Chapter Twenty-Two
Aidan appraises their stash of shelter-building materials, and has to admit it’s not his best showing. But in fairness to
himself and his teammate, Maggie, they’re short-handed. Also, he’s distracted. By Maggie.
“What do you think?” she calls out from behind him. He takes a moment before turning around. The more time he spends with
her, the more he recognizes their chemistry.
“I think we nailed it,” he says once she reaches him.
“Really?”
She smiles so earnestly he regrets his sarcasm. “No. Not really. But in our defense, we have been down two team members.”
The sun is noticeably lower, creating a dappled pattern on the ground. The interplay of light and shadow lends an intimacy
to the moment that makes him uncomfortable. Because he knows it’s not just the pretty autumn backdrop; it’s Maggie Hodges.
He likes her. More than likes her—he’s attracted to her. But these are inappropriate and very inconvenient feelings given
the family trip he’s on.
Just then, walking from the direction of the roadway and parking area—not the woods—Cole and Piper appear.
“Finally!” Maggie says. Aidan feels a little stung at her exuberance. He’d been enjoying their time together.
Cole is empty-handed.
“We got unexpectedly sidetracked,” Cole says, and the two of them launch into a story about a hatchling and a trip to the
local animal refuge. As they recount their little adventure, there’s a lightness in Cole he hasn’t seen since the weekend
began. It’s exactly what he’d hoped for when he suggested the foursome meet up.
“How’s it going there, team?” Barclay appears, his cheeks ruddy from the cold. Aidan is starting to feel the chill too. He’d
been too busy to notice until now. He looks closer at Maggie, and though her cheeks are pink, she doesn’t seem at all deterred
by the dropping temperatures. He resists the urge to put an arm around her shoulders.
“Great,” Maggie says.
Barclay surveys their work. “Great?” he says. “Little lady, I hate to break it to you, but you’re group is officially in last
place.”
“Who won?” Cole says.
“That would be Team Crockett. Cole, your cousin bested you. Time to up your game,” Barclay says. “You have a chance to redeem
yourself tomorrow.” Then, to Maggie: “Young lady, if you’ve learned anything from today’s exercise, I hope it’s that wildlife
survival is a man’s work.”
“That’s exactly my takeaway,” she says, giving Aidan a playful wink.
Barclay walks off, calling over his shoulder for Aidan to be in front of the inn at “sixteen hundred hours.” When he’s out
of earshot, Aidan says, “I don’t think he gets your sarcasm.”
“That’s okay,” Maggie says. “As long as you do. And like Barclay says, get ready to up your game. Because now it’s time to knit.”
Aidan didn’t think through the part of the bet where he’d end up in a knitting class. The truth was, he didn’t think it would
actually get that far. He figured that Maggie would make it for about an hour out there in the woods, then duck out on them.
Or if she stuck it out for the whole fort-building exercise, he’d concede defeat and pay her the fifty dollars to make good
on the bet. But—surprise, surprise—not only did she stick it out with him until the (pitiful) end of the fort outing, he welcomed
the excuse to spend more time with her.
So here he is, in a class about brioche stitch, which in his world is a type of bread. Aidan’s legs are already cramped under
the low table. Maggie looks equally uncomfortable, though he suspects it’s for a different reason: The whole room is sneaking
glances at them. The only one who doesn’t seem to find anything unusual about his appearance in the workshop is Belinda.
He was surprised how readily Cole agreed to join them. He seemed genuinely interested in who else would be there, asking Piper
about the other knitters. Now Cole is sitting directly across the round table, next to a brunette with beautiful dark eyes.
“How do you two know each other?” the brunette asks Piper. Aidan learns her name is Kalli.
“We met yesterday,” Piper says.
“Welcome to our visitors from the bachelor party,” Belinda says, standing in front of the large windows and framed by the
changing light of the sun sinking lower in the blue-gray sky. Her acknowledgment of Aidan and Cole elicits more curious looks
from the rest of the group. “I’ve never had walk-ins at a retreat before. But I understand it’s all in the spirit of competition.”
Belinda looks at Maggie, and there’s a pause before Maggie realizes Belinda is prompting her to explain, and she stands.
She looks around the room, and all eyes are on her.
“Hi, everyone. So, yes, we actually have a little bet going. What’s harder: bushcraft or knitting.
So . . . that’s why they’re here.” She quickly sits back down.
Her announcement triggers a cascade of conversation. He can’t tell if the knitters are amused, outraged or a little of both.
It takes a full minute for Belinda to quiet everyone down, leaving only a few lingering glances in Aidan’s direction.
Belinda instructs them to “cast on,” and all around the table hands start moving in a flurry of activity. Aidan, unable to
follow the first step in the knitting process, leans closer to whisper to Maggie.
“I thought you said this was a beginner’s class.”
“It is: Beginner’s Brioche.” Her fingers move so fast they’re almost a blur.
“You’re aware there’s no way in hell I’m going to get this yarn on those needles, aren’t you.”
“I told you that at the bar last night. You didn’t believe me.” She smiles, and when he leans closer she smells good—like
the outdoors, but also something spicy and sweet, like nutmeg.
“I should leave now and preserve whatever shred of dignity I have left,” he whispers. “Do you accept Venmo?”
She smiles. “Nope. I’m not letting you get off that easily.”
