Page 69 of The Knitting Club at Wagtail Ridge

‘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.

CHAPTER

27

‘Rose! Rose!’

Rose followed the sound of the voices. Kelly from the store was sitting in the far corner of the bar with two women from the knitting club and a couple of children.

‘Hi.’ She greeted them with a smile as she joined them. ‘It’s good to see you.’

‘Charlie, get up and give Rose your chair,’ Kelly told one of the children.

‘It’s fine.’ Rose waved the boy back into his seat. ‘I’m just stopping by. I’m waiting for a plate of Jake’s lasagne to be delivered.’ She nodded to the other part of the bar where she’d been sitting.

‘I saw. Bree and Matt are having dinner together. Again.’ The words were accompanied by a wink so overdone, Rose almost laughed.

‘I guess they are. Although Vicki is there too, and—’

‘It’s like a family dinner.’ Deb joined them, a tray of drinks in her hand. ‘It’s really good to see Matt getting out more. He’s spent far too much time alone since Kim died.’

The women nodded their heads sadly as Deb moved on to deliver her load to another table.

‘She was such a joyful person,’ Kelly said. ‘I’m sure she would be happy to see Matt and Vicki getting on with their lives. And she would have liked Bree.’

‘Now, don’t go getting any ideas, Kelly,’ Rose warned.

‘Me?’ Kelly raised her eyebrows, the picture of innocence. ‘Not me. No. Never.’ The women all laughed. ‘But it occurs to me that, after she’s eaten, Vicki might like to come over and spend some time at our place. She can play with my kids, give Matt and Bree some time to … you know. Be alone.’

‘Well, they’re not exactly alone.’ Deb was passing again, this time with some empty plates. ‘Rose, didn’t I see that gorgeous shearer dancing with you last week?’

‘You might have,’ Rose said archly.

‘He’s not local, is he?’ another woman asked.

‘No. I met him when he came to shear Bree’s alpacas.’

‘He can shear my sheep any time,’ someone else said, accompanied by a waggling of eyebrows.

‘Oh, stop it,’ Rose protested, but she didn’t disagree. ‘Will I see you all at the next knitting club meeting?’

There was a chorus of affirmatives. ‘Good. We may have some news for you.’

Rose walked away. There would be news, but not on the subjects her friends seemed most interested in. Today, she, Bree and Matt were celebrating the agreement for her to buy the empty shop and the cottage behind it. Soon Bree would have a shop and the knitting club would have a home. Tomorrow, after knitting club, Rose would head back to Sydney and put her apartment on the market, not that she needed to sell it before buying the new place. She expected she would be a resident of the Ridge by the end of the month. She hadn’t told Mike any of this yet and she had asked Bree and Matt to keep it secret until she had the chance to tell him. She was planning to do that tonight.

Her steps faltered as she looked at the table where the others were sitting, waiting for their food to arrive. She was on a double date with her granddaughter. How had that come to pass? The initial shock faded quickly.I’m on a double date with my granddaughter. That’s pretty cool.She slid back into her seat and felt a tiny frisson as Mike gently touched her hand by way of welcoming her back.

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