Page 82 of The Knitting Club at Wagtail Ridge

‘Val, I—’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll be discreet. I’ll also make sure people know the knitting club is moving here soon. Everyone will be so pleased.’ And with that, Val swept out of the shop.

Rose sighed.

Mike stepped to her side. ‘That was—Actually, I’m not quite sure what that was.’

‘I guess I shouldn’t have been quite so tough on her. But her gossiping to Sally is only making things harder for Matt and Vicki and Bree. I want to protect that little girl.’

Mike laughed gently. ‘And I can see that you really don’t need anyone to look after you—money or not.’

‘Money doesn’t take care of a person, not in my mind. It’s love that does that. My money allows me to help Bree in this alpaca business. The sort of looking after people like Matt and Vicki need doesn’t come from money. It comes from here.’ She touched her fingers to the left side of her chest and Mike gently put his hand over hers. His dark eyes examined her face, looking at her in such a way it made her heart pound. Surely he must feel it?

Before Mike could say anything, she said, ‘Enough of that. Jake’s been out the back there for a long time. We’d better go and see what he’s up to, while I still have some of that money left.’

CHAPTER

32

‘Both twins are still there,’ Anna Prentiss told Bree. ‘They are small, but not as small as I would have expected.’ She pointed at the black and white screen.

Bree could see them clearly. Twins. And still healthy at a far more advanced stage than either she or Anna had expected. She stroked Sky’s silky neck. ‘What do you think the chances are? Of at least one of them surviving?’

‘I wouldn’t have put the chances too high of them both still being there.’ Anna started packing away her scanner. ‘I’ve only known one twin pregnancy get this far.’

‘How did that end?’ Bree asked fearfully.

‘She had one live birth. The cria was pretty small and weak. It took a lot of looking after, but it survived and did really well. Grew into a normal, healthy animal.’

‘But there are cases of both twins surviving.’

‘Yes, but the odds aren’t good. Twins occur maybe one in every ten thousand pregnancies. And only one in fifty thousand sees one or both twins survive.’

‘I’m not giving up on them.’ Bree had seen a twin born and survive when her animals had been on agistment. This alpaca, her pretty brown and white Sky, had been pregnant with twins three years ago. She’d lost both, but had given birth to two healthy babies since. And now this.

‘There’s a long way to go yet, Bree. And no guarantees.’

‘I know. But I have to do everything I can to help her.’

‘You do, I understand.’

Bree liked Anna. In her experience, vets were kind but practical. Anna was perhaps more of the former than most.

‘The rest of your girls are fine. There will be more babies arriving soon.’

Anna had also had a good look at the crias already in the nursery paddock. All seemed healthy. Bree was going to be busy—it was time to start breeding the females again, though her stud boys would stay at the far side of the property for the next couple of days, well away from temptation, kept company by a couple of quiet, gelded males.

Anna spent a bit more time with Bree, talking about extra nutrition for Sky and signs to watch for as the pregnancy neared its end.

‘I’ll drop by fairly regularly when I’m passing,’ she said. ‘I can just take a quick look at her out in the paddock if you’re not around.’

‘I won’t be going too far. And if I’m not here, Maggie will be. Or my grandmother. She’s coming up later today.’

‘I hear she’s moving here permanently. Taking over the old store and cottage.’

‘Yep. She’s sold her apartment in Sydney and expects to be moved into that cottage as soon as Jake has finished some improvements. There’s a lot to do, so we’re not sure how long it will take.’

‘Mike will be pleased about that. He doesn’t like the city. Mind you, he’s probably made more trips to Sydney since he met your grandmother than in the rest of his life.’

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