Chapter 26

CHAPTER

26

On Thursday morning, Bree packed the back of her car with boxes. She’d spent the previous day sorting through the newly spun yarns, selecting those that would go on sale at the Nundle Woollen Mill. The spinning company had done a lovely job with her first fleeces. The yarns were beautiful and soft and she was immensely proud of them and eager to get them on display. So eager in fact that she was on the road before she realised she had forgotten to even bring a bottle of water. Nundle was almost two hours away, and allowing time to meet with the mill owners and do the deal, the round trip was going to take most of her day. The hours she’d spent helping Matt this week meant some things at The Gums had been left undone. She wanted to be back from this trip while there was still enough daylight to work on a fence that needed repair. She wasn’t going to stop for lunch. Snack bars and bottled water on the road would be good enough. She could pick those up at Kelly’s shop.

When she parked in front of the store, she looked across the road to Matt’s office. She hadn’t had a reply yet to her letter. Not that she expected one this soon. Or possibly at all. She wanted to go over there to reassure him and ask how he was doing, but there was a car parked outside his door. Probably a client. She wouldn’t disturb them. Instead, she walked into the store and found the things she needed.

‘I heard you have a farmhand. Maggie. How’s she working out?’

‘Really well. She’s learning fast, which is a good thing, as I’ve left the place in her care today. I’m off delivering wool.’

‘Where to?’

‘I’ve talked to the managers of the Nundle Mill about putting my yarn for sale in their shop. They’ve agreed, so I’ve got some in the car to take up.’

‘I’ve always meant to go there. I hear it’s lovely. Do you fancy some company?’

‘Well, it’s a bit of a drive. I’ll be gone for a few hours. Can you leave the shop that long?’

‘I can. Let me just arrange for someone to take it for the day. It’ll only take a minute.’

Kelly stepped away from the counter and picked up her phone, while Bree browsed the shelves and collected a few more things, including some of her favourite coffee, which was now part of Kelly’s regular stock.

‘Done,’ Kelly said. ‘And I’ve invited Deb to join us. I hope you don’t mind.’

‘The more the merrier.’ As she said it, Bree realised she meant it. Having the two of them along would lighten the boring drive ahead of her, without getting in the way of business.

Bree wasn’t really surprised when Deb appeared with Jake behind her. ‘Let me guess, you also look after the store for Kelly.’

‘Always happy to help,’ Jake said with a smile.

‘And besides,’ Deb added, ‘if Lou found out he hadn’t helped with knitting club–related matters, there would be hell to pay.’

Jake laughed. ‘You’re not wrong. Now get out of here and have a good day.’

As she got back into her car, Bree cast another quick glance across the road to Matt’s office, but there was no sign of him.

‘I love a road trip,’ Deb said as she slid into the passenger’s seat. ‘Let’s go.’

The journey took just over two hours, but the time seemed to pass quickly. They talked about the dance and the knitting club. Deb suggested a charity knit to raise money for the local wildlife hospital. At Kelly’s request, Bree turned on the radio and the three of them sang along to country songs. When they reached their destination, Bree left the others to look around the mill and at the yarn and patterns on sale while she talked to the manager about her alpaca yarn. When they’d reached an agreement, Bree unloaded the boxes from the back of her car and then went in search of the others.

She found Kelly and Deb seated in the showroom, flicking through knitting books and matching patterns and yarns.

‘Do you think I could knit this?’ Deb asked, showing her a pattern.

‘Of course you can. That’s not too hard. But it’s going to take quite a bit of wool. Do you want to buy it while we’re here? The yarn is good, and the prices reasonable.’

‘What would it cost to knit it out of your alpaca yarn?’

Bree gave her a rough estimate.

‘Right, then. Let’s look at some nice cheap sheep’s wool, shall we?’

When the appropriate colour and price of yarn had been found, the three women left the mill. ‘It would be nice to have something like this closer to home,’ Deb said. ‘Have you thought about having a shop, Bree?’

‘I’ve done more than think about it.’

‘Oh?’ Both women stopped walking and looked at her.

‘Look, this is a secret, it’s still not all set yet. I was hoping to tell everyone at the next gathering.’

‘We won’t breathe a word,’ said Kelly.

Bree looked at them and knew she trusted them. ‘All right.’

Kelly pointed out the pub on the nearby intersection. ‘You could tell us over lunch?’

Bree was tempted to say no. She could tell them on the drive back and still have time to get some work done on that fence. It seemed wrong to be taking a whole day off. But Maggie was at The Gums and she’d call if there was a problem. Besides, Bree was having a good day. She’d been working seven days a week since she arrived in Wagtail Ridge. Surely lunch with trusted friends was allowed.

‘Why not?’

The fence could wait.