Turn of the Pipes (A Redpoint One Romance) (7 page)

"Now, first order of business," Eddie said,
settling back into her own chair. "Do you knit?"

Tish shook her head. "Never even
tried."

"Do you hear that, Daisy? We have someone to
teach," Eddie said with a grin.

Daisy pointed a knitting needle at her. "How
can I teach when the two of you haven't finished teaching me
yet?"

Rachel settled the bag of knitting supplies
next to a chair, accepting a cup of tea herself. On one edge of the
couch Eddie wound up a mass of yarn.

A small dog with a pointy nose and a tuft of
purple hair on the top of his head falling partially over his eyes
emerged from a medium-sized duffle bag with one end open. Standing
on thin legs with another tuft of hair at the end of a thin tail,
the poor thing looked like an exotic rat who had stuck its head
into paint. And maybe its nose into an electrical
socket.

He sniffed at each of their legs before
hopping up onto Tish's lap. Tish held up her tea out of the way of
the curious dog's nose as he began his examination of the
newcomer.

"Oh, don't mind Siggy," Eddie said. Siggy
tried to reach to his head with a hind leg to scratch, missing
completely. He tried again, nearly falling over in the attempt.
"Give the poor dear a scratch, would you? He gets a bit neurotic
when he can't reach an itch."

Daisy laughed. "Siggy gets neurotic at
everything."

"A new member of the knitter's club," Velda
started, sitting down in one of the high-backed wood chairs while
Tish scratched Siggy's head. The dog leaned into the scratch,
falling over in the process. "So nice to have you here. I heard you
were from Earth? How did you come to be clear out here?"

Rachel cringed, knowing the story was still a
sore spot for her friend, but Tish answered, "I went in for a big
operation, and when I came out I decided to make a big change in
life. I didn't have a job or anything else holding me
back."

"Same with my Sam and I," Daisy said, nodding
as she struggled with looping the yearn around the end of the
knitting needle. "Wanted a bit of excitement, he saw a posting for
a formal gardener, and we've been here ever since."

"Near death can change one's perspective,"
Eddie said with a nod.

Velda nodded in solemn agreement. "You came to
the right place. Redpoint One is just the place to make you feel
alive. The crossroads of several trading routes. We see it all. Are
you in the theatre? Many traveling shows stop here on their
tours."

Before she knew it, the ladies had Tish
laughing and sharing as if she'd always been a part of the group.
Daisy managed one more row on the scarf she'd been working on for
weeks and leaned back in her chair. Siggy left Tish to explore the
room before disappearing into his carry case, only to appear a
moment later to wrestle and attack a purple duck squeaky toy.
Rachel didn't bother getting out her own knitting, but instead
relaxed on her part of the couch and enjoyed the
conversation.

When Velda went to brew more tea and refill
iced tea glasses, Tish leaned over to Rachel to ask, "When do we
knit?"

"Daisy was knitting," Rachel said, nodding
towards the woman.

Eddie wound up the last of the yarn into the
new neat ball, holding it up triumphantly. "Tangles are
gone!"

"Very nice," Daisy said. "What are you going
to knit with it?"

"Not sure yet. I'll think about it. I'm all
knitted out now." Eddie dropped it in her bag.

"Always an excuse," Daisy said with a
laugh.

"How much actual knitting goes on in here?"
Tish asked, narrowing amused eyes at Rachel. The squeaky toy
bounced under the coffee table, and it squeaked again when Siggy
pounced on it. Only, somehow, the squeaky toy came out on top of
Siggy, making it appear as if the toy were winning the wrestling
match.

"We get out the needles once in a while, right
ladies?" Rachel asked the room.

Daisy reached over to the bag sitting on the
floor next to her chair and pulled out a large wood knitting
needle. "I have mine!"

"As do I," Eddie said, waving a thin metal
knitting needle in the air.

"And a whole drawer full over there," Velda
said, pointing to the drawer of an ornate table sitting next to the
wall with a vase of flowers on top of it.

Daisy dropped her needles back into her bag,
giving Tish an evil happy smile. "And we use them just enough to
keep the husbands believing we are only knitting."

"If you have or want a husband," Velda said as
she set down a full pot of hot water in the middle of the coffee
table. "Either way, a bit of love and companionship never hurt
anyone."

Rachel didn't say anything. She didn't care
for the direction the conversation was going. She'd worked so hard
to get a distraction in the room for the night, and she wasn't
about to let it derail.

"Speaking of husbands, how is your man,
Daisy?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, he's fine. Getting into trouble around
the house, like usual. I'm about to suggest he start a planter
garden on our terrace to keep him busy." Daisy laughed. "Even
though it means dirt in the house."

"Which reminds me, Rachel, how are things in
your department at work?" Eddie asked while she made herself
another cup of tea.

"Overworked with not enough people. Like
usual," Rachel said, liking the safe topics of conversation. "Did
you go rummage saling this week, Daisy?"

"We thought so. Working yourself to the bone,"
Daisy said, giving her a slight frown.

Uhoh, Daisy completely ignored her question.
Not good. Not good at all.

"We're all working hard. There aren't enough
people in any of the departments," Tish said, helping herself to
the hot water and another tea bag while Rachel tried to think of a
way to get the conversation back on on track. Preferably away from
the topic of her life.

