Chapter 15

CHAPTER

15

Something was not right. Rose could sense it.

The second meeting of the Wagtail Ridge Knitting Club was in full swing. Rose had come up again to support Bree, in case too many of the initial starters decided the club wasn’t for them. But her support wasn’t needed; the big, empty hall might lack the intimacy and warmth that another, smaller venue might offer, but that hadn’t deterred anyone. Almost everyone who’d been at that first session was back and there were a couple of new faces. There was one notable exception, though. Matt had dropped his daughter off and bolted as if there was a pack of wild dogs behind him. There might have been some formidable women in the group, but Rose didn’t think that was the problem.

The meeting was going brilliantly. Across the table, Bree was sitting next to the librarian, Lou, and looking at her work. Bree seemed fine. She was laughing, talking to people and offering a helping hand wherever it was needed. She’d sold a couple more knitting kits. The tea table was covered with donated cakes and biscuits, more than the knitters could possibly eat. But Rose knew Bree well—perhaps too well. Something was bothering her granddaughter.

Beside her, a young voice giggled excitedly. ‘Look, Granny Rose. I’m nearly finished.’

‘Oh, can I have a look, Vicki?’ Rose said, trying to hide her grin. She wasn’t sure quite how she had become Granny Rose, but she liked it. It was exactly what Bree had called her when she was six.

Vicki held up her scarf. The stitches were loose in places and tight in others, and Rose could see at least one dropped stitch. The smile on the little girl’s face was a joy.

‘It’s wonderful. But I think, though, you have dropped a stitch here. Can I help you fix it?’

Vicki nodded solemnly and handed over the needles. Rose recovered the dropped stitches and soon had Vicki back on track.

‘This is for your dad, isn’t it?’

Vicki nodded vigorously.

‘He’s going to love it, because you made it.’

‘With Bree’s help.’

That was interesting. When had ‘Miss Johnston’ become Bree?

‘Bree is very helpful.’

‘We went to her farm,’ Vicki said as her hands struggled with the needles. ‘I helped her look after Digby. He’s one of the alpacas and he was hurt.’

Bree had mentioned that on the phone last week. ‘That was very good of you. I think Digby is better now.’

‘He is. Bree came to our house and told me he was much better. And we had dinner and played Squatter. But I pretended the sheep were alpacas. I think alpacas are much nicer than sheep. Don’t you?’

‘I do.’

‘They’re not better than ponies, though. I think alpacas and ponies are both nicest.’

‘I think you are probably right about that.’ Rose wondered why her granddaughter hadn’t mentioned that dinner. And whether that was the reason for the tension she’d felt.

‘Then I saw Daddy kissing Bree.’

Rose blinked. Across the table from Vicki, she saw the orange-haired woman—Val from the post office—stiffen. If this was supposed to be a secret, it wasn’t going to be for long.

‘I was supposed to be in bed, but I woke up and went looking for Daddy. He was outside kissing Bree like he used to kiss Mummy.’

‘There’s lots of reasons why people kiss. It just means they are friends. Now, Vicki, you are running out of wool. Do you know how to cast off or do you need me to show you?’

The distraction worked on Vicki, who soon forgot all about the kissing, but it didn’t do so well with Val. A couple of minutes later, when one of the other ladies got up to pour herself tea, Val followed her to the refreshments table. It was clear what was being said from the whispered conversation and the look of surprise on the other woman’s face. Without hearing a word, Rose watched the information spread around the table. Bree seemed oblivious.

A little while later, Deb Fraser from the pub went to get some tea and Rose chose that moment to do the same herself. She had only met Deb briefly, but she had seemed a forthright and sensible woman.

‘I see Vicki’s little gaffe has spread,’ Rose said as she reached for the tea bags.

‘Yes. The Ridge is a wonderful place and a great community, but when it comes to gossip, it’s no different from any other small town.’

‘I hope Matt won’t be too upset.’

‘Most of the people in this room are very fond of Matt,’ Deb replied as she poured water into their cups. ‘He’s a good man and Kim, Vicki’s mother, was a lovely person too. Losing her was a terrible tragedy. Matt is doing a wonderful job being a single parent to Vicki. We all help as we can, but I guess we all hope he’ll find someone new one day.’

‘I see. Well, my granddaughter has spent most of her life so far trying to please others, too busy to be really happy. Now she’s finally trying to live the life she has always wanted, I think she might find out there’s more she needs than a farm and some alpacas.’

The two women looked at each other. Rose could see the same thought was going through both their minds. ‘Of course, I’d never interfere,’ she said.

‘Of course not,’ Deb agreed.

Rose took her tea and biscuits back to her seat, wondering if a slightly different agreement had also been reached.

