"Patricia A. McKillip - Solstice Wood" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKillip Patricia A)

тАЬSo youтАЩll come home.тАЭ
Even then, I knew to bargain. тАЬOf course IтАЩll come for the funeral,
butтАФтАЭ
тАЬGood,тАЭ she interrupted with a more familiar briskness, having
heard as much as she wanted to hear.
тАЬI wonтАЩt be able to stay much longer.тАЭ
тАЬJust come.тАЭ SheтАЩd figure out the rest of my life later. тАЬAs soon as
you can. Today. IтАЩll expect you for supper.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩll make my arrangements, Gram, and let you know whenтАФтАЭ
But she had already hung up.
I sat there, staring numbly at the phone again, feeling that slow,
painful prickling begin behind my eyes, the swell of tears that
never fell. Memories swept like leaves through my head: Lynn Hall,
the low, ancient mountains IтАЩd grown up in, the fields and small
villages, the endless woods. Grandpa Liam was all I knew, all I ever
had, of a father. He had taught me how to tie my shoes, how to bait
a hook; he knew the names of every tree and wildflower and weed
in the woods. He alone knew how to change GramтАЩs expression from
determined to uncertain. His gentle voice, his calm strength, had
grown around me like a vine, bindweed, still with me after all the
years away.
тАЬSyl?тАЭ Madison said behind me. I felt his long fingers on my
shoulders; he bent to peer at my flushed face. тАЬWhatтАЩs wrong?тАЭ
тАЬDry fire,тАЭ I whispered.
тАЬWhat?тАЭ
тАЬGrandpa Liam died. This is as close as I could ever get to
crying.тАЭ
He drew me to him; I sat still another moment as he rocked me,
feeling his bones against my face under the sweet, taut skin. Then I
pulled away, stood up restively.
тАЬI have to pack. Find a flight. Will you feed my cat while IтАЩm
gone?тАЭ
тАЬSyl, I can come with you,тАЭ he said steadily, reminding me,
despite his long black hair, the violet stone in his ear matching his
eyes, of Grandpa Liam.
 тАЬNo.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩd like to meet your mysterious grandmother.тАЭ
тАЬNo, you wouldnтАЩt.тАЭ
тАЬYes, I would. IтАЩd like to see where you grew up.тАЭ
I felt like throwing something, then; I wished I could burst into
tears. I went to the closet instead, picked my black suit off the
hanger, and pulled a wheeled bag off the shelf to pack it in. He
followed me to the closet, and then to the antique steamer trunk I
used as a dresser.
тАЬSylтАФтАЭ
тАЬIтАЩll be back as soon as I can,тАЭ I told him, pulling clothes out of
the fabric-covered drawers, piling them efficiently into the bag:
jeans, two sweaters, underwear. Socks. тАЬI have to call the
bookstore. Jo will cover for me; she went on vacation just down the
coast, with an armload of mysteries. IтАЩll give her an extra week off