Page 61 of The Knitting Club at Wagtail Ridge

‘That question you asked earlier. About Mike. When he kissed me, I did not for one moment think of your grandfather, and I loved him for more than half of my life. I knew who I was kissing. I was kissing Mike because I wanted to. And for the record, it was pretty wonderful too.’ Rose raised her coffee cup in a toast. ‘So stop worrying. You and Matt will find your way. Don’t try to rush it.’

Rose was right, as she so often was. Bree stopped picking at that scab of doubt in her mind. More practical matters required discussion.

‘After I’ve done the morning rounds, we need to go into the Ridge and look at a shop.’

***

Rose’s mind had been racing ever since Bree had told her about the shop with the cottage behind it. Bree hadn’t actually said that she wanted Rose to move to the Ridge and run the shop, but Rose wasn’t stupid. It was such a logical step. The big question was, did she want to do that? Give up her beautiful apartment overlooking the harbour? The place she had shared with the husband she had loved so much. Despite what she’d said to Bree, she did still miss William. After so many years together, how could she not? But she missed him less when she was here, in a place he had never seen. A life he had never been part of. Maybe it was time to think about some changes.

She glanced at her phone again, but there were no messages. Not that Mike would be any part of her decision to move, but it would have been nice to hear from him this morning. When Bree was ready to leave, Rose made sure the sound on her phone was turned up as she put it into her bag. Just in case.

Rose had seen the store before. It was two doors down from the supermarket and she’d always thought it would be a good place for Bree to open a retail site.

‘It could use some paint,’ Rose said as they stood looking at it.

‘It could. On the outside at least. I hope there’s not too much needs doing inside. I don’t want to spend a lot of money on a rented shop. Especially as I’ve no idea if it will be a success.’

‘Maybe the owner will contribute. It’s to his advantage too.’

‘Maybe. Matt said he really wants to sell, though, so maybe not.’

That was interesting. ‘I think we should drop by Matt’s office. It’s Sunday, but he might be around and willing to show us inside.’

The eagerness with which Bree agreed to that suggestion was also interesting, although not entirely unexpected. They crossed the road to Matt’s office. There was a closed sign on the door, but Matt was inside, working at his desk.

If Rose had entertained any doubts as to what had transpired between Bree and Matt at the dance, they all vanished as Matt leaped to his feet to let them in, a smile lighting his face.

‘Hi, Bree. Rose. How are you both? Did you have a good time last night at the dance? Come on in.’

‘We don’t want to disturb you if it’s your day off.’ Rose couldn’t resist a bit of mischief. ‘We can come back another time.’

‘No. Vicki is still with Kelly and her kids. I’m using the time to catch up on paperwork. Sit. I was about to make a cup of coffee. Would you like one?’

‘No, thanks.’ Bree settled herself opposite Matt’s desk. ‘I came because of what we talked about last night. The shop for rent.’

Matt nodded. Rose thought he looked a tiny bit disappointed that this was a work visit.

‘Is there any chance we could have a look inside?’ Bree asked.

‘Of course.’ Matt opened the drawer of his desk and began looking through a pile of keys. ‘Here we go. I’ll take you across.’

Matt was locking the door when a voice hailed the group. Rose turned around to see the logo of a delivery service on the shirt of an approaching man.

‘Sorry to interrupt. Are you Matt Ambrose?’

‘Yes.’

‘This is for you.’ The delivery man handed Matt a thick brown envelope and went back to his vehicle.

‘If you need to—’ Rose started to say. She’d recognised the type of envelope. The name printed in the corner was no doubt a law firm.

‘No. Don’t worry. It’s probably papers relating to a sale. It can wait a little while.’ He opened the door and tossed the envelope on his desk. ‘Right, here we go.’ He locked the office door one more time and led them down the street towards the vacant shop.

When they stepped inside the building, Rose knew in a heartbeat it was exactly what Bree was looking for. Her granddaughter walked around, frowning slightly as she muttered under her breath about tables and shelving and storage. Rose had a slightly different focus.

‘What about the living quarters?’ she asked Matt.

‘This way.’

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