The Bluebird Bet Read online

Tammy snorted a laugh, and everyone around the table smiled.

  Even Edna.

  “My new friend is a wonderful photographer, gonna make the gallery a success right along with his fish camp.” Edna nodded her head once sharply. “I’ll see to that.”

  Elaine wondered what Edna had in mind. Maybe some landscapes, things to sell to the tourists? That was a great scheme.

  “Should have known owning every rental property in town wouldn’t be enough to keep you satisfied after you retired,” Miss Margaret said mildly, her needles flashing in the sunlight.

  Elaine was impressed with her speed. She managed to jam a needle under a yarn loop and sawed it through to shove the loop off the end.

  “Did you give her bamboo needles, Tammy? She’s bound to start a fire, rubbing ’em together like that.” Sue winked at Elaine.

  “Maybe try to wrap the yarn looser, Dr...Elaine.” Tammy scooted closer and demonstrated a loose loop. “You’re doing great.”

  “Got a plan together for the Bluebird, Dr. Watson?” Edna asked. “Seems like you might be working on that instead of—” she motioned vaguely at the growing horror in Elaine’s hands “—making a mess. Dean’s been sprucing the place up while he’s waiting on this silly contest to be settled.”

  “You know, Edna, I have a hard time believing how quickly you’ve taken up with Dean,” Sue murmured. “Only other person I remember you adopting this way is the newspaper man. You aren’t...love struck, are you?”

  Edna straightened in her chair and dropped her knitting in her lap. “Sue Jackson, you’ve gone entirely too far. If I hear that rumor making it around town, I will know exactly who started it.”

  “What a change of pace,” Andi murmured. “Pot, kettle, I’m not sure. I’m so confused.”

  Edna tapped a finger on the table and said, “He asked for my help, that’s all. And he was born and raised in Tall Pines.” She crossed her arms over her tracksuit as though that settled it.

  “But a fish camp?” Miss Margaret grimaced. “Not sure that’ll really attract the best customers for the rest of the town, you know? Families would be better for the restaurants and the shops on Main. Plus, you won’t find one single fisherman visiting your art gallery unless you’re going to mount their catches for all the world to see.”

  Elaine could have hugged Miss Margaret. She’d come to Purl’s Place hoping to build a relationship with Edna, although after years of exchanging the barest of communication about repairs and rent and the infamous conversation about losing weight, she was sure it would take a miracle.

  She considered the four rows of garter stitches she’d managed and poked her finger through a truly gnarly hole. No miracle here.

  But Miss Margaret had given her something to consider. Elaine needed to get serious about her plan and how it could affect the town. Jogging and hiking with Dean might be more fun than she’d expected, but it was also a distraction

  Had that been his plan? Take her focus off the prize to better his chance of winning?

  Of course not. She was more likely to plot like that than Dean. He didn’t need sneaky tricks anyway. He was the heavy favorite.

  Before she could capitalize on Miss Margaret’s opening, sunlight flashed on silver scissors as Tammy cut the yarn Elaine was holding. “Start over. Practice is good for you.”

  Elaine was dumbfounded for a long second as she stared at the limp end of the yarn she’d been about to wrap around her needle. Then she looked across the table to see Andi doing her best not to laugh. “She’s ruthless, Elaine. She’ll have you purling like a champ before you leave today. Just go with it.”

  Elaine glanced at an innocent Tammy, who was clearing away the empty plates. Then she set her jaw and managed to create her own slipknot on the third attempt. No matter how she held her tongue, she couldn’t get the cast on right, so Tammy whipped out the stitches and handed her the needle. “Now knit.”

  Blinking, but afraid to disobey orders, Elaine tried to keep all the instructions in mind and managed to knit.

  Then she got the conversation back on track. “Funny you should mention the families, Miss Margaret. I really want to focus on attracting families. That’s the key to winning.” She met Edna’s stare. “That’s why I fell in love with the Bluebird years ago. That’s what led me back to Tall Pines.”

