to show compassion and forgiveness, one must be open. I chose the shade of orange (but you can make it in any color you choose) because orange is known to be the color of forgiveness. Both Alice and I hope you'll enjoy making the shawl, and we'd love for you to e-mail me photos of your finished project at [email protected]

Cedar Key Compassion Shawl

 

 

 

4 skeins Cascade Ultra Pima; color: Paprika #3771
Size 10 needles

 

Cast on 100 stitches.

 

Knit 6 rows.

 

Row 1: K4, K2tog, *YO, K2tog, repeat from * to last 4 sts, YO, K4
Row 2: K6, P to last 6 sts, K6
Row 3: K4, K2tog, YO, K to last 6 sts, YO, K2tog, K4
Row 4: K6, P to last 6 sts, K6
Rows 5–20: Repeat rows 3 and 4 (8 more times).
Row 21: K4, K2tog, YO, K to last 6 sts, YO, K2tog, K4
Row 22: K across
Rows 23–24: Repeat rows 21–22.

 

 

Row 1: K4, K2tog, YO, *P3, K3, P3, K3, P4, K3, P3 repeat from * 3 times, YO, K2tog, K4

Row 2: K6, *P3, K1, P1, K1, P4, K1, P1, K1, P3, K1, P1, K1, P3 repeat from * 3 times, K6

Row 3: K4, K2tog, YO, *K4, P1, K5, P1, K6, P1, K4 repeat from * 3 times, YO, K2tog, K4

Row 4: K6, *P4, K1, P1, K1, P4, K1, P1, K1, P4, K1, P1, K1, P1 repeat from * 3 times, K6

Row 5: K4, K2tog, YO, *P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K1, P1, K5 repeat from * 3 times, YO, K2tog, K4

Row 6: K6, *P5, K2, P5, K2, P5, K2, P1 repeat from * 3 times, K6

Row 7: K4, K2tog, YO, K to last 6 sts, YO, K2tog, K4

 

Row 32: K across

Row 33: K4, K2tog, YO, K to last 6 sts, YO, K2tog, K4

Rows 34–35: Repeat rows 32–33.

Row 36: K6, P to last 6 sts, K6

Row 37: K4, K2tog, YO, K to last 6 sts, YO, K2tog, K4

Row 38: K6, P to last 6 sts, K6

Rows 39–54: Repeat rows 37–38 (8 times).

Row 55: Repeat row 21.

Rows 56–58: Repeat rows 22–24.

Repeat pattern rows 1–7 and then rows 32–58 (6 more times).

On last repeat, end with row 54.

Next row (RS) K4, K2tog, *YO, K2tog, repeat across to last 4 sts, YO, K4

 

Knit 6 rows.

 

Bind off.

 

 

Odd rows: Right side (RS)

Even rows: Wrong side (WS)

YO (yarn over): Bring yarn forward between the two needles. K (knit) the next stitch, taking the yarn over the right needle. If the next YO is to be a P (purl), again bring the yarn forward between the needles over the right needle and then back around to the front to P the next st (stitch).

Born and raised north of Boston,
Terri DuLong
now resides with her husband, three dogs, and two cats on an island off the west coast of Florida. A retired registered nurse, she began her writing career as a contributing writer for
Bonjour Paris,
where she shared her travel experiences to France in more than forty articles with a fictional canine narrator. Terri's love of knitting provides quiet time to develop her characters and plots for her future novels.

Visit her on the Web at terridulong.com.

 

 

Sydney Webster is a New Englander born and bred, so the last place she expects to find herself starting over is on an island off the coast of Florida. Yet here she is in Cedar Key, trying to pull herself together after her husband's untimely death—and the even more untimely revelation of his gambling addiction. Bereft of her comfortable suburban life, Syd takes shelter at a college pal's bed-and-breakfast, where amidst the bougainvillea blossoms and the island's gentle rhythms, a plan begins to form. . . .

Syd never considered the possibility of turning her passion for spinning and knitting into something more than a hobby, but when the unique composition of her wool draws attention, a door is opened—the first among many. Yet even as she ventures out of her comfort zone, Syd finds herself stepping into the embrace of a community rich with love, laughter, friendship . . . and secrets. And as long-hidden truths are revealed, Syd faces a choice: spin a safety net—or spin decidedly forward, and never look back. . . .