Judith Pella - Bachelors Puzzle

BACHELOR'S
PUZZLE

B OOKS BY J UDITH P ELLA

B ELOVED S TRANGER

M ARK OF THE C ROSS

T HE S TONEWYCKE T RILOGY

T EXAS A NGEL

D AUGHTERS OF F ORTUNE

W RITTEN ON THE W IND

S OMEWHERE A S ONG

T OWARD THE S UNRISE

H OMEWARD M Y H EART

P ATCHWORK C IRCLE

B ACHELORS P UZZLE

R IBBONS W EST

W ESTWARD THE D REAM

T HE R USSIANS

T HE C ROWN AND THE C RUCIBLE

W HITE N IGHTS , R ED M ORNING

with Tracie Peterson 07B

P ATCHWORK C IRCLE

BACHELOR'S
PUZZLE

A N OVEL

JUDITH PELLA

B ETHANY H OUSE P UBLISHERS
Minneaplis, Minnesota

Bachelors Puzzle
Copyright 2007
Judith Pella

Cover design by UDG DesignWorks
Art Direction by Paul Higdon
Photography by Steve Gardner, Claudia Kunin

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form of by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Printed in the United States of America

Paperback: ISBN-13: 978-0-7642-0133-2 ISBN-10: 0-7642-0133-6
Large Print: ISBN-13: 978-0-7642-0400-5 ISBN-10: 0-7642-0400-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pella, Judith.
Bachelors puzzle / Judith Pella.
p. cm. (Patchwork circle ; bk. 1)
ISBN 9780-764201332 (pbk.)
ISBN 9780-764204005 (large-print pbk.)
1. WomenFiction. 2. Swindlers and swindlingFiction. 3. QuiltmakersFiction.
4. QuiltingFiction. 5. QuiltsFiction. 6. OregonFiction.I. Title.

PS3566.E415B33 2007

813.54dc22

2007007117

CONTENTS

JUDITH PELLA has been writing for the inspirational market for more than twenty years and is the author of more than thirty novels, most in the historical fiction genre. Her recent novel Mark of the Cross and her extraordinary four-book Daughters of Fortune series showcase her skills as a historian as well as a storyteller. Her degrees in teaching and nursing lend depth to her tales, which span a variety of settings. Pella and her husband make their home in Oregon.

V ISIT J UDITH S W EB SITE:

www.judithpella.com

The setting of this story is Columbia County, Oregon, which is an actual place.I debated about using a real place because it is easier and often safer to create ones own setting. But I chose the real county for a couple of reasons. First, Iveve always been told to write what you know, a rule I often break, but this time I went with it. I have lived in Columbia County for several years and know parts of it well. But mostly I chose it because it is a lovely placein a rustic, somewhat threadbare sort of way.I t is past its heyday, but that is what gives it its particular charm.I t is very pretty country here with the Columbia River on its northwestern border and forests and farmlands dotting the rest of the county. I t is still quite rural despite its proximity to Portlandthe county seat is only forty-five minutes away from the city.I thought it would be fun to pay tribute to my home in this way.

That said, I must go on to emphasize that except for some place names, ambiance, and general historical facts, I have fictionalized a great deal of what you see in these pages. People and incidents are spawned entirely from my own imagination. Main-town, its residents, and events are especially my own creations. Nevertheless, when you have so many characters in a story, it is difficult not to accidentally appear to hit upon a real person. But believe me, if you see someone familiar in this story, it is truly just thatan accident. As always, however, I have tried to stay true to the life and times of the people and places.

Ada Newcomb drove the buckboard this morning so she could be sure to arrive early at the schoolhouse.I t was a bit hard to handle for her petite frame, but she had too many things to carry to ride a saddle horse. How she wished they had a better family wagon, perhaps a nice little Rockaway carriage like the Parkers drove. But Calvin had been forced to sell the more comfortable, though older Barouche last year because fickle weather had played havoc with the crops, making harvest thin and pennies tight. The buckboard was fine, and there was more room in it for the whole family.

After unhitching the horses and taking them to the adjacent stable, Ada pushed open the schoolhouse door, gratified to see that she was indeed the first to arrive. She set to work immediately putting things in order. Friday after school Miss Stowe, the teacher, knowing the Sewing Circle would meet on Sunday, had instructed some of the older boys to push aside the desks and move the quilt frame into the open area. Now Ada saw to it that enough chairs were set about the frame. Only six sewers could fit comfortably, and since there were nine women in the group if everyone showed up, three would sit out and do handwork, then spell the others every so often. She hoped all would be present today, for not only was it her quilt to be quilted, but she had important news. Smiling, she glanced toward her sewing basket sitting on a chair. Peeking out from among the scraps of fabric and spools of thread was the corner of an envelope.

It wasnt often such momentous tidings came to their town, so she was pleased as punch that she could be the bearer. Emma Jean Stoddard would be livid that the news hadnt fallen into her hands first, for she was the chairwoman of the Maintown Brethren of Christ L adies Aid Society and most looked to her as the leader of the Sewing Circle, as well. But when her husband, Albert, had resigned as head of the board of deacons due to failing health, Emma Jean had lost some of her, albeit tacit, power.

Adas Calvin was now chairman of the deacons and was also on the county board representing the four Brethren of Christ churches in the area. Thus the letter from denomination headquarters back East had come to him.I t informed the church that a new circuit preacher had been appointed and would arrive within two months. The beauty of it was that the quilters were meeting before the deacons, so the duty of revealing the contents of the letter naturally fell to Ada. Calvin had tried to make Ada keep a lid on the news, arguing that the church leaders meaning the menshould hear it first. But Calvin had given up after only one try because, after twenty-two years of marriage, he knew he could not make his wife do anything she was not quite willing to do in the first place.

Well, it was only right that the women were the first to know, for were they not the backbone of the church? Half the women had to practically threaten their menfolk to get them to attend church, while the other half had to at least nudge theirs.

The schoolhouse door opened, bringing in Jane Donnelly with a gust of wind. She shut the door quickly behind her. I t was the month of April in Columbia County, Oregon, where spring in the northwestern part of the state could be as fickle as a young mans fancy.