  The tension in the small room turned up a notch as Edna pursed her lips. When she didn’t argue, Elaine wasn’t sure whether Edna couldn’t refute her point or was building a head of steam.

  “Martha was so skillful at making sure everyone felt welcome,” Sue said and shook her head sadly. “Hated to see the inn shut down, but Robert...he didn’t have the same touch.” She looked across the table at Elaine. “Does his son?”

  Here was a lovely opportunity to do some careful spin on Dean, paint him as a restless kid only dabbling in the project until the next shiny thing distracted him. Maybe she could convince the judges to take a chance on her instead, the solid doctor, a stable, respected member of the community for years.

  Or she could go with the truth.

  “Well...” She carefully set the needles and yarn down on the table in front of her. “I would say he has as much of the spark as I do. We both love the place even if we want different things for it.”

  “He’s going to capitalize on the location and the fishing, something we know brings people to Tall Pines. What are you going to do?” Edna raised her eyebrows. Elaine wasn’t sure whether it was a dare or an attempt to get extra information.

  “I want to restore it. I loved the Bluebird, and I only want that feeling back.” She shrugged. “We’ll rent the rooms, run the tearoom from the front porch and generally welcome tourists to Tall Pines. Why change something that worked so well?”

  Sue rested her hand on Elaine’s. “Honey, things change. Nothing you can do about it. Whatever you do will never make that place the same as it was.” Her sympathetic eyes made Elaine want a hug desperately. “Change happens, but it’s nothing to be afraid of. You have to learn that.”

  Elaine didn’t know how to respond. She was afraid Sue Jackson had hit upon the fatal flaw in her plan, so she picked up her knitting. “Okay, I’ll take suggestions then.” Fighting tears, she smiled around the table without making eye contact. “What could I do to attract families? That’s what I want, somewhere for families to get stronger, not a place for men to escape their wives and children.” Then she managed to meet Edna’s stare head-on and felt a jolt of surprise at the understanding she could see there.

  “Free Wi-Fi.” Miss Margaret pointed a finger around the table. “That’s all I know about kids these days. You have to have it. If you don’t, you better not expect visits from anyone older than three without a whole lot of complaining.”

  Everyone laughed and Elaine said, “Making a mental note, Miss Margaret. I’ll make sure my internet connection is solid.” She held up her needles. “And I’m certainly going to add knitting lessons to my menu of activities.”

  “For you or the guests?” Tammy asked as she held up Elaine’s ragged swatch and peeked at her through the hole. “Because I don’t think you’re up to giving lessons yet.”

  “Good point.” Elaine reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. “Here. Take this. I need to empty my wallet.”

  Tammy clapped her hands. “Let me help. I love to empty wallets.” After less than five minutes, Tammy had pulled down four skeins of yarn, two more sets of needles, three impressive books with lots of how-to instructions, a video for beginners and a tape measure shaped like a sheep for “fun.” Then she rang all the items up, swiped Elaine’s credit card and handed her a nice, neat bundle. “We’re here every Saturday, just like this. You can also come by during the week for help. Or more yarn.” She winked. “Welcome to the sisterhood.”

  Andi laughed. “We’d start a Yarnaholics Anony
mous meeting, but no one wants to quit.”

  Elaine listened to them giggle and realized this might be the first time she’d ever been part of a fun, friendly group. Some of them were patients. Two or three of them were old enough to be her grandmother. Since she’d lost both sets of grandparents as a little girl, she enjoyed spending time with Sue and Miss Margaret. Edna had never given her the grandmotherly vibe. Andi and Tammy were her age, but they didn’t really have much in common.

  On paper, building a friendship with them seemed like a long shot.

  But in real life, they’d already bonded.

  Over a love of yarn.

  And she’d destroyed that yarn, but they didn’t seem to think any less of her.

  She would never have guessed that would be the outcome when she’d been making her plans to divide and conquer Dean’s team. Edna was still solidly in his corner, but even she had thawed.

