Streak of Lightning by Clare O'Donohue Page B

store. My grandmother Eleanor Cassidy owned Someday and would normally not have cared if I took a few days to be with Jesse, but she was having a post-Christmas sale, and it was all hands on deck. It took me several hours to convince her that I wouldn’t be needed on Saturday and even more time to prep all the sale fabric bolts, patterns, and notions so that Eleanor wouldn’t have to do it.
    But it would all be worth it, I reminded myself. Jesse and I were going to spend two blissful days in one of my favorite cities in the world, celebrating our first New Year’s Eve as a couple.
    â€œPolice station, three-thirty,” Jesse said as he headed back to work. “And bring some snacks for the train if you remember it.”
    â€œI will. I’m counting the minutes.”
    â€œIt would be more helpful if you counted the cash in the drawer.” My grandmother walked up from behind me. Her voice was stern, but there was a smile in her eyes. “It will pass the time until you go on your trip.”
    She was right. Counting the drawer, waiting on the customers who were piling in to take advantage of the sale, restocking the fabric bolts, and cleaning the shop did pass the time. It was three-twenty-three when I looked up and realized I was about to be late.
    â€œAre you going?” Eleanor looked at the clock and yawned. At seventy-four she had more energy than most people, including me, but today’s sale was enough to exhaust anybody. Her golden retriever, Barney, clung to her side. Being petted and adored by customers had worn him out, I guessed, since he seemed as anxious to get home as Eleanor.
    â€œI’m going.”
    â€œAnother successful day,” she said.
    â€œAnd year,” I added. Someday Quilts might have been a small shop in a small town in Upstate New York, but it was everything to Eleanor and me. And thanks to good word of mouth about our expanded inventory and a few glowing magazines articles, it was becoming a destination shop for quilters from as far away as Boston.
    The growing business was a reason to be thankful for the year we were ending, and one of many things to be excited about for the year ahead. One of which was my grandmother’s upcoming wedding in just a few weeks.
    At the moment, though, she was going solo. Oliver, my grandmother’s fiancé, was visiting his daughter in Canada, so Eleanor would have only Barney with her for company while I was gone. “I’ll call you at midnight,” I said.
    â€œDon’t you dare. When I close up the shop, I’m going to put my feet up and listen to some nice, soothing music. And if I manage somehow to stay awake until midnight, maybe I’ll have a hot cup of tea to celebrate. But more likely than not I’ll be asleep by ten. You and Jesse will be having a bit more excitement, I imagine, with all that crowd in the city.”
    â€œWe’re not doing Times Square, but we do have dinner reservations, and after that I think we’ll just walk around. It will be fun just being there. I’m going to show Jesse some of my old stomping grounds, and he’s going to show me the places he hung out during his days on the New York City police force.” I could hear the giddiness in my voice. “But we’ll be back Sunday afternoon. I can come into the shop from the train.”
    â€œNonsense. Promise me nothing but fun for the next forty-eight hours.”
    â€œThat’s not a hard promise to make.”
    I gave her a long hug, grabbed my overnight bag, and ran across the street to Jitters, the coffee shop owned by my friend and fellow quilter Carrie Brown. There was no time to stop at a grocery store, so the snacks I’d promised Jesse were going to have to be whatever Carrie had left in her pastry case in the late afternoon. Rich was waiting on customers, still looking a little shaken by his encounter with Joe. I noticed a small cut by his eye. Maybe Jesse was wrong about