He has to admit, he was hoping she wouldn’t. The knitting, he could take or leave. But he’s in no rush to leave Maggie.
Belinda is talking about things that might as well be in a foreign language: slipped stitches and yarnovers and some indecipherable
instructions. But she’s interrupted when an Asian woman on the opposite side of the table stands up. She’s dressed in jeans
and a half-buttoned black cardigan with a Lana Del Rey T-shirt underneath.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t just move on to knitting. Not after the sexist little bomb that was detonated in this room.” Her hands are on her hips, and she looks around the table as if challenging anyone to disagree with her. Or maybe she’s waiting for people to agree with her.
Regardless, no one speaks until Belinda says, “What’s on your mind, Lexi?”
“The bet is offensive. It implies the devaluation of a historically female craft. I’m willing to bet that any one of us knitters
can keep up with whatever these guys are doing outdoors—but not a single one of them could knit a stitch.”
“Okay, babe. We get your point,” says the slight, pale woman next to her.
“No, there’s an important distinction to be made here: Knitting is a craft. It takes a certain type of intellect and patience.
But survival skills? We’re born with those. Like any animal.” With this, she looks directly at Aidan, challenging him.
He turns to Maggie, and she shrugs.
“You could be right,” he says to the woman.
“Don’t patronize me.” She crosses her arms.
Now the rest of the table is staring at him. “I wasn’t patronizing you.” And then, feeling compelled to say more, to defend
his feminist bona fides, says, “In fact, you’re welcome to join us later.” He doesn’t really mean it, and he hopes the woman
isn’t interested in the offer.
“Challenge accepted,” she says.
“What?” he says.
“I’ll take you up on that. Whatever you guys have planned next, I’ll be there.”
“Lexi, no,” says the woman next to her. “Drop it.”
“Why? I know he doesn’t think I’m right,” Lexi says to her. Then, turning back to him: “And I’ll put my money where my mouth
is. How much is the bet?”
“Fifty dollars,” Maggie says. He glances over and sees she’s enjoying this.
“Double it,” Lexi says. “Then it’s almost a respectable bet. Plus, I could really use an extra hundred bucks.”
Piper glances over at Cole; he’s smiling. He thinks this whole situation is funny. And more importantly, her mother does too.
She seems happier, lighter somehow. She hopes Cole’s right about the potential for a love connection. It reminds her of that
old Lindsay Lohan movie The Parent Trap. Getting Maggie and Aidan together is now her weekend goal.
Kalli stands up suddenly. “I agree with Lexi—I’ll put up a hundred dollars, too.”
“All right!” Lexi says. “We’ve got a betting pool. I’m good with that. Anyone else want to contribute to the pot?”
Kalli turns to Cole. “Why don’t you ask your friends out there in the woods if they want in? Let’s see how big we can make
the pot, and then winner takes all.”
Laurel pulls at her arm and hisses at her to sit down.
Cole has a strange, uncomfortable expression on his face. “Not sure that’s a good idea.”
“It’s a great idea,” Lexi says. The entire table is talking. Sheila reminds everyone that she’s been to every knitting retreat
since the beginning, and “This is a first and I’m loving it.” But two people at the table are clearly not loving it: Dove
reminds Lexi they’re on their honeymoon, and Laurel is furiously whispering to Kalli.
Belinda resorts to waving for everyone’s attention.
“While I applaud the spirit of competition in this room, we only have an hour and a half to get into brioche—a style of knitting
I could devote an entire weekend to if we had the luxury.”
“That’s a future retreat idea,” Sheila says.
Belinda doesn’t acknowledge the suggestion. Maybe she didn’t hear it.
“Knitters, I start today’s class advising you this: Brioche, like many of life’s challenges, requires a shift in thinking. And once that’s achieved, it will become a favorite technique. But getting there takes persistence.”
Piper’s phone buzzes with another call from Gretchen. Again, she lets it go to voicemail. Her phone translates the voicemail
to text across her screen and she catches the words huge opportunity and ASAP. She looks over at Maggie, who’s busy writing on her notepad. Her mother would be appalled if she knew Piper was ignoring
Gretchen’s calls.
“Let’s talk materials: For brioche, wool is ideal because the elasticity enhances the squishy texture that’s the hallmark
of this style. Today, we’re working with Malabrigo Rios, a worsted-weight yarn that will give you excellent stitch definition.”
In the center of the table a basket is stuffed with yarn in shades like apple green, midnight blue, rose pink, and a few neutrals
like putty and gray. They’re all prewound with the labels tucked back inside. Something about yarn just makes her itch to
hold it, to get her hands moving. But Gretchen’s call nags at her.
She’d convinced herself The Fall was the end of her career. And while it stung that Gretchen dropped her, it gave her a convenient
excuse to bow out of modeling. But if Gretchen wants her back, then the only way out is to actively quit. Something she’s
not sure she can do. She’s not a quitter—no matter how unhappy she is. Plus, Maggie would be so disappointed.
Belinda tells everyone to choose a yarn from the center of the table. Cole, beside her, seems disinterested until Kalli chooses
a skein in midnight blue and hands it to him. While everyone picks through the options, Piper takes the opportunity of everyone’s
distraction to slip out of the room.
It’s time to be an adult and call Gretchen back.