The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club Read Online Free PDF Page A

just to watch her try to deal with the whole fishing scene again.
     
    Stuart chuckled to himself. The last time they went fishing, it had been comical to watch Pam swatting at bugs, primping with her hair, and struggling with the line on the fishing pole when she’d caught a fish. He could still hear her hollering when she’d tried to reel it in:
“Help! Help me, Stuart! I don’t know what to do with this fish!”
     
    That day could have been kind of fun if Pam hadn’t whined and complained about every little thing. Why couldn’t she just relax and enjoy the great outdoors the way he did? If he’d known she was too prissy to get dirty and deal with the bugs once in a while, he’d have thought twice about marrying her. Of course, during their dating days he’d been attracted to her beauty and brains and hadn’t thought much about whether they had a lot in common. He just felt good being with her back then.
     
    Just look at her now
, Stuart told himself.
She’s sitting over there in the passenger’s seat, looking so prim and perfect. Not a hair out of place on her pretty blond head, and I’ll bet there isn’t one wrinkle on her slacks or blouse. We’re sure opposites in what we like to do, how we dress, and in so many other ways. No wonder our marriage is in trouble. Even with the help of our counselor, I have to wonder if there’s really any help for me and Pam
.
     

     
    Topeka, Indiana
     
    “How’d it go with your probation officer yesterday?” Jan Sweet’s employee Terry Cooley asked as Jan climbed into the passenger side of Terry’s truck.
     
    Jan shrugged and clipped on his seat belt. “Went okay, I guess. During our sessions, she always asks me a bunch of stupid questions, but I’m just keepin’ it real.”
     
    “That’s probably the best way, all right. So, are you ready to head home now or what?”
     
    “Yeah, sure thing.” They’d just completed a roofing job at a home near Tiffany’s Restaurant, and Jan knew it was too late in the day to start tearing the roof off the Morgans’ house in LaGrange. “Guess we’ll get an early start on Monday mornin’,” he told Terry.
     
    “Sounds good to me. I’m kinda tired anyways.”
     
    “Same here.”
     
    They rode in silence for a while, and then Jan brought up the subject that had been on his mind all day. “You know, I really hate relyin’ on you for rides all the time. Sure will be glad when I get my license back, ‘cause I like drivin’ my own truck to work.” Jan thumped his knee. “And man, I sure do miss ridin’ my Harley. I like the feel of the wind in my face and the freedom I have when I’m sailin’ down the road on my motorcycle. Know what I mean?”
     
    Terry nodded. “Just hang in there, buddy. As long as you don’t do anything to blow it, you won’t have too much longer to go.”
     
    “Three more months seems like forever.” Jan groaned. “In the meantime, when I don’t have far to go, I’ll keep ridin’ that old bicycle I bought at the secondhand store. And when I need to travel farther, I’m thankful for friends like you who are willin’ to give me a lift.”
     
    “Hey man, it’s no big deal.” Terry grinned and pushed his shoulder-length, flaming red hair away from his face. “If the tables were turned, I’m sure you’d do the same for me.”
     
    “You got that right.” Jan appreciated a friend like Terry, who was not only a hard worker, but liked to ride motorcycles, as well. The two of them, both single, had become good buddies despite their age difference. Although Terry was only twenty-eight and Jan had recently turned forty, they had a lot in common and saw eye to eye on many things. When Jan moved to Shipshewana and started his roofing business three years ago, he’d been glad to find Terry.
     
    “So what’d your probation officer have to say during your session yesterday?” Terry asked.
     
    Jan squinted his eyes almost shut. “Said I should try to find some kinda