“It’s ugly.”
“You’re being too kind. It’s hideous.” Anna Molensky held up the blue blob of mismatched yarn that faintly resembled a wrap and waited patiently for Frankie DeLuca to make up her mind. The shawl might look like it had been knitted by a half-blind 87-year-old using bendable straws, but it held a great deal of meaning to her best friend Jenna. Which is why Anna was still standing out in the open, despite feeling the itch between her shoulder blades, waiting for Frankie to hand her the bag of Mitten’s fur.
“Tell me again why you need this?” Frankie held the bag firmly in both hands, behind her back. This was going to take longer than Anna had hoped. She glanced around again, turning to better position her back against the brick wall, while trying to find the source of her itch. They were standing in front of the yarn shop on Main Street in the middle of the day. There was no clear danger, but Anna never ignored the itch.
“It’s tradition and Jenna loves tradition. When the first one in our college group got married, her great, great something or other gave this to her and told her it would bring her good luck in her marriage bed. Clearly it works - she has 6 kids. It was supposed to be her something blue but it’s so hideous, she refused to wear it on her wedding day. So, we made her wear it on her bachelorette pub crawl. Since then, whenever one of us gets married, we have a Blue Shawl Crawl. Jenna wants to bring the Blue Shawl Crawl tradition to St. Helena, so we’re adding some of Mittens fur.”
Frankie eyed the shawl with open disgust. “Mittens fur is too pretty for this … thing.”
“That’s why I asked you to only bring the fur from the ground. You can tell everyone it’s the fur that Mittens rejected.”
“Rejected fur?”
“Yes, rejected fur.”
Frankie laughed, “I thought you said Jenna loved St. Helena.” She handed over the bag of “rejected” fur and eyed Anna. “What about you?”
“I’m here as long as you’ll have me.” Anna grabbed the bag before Frankie could change her mind. “Thanks for the fur. Who knows, it might even help the shawl. It sure as hell can’t make it look any worse.”
“Well, I’m just glad I got married before this tradition came to St. Helena.” Rubbing her baby bump, Frankie winked at Anna. “And, it’s not like Nate and I need any help in the bedroom.”
“I know you aren’t drinking, but you’re still coming to the Blue Shawl Crawl this weekend, aren’t you? I’ve set up drinking stations at a few shops, in addition to stopping at each bar. We start at the Spigot and end at Cork’d & Dipped, with stops all along the way.”
“I’m in as long as I don’t have to wear the ‘shawl’. Someone must stay sober and document this for the Internet. I’ll see you Saturday.”
After Frankie left, Anna gave Main Street one last glance, taking in all the normal activities for a midweek afternoon. A mom with a stroller heading into Picker’s Produce, a tourist wrangling a suitcase out of their car in front of the Napa Grand Hotel, a line of hungry patrons at the Pita Peddler. It all looked so normal, but Anna felt something was wrong. There was a disturbance in her world. She’d had this feeling before and nothing good ever came from the itch between her shoulder blades.
She sensed him before she saw him. Movement that wasn’t there a moment ago. Where was he? Who was he? She scanned the sidewalk in front of Josie’s, the prom & tux store. “Gotcha,” she whispered. Even from half a block away she could tell he was tall and fit. As he moved in the shadows of the building, she saw long, lean jean-clad legs, topped with a black leather jacket. His eyes were shaded with wrap around sunglasses and a beat-up dark baseball cap with no logo hid his hair. As she was staring at the hat, she realized the wrap around shades were aimed in her direction. With a quick nod of his head in her direction and a half-smile, he stepped into the tux shop and vanished.
Crap. She really was slipping if she just got caught standing out in the open staring at a guy. Okay, so the guy was hot, at least from what she could tell, but here she was still standing in the open. With a final glance at Josie’s, she turned and walked into the yarn shop. It took her 30 minutes of pleading, but Anna finally convinced the yarn shop owner to incorporate Mittens’ fur into the shawl. The owner couldn’t guarantee she could do anything to improve the shawl, she had even suggested Anna burn it, but she couldn’t do that to Jenna.
Anna, Jenna, and Samantha were the last three singles from their college group. Anna knew she wasn’t getting married, so she didn’t care about the shawl, but it meant something to Jenna and Samantha. The three had maintained their close friendship by moving to St. Helena after college and living together in a Victorian off Main street. The Victorian had been blown up last year when someone tried to kill Jenna, but the house was rebuilt, and she and Samantha had moved back in. Jenna was now living in her Aunt’s old house with her fiance, Mike. Traditions were important to Jenna and with everything that they’d been through last year, if Jenna wanted Mittens’ fur added to the ugly blue shawl for the Blue Shawl Crawl, Anna would make it happen.
