Page 94 of The Knitting Club at Wagtail Ridge

‘I can be a bit thick at times, but I think maybe I have. See you later, Bree.’

He was smiling as he ended the call, but that smile faded as he looked up to greet his visitors. Sally was standing just inside the office door, her face thunderous. She’d obviously heard Matt use Bree’s name. His first instinct was to apologise; anything to preserve their ever more fragile relationship. But he didn’t. He wouldn’t apologise for his growing closeness to Bree. That was between the two of them, and none of Sally’s business.

He got to his feet. ‘Sally. You were supposed to call me before coming up. My lawyer says you shouldn’t be here while the legal issues are still outstanding. Unless you’ve come to tell me you’re not going forward with the action.’ He did not for one moment believe that was her reason.

‘This is John Hooper. I wanted to bring him here. To meet Vicki.’

Matt turned his attention to the man at Sally’s side. He looked about Matt’s age and had sandy hair and brown eyes. Matt had never seen him before. He inclined his head to acknowledge the man, then returned his attention to Sally.

‘Why?’

‘He’s Vicki’s father.’

‘What?’

‘No! I mean … I’m not …’ John stammered. He looked as startled as Matt felt.

‘Kim and John were planning to marry before you interfered,’ Sally said, overriding the man’s protestations. ‘Vicki’s birthday makes it entirely clear he is her father. And I’m trying to make sure my granddaughter stays with her family, not some interloper.’ Sally’s face was twisted and ugly with emotion, her eyes glistening with anger.

Matt’s first instinct was to avoid the upcoming confrontation by asking them to leave. Now. But the desire to help Sally remained strong. And while the man at her side was an unknown factor, Matt needed to believe that somehow they could get past this and Vicki could have her loving grandmother back. The way she used to be.

‘Please. No. I’m sorry.’ John addressed Matt. ‘Sally got in touch with me. I was so sorry to hear about Kim. She was a lovely person.’

Matt nodded, unable to even say thank you. He felt as if the ground beneath his feet was giving way as a huge chasm had opened and he was teetering on the edge, liable to fall in at any moment. Only his love for his daughter was holding his world together. That would never fail, but it might not be enough.

‘Sally, you need to leave. You brought lawyers into this. You need to stay away from Vicki and let the law sort this out.’ He glanced at the clock on the wall. The school day was almost over and he was desperate to get Sally and this man out of here before Vicki walked in.

‘I won’t let you stop me seeing my granddaughter. And you can’t stop her real father seeing her either.’

‘I am Vicki’s father!’

‘Daddy? What’s wrong?’ Vicki’s voice sounded so very afraid.

Matt closed his eyes in despair, just for a moment. When he opened them, all he could see was his daughter’s face in the doorway, her eyes glistening with tears as she clutched her school bag to her chest.

‘Vicki, honey. Everything’s fine. Why don’t you go through to the house? I’ll be there in a minute.’

‘Granny, is something wrong? You look upset.’

‘Nothing’s wrong, my lovely girl.’ Sally swept Vicki into a hug. ‘I have brought someone here to meet you. He’s—’

‘Sally.’ Matt’s warning was sharp and loud.

‘What? She should know the truth.’

Matt bit back the words he wanted to say, anger replacing compassion for his mother-in-law. He turned to his daughter, whose face was now white and wet with tears. ‘Vicki, honey. Go through to the house, please. This is a little misunderstanding with Granny. Don’t you worry about anything. Go and get yourself a glass of juice. You can have a chocolate biscuit as well. Please, honey. I’ll be there in a minute.’

Vicki glanced uncertainly at her grandmother and then looked back to Matt. He moved quickly to her side and knelt to give her the briefest, but hardest, of hugs. Then he put his hand on her back to gently urge her through the door leading to the house.

As soon as the door shut behind her, Matt turned on Sally.

‘That’s enough. I want you to leave. Now. I will not have Vicki upset like this.’

John, who had been watching silently, raised one hand, palm out as if to ward off Matt’s fury. ‘I didn’t—’

‘No. I don’t want to hear it.’ Matt went to the office door and pulled it open. ‘Please leave now. Both of you.’

Sally didn’t move.

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