Lint in Literature: The Bride's House

I'm reading The Bride's House by Sandra Dallas and came across a passage with lint in it last night:

Peter smiled, then fiddled with the air force cap that he'd set on the table, straightening it, brushing off a piece of lint.

A friend gave me this book or I wouldn't be reading it. I've only ever read one other novel by Sandra Dallas, Tallgrass. It was good. This one is not as good, but I'm almost finished with it, so will plug along. It's just not my type of novel, but I'm sure lots of people love her work. I lived in Colorado for more than 20 years so reading about parts of it is interesting!