Work around the table continued until it was almost time to go. As people packed up, the door to the hall opened and Matt walked in, shaking raindrops from his jacket.

‘It’s raining out there,’ he said. ‘If anyone needs a lift home, Vicki and I are happy to drop you off.’

He went around the table to talk to his daughter with, Rose noticed, little more than a quick smile and nod to Bree. For her part, Bree simply nodded back and then turned to the tea table.

So that’s how it was. Rose exchanged a look with Deb.

‘I’m fine thanks, Matt,’ Deb said. ‘It’s only a sprint across the road for me and I’ve got my coat.’

‘I could use a lift,’ said one of the new members.

‘I’m going your way,’ Lou jumped in. ‘I can take you.’

Fairly quickly, the knitters sorted themselves out and they began to depart. Matt’s offer was not accepted by anyone. Even Val allowed herself to be escorted to the door by a friend. Soon, only Matt and his daughter remained in the room with Rose and Bree.

Rose got to her feet. ‘Vicki, can you help me carry the dirty cups and plates to the kitchen? Then we can wash them up.’

‘Leave them, Nan,’ Bree said. ‘I can do them.’

‘No, no. You’ve got to pack everything else up and stack the chairs and so forth. I’m sure Matt wouldn’t mind helping with that while Vicki and I do the washing up. Let’s go, Vicki.’ Rose gathered a handful of plates and mugs and ushered Vicki into the kitchen.

***

Bree kept her hands busy packing yarn and needles back into boxes. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Matt. What on earth could she say? Sorry seemed such a weak word when she thought about his situation and her own lack of understanding.

He joined her. ‘Bree, I’m sorry for the way I reacted the other night.’

Her hands stilled for a moment, then she forced them to keep moving at their task. ‘You have nothing to be sorry about. I should be apologising to you.’ She didn’t look at him.

‘No.’ Closer now, he reached out and laid a hand over hers, forcing them to stop moving. ‘Never apologise for a kind gesture.’

She pulled her hand away and turned to face him. ‘Kind? Is that what you thought? That I was being kind?’

She stared into his face, seeing the turmoil behind his brown eyes. For what seemed forever, neither of them spoke. Then Matt shook his head slowly.

‘No.’ His voice dropped to a whisper. ‘Bree … How do I say this? You are so … But I can’t. It’s only two years since I lost Kim. I just can’t.’

Bree’s heart almost broke. Not for herself, but for Matt. The sorrow in his voice was palpable. Bree had never been in love—not really in love. From time to time, she had felt strong like mixed with a bit of lust, but never love. Not the kind of love that can cut you open and make your heart bleed. The waves of pain emanating from Matt nearly brought her to tears.

‘And there’s Vicki.’ His voice strengthened as he went on. ‘I have to protect her. Her grandparents … Well, there’s a lot going on around her that she doesn’t really understand. I can’t risk—’

‘Matt.’ Bree reached for his hand, but stopped. ‘It’s fine. I don’t know why I did that. I’d had such a lovely evening with you and Vicki. But I understand.’

‘Thank you.’ Matt took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

Bree could see some of the weight on them lifting, but so much still remained.

‘I’m still finding my way here in Wagtail Ridge,’ Bree said. ‘I could use a friend.’

Matt’s face was lit by a slow smile. ‘The Ridge. Locals call it the Ridge. And I’m telling you that, as a friend.’

When Vicki and Rose returned to the main room a few minutes later, the knitting bits were all back in boxes and ready to be loaded into Bree’s car. The tables and chairs had been returned to their storage places and the atmosphere was light and casual. Vicki was carrying a package roughly wrapped in white tissue paper, which had no doubt previously wrapped some of Bree’s precious alpaca wool.

‘Daddy. This is for you.’

Matt crouched to take the gift. Bree watched his face as he unwrapped it; his love for his daughter was written there as clear as his grief had been a few minutes earlier. Vicki was a lucky girl. And her mother had been, too. To have such love, even for a short period.

The scarf was far from perfect. Even at a distance, Bree could see where the little girl had tried so very hard but not quite got the pattern right. Not that it mattered.

‘Thank you, honey. This is marvellous.’ Matt drew Vicki to his chest in a tight hug. ‘I can’t believe you’ve finished it already. You are so clever.’

‘Put it on, Daddy.’

‘All right.’ Matt drew the length of raggedy brown knitting around his neck. ‘Wow. It’s great.’

‘You can wear it now, Daddy, so when we go outside you don’t get cold.’

‘I will. And I promise I’ll finish knitting yours soon, so we can wear them together. And thank you too, Bree.’ He stood up and smiled at her. ‘From both of us.’

‘You are very welcome. We’ll have to find a new project for you, Vicki. For next time.’

‘Yes, please.’