Page 99 of The Knitting Club at Wagtail Ridge

‘She wasn’t there when I went to pick her up from school.’

Kelly’s mouth fell open. ‘Hang on.’ She darted to the door at the back of the shop.

The door stayed open and Matt saw her run across to her house and go in the back door. She was back in a couple of minutes.

‘My kids saw her leaving school. Barbara says she was with an older woman. Maybe her grandmother?’

Matt staggered and grabbed hold of a shelf to support himself as the earth fell out from under him.

Kelly was at his side. She knew better than the rest of the town what this meant. ‘I’m sorry, Matt. What can we do to help?’

Shaking his head, he lurched out the door and onto the street, looking wildly around in case he was wrong and Vicki was walking home. Safe.

His hand was shaking as he reached for his phone.

CHAPTER

40

‘I hope you enjoyed your afternoon,’ Bree said as she unlatched the gate.

The chorus of agreement was very satisfactory. Bree held the gate open while the walkers led their animals through. ‘Just head back towards the stables,’ she told them, catching Maggie’s eye to tell her to walk with the lead alpaca. The others would follow. They’d done this a few times and already knew that once they were back at the stables and released from their duties, there would be feed waiting for them.

‘And after, if you’re heading back through Wagtail Ridge, don’t forget to stop at the shop. There are all sorts of souvenirs there, and some alpaca socks that I highly recommend for those chilly nights. If any of you knit, there is yarn spun from these alpacas to purchase. And if you tell Rose which alpaca you walked, you might be able to buy some yarn from the fleece of that animal.’

She was greeted by a second approving murmur. That was when she heard the noises coming from the direction of the stables. She glanced over. All the girls in the nursery paddock had gathered as close to the building as they could get. They were leaning over the fence, looking towards the stables, and they were purring. That could only mean one thing.

‘Let’s head on to the stables,’ she said to the group. ‘Follow Maggie.’

As soon as the last walker and her alpaca were through the gate, Bree latched it then joined Maggie.

‘Keep them all at this end of the stables. I’ll go on ahead to check on Sky,’ she said.

‘Do you think it’s time?’

‘It might be. Try to keep everything calm, but moving along. I’ll check Sky and come back. We should get everyone on their way as soon as possible. If they realise what’s happening, they’ll want to watch.’ And that was not possible. She wouldn’t want her customers, some of them children, watching if the crias did not survive. Equally important, this birth had to be quiet and devoid of stress—for Sky, at least. She wasn’t sure she could say the same for herself.

The phone in her pocket buzzed, but she ignored it. Whatever it was, she didn’t have time now.

Trying to appear unhurried, Bree walked to the far end of the stables, where Sky had been settled into a safe, straw-filled stall that opened onto a small grassed yard. Normally the dams stayed with the group for a birth, but there wasn’t anything normal about this impending birth. Giving Sky all the space she needed, Bree edged around the stall to look at the animal from all sides. She wasn’t displaying any signs of stress and there was nothing showing beneath her tail, but her sides were tight and Sky was restless, her ears constantly flicking back and forth as she moved around in the deep straw.

There was no doubt. It was time.

Stepping back from the stall, Bree pulled her phone from her pocket and rang the vet surgery.

‘Anna’s out on a call at the moment.’

Bree cursed under her breath. ‘As soon as you can get hold of her, tell her the twins are coming. I need her here.’

‘I will,’ the nurse said. ‘I know how much she wants to be there. I’ll get her on the way to you as soon as I can.’

Bree thanked her and hung up, ignoring the voicemail notification flashing at her.

At the other end of the stables, the alpaca walkers were milling about, chatting and laughing as Maggie took each animal and let it into the yards. The walkers had obviously enjoyed their afternoon, which was great for business, but right now, Bree needed them gone. She went over and, as politely as possible, encouraged the group on their way.

As soon as their cars were pulling down the driveway she rang Rose. ‘The walkers are heading your way,’ she said.

‘Hopefully they’ll feel like shopping.’

---