  “Next visit, you’ll have to master the purl stitch,” Edna said. “Then you can knit anything you want.” She didn’t really smile as she said it, but the temperature in the room had risen a bit.

  “Might need to put up a few shelves in the apartment if my collection keeps up this pace,” Elaine said. Then she realized that would only be necessary if she lost the bet.

  And she wasn’t planning to lose.

  Thinking like that would end her chances before they even made it to the final judging.

  “Or maybe I’ll turn one of the guest rooms into a yarn closet.” She smiled at Tammy. “Thank you for the lesson.”

  “Thank you for your credit card. You two should visit often.” Tammy winked and then glanced at Andi. “You might have some help keeping Purl’s Place in business.”

  “Thank goodness,” Andi murmured fervently.

  “More money for the wedding, right, Andi?” Every head in the room turned in Andi’s direction, stirring up a surprisingly strong breeze. Elaine paused with her hand on the door to see what happened next.

  “Gram, there is no wedding. Mark and I, we have to take things slowly. And...” Andi scrutinized the table “...where did the pastry box go? I can’t talk with my mouth full.”

  No one answered her. Then she rolled her eyes and muttered, “I asked you to keep this between us but no,” and picked up her purse to pull out a ring.

  A ring with a nice diamond that reflected light in a sparkling rainbow and drew excited gasps. Only Tammy seemed unsurprised. When the round of congratulations and happy squeals died, Andi slipped it on her finger. “Really slows down my knitting.” She sighed. “But I imagine I can adjust.”

  Edna pulled her hand closer so she could peer at the diamond. “Why weren’t you wearing this, Andrea Jackson? It’s beautiful.”

  “I needed to get used to the idea. Plus, I thought you could give the story more flair if I made a grand spectacle.” She waggled her fingers. “This time, I want you to tell the story far and wide. Spread the news. Mark Taylor is going to be a married man. And his soon-to-be wife carries a gun. It’s legal and everything.” She smiled at Edna. “Did you get all that?”

  Edna tsked and wrapped her arm around Andi’s neck. The amazed look on Andi’s face was as funny as anything she’d said that morning. Before the celebration died down, Elaine opened the door and left quietly.

  In case anyone was looking out the window, she waved as she passed to show she didn’t have a care in the world.

  And she didn’t, really.

  Just because Andi’s ring and their celebration made her feel lonely all over again didn’t mean she had a good reason for getting emotional.

  She had a bag full of yarn, a new hobby and a suggestion on how to spruce up her plans for the Bluebird. All in all, it had been a pleasant morning.

  Her trouble with knitting had been disappointing. She’d expected to sit, pick up the needles and have everyone oohing over her natural ability. She should have tried studying in secret first, like her mother.

  As if she had time for that.

  But no one, not even Edna, had made her feel like a failure. She just needed practice. Lots of people needed practice to learn new things. And they’d laughed along with her. That made a difference.

  Tall Pines was her home. Finding herself a new group of friends was a bonus to her strategy. A smile bubbled up when she remembered Tammy’s invitation to return.

  She would find the time to visit again. The next lesson could be the one that made all the difference.

  After dropping said bag of yarn in the passenger seat, she turned as Edna said, “Sneaking away? That doesn’t seem like you.”

  “I have a full agenda,” Elaine answered, feeling her cheeks flush. If only she’d moved a bit faster. “Besides, you guys have a great reason to celebrate. I’ll be back next Saturday, ready to make all kinds of knots again.”

  The two of them stared at each other, each one daring the other to say whatever it was she was really thinking.

  Never one to back down from a challenge, Elaine said, “That’s a nice tracksuit. Did you happen to get it on sale?” Then she smiled sweetly.

  Edna ran a hand down her hip. “Yes, I did.” Then she narrowed her eyes. “And it fits me perfectly. Puts a new swing in my step.”

  Elaine crossed her arms over her chest and waited for Edna to acknowledge her good advice.

