Chapter 34

CHAPTER

34

Two weeks later, Rose’s Alpaca Emporium was ready to open for business. The doors would open at ten the following morning, with both Rose and Bree on duty for the first day. But before that could happen, there was need of a celebration. Bree left the farm in Maggie’s care when the afternoon feeds were done. Maggie would join the party later, but Bree needed the first few minutes in the store alone. She drove into town, unlocked the shop’s front door and stepped inside. She stood in the middle of the room and slowly turned in a circle, unable to take the smile off her face.

Jake, with a bit of help from Mike, had worked wonders on the place. The smell of fresh paint hadn’t quite faded, but the vibrant blue walls and yellow shelving were cheerful. The box shelves were already stocked with yarn. Some of it was Bree’s own, spun from her fleeces. Other sections contained commercially sourced yarn of different styles, colours and price. Other shelves held a selection of needles, stitch holders and other accessories, with a bookshelf full of patterns and pattern books right next to it. The back wall featured several large photographs of Bree’s alpacas and people holding them, including, right in the centre, Vicki and Sky.

Pride of place in the store went to the big table sitting squarely in the middle of the room. It was big enough for people to lay out pattern books and yarn or to show off a finished project. A yarn swift could be fastened to one end to wind wool from hanks into balls. And the knitters could gather around it to knit, help each other and share the joy of their work.

Or, as it was now, it could be covered with glasses and bottles of wine.

The back door opened and Rose walked in to place a cheese platter on the table.

‘I can’t believe how perfect that table is,’ Bree said to her grandmother. ‘The guys pulled off a blinder finding that.’

‘It’s come up rather well, hasn’t it.’ Rose had been part of the team who’d spent the past few days sanding back the ageing timber and polishing it. Jake had found the table in someone’s shed, disused and covered with cobwebs. Purchased for a few dollars, it would be the perfect centrepiece for meetings of the knitting club, which, from now on, would be held here rather than at the hall. In her role as store manager, Rose would also be taking bookings for alpaca walks and directing people to the farm if they got lost and ended up in town. Bree had plans to improve her web sales of yarn and patterns over time, and that too would all be centred here, leaving the farm for her and the animals.

‘It’s wonderful.’ Bree’s eyes felt decidedly misty. ‘Nan, I can’t thank you enough for joining in with me on this. It’s not just the money …’

‘Pah. I should be thanking you for letting me get involved. For a while there, especially during lockdown, I really felt that my life was over. The best part of it. Now I know I was wrong.’

Bree put her arms around her grandmother and hugged her.

As they moved apart, the front door opened.

‘I hope we’re not late for the party.’ One by one, the women of the knitting club came in, oohing and aahing over the place.

Party was the right word. Soon the big table was overflowing with more food and wine, which had materialised from the bags carried by the newcomers. Bree thought she couldn’t feel any happier. But then the door opened and proved her wrong, as Matt and Vicki walked in.

Vicki was looking up at her father and giggling as they came through the door. The look on Matt’s face as he spoke to her was one of absolute joy. Then he glanced up and his eyes locked onto Bree’s. The joy remained on his face, but something else joined it. A deeper, stronger emotion that sent a quiver through Bree’s stomach.

Vicki spotted her and bounced across the room. ‘Look at all the pretty—’ The words cut off in mid-sentence, replaced by a squeal. ‘Look, Daddy! That’s me and Sky.’ She darted over to the wall with the photos.

Matt leaned towards Bree. ‘Thank you for that,’ he whispered. ‘It’s made her day.’

Bree could feel his breath warm on her skin. ‘Well, thank you for letting me use it.’ She turned away from the smiling child to the man at her side and the room seemed to go quiet.

Did he feel it too? He didn’t move, or even look, away. For a long moment, it seemed as if there were only two people in the room. Two people who were startled to discover that was exactly what they wanted.

‘Bree! Speech! Speech!’ The cry was taken up by the knitting club ladies, and everyone in the room. Bree turned away from Matt, hoping that her blush would be interpreted as a response to the request for a speech.

‘As most of you know, in my previous life I was not unaccustomed to public speaking—’ A ripple of laughter wafted through the room. ‘Standing here in a room full of friends makes it so much easier than standing in front of a judge and jury.’

She paused. ‘I want to say one thing. Thank you. Thank you, Matt, for finding The Gums and this shop. Thank you, everyone, for joining the knitting club. Thank you, Jake and Mike, for helping get the shop into shape. Nan—Rose—thank you for being exactly who you are. And last of all, thank you, everyone, for welcoming me to Wagtail Ridge.’

A loud cheer and a round of applause followed.

‘Enough of that—there’s wine for those who want it. Or tea and coffee. Plenty of cake too. Please, enjoy.’

Bree tried to merge into the small crowd, but that wasn’t to be. Almost everyone in the room wanted to spend some time talking to her, so that at first it seemed the only person she really wanted to talk to was always with someone else. She looked across the room at Matt and saw something of her own frustration in his eyes. She sighed, much more loudly than she had wanted, and the atmosphere in the room seemed to change. Knitting clubbers began to say goodbye and wander out the door. For some strange reason, Val winked broadly as she left.

