Sunrise on Cedar Key Read Online Free Page A

following her into her apartment with Annie close at my heels.
    â€œOh, your kitchen looks great. Gee, it looks like you’ve always lived here. You’ve been working hard.”
    I looked around and saw an oak table with four chairs placed against the half wall separating the kitchen and a proper dining room, which was the only difference between the apartments.
    â€œAre you just going to leave the carriage house empty?” I asked, sitting at the table while my aunt began preparing breakfast.
    â€œWell, I’m not sure. I’ve given some thought to maybe opening a small business.”
    â€œA business? Another antique business like you had with my parents in Brunswick?”
    â€œNo. As much as I always enjoyed that, I knew when I closed my shop five years ago that was the end of my antique business days.” She paused for a moment while pouring the omelet batter into the fry pan. “I was thinking along the lines of knitting.”
    â€œKnitting? But Monica owns the yarn shop in town, and you must realize this small town doesn’t warrant two of them.”
    My aunt laughed as she turned from the stove. “Yes, I realize that. But I was thinking about offering weekend knitting retreats for women.”
    She definitely had my interest. When it came to this craft, my aunt and I were avid, addicted knitters. I couldn’t remember a time that Aunt Maude wasn’t working on one project or another, and I still recalled my excitement when she’d given me my first pair of needles and a skein of yarn when I was eight years old. She had patiently taught me the basics, which then enabled me to also become a proficient knitter.
    â€œThat sounds great,” I told her. “What do you have in mind?”
    â€œI’m not quite sure,” she said, stirring the grits. “My plan is still in the early stages, but I was thinking about doing some major advertising, especially on the Internet. There’s been such a renewal for knitting lately and there’s a lot of knitting websites and blogs. We now have large knitting conventions across the country, all kinds of knitting groups at yarn shops, and as much as I love the act of knitting, I think part of the renewed interest is because it’s something that brings women together. An activity that allows them to relax, talk, get to know each other, probably even share secrets. So why not have a place for them to gather for an entire weekend, on a beautiful island, surrounded by quiet and Mother Nature? A place that will offer them a getaway to just come together as women, friends, sisters, whatever.”
    â€œOh, I love it!” I said, feeling the sadness of the past few days being replaced with excitement. “That’s a fantastic idea. So you’re thinking of using the carriage house as a knitting workshop or studio for the women?”
    My aunt nodded as she placed our plates on the table and sat down. “Exactly. It will need some refurbishing but not any major work. We have a lot of various lodging on the island, so they would do their own bookings for accommodations. But the carriage house has a bathroom and even a galley kitchen. So we could offer a luncheon, which would be included in the price for the weekend. I was thinking about getting with Monica and Dora. If the women don’t bring their own yarn, perhaps Monica could give them a bit of a discount if they purchased it there at Yarning Together. And maybe we could get Dora to help us if we offered advanced classes on knitting. But most of all, it would be two full days for women to bond and connect.”
    â€œI’d say you’ve already given this quite a lot of thought, and I have a feeling it would be wildly successful.” I took a bite of my aunt’s delicious grits. “I’d be more than happy to help you in any way I could.”
    â€œI was hoping you’d say that. I’m not very computer literate, I’m