  Instead, Edna cleared her throat. “I wanted you to know that I was listening.” She looked up and down the sidewalk to make sure no one else was eavesdropping on their showdown. “I liked what you said about families. If I were you...” She paused and rocked forward and back on her toes as if she was weighing her answer. “Well, don’t forget the dads. Maybe fishing isn’t a bad idea. Vacations take a lot of money. Why not offer something for everyone, make writing that check easier.” Then she turned on the heel of her bright white sneaker and disappeared around the corner.

  “Don’t forget the dads.” Elaine slid behind the steering wheel and buckled her seat belt.

  It was sound advice.

  She had no idea what to do with it, but she had a few days to figure it out. And since she was behind on the planning, thanks to her uncertainty over what was best for the new Bluebird and Tall Pines, she could even start at square one.

  Before she could pull out into traffic, her phone rang. When she saw her father’s number on the display, she considered letting it go to voice mail. She loved her father, but they had so little in common anymore.

  Still, Elaine hadn’t quite given up on hope.

  “Hi, Dad.” She flipped up the air conditioner and sighed at the blast of cold air.

  “Elaine, how are you?” They made the usual small talk that began with the weather, went through his busy law practice and a cursory question-and-answer about her own clinic that always included how many patients she’d seen, how many shifts she was working and when she thought she’d be moving to a town with a real hospital or a real country club at the very least.

  And as always, she said, “I’m happy in Tall Pines. It’s home.”

  The silence stretched for a long minute, and she could almost hear her father’s opinion of being happy in a town like Tall Pines. “Dad, what drew you to the Bluebird? When we took our vacations here, what made you want to stay?” He never fished much any other time of year, but while they were there, he went out every day in a borrowed boat.

  “There was lots of room to spread out. Your mother was occupied so I could finally breathe, and I had plenty of time to myself, too.” He covered the phone with a hand to answer some important question. Elaine was glad the conversation was muffled. She really didn’t want to know. “Why do you ask?”

  “It’s nothing,” Elaine said. She pressed her lips together and ignored the ache in her stomach. If her father hadn’t changed, she hadn’t, either. Getting her hopes up was still too easy. She remembered trail
ing behind him as often as she could, but they’d never fished together. Telling him about the opportunity she had to buy the inn would be an excellent chance to invite him to come and teach her.

  If she’d felt more certain of her chances of winning, she would have done it, too. Invited him and his family to stay in return for a fishing lesson. She wasn’t sure he’d agree this was a good decision and if she lost, he’d be disappointed whether he supported her choice or not. Better to sit on the news for now.

  “Well, the reason I’m calling is Pete’s decided he wants to try medical school. He’s collecting applications.” Her father huffed an impatient sigh. “I’m all for it, although my second son better choose law school.” He’d never expected his daughter to. “So far his choice is UT Southwestern in Dallas. I’ve explained to him that it’s a fine school, but he might want to aim higher, perhaps even Harvard or Stanford. Maybe you could talk to him.”

  Since she’d attended UT Southwestern and paid for it with very little help from her father, she had some strong opinions, none of which he’d appreciate. “Dad, UT is one of the top programs in the country. Pete would be lucky to be accepted.”

  Once Pete got his education, she wouldn’t be getting phone calls for every cough, fever or new diagnosis. That meant she’d have even less contact with her father, the one who insisted his son’s medical degree come with the finest brand name and a price tag to match.

  Someday she’d learn to be completely fine with that.

  “I’ll have him call you anyway. Give him some advice, things to help with admissions.” Before she could agree or disagree, her father ended the call.

  Abrupt endings were something else she’d eventually adjust to.

  Maybe.

  So her dad had visited the Bluebird because it gave him plenty of space to get away from his family, not exactly the answer she’d been looking for but not really surprising. As she made the quick drive to the inn, she thought about hiring fishing guides.

  A guide could teach her everything she needed to know about fishing.

  But was fishing the best way to go? Maybe all the dads really needed was someplace to disappear to.