Page 43 of The Knitting Club at Wagtail Ridge

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As they walked down the street to the pub for lunch, Vicki skipped ahead with her grandmother. Brian walked beside Matt, gradually slowing until they were a few metres behind.

‘Matt, I’m sorry. I had no idea she was going to do that.’ He spoke quietly so his wife wouldn’t hear.

‘I believe you, Brian.’

‘She was out of line. I know that.’

‘Please try to explain to her. Vicki loves you and wants to spend time with you both. I want that too. But this can’t keep happening.’

‘I know. She hasn’t … hasn’t dealt well with losing Kim.’ Brian’s voice broke as he spoke, and Matt felt a surge of sympathy for him.

‘None of us have. We should be helping each other and taking comfort from each other. But that’s not what she is doing. It’s as if she is trying to turn Vicki into her own daughter. A replacement for Kim.’

Matt took Brian’s silence as a form of agreement.

They were nearing the pub. ‘Look, Brian. Let’s put this to one side for the rest of today so Vicki can have a nice lunch and then a visit to the library. We can enjoy it together. But from now on, I have to insist no presents for Vicki unless you’ve talked to me first.’

‘Of course.’

‘And no more unexpected visits. If we can’t find a way to agree on this, then I … I’m going to have to restrict how often you come up.’

Ahead of them, Sally’s stride broke and her back stiffened, although she didn’t turn around. She must have heard. Matt cursed himself for speaking too loudly and too freely, but then changed his mind. Perhaps a bit of straight talking was what they needed to set matters right.

CHAPTER

17

Bree closed the gate behind her and carefully latched it. A woolly brown head reached over the top bar and lips nibbled the end of her plaited hair.

‘Stop it, Cass.’ She gently pushed the alpaca’s head and Cass moved away to join the group grazing nearby.

Bree looked over the herd with a feeling of satisfaction. Her daily check had shown all her pregnant girls to be healthy and content. Even Sky. She was showing more than the others, because of the twins. Bree still didn’t hold out much hope for two live births, but as long as Sky looked healthy, she wasn’t giving up.

September was drawing to a close and spring was very much upon them. The paddocks were covered with young, bright green grass. She had already made arrangements for the alpacas to be shorn. And with the babies coming soon, she was going to be busy.

Leaving Maggie in charge of cleaning around the stables and yards, she walked back to the house, ticking off in her head the things she had to do next. She had to confirm the spinning arrangements for the fleeces and she’d found a couple of small but well regarded yarn shops to take some of her stock. She’d have to get the new offers up on the website so she knew how much she would have available for the shops. It would be nice to have a shopfront herself, somewhere to display the yarns that were currently stashed in boxes in her bedroom office. Knitters liked to feel a yarn before they bought it. Maybe a shop could be a good-sized place where the knitting club could meet, rather than using the hall. It was far too early to think of expanding the business, but hopefully one day. She’d started taking bookings for alpaca walks. She was mapping out routes for those and would take some of her alpacas out soon, to get them accustomed to the area and this new aspect of their lives. The excursions would also help teach Maggie, who was showing signs of becoming a good addition to the farm.

Bree stopped walking and raised her face to the blue sky and the warmth of the sun. She was happy in her new life, but, if she was going to be honest, today she craved some human company. Rose had gone back to Sydney the day after the last knitting club meeting and she hadn’t actually spoken to anyone other than Maggie since them. An email was no replacement for a conversation. Not that she wanted to see anyone in particular. No. Just someone to talk to. Anyone, really. Rural life was great, but after the tense and busy life of a lawyer, there were moments when she felt a bit … unused.

Yesterday’s mail was lying on a table in her hall. On top was a flyer telling residents that the mobile library would be setting up next to the hall today—Bree checked the time—about now. She glanced around her living room. There were plenty of books on her shelves, some of which she hadn’t found time to read yet. But the mobile library would have more than books. She reached for her keys.

She was halfway into town before she realised she hadn’t stopped to check her hair or her outfit. She grinned. She had come such a long way already from her Sydney life.

The area around the hall was bustling when she arrived. The mobile library was open for business and people were also milling around the wooden lunch tables next to the hall and the small playground was well in use. More than anything else, the scene looked a bit like a town picnic. Bree found a park and had barely stepped away from the car when she heard her name called.

‘Bree! Good to see you. Come and join us. We have tea and sandwiches and cake.’ Two of the women from the knitting club were seated at one of the wooden lunch tables and were sliding over to make room for her.

Bree didn’t see how she could refuse and the cake did look good. ‘Hi, Sarah, Alison. I hadn’t realised the mobile library visit was such an event.’

‘Oh, yes,’ Sarah replied. ‘Most of the town turns up, even if we aren’t looking for books.’

‘My kids are in there, hassling Lou about some new fantasy books they want.’ Alison pushed a plastic mug of tea across the table. ‘How’s your injured alpaca? All better, I hope.’

Bree blinked with surprise. ‘Ah, yes. He’s fine thank you. How did you …?’

‘You’ll get used to the grapevine. That’s good news, though. Have you met Anna, our vet, yet? She started studying up on alpacas when she heard you were setting up your stud here.’

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