As the crowd thinned, Matt appeared at her side, without his daughter.

‘Where’s Vicki?’

‘Kelly has taken her back for a sleepover with her kids.’

‘That’s nice.’

‘Yes … Do you get the feeling something is going on here?’

Before Bree could answer, Jake and his wife Lou approached. ‘We’re off. Thanks for the cake and wine.’

‘No. No. Thank you. Both of you,’ Bree said.

Lou shook her head. ‘It’s nice to see a bit more life coming to the town.’

As they walked away, Lou spoke softly and Jake laughed, put his arm around her and smiled at her in a way Bree had always hoped someone would look at her one day.

It was time she tidied up; the store had to open for business tomorrow. She started gathering glasses, but Mike stepped to her side and put his hand on her arm to stop her.

‘Rose and I have this.’

‘Thanks, Mike. But I—’

‘No buts. I said we’ve got it. I’m not just being helpful.’ He chuckled deeply. ‘With no other volunteers to do the washing up, it gives me a chance for some alone time with Rose.’ He winked.

What was with everyone winking?

Rose didn’t wink, but her message was blatant. ‘Why don’t you and Matt go have dinner together?’

‘Nan …’

‘Actually.’ Matt appeared at her side. ‘That’s a good idea. As Vicki is with Kelly, why don’t you and I go to the pub for dinner?’

‘No. Not the pub,’ Deb said, the only other person still in the room. ‘Jake has the night off. I’m going to be flat out cobbling something together for the regulars.’

Bree knew that was a lie. Deb did meals that were nearly up to Jake’s standard and she did them with ease.

Matt looked at Bree and shrugged. ‘I could cook us something at my place.’

‘Excellent idea.’ Rose almost pushed them out the door.

When it shut behind them, Bree turned to Matt and raised her eyebrows in an unspoken question.

He laughed. ‘I know what you mean. But there is something I do have to ask you.’

‘What?’

‘Technically, I guess your mother is my solicitor now, not you.’

‘That’s right.’

‘So, technically , if you were to come to my place for dinner, there wouldn’t be any ethical consideration if we were … or I was …’

‘No. There wouldn’t.’ Her voice dropped to a whisper.

‘I have realised something important. I feel sorry for Sally, and I am doing my best to understand and help her. But I can’t let her anger and hurt interfere with Vicki’s life. Or mine either.’ His voice slowed and dropped. ‘I do very much like the idea of spending the evening with you. At my place. I’m not in Jake’s league, but I’m sure I can get us something. If you’ll come.’

‘You did pretty well last time, so I guess I’ll give it another try.’

They took their time walking back to the house behind the real estate office. Matt didn’t hold her hand, but Bree felt that they couldn’t get much closer as they talked about that evening’s event and her plans for building her business.

When they got to the house, Matt poured them each a glass of wine and they set about making dinner. Bree wasn’t a particularly good cook; at best, she would describe herself as competent with simple things. She’d never enjoyed cooking. Living in Sydney, it was too easy to get food delivered, or to go to one of the many cafes and restaurants around the office when she was working late, as she did most nights. Living alone, her meals were quick and simple fare. Matt, however, more than made up for her lack of skill.

She sat on a stool while he moved around the kitchen, deftly putting together a salad. He even made a dressing for it, mixing the oil and vinegar in an old honey jar and giving it a good shake.

While Bree set the table, he heated the grill and cooked some chicken, which was golden brown and smelled delicious as he carried the plates into the dining room.

Bree took her place at the table, but before joining her, Matt went to the bookshelf and the photo of Kim. He looked at it for a moment, then slid it onto another shelf, among a collection of framed pictures. Then he moved a photo of Vicki into the vacated place.

‘Matt, you don’t have to do that. Not for me.’

‘I know. But it’s not for you. It’s for me. This horrible business with Sally has made me understand one thing. She can’t move on and it’s destroying her. It’s destroying her future with Vicki too. And I’m risking the same thing. I have got to let go too.’

‘But only when you’re ready.’

‘I wasn’t ready. In some ways, maybe I’m still not. But—’ He sat down opposite her and reached across the table to take her hand. ‘I had one remarkable woman in my life. I never thought I’d meet another, until you walked in the door with your crazy hair and your alpacas, your odd eyes and your wonderful heart. It’s not the same as before, with Kim. It’s not better or worse. It’s different. And it’s good. Very good. I want this—you—in my life. And Vicki’s too.’

Bree’s breath caught in her throat. She looked at his handsome face, his deep, soulful eyes, and felt everything in her life shift. ‘I like the sound of that,’ she whispered.

Their fingers remained entwined.

Bree looked at the meal set in front of her. ‘This looks good,’ she said.

‘Thanks, but you know, I’m not really hungry.’

‘Neither am I.’

Matt got up and moved around the table. As she got to her feet, Bree found herself stepping seamlessly into his arms. Their lips met. He tasted of the wine they had been sipping, of the food he’d been testing and of Matt. She knew at that moment she would never get enough of the taste of him, nor of the feel of his hands as they held her.

Without a word being spoken, they made their way to Matt’s room, with its big, welcoming bed and the table that no longer held a photo of a smiling, dark-haired woman.