The shawl was in good hands, so it was time to find out what was causing the itch. And, she knew just where to go for answers.
***
Danny had just stepped out of the dressing room when the bell above the front door chimed. He hung back to confirm his suspicions. Yep, there she was. He was surprised it had taken her over a half hour to come in, but that didn’t stop him from easing forward to listen in on the conversation at the front counter. He angled himself so he could observe them using the mirrors in the shop, but he couldn’t be seen by them. He watched as the woman from across the street slowly scanned every inch of the store, while keeping her back to the wall and out of the view of people passing by on the street. He’d seen her position herself similarly as she stood in front of the yarn shop earlier. In his line of work, people acted like that when they were casing a place to rob or on the run. Since he doubted she was casing the yarn shop, he had to figure something else was up with her.
“Hey, Anna! What’s up?” He recognized Lysia’s voice. She was the sales woman who had offered to help fit him for his tux. So, Danny thought, this is the elusive Anna. He was wondering when the best man was going to meet the maid of honor. In the last year he’d made three trips to St. Helena to visit with Mike and Jenna, but every time he came to town, Anna mysteriously had other plans. It’s a shame they hadn’t met before. She was dressed casually, running shoes, jeans, and a sweatshirt. A well-worn, brown leather backpack, that looked large enough to hold a week’s worth of clothes, was slung over one shoulder. Her long black hair was tied back in a pony tail and she wore large black sunglasses that hid half her face. She looked average, unless you looked past the surface. Once she took her glasses off, she transformed. Sparkling blue eyes, ringed with thick black lashes, stood out from the slight tan and deep red lips. It was hard to tell with the slightly baggy sweatshirt covering her upper body, but judging by the slim jeans and well-worn running shoes, the shoes weren’t just a fashion accessory. They were put to good use and often.
“Hey, Lysia. I took Jenna’s shawl into the yarn shop and thought I’d stop by. How’s business today?”
“Slow day today. Just one tux fitting. Did you get the fur from Frankie? I have a bet with Jenna that once she saw the shawl, she’d refuse to give you anything from Mittens.”
“Hate to tell you, but you lost.” He watched her slowly scan the store again, before switching her focus to the front windows. “So, who was the tux fitting?”
“It’s your best man.”
“My what?”
“It’s Danny. You know, FBI Special Agent Daniel Bradford. He’s Mike’s best man. He’s around here some-”
“Crap. Uh, I just forgot I have to install a new program at St. Paws this afternoon.”
So, the little minx thought she could run out on him again? Not going to happen a fourth time. Danny silently walked across the store and stopped just inches from Anna, right in the path she was about to take on her escape.
“Don’t leave on my account, Anna.” Danny held out his hand, “Nice to finally meet you. I was wondering if I would meet the elusive Anna before the big day.”
Danny watched her face for signs of flight or fear, but only found annoyance. This was a first. He normally only annoyed people he knew. Why was she so desperate to avoid him? She tentatively reached out to shake his hand.
“Hey, Danny. Nice to meet you.” Anna tried to pull her hand from his, but he just held on. “I have to run, I promised Shay at St. Paws Rescue I’d update their software this afternoon.”
He slowly released her hand after a final, gentle squeeze.
“How about a cup of coffee? Shay can wait 15 minutes.”
She stepped back from him and turned towards the door. She nodded her head at his outfit and said, “It’s going to take you a few minutes to change and finish up here. That would take up your 15 minutes and then some. We’ll talk another time.”
Damn, she was right. He was still in the tux and he doubted she’d stick around for the few minutes it would take him to change. Time to switch tactics. “How do you take your coffee?”
“What?”
“You know, coffee? Mocha latte, cappuccino, espresso, cream, sugar? So, I know how to order your coffee … for next time.”
“I, um, prefer tea. Sorry, I really have to go.” She turned to Lysia, who’d been watching their exchange like a dog watching tennis on TV, and waved, “I’ll see you at home.” With that, she sprinted out the door before he could say goodbye.
“Well, that was interesting.” Danny turned to see Lysia grinning from ear-to-ear. She studied him a moment, then said, “She only drinks coffee in the morning, but she takes her tea with two sugars.”
Danny turned and watched Anna dash across the street and jump in a nondescript, silver 4-door sedan. A very common car for a very uncommon woman. Danny liked challenges and he figured getting to know why Anna didn’t want to meet him was his next big challenge.
Smiling to himself, he turned to Lysia, “Thanks for the tip. So, where should I deliver her tea with two sugars?”