"Sounds as if you need an influx of new
workers," Velda said. She relaxed into her chair, resting her feet
on a low padded footstool matching the chair. "Someone should do
something about that."

"Oh no, you didn't," Rachel said with a groan.
She couldn't help it. She'd seen this too many times. The ladies
decided something needed doing or helping, and they just jumped
right in. They were known for it all over the station.

"You know us too well," Daisy said, giggling
like a little girl and not the grandmother she was.

Tish followed each part of the conversation,
the expression of confusion on her face growing with each moment.
"Know what?"

"Unless my guess is drastically wrong, my
wonderful friends," and Rachel emphasized the word 'friends,' "have
decided to help out at work."

"As maintenance engineers?" Tish looked from
one to the other, probably trying to figure out how the older women
could do the physically demanding work.

Velda shot up straight in her chair. "Oh my
no. I have the bed and breakfast to keep me quite busy."

"I enjoy retirement too much," Eddie
said.

"I work in the gardens with my hubby. I'm
quite happy," Daisy added.

"Then there is Rachel. Poor overworked,
without a free moment of time, in need of some personal excitement,
Rachel," Velda said with a dramatic sigh, giving her such an
expression of sorrow.

Rachel didn't buy it for a moment. She set her
tea cup down and attempted to stare down Velda. Velda met her stare
calmly, not looking away for a second.

"Okay, out with it. What did you do?" Rachel
demanded.

"Helped you out, of course," Eddie
said.

"Took a lot of work," Daisy said.

Rachel was ready to scream. Ask a direct
question, and get verbal mud back? "Come on. What did you
do?"

"Helped recruit new engineers, of course,"
Velda said with an elegant shrug of one shoulder. "I believe you
are almost alone in your department? Well, we have two interviews
for you come tomorrow evening after work."

Tish started laughing, only to laugh harder
when Rachel turned a glare at her. She gasped out between laugh,
"I'm sorry, but your face!"

"Eighteen hundred hours is the first
interview," Velda said, reaching over to the table next to her
chair to pick up a flex-paper. "The second an hour later, both here
at the Northstar. Good young men with good backgrounds. A lot of
potential, and thrilled at the chance at a job."

Siggy gave a high howl and a curious bark
before disappearing back into his duffle bag with his squeaky toy.
Rachel wanted to hide inside along with him.

"Arthur previews all hires," Rachel started.
She knew the reason for the sudden interest in maintenance
engineers, and it wasn't about hiring new maintenance engineers.
Not a chance.

"I doubt he has time right now," Eddie
said.

"If you think they have potential you can pass
them on to Arthur," Velda said, sliding the flex-paper across the
table towards Rachel. "In the meantime, we'll keep
looking."

"It's only a pre-interview," Daisy
said.

"Eighteen hundred hours next Monday night,"
Eddie said. "We'll be here to help you."

"You can use the craft room for the
interviews," Velda said, pointing to one side of the
house.

"I'm not doing this," Rachel said, refusing to
pick up the flex-paper. Did they really think she'd fall for
something this obvious?

"Why not?" Velda asked.

"Because I already have a date." Rachel
clamped shut her mouth, not believing she'd said it out
loud.

The room went quiet. Siggy poked his nose out
of his carry case to stare at her out from under purple floppy
bangs, cocking his head. Even Tish looked shocked.

Rachel cleared her throat, her mind racing on
how she could fix what she'd said. She'd brought Tish along to
deflect attention from herself, and ended up as the center of it
anyway. "Uh, I mean an appointment. I'm having to work a lot of
overtime lately, so I had to put one of them off."

"Oh no, you don't," Velda said, placing her
cup on top of a brightly painted coaster on the small table next to
her chair. She rose elegantly to her feet, standing firm and strong
in heels so high a woman a third her age would have trouble
balancing in, and put her hands on her hips. Siggy came out of his
carry case, adopting the same stance but while standing on all four
feet. "Out with it girl. You have a date? Who is this man? What
does he do for a living? Where is he taking you?"

CHAPTER SIX

IGNACIO CHECKED ON the Silky Newt family three times before
he finally settled on a suit. The shirt, tie, and other apparel to
go with it might take him late into the night, and he had less than
an hour to go.

Many times he almost called Rachel to cancel.
All week he'd gone round and round in mental circles, first listing
the reasons he shouldn't get involved with a woman right now. All
of which made logical sense.

Then remembering how nice it had been to be in
the company of someone who understood and accepted his work and
passions. Of wanting to know more. Also good logical sense, at
least from an emotional side.

He nearly called her again after his fourth
trip into the warehouse to check the enclosures. He froze in the
act of returning to the bedroom at a chime at the door.

Forty-five minutes early? He wasn't ready. He
still wore his ratty bathrobe with his hair damp from a
shower.

He forced himself towards the front door.
Maybe he should play sick? He used the door-cam, hoping to judge
her mood, to know how to call it all off.

Paul stood outside, grinning big, rocking back
and forth on his heels and toes. Ignacio rolled his eyes as he
opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Newt-sitting, remember? Has the panic set in
yet?" Paul pushed his way in, glancing around the living room. "I
see you cleaned up a bit."

"Had a meeting last night with a
representative of a conservation group." Ignacio stalked back
towards the bedroom. "And no, I am not panicking."