Page 73 of The Knitting Club at Wagtail Ridge

Matt winced as all eyes in the room swivelled from him to Bree and back again.

‘We did,’ Bree said, her face devoid of anything like the discomfort Matt was feeling.

He could feel the eyes on him as he walked across the hall to talk to her. ‘Hi.’

She smiled at him and in that instant, he knew that whatever had happened last night, everything was all right. A huge weight lifted from his shoulders and he smiled back.

‘I hope it’s okay to leave Vicki here. I have a viewing.’

‘Sure is.’

‘I’ll be back in plenty of time to pick her up. If you’re not doing anything later, do you want to drop by mine?’ He’d been about to suggest a cup of tea after the knitting club, but he realised two things. Firstly the table was awash with tea and secondly, although the knitters’ eyes were on their work, every ear was straining in his direction.

‘Let’s leave it loose,’ he added hurriedly. ‘I’ll pop in on my way back from the viewing.’

He felt like an embarrassed schoolboy as he hurried out the door.

***

Bree watched him go, glad that everything seemed fine between them. She settled down to chat and had her back to the hall door when she heard Vicki’s excited yell.

‘Granny!’

Bree saw Sally walking in the door carrying a couple of large tote bags.

Vicki sprinted across the room. ‘Are you all right, Granny? Daddy said you were sick and that’s why I couldn’t FaceTime you.’

Sally knelt to hug her granddaughter. ‘I’m fine now, my lovely girl. I’m always better when I’m with you.’

‘What’s in the bags? Is that knitting?’

‘Yes, Vicki. I thought I would join the club, so I brought my knitting. And I brought some more wool for you too. Really pretty wool so I can help you learn to knit.’

‘But Bree has already taught me how to knit. I’m very good at it. Aren’t I, Bree?’

Sally threw an icy glare at Bree, then drew Vicki’s attention back to her tote bags. ‘Look at all the lovely wool I brought you.’

Within seconds, Vicki was entranced, pulling all the wool out of the tote bags. A couple of the other ladies gathered around, equally impressed by the contents of the bags. Bree knew knitting yarns and one look at the bundles told her Sally’s was expensive. There must have been a couple of hundred dollars’ worth in the first bag alone. It was far too expensive for a child just learning to knit. Too expensive and, in some cases, too hard to use.

But the biggest question in her mind was, what was Sally doing here? Neither she nor Matt had heard anything since the formal letter she’d sent to Sally’s solicitor, yet here the woman was. Somehow Bree didn’t think it was a sign that Sally was going to be reasonable and give up the legal challenge she’d started. But if she wasn’t giving it up, she shouldn’t be here. Matt had made his feelings very clear. Sally should not be around Vicki when Matt wasn’t.

Rose emerged from the kitchen with a newly filled teapot. Bree got to her feet and intercepted her.

‘Sally’s come to see Vicki,’ she whispered to her grandmother. ‘I need to call Matt. Make sure they don’t leave.’

Rose’s face registered shock for an instant. Bree hadn’t told her much about what was happening, but Rose was astute enough to have figured a lot out on her own. She nodded and Bree reached for the phone in the pocket of her skirt as she vanished through the kitchen door.

Matt didn’t answer. Instead, his voice told her if she had an inquiry relating to the buying or selling of a property, she should leave a message. She hung up. She didn’t want to risk Sally walking into the room and hearing her. A text would be better.

Sally’s here. Call me or come back as soon as you can.

She put the phone in her pocket, but a second later pulled it out again.

Vicki’s fine. I’ll keep her with me.

Hopefully that would ease his mind.

When she returned to the main room, the knitting club was back in full swing after the late arrival. Vicki was sitting next to her grandmother, her small hands wielding her pink plastic needles with inexpert skill. Sally was knitting too and Bree could see that she was no expert either. It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that she had learned to knit very recently, in order to join this very club.

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