The Bluebird Bet

by Cheryl Harper

  “Yeah.”

  “And did she say that she felt better when she followed my advice?” Elaine inched forward to look into his eyes until she realized how close the rock was to the edge of the cliff.

  “No. She mentioned that she lost weight to fit her new tracksuit, and then she felt better.” He shrugged. “I think Edna believes more in the restorative power of high fashion.”

  Her lips twitched as she sighed. “Right. Couldn’t be common sense.”

  Dean looked out across the lake.

  “Edna’s going to be a tough sell, but that’s okay. I have other tricks up my sleeve.” Elaine tightened her hold on his hand. “Now, get me off this rock. I have a bed-and-breakfast to win, and the day’s wasting.”

  He didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to leave this pocket of the world where it was only the two of them, but she started to inch closer to the edge.

  After he hustled to help her, he followed her down the trail. Like he’d done so often before, he assessed his surroundings, looking for interesting shots and lighting and all the things that a photographer could see that the rest of the world might miss. More than once he was impressed as he watched her stop and study objects and scenes to determine the proper vantage point to shoot from.

  “Of course you’re good at this. Why did I have any doubt?” he said.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked as she concentrated on a shot of a tree trunk. “You haven’t seen any of the pictures yet. What if I have my finger on the lens in every one?”

  She flawlessly negotiated the turns on the hard-to-see path, stopped for two more shots and beat him to the bottom.

  He let her beat him to the bottom, of course.

  They both climbed the steps to the front porch, and she reluctantly held out the camera.

  “I don’t know if I got anything interesting, but it was fun to play.” She stepped back when he took the camera. “That’s a competition I’d lose—best photograph.” Her shy glance away confused him.

  And the urge to kiss her had returned.

  “I guess I better get dressed to go into town.” She put her hand on the screen door and briefly looked up to meet his stare.

  “One question before you go.” He pointed at the barely there path. “Uh, you didn’t have much trouble getting down the mountain even though the path was sketchy. Why were you so afraid I’d leave you? And why would you race ahead?”

  “Oh, you know me, trying to make sure I wouldn’t lose,” she said, pulling the door open too quickly. And she stepped inside, carefully closing the screen door behind her.

  Dissatisfied with her answer, he said, “Afraid of the truth? I thought that was my problem. Unbelievable.”

  She mumbled something he was glad he couldn’t decipher and snapped, “Fine. I’ve been on the trail before, with my dad. I kept slowing him down, hunting for the perfect leaf for my collection.” She tilted her chin down. “Don’t judge. I had an impressive dried leaf collection for a nine-year-old. He got tired of waiting for me, said he’d meet me at the bottom.” She glanced at the creases she was folding in the hem of her shirt. “I had a lot more trouble finding my way that time. But I did it. By myself.”

  “But you shouldn’t have had to. Isn’t that what you told me this morning?”

  Their eyes met through the screen, and he thought he could see tears, but her smile was bright. “Well, it was a valuable lesson. If I can’t keep up, I’ll get left behind. So now, I’m the one in front.”

  Dean thought about that and wondered if it was hard to make friends when everyone was competition.

  “You know, there are some things that matter other than winning. Friendship is nice.” He studied her closely.

  “Learning how to follow would also come in handy now and then.” She fidgeted with her shirt again. “Like when I don’t know where I’m going and the trail’s not marked.”

  He smiled and then waited until she’d disappeared up the stairs to have a seat in the rocking chair.

  Picturing her as a young girl in glasses with a collection of dried leaves was easier than he would have expected. He’d never given it much thought, but it made sense that she’d be as unusual a girl as she was a woman.

  A place like this, with plenty of room to explore and all kinds of scientific wonders to discover, must have seemed like a paradise. Not to mention the unlimited array of leaves to be dried.

  While he’d been looking for the highest point to jump off—and almost anyone to watch him with bated breath, usually his mother—Elaine had been studying the world.

  And learning to be afraid of getting left behind.

