[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
relationship, but I ve been letting day after day slip by without making the call.
We re quite a pair. Bryan laughed.
She smiled, glad to be part of a pair with him.
I m thinking it s about time to move on. I ve gotten the place in pretty good shape and I think
Grandma and Mom are going to be okay here by themselves. I d like to go to Phoenix and start a new
business. He glanced at her and she caught his tension as he asked, How would you feel about that?
Phoenix? She imagined the noise of a big city, and her immediate reaction was negative. But they
had to leave this cocoon eventually, and Tuba City wouldn t have enough clients for Bryan s specialty
woodworking. I ve never been there. It should be interesting.
I ve been wondering if you might have plans of your own, someplace you want to go. I d love to
have you live with me, but I don t want to hold you back from pursuing whatever it is you want to do.
www.samhainpublishing.com 177
Butterfly Unpinned
She laughed. My plans are pretty open-ended right now. The only certainty I ve been able to come
to is that I d like my work to have something to do with music.
Bryan nodded. I thought you might be missing your piano. That s why we re here. He pulled the
truck into the dirt parking lot in front of a long, low building. It was basically a large pole barn attached to a
smaller building, in front of which a tall cross was planted.
The tribal hall, Bryan explained. It s a center for meetings and social gatherings. It s also where
Grandma plays bingo and, since she acts as a caller and events coordinator, we have a key. The piano
here s a pile of crap after what you re used to, but I thought you d like a chance to play anyway.
She squeezed his hand. I can t believe you went to all this trouble. Driving clear over here just for
me.
For me, too. I wanted to hear you play not from a distance this time, but a private concert. Will you
play for me? His husky tone imbued the words with extra meaning.
Excitement and pleasure bubbled up inside her. I would love to play for you.
Inside the hall, Bryan switched on fluorescent lights that cast a harsh white glow over rows of scarred
folding tables. The stale smell of cigarette smoke hung in the stuffy air. The walls were decorated with
tribal symbols. At the far end of the room was a raised dais on which sat the bingo machine and the caller s
chair. Behind the platform a serving counter separated the kitchen from the rest of the room.
In a corner sat an upright piano. Sylvia moved toward it as if magnetically drawn. She was barely
aware of Bryan making apologies for the quality of the instrument and the venue. If she d been presented
with a grand piano, she couldn t have been happier.
Seating herself on the wobbly stool, she lifted the lid. The keyboard was old and damaged like the
piano s wood finish. The white keys were yellowed and some of the veneers chipped off, but when she
played a few scales, the instrument wasn t too horribly out of tune.
Sylvia tapped the high C, listening to the buzzing vibration that accompanied it.
I told you it s a shitty piano. I m sorry I couldn t find anything better.
She glanced at Bryan s embarrassed face. This is fine. Thank you. Then she turned her attention to
the piano and began to play.
Chopin flowed like water from her fingers. Without sheet music to prompt her memory, she hadn t
been sure she d be able to play an entire piece. But the melancholy Nocturne in E minor seemed to be
embedded in her hands, which performed without conscious direction from her mind. When the last note
floated away, she paused then began a more upbeat piece by Haydn.
Sylvia became lost in the music, the ebb and flow of rippling notes, the subtle and more obvious
mood changes within each composition. She played one song after another, forgetting where she was and
who she was with until a small shift of Bryan s body brought her attention back to him.
I m sorry. You must be bored to tears.
178 www.samhainpublishing.com
Laura Bacchi and Bonnie Dee
His eyes were riveted on her face and he shook his head. No. I m in fucking awe is what I am. I
knew you were good, but the fact you make sounds like that on this beat-up old piano is amazing.
Her cheeks burned and she couldn t stop smiling. In all her years of playing, she d never received
such heartfelt enjoyment from a listener. Her teachers and parents had been too busy pointing out the flaws
in technique she needed to correct if she wished to reach concert performance level. Gary had occasionally
complimented her, but with the air of a man praising a clever pet. She knew he didn t really care about
music. He just liked to show her off to his friends.
