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Lydia nodded "She’s been so helpful We really appreciate the referral"

"Any word on how long it’ll be before you can adopt a baby?"

"Not yet Brad and I are prepared to wait, though"

"Well, I hope it happens soon"

"Me, too" Lydia s Cody and me out to dinner"

"Can we come, too?" Ellen asked

"Ellen! No, we can’t," Anne Marie chastened "It’s not polite to invite yourself along"

"I know, but I have a gift for Cody froive it to him"

"There’ll be plenty of time for that later," Anne Marie reminded her and then, despite her best efforts, yawned "I don’t think anyone’sto Ellen yet I expect it’ll hit her in a couple of hours" As for Anne Marie, her feet were dragging Once they’d returned with Baxter, she was planning on taking a nap Ellen would be tired by then, too--she hoped

"I see you’re starting a new class this week" The sign in thehad caught her notice and she found herself intrigued by the concept Not that there was anything she needed to quit She was satisf ied with her life at the moment--more satisf ied than she’d been since the early days of her e

"Are you interested?" Lydia told her about the project she’d chosen Anne Marie liked the sound of it, but a night class would be too diff icult

Maybe she could get the pattern froht some beautiful yarn in Paris and a scarf would be the perfect thing to knit

"Do you want to join the class?" Lydia asked "Even if you’re not trying to give up any bad habits Alix already signed up because she wants to quit sain"

"I’d love to--but I can’t leave Ellen by herself I want to h"

"I’ll be happy to help with the pattern if you run into any problems"

"Thanks, Lydia, I’ll keep that in irl pointed across the street to the French Café "Alix!" she cried "I want to say hello to Alix"

"Ellen, we’ll have to do that later Besides, Alix is probably off work by now"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot…"

"Are you ready for Baxter?"

"Yeah!"

Ellen ran ahead of her to where Anne Marie kept her car in the alley behind the bookstore She wondered if she’d have any probleine f ired immediately to life Anne Marie backed carefully out of her parking space and onto Blossom Street As they arrived at Elise’s small condominium just north of don, Anne Marie called to let her know they’d be up in a , and the instant Baxter caught sight of them he nearly did f lips of joy He barked and ran around, then leaped into Ellen’s ared him close as Baxter spread happy kisses across her face and yelped excitedly all over again

"I think he hed

"Well, he certainly didn’t lack for attention here," Elise said, s as she spoke "I enjoyed his co of one through a painful grieving period after her husband’s death It had been different, in some ways, from Anne Marie’s experience, since Elise’s husband--Maverick by name and maverick by nature, as he used to describe hiered for several years, and Elise had said she was grateful for each extra day Anne Marie’s husband, Robert, however, had died suddenly, unexpectedly, of a massive heart attack

"Do you want a Yorkie like Baxter?" Ellen asked

"I’o down to the Hus they have available It see He always believed in second chances…"

Her gaze fell lovingly on the portrait of her late husband He wore his cowboy hat and smiled directly into the camera There was an irrepressible quality about hi risks was all part of life--taking risks and accepting the consequences with a grin and a wink Anne Marie and Ellen left soon after They’d brought Elise a gift of thanks for looking after the dog--a lovely blue silk scarf with a f leur-de-lis pattern Ellen cradled Baxter in her ar to him as they walked to the car When they clambered into the backseat, Baxter curled up on Ellen’s lap and promptly went to sleep

By the time Anne Marie pulled in behind Blosso soundly It see eyes

"We’re hoo upstairs and tuck you into bed, all right?"

"Okay"

Anne Marie helped her cli scraain within minutes Anne Marie wanted to do a few chores before she took a nap herself After transferring the wash to the dryer, she noticed the light blinking on her phone Checking voice -up Curious now, Anne Marie hurried down to the bookstore Teresa glanced up fro in the rack

"Oh, Anne Marie, hi I didn’t expect to see you for the rest of the day"

"How are things?" she asked, looking around She saw nothing out of the ordinary

"Great The suood this year, I can hardly keep the new hardcovers on the shelves"

This elco…unusual happen while I ay?" Anne Marie wasn’t sure how to phrase the question

Teresa bit her lip as if considering how to respond "Not really… What -ups on my personal phone I’ve never had that before I just wondered if it was soed "I’m sorry I have no idea"

"Okay, I was just curious It’s a bit odd, that’s all" Anne Marie collected herher Anne Marie turned back "Yes?"

"There was someone here earlier in the week Aa private matter"