  He took a deep breath and wondered if maybe they’d both been struggling to deal with that fear. She’d learned to take care of herself and lead the way.

  He’d learned to be a moving target.

  He finally understood Elaine’s love of the Bluebird. This place would endure. It was something solid she could count on.

  If he didn’t need it so badly, he might be glad she’d found her way back.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “THIS IS PROBABLY a bad idea.” Elaine pushed her glasses up on her nose and slid out of the car. Somehow she’d managed to snag a parking spot around the corner from Purl’s Place, an impressive feat on a busy Saturday morning. She’d taken that as a positive sign.

  Until she’d imagined walking into the store to greet a large group of women.

  She wasn’t afraid...

  She was just better one-on-one.

  After that hike and the connection she’d felt to Dean, Elaine had to get out of the house. Retreat was the only way she’d track down her will to win.

  Now it was time to get her head in the game. She needed to forget Dean’s sympathetic expression—the one that made her feel so vulnerable—and her growing certainty that he meant what he said. He needed the Bluebird.

  But for how long? And if he lost, would he return to the work he was so good at? The same job that had left him with nightmares?

  His love of the place had been easy to see there on the top of the mountain, away from what had to be painful memories that stirred the ashes of his grief.

  She’d only been a visitor and still she sometimes expected to see Martha Collins at work in her garden. Under the ragged exterior, her spirit lingered here. Did Dean feel the same way? Did being at the Bluebird bring back painful memories of his mother?

  Elaine looked in the window of the cutest children’s clothing boutique until she saw the saleswoman, one of her patients, wave. Then she pretended it was a totally normal thing to be staring blankly at a stuffed turtle.

  She’d dreamed, hoped and been disappointed more than once by both her parents. Learning that people didn’t change, not even if she wished they would, had been a hard lesson, but she appreciated it anyway. Dean had left Tall Pines because it hurt too much to stay, and he needed the excitement of a dangerous career. Could he really be content here now?

  One big difference between her and Dean was his roots.

  He was a part of the Bluebird’s history. No matter how much he wanted to see the world, the Bluebird would call him home eventually.

  And that worried her.

  Because now that he’d found the right reason to stay, she’d have a hard time making him go.

  Maybe she didn’t really want him to go.

  Getting to know him better made it even harder to imagine the Bluebird without him.

  She’d forgotten about the hiking trails behind the inn, and she’d never made it to the top of the hill to see the lake or Tall Pines. Without him, she might never have explored that far or tried her hand at photography.

  Without him, she would have been content to run the same trail every day.

  “And I wouldn’t be here trying to proc
rastinate my way out of this by thinking too hard.” She checked over her shoulder to make sure no one saw her talking to herself, shook out the loose skirt of her sundress and took a deep breath. Then she pushed her shoulders back as if she hadn’t a single fear in the world, a pose she’d learned very young and used to its full effect often, and marched around the corner and straight into Purl’s Place.

  Whatever conversation was flowing before the door opened came to a sudden stop. Six women turned to look at her, and Elaine had to fight the urge to step right back outside.

  “Dr. Watson, come in.” Sue Jackson beckoned her closer with a wave. She rolled away from the table and moved her wheelchair closer to Wanda Blankenship. “We’ve got plenty of room for one more.”

  The chill coming from Wanda was evident.

  “Exactly what is your problem?” Andi asked. She sat at the corner of the table, next to a box of pastries. Wanda glanced in her direction and then thrust a coffee cup at her. “I need a refill.”

  Andi narrowed her eyes but filled Wanda’s cup. “Haven’t you heard caffeine’s bad for you?”

  Wanda, owner of the town’s gym, flexed her arm. “Doesn’t seem to be hurting me any.”

  “Might actually win the half marathon if you cut back, though,” Edna muttered and glanced across the table at Elaine, the corners of her mouth turned up. Before Wanda could answer, Andi shoved the box of cinnamon rolls in her direction. “Here. We all know why you came, and it’s certainly not the knitting.”

