“What about y
ou?” Jecca asked.
“Me? I tend toward things that are wounded.”
“Where does that put me?” Jecca asked, her voice teasing.
“If I’m Cupid, that means that you’ve wounded me,” he said, making her laugh. “I have to go. Addy wants me to get Nell out of the house because she’s talking hard and fast about . . . Is she asking her mother to buy her a sewing machine like Miss Lucy has? What does she need a sewing machine for? Jecca, what have you done?”
“That’s a secret between Nell and me.”
“Yeah? I’d like to hear more, but Addy is waving her arms at me.”
“Sounds like you’re the one afraid of your sister.”
“She tries, but when I look at her, I see a kid with a soggy diaper and a snotty nose. Can I call you tomorrow?”
“Yes, of course,” Jecca said. “And I may need to talk to Nell about colors.”
“I’ve opened floodgates, haven’t I?”
“I think so. Nell and I are going to paint the town—or part of it, anyway. And Tristan?”
“I’m here,” he said in a sexy, suggestive way.
“Don’t take Nell out today and buy her a sewing machine. Wait until after I’ve talked to Lucy.”
Tristan gave a sound that was half laugh, half a groan of pain. “You’re finding out too much about me! Is the mystery gone already?”
“Mystery is written all over your face. I think. Maybe. Good-bye, Cupid.”
Laughing, he said, “Good-bye, Psyche.”
Ten ves eaaid. font>
When Jecca clicked off the phone with Tristan, she was so eager to begin on the colors for the playhouse that she didn’t want to waste time driving somewhere. She knocked on Lucy’s door and asked if she could use her copy machine.
“Of course,” Lucy said, barely looking up from her sewing.
Jecca walked to the big machine in the corner and punched in that she wanted ten copies of the first sketch. While she waited, her eyes were drawn to what she’d called Lucy’s “cave of colors.” The big closet, full of hundreds of yards of fabric folded into neat squares, drew her in. “May I?”
“Certainly. If you’re thinking about taking up quilting, I know where you can get fabric. Cheap.”
Jecca knew Lucy was joking, but buying from her was a good idea. Jecca ran her hand along the fabric, thinking about Easter colors, imagining what patterns and solids would work with the colors she’d thought of using outside.
“Can I help you find something?” Lucy asked. She’d moved from the machine to stand near Jecca.
“Do you know how to upholster things?”
“You mean with a hammer and tacks?”
“No,” Jecca said. “Slipcovers.”
“I’d probably need a pattern, but I think I can do it.”
“Great,” Jecca said as she took the copies and started for the door.
“See you at three?” Lucy called after her.