Page 71 of The Knitting Club at Wagtail Ridge

The hotel bar was still busy. Conscious that she had to drive home, Bree ordered a lemonade, lime and bitters.

‘Same for me,’ Matt said.

‘But you’re not driving.’

‘No. But I have to pick Vicki up from Kelly’s place soon and take her home. So …’ He shrugged.

‘You never drink too much when you’re looking after her.’

He nodded.

‘Matt, when was the last time you really relaxed? Without worrying about Vicki?’

‘Well, she’s nearly seven. And these last couple of years … Being a single dad is wonderful sometimes, but it’s hard as well. She is the most important thing in my world and I never want to let her down.’

‘The only way you will ever let her down is if you don’t look after the person she loves most in the world—and that’s you.’

Matt lowered his eyes to stare at the wedding ring on his left hand. He twisted the ring around his finger a few times then his hands stilled. When he looked at her, his eyes were filled with so much sadness, her heart almost shattered. Sally’s threatening letter had added a layer of stress over the top of that sadness, and he looked like he was about to fall apart. If ever a man had needed to let go, it was Matt.

She reached out and picked up his phone from where it lay on the table, waiting, as it always was, in case his daughter needed him. She handed it to him.

‘Matt, ring Kelly. Arrange for Vicki to stay overnight. Kelly would be more than happy to have her and I’m sure Vicki will love a sleepover.’

‘No, I can’t—’

‘You can. If you don’t, I will.’

‘Did anyone ever tell you that you can be very bossy?’ He smiled as he said it, but he took the phone from her. The call was short.

‘All right. Now you can relax. As I’m the one being bossy, it’s my shout. What will you have? And don’t you dare say coffee.’

‘Well, if you’re going to insist. How about a Bundy and Coke?’

‘Deb.’ Bree waved to catch her attention. ‘Can you bring my friend here a drink?’

Across the room, Deb grinned and nodded. ‘On the way.’

Matt didn’t seem to notice that Bree kept to lemonade in that round and the next.

As they left the bar, Bree decided Matt could use a hand getting home. She couldn’t remember when she’d seen someone succumb so quickly to a couple of drinks.

‘Come on, let me walk you home.’ She took Matt’s hand. The night was warm and the town’s few streetlights lit their way as they walked towards Matt’s office and the cottage behind it. Matt talked about the town and how he’d started his career in real estate here pretty much by accident.

‘I’m originally from WA. After college I was travelling, seasonal jobs here and there. Fruit picking, driving grain trucks at harvest, that sort of thing. I grew up in Perth, but I liked rural areas. Especially here in the east. I was a delivery driver, and got stuck in Wagtail Ridge when the truck broke down. I spent the night at the pub and at the table near me, there was a family who had just bought a property here. They were so happy and filled with dreams for the future. Listening to their conversation made me smile a hell of a lot more than delivering supplies to supermarkets.’

They reached his office. He stopped outside the darkened window and put a hand gently on the glass. It was a gesture of affection. ‘By the time the truck was fixed, I’d fallen in love with the Ridge. I went to Newcastle and studied to become a real estate agent. Then I met Kim. Soon after that, I found this office. Things were pretty tight for the first couple of years, but I got it working. Or rather, Kim and I got it working.’

His words slurred a little as he spoke and Bree guessed he wasn’t going to be on his feet much longer.

‘She was a city girl. From Newcastle. We met one day at a park. It was a lovely day. Sunny but not too hot, you know? She was selling food at a stall. I never believed in love at first sight, thought it was a load of rubbish. Until I met Kim. She was so beautiful. And her smile … The moment I met her, I knew I wanted to wake up every morning to see that face and that smile. After the first words she spoke, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life listening to her voice.’ His words were broken by grief. ‘And I never got that chance. That foul, filthy disease took her from me. From me and from Vicki. And there was nothing I could do to save her.’

In the dim light, Bree saw the tears in his eyes.

‘It isn’t fair.’ The whispered words were a scream of pain from the very depths of his soul. His shoulders started to heave.

Bree put an arm around the sobbing man and led him away from the office to the house behind.

When they reached the door, Matt fumbled in his pocket and found his keys, but he struggled to get them into the lock.

---