Moments later the rug was snatched from her hands and laid aside, and Lori grabbed her in a stranglehold of a hug. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Kenzie laughed, wriggling. “You’re welcome, you’re welcome, you’re welcome, but let go so I can breathe.”
Lori giggled and stepped back. She bent down and spread the woven rug flat across the floor. “Oh, Kenzie, it’s wonderful.” She walked around it, as if participating in a cakewalk, seeming to examine every square inch. Then she shot Kenzie a shocked look. “I can’t even tell which rows I did. They’re all so…perfect. Are you sure this is the same rug?”
Kenzie pointed. “See the strips from the long johns? It’s the same one.”
“But how can it be so perfect? I know my rows weren’t quite right.”
Lori’s astonishment tickled Kenzie but also concerned her. “I stretched them a little bit so they’d be more aligned.” She moved to her friend’s side and laid her hand on Lori’s arm. “But even if they weren’t all perfectly straight, the rug would still be beautiful. You don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. Not in God’s eyes, for sure, and not in mine.”
Lori’s eyes flooded, and her smile quavered. “Aw, thanks, Kenz. I love you, too.” She hugged Kenzie again, then fixed her gaze on the rug. “It’s gonna look so good in Jase’s office. Can I take it now?”
Kenzie rolled it back into a tube and handed it to Lori. “Of course.” She gestured to the sofa. “Are you really gonna be the church’s janitor?”
Lori sat and placed the rug across her lap. She finger-combed the fringe, making the strings lay like bangs. “I’m going to tell them I’m interested. They might not hire me, but if they do, it’ll mean the rest of you won’t have to give up hours at the fabric shop.” She flicked a grin at Kenzie. “And if they do hire me, I’m gonna start bugging you again for your brownie recipe.”
Kenzie’s chest constricted, but she couldn’t hold back a soft laugh. “You think you’ll need them for energy, or what?”
Lori shook her head, a sly smile dimpling her cheeks. “No. I’ll bake them for…for the church staff every week.” Wistfulness flitted through her eyes. “That’ll make me popular, don’t you think?”
Kenzie surmised Lori was more interested in being popular with Brother Jase than with Brother and Sister Kraft, but she wouldn’t say it. Lori needed to be bolstered more than she needed to be teased. “I don’t think you need to bake brownies to win friends.” Kenzie accompanied her words with a smile. “Your kind heart, bouncy personality, and sense of humor endear you to people. All of those things are appealing. And they’re calorie free.”
Lori burst out laughing. “That’s really nice, but I think it’s your roundabout way of telling me you won’t give me the recipe.”
Kenzie shrugged, still grinning. Lori was right. She didn’t want to share the recipe, and she had to be honest even if it meant disappointing Lori.
Lori stood and tucked the rolled rug under her arm. “It’s okay. I’ve got the rug, and that’s good enough.” She winked. “For now.”
Kenzie trailed Lori to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yep. We’re both on the schedule for all day.” Lori seemed to freeze for a moment. Then she slowly turned and faced Kenzie. “If I do get the job at church, I won’t see you as much at the shop. We’ll still get together, won’t we? I’d really miss you if we didn’t have our gab sessions.”
“Of course we’ll still get together. Nothing’s gonna change between us just because you’re not at the shop as much.” Kenzie spoke with conviction, but an unnamed worry gnawed at the back of her brain. She pushed it aside and patted Lori’s shoulder. “No worries. You’re stuck with me, pal.”
Lori smiled big. “Thanks, Kenz.” She left whistling and with a bounce in her step.
Kenzie stayed on her little landing and watched until Lori got to her vehicle. Lori put the rug in the back seat, placing it as carefully as Kenzie used to lay her sleeping little brother on his bed. When Lori moved to the driver’s seat, she glanced up and caught Kenzie watching. Lori’s smile broke across her face again, and she waved. Kenzie returned the wave, but with less enthusiasm than Lori exhibited.
Lori drove away, and Kenzie stepped inside and closed the door. She turned the lock out of habit, then ambled to the loom. She