  “Or the company,” Wanda answered before she took a bite of the cinnamon roll.

  Tammy, the owner of Purl’s Place, held out a chair. “Come sit next to me, Dr. Watson. Then we’ll see what we can help you with.”

  “Ah, great. Please call me Elaine.” She eased into the chair and set her purse carefully in her lap. “And I was hoping someone could give me a knitting lesson.”

  Tammy clapped. “Woo hoo! Nothing I love better.”

  Everyone at the table watched her jump up and bustle around, a blonde whirlwind and the only thing stirring in the shop.

  “Here. Eat one of these. Save me from myself.” Andi slid a plate with a cinnamon roll across the table along with a cup of coffee. “Better seize your chance. She’ll have you knitting and purling presently and steal every bit of cash in your wallet before you leave.”

  “Seems a sheriff’s deputy ought to put a stop to that.” Sue didn’t look up from the yarn in her lap.

  “Oh, Gram, I’m the easiest target at this table.” Andi picked up the yarn in front of her, and Elaine was slightly alarmed at the number of needles poking out. “I have a sock yarn problem. There is no support group for me.” Andi winked at her and rolled her eyes at Edna’s sniff.

  “I might have made a horrible mistake,” Elaine said. “That many needles would only stress me out, and I was looking for a relaxing hobby.”

  Miss Margaret, Edna’s best friend and usual partner in crime, laughed. “Well, I’m not sure Andi’s the one to talk to about relaxing hobbies. She takes her knitting seriously.”

  “And I have the kink in my neck to show for it,” Andi muttered as she massaged her shoulder.

  “We don’t all have to knit like Andi, so not to worry,” Tammy said as she slid in next to Elaine. “Plus, you only need two needles.”

  Elaine surveyed the women seated at the table. “Maybe I should try whatever Sue is doing first.”

  Tammy gave her a shoulder bump. “Now, don’t give up before you’ve even given it a shot, Doc...Elaine.” She pulled a loose end out of the skein of yarn. “You’re a doctor. You can handle some knitting. Don’t worry. Then you can tell all your patients with high blood pressure to give Purl’s Place a visit.”

  Elaine wondered if maybe she shouldn’t expand her Bluebird team. Jackie had sound advice, but Tammy seemed to be a real entrepreneur. Also, she was good at mustering the troops. Tammy picked up Elaine’s hand.

  “First things first, let’s make a slipknot.” Tammy pooled the yarn in a circle in her hand, slipped a knitting needle in and pulled up a knot as though it was the easiest thing in the world. “Here. You try.”

  Feeling the weight of every stare, Elaine concentrated on the yarn in her hand and tried to replicate the knot, very aware of the wrinkle on her forehead.

  Everyone’s watching you. It’s so easy. Everyone here knows it’s easy and can do it in a snap. Concentrate. Get this right.

  She tried for the same motion Tammy used. “Hmm, no knot.”

  Tammy took everything from her and demonstrated again. Over and over they traded the knitting needle and yarn, and eventually the conversation resumed. Obviously, the novelty of watching someone learn to knit faded when said someone couldn’t get past the first knot.

  Already on the verge of giving up, Elaine was grateful for the return of the conversation.

  Until it turned to Dean.

  “Anybody had a chance to talk to Dean Collins?” Andi asked. “Given him the Tall Pines welcome?”

  “I saw him on the street but he didn’t come in the gym,” Wanda answered with a mouth full of cinnamon roll. “Seemed like he needed a new wardrobe more than a gym membership anyway.”

  Elaine paused to consider that. “He’s perfectly fit. We’ve jogged together.” She smiled at Wanda. “He finished second, but he doesn’t have as much practice.” She really couldn’t defend his wardrobe, though. It was pretty awful.

  Still, she hadn’t given it much thought since the day they’d met.

  When she glanced up to see everyone at the table watching her, their raised eyebrows indicating entirely too much interest, Elaine realized she was defending her opponent.

