Page 10 of Beautiful Harmony

“I don’t want to rip it out,” he said stubbornly.

“None of us ever want to frog our knitting, but shit happens,” Mrs. Walters said without a hint of sympathy.

Lucas stared at his knitting. From somewhere at the head of the table, he could hear the soft murmur of Emma helping someone else. His frustration heightened, and he took a few deep breaths. While his main reason for learning to knit was to finish the scarf for his mom, he couldn’t deny there was a certain appeal in having a valid excuse to be close to Emma.

He’d arrived at the class tonight, too excited for his own good about the possibility of having Emma’s lush body touching his, her sexy voice in his ear, and her light vanilla scent washing over him.

To his disappointment, Cora planted herself next to him and announced she’d teach him to knit. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Cora. She was a lovely girl with a sweet personality, but lately…

Lately, all he wanted was someone with a brisk, no-nonsense personality who wasn’t afraid to call him on his bullshit and had perfect breasts, full curves, and a mouth he couldn’t stop obsessing over.

“You want me to rip it out for you?” Mrs. Walters asked.

“I don’t want to rip it out,” he repeated.

Before Mrs. Walters could reply, Emma’s familiar scent washed over him. He inhaled deeply as she sat in Cora’s vacant chair. “Can I help?”

“God, yes.” He handed over the knitting, his stomach doing a stupid flip-flop when their fingers brushed.

She studied his knitting as Mrs. Walters said, “He’s gotta frog it. Only way he’ll learn.”

Emma plucked the other knitting needle from his hand and began to knit another row. The stitches were so tight she had to work each needle into the stitch with concentrated effort. Despite his terrible tension, she finished the row and, the needles clicking, knitted another two rows.

She handed it back to him, the rows she’d knitted a stark contrast to his dismal five rows. “Okay, the tension is looser now, so you’ll find it easier to work with.”

“Thank you, Emma,” he said.

“You’re welcome.” She stood and returned to the other end of the table as Lucas glanced at Mrs. Walters.

“Still think you should have ripped it out,” she said before turning to the woman on her right side. “You drop another stitch, Jacquie?”

“I think so,” the woman said with a frustrated sigh.

Lucas knitted a row, ignoring his headache as he carefully worked each stitch like Cora had shown him and tried to keep his tension loose. When he reached the end of the row, he turned the knitting and inserted the knitting needle into the first stitch. He grunted with renewed frustration when the stitch was so tight he could barely get the needle past the yarn.

“Tension’s too tight again,” Mrs. Walters said.

“Thank you,” he said through gritted teeth. He set his knitting on the table and sipped from the water bottle he’d brought. His head ached and throbbed, and he was frustrated and disappointed by his inability to knit. At the rate he was going, it would take twenty years for him to even attempt to finish his mom’s scarf for her.

With a soft sigh, he picked up his knitting and tried again.

“All right, everyone,” Emma stood at the head of the table, “our time is up for tonight, but there’s another beginner class next Tuesday, and you’re welcome to join that one as well.”

As the others gathered their supplies, Lucas concentrated on his knitting. He would finish this damn row if it killed him.

“You coming back next week?” Mrs. Walters asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Good. You need to,” she said. “You’re the worst knitter I’ve seen in thirty years of knitting.”

“Mrs. Walters,” Emma had joined them, and her voice was kind but firm, “let me help you with the stairs.”

“Ayuh, I appreciate it,” Mrs. Walters said.

She stood and took Emma’s arm, thumping toward the stairs. The cloying scent of Cora’s perfume returned as she sat next to him. “Ready to rip it out?”

He shook his head. “Emma got me started again with the proper tension, so I think I’ll just keep practicing on what I’ve got.”

---