  She’d come to win over his judge, not give the biggest gossip in town the idea that she had a thing for Dean Collins. Distracted, she poked Tammy with her next knot attempt.

  “Okay, why don’t we come back to that?” Tammy made a knot. “Let’s learn to cast on.” She threaded the yarn through her fingers. “Here’s how you do it.”

  Elaine could tell that Tammy had slowed down, but keeping up with the needle wasn’t as simple as she’d hoped.

  “Boy’s got a good plan for the Bluebird, or he will when he works in my suggestions.” Edna didn’t look up from her knitting, but Elaine had a sense that whatever the woman said was aimed directly at her. “And I like it when people come home.”

  Andi mumbled something in response to that.

  “Well, no matter what happens, I’ll be happy to have it open again,” Sue said. “Such a gorgeous spot. We used to have holiday picnics out there when I was a child. I still remember that cove.”

  “When I get the tearoom open again, you should visit,” Elaine said, her mind filled with visions of hosting Sue Jackson, Andi, Tammy and maybe the rest of the Purl’s Place ladies. Even Wanda would be tolerable from her own front porch.

  She glanced up to see Sue smiling at her. “I’d enjoy that.”

  The opportunity to actually host friends and family was something she’d never thought much about, probably because she’d always considered herself too busy for dinner parties or girls’ nights out. With a home like the Bluebird, showing it off would be a pleasure.

  When she’d hopelessly knotted the yarn and could no longer pull the needle through, Tammy took it from Elaine. “Maybe let’s try a knit stitch. That’s super easy.”

  In half the time it had taken Elaine to create a nest of knots, Tammy made a neat line of stitches on the needle and then showed her how to insert the needle, wrap the yarn and pull up another stitch.

  “Well, I’ve spent some time with Dean, and I like him.” Edna raised her chin. “Even if his stories need some spice. I’m hoping I can get him to loosen up. He seems tense.” She and Edna traded a long look. Edna wanted to know more about what made Dean tick, but that was one thing Elaine wo
uldn’t do, even to win another judge.

  Get back on track, Elaine. Don’t forget what you’re here for.

  “Edna, what is that you’re making? I love the color.”

  “A hat. That’s all I knit.” Edna held her knitting up and smoothed out the stitches. “Short. Simple. Quick. That’s how I like my projects.”

  “How do you manage to wear them all?” Elaine asked, wondering if she needed to learn to knit hats next.

  Edna studied her carefully as if she had to be sure Elaine wasn’t making fun of her. Then she sat very tall, her shoulders back. “I donate them to a children’s hospital. Most knitters make tiny preemie hats but I knit things for the big kids. They need some cheering up, too.” She glowered at each woman. Everyone nodded as if they wouldn’t dare argue.

  “That’s awesome. Someday, if I learn how to make more than a mess, I’ll try a hat or two.”

  She couldn’t help but admire Edna’s work. Then she watched her last stitch fall off the tip of her knitting needle. Already regretting the decision to try this, Elaine refocused and successfully knit across the row. Her flush of satisfaction eased some of the tension, and she whispered, “I did it.”

  Tammy clapped. “Hey, nice job! I knew you’d be a natural. Here’s how you do the next row.” She took the needles, turned the knitting and handed them to Elaine. “Now, do the same thing all the way across. Then you’ll have a garter stitch row.”

  Andi frowned. “Edna, maybe you could finish the story you were telling before Elaine walked in, the one after the boring baked chicken one. We were climbing a mountain somewhere near the Dalai Lama.” She smiled brightly at Elaine. “Edna’s stories have recently taken on an international flair. We like her new friend.”

  Edna turned to look at Andi. “You are lucky I take my loyalties seriously, Andi Jackson. I haven’t forgotten our truce, but you do strain my patience.”

  “Aw, the feeling is mutual,” Andi said and wrapped an arm around Edna’s shoulders.