I should ve asked Grandma and Mom along to hear you play. They d love it. But I wanted to have
you all to myself today. Bryan rose from the folding chair he was straddling. I want to do things to you
that aren t appropriate for an audience. He leaned against the piano. Although, come to think of it, having
an audience could be really sexy just not one that includes my family.
What kinds of things did you have in mind? Sylvia teased. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
relationship, but I ve been letting day after day slip by without making the call.
We re quite a pair. Bryan laughed.
She smiled, glad to be part of a pair with him.
I m thinking it s about time to move on. I ve gotten the place in pretty good shape and I think
Grandma and Mom are going to be okay here by themselves. I d like to go to Phoenix and start a new
business. He glanced at her and she caught his tension as he asked, How would you feel about that?
Phoenix? She imagined the noise of a big city, and her immediate reaction was negative. But they
had to leave this cocoon eventually, and Tuba City wouldn t have enough clients for Bryan s specialty
woodworking. I ve never been there. It should be interesting.
I ve been wondering if you might have plans of your own, someplace you want to go. I d love to
have you live with me, but I don t want to hold you back from pursuing whatever it is you want to do.
www.samhainpublishing.com 177
Butterfly Unpinned
She laughed. My plans are pretty open-ended right now. The only certainty I ve been able to come
to is that I d like my work to have something to do with music.
Bryan nodded. I thought you might be missing your piano. That s why we re here. He pulled the
truck into the dirt parking lot in front of a long, low building. It was basically a large pole barn attached to a
smaller building, in front of which a tall cross was planted.
The tribal hall, Bryan explained. It s a center for meetings and social gatherings. It s also where
Grandma plays bingo and, since she acts as a caller and events coordinator, we have a key. The piano
here s a pile of crap after what you re used to, but I thought you d like a chance to play anyway.
She squeezed his hand. I can t believe you went to all this trouble. Driving clear over here just for
me.
For me, too. I wanted to hear you play not from a distance this time, but a private concert. Will you
play for me? His husky tone imbued the words with extra meaning.
Excitement and pleasure bubbled up inside her. I would love to play for you.
Inside the hall, Bryan switched on fluorescent lights that cast a harsh white glow over rows of scarred
folding tables. The stale smell of cigarette smoke hung in the stuffy air. The walls were decorated with
tribal symbols. At the far end of the room was a raised dais on which sat the bingo machine and the caller s
chair. Behind the platform a serving counter separated the kitchen from the rest of the room.
In a corner sat an upright piano. Sylvia moved toward it as if magnetically drawn. She was barely
aware of Bryan making apologies for the quality of the instrument and the venue. If she d been presented
with a grand piano, she couldn t have been happier.
Seating herself on the wobbly stool, she lifted the lid. The keyboard was old and damaged like the
piano s wood finish. The white keys were yellowed and some of the veneers chipped off, but when she
played a few scales, the instrument wasn t too horribly out of tune.
Sylvia tapped the high C, listening to the buzzing vibration that accompanied it.
I told you it s a shitty piano. I m sorry I couldn t find anything better.
She glanced at Bryan s embarrassed face. This is fine. Thank you. Then she turned her attention to
the piano and began to play.
Chopin flowed like water from her fingers. Without sheet music to prompt her memory, she hadn t
been sure she d be able to play an entire piece. But the melancholy Nocturne in E minor seemed to be
embedded in her hands, which performed without conscious direction from her mind. When the last note
floated away, she paused then began a more upbeat piece by Haydn.
Sylvia became lost in the music, the ebb and flow of rippling notes, the subtle and more obvious
mood changes within each composition. She played one song after another, forgetting where she was and
who she was with until a small shift of Bryan s body brought her attention back to him.
I m sorry. You must be bored to tears.
178 www.samhainpublishing.com
Laura Bacchi and Bonnie Dee
His eyes were riveted on her face and he shook his head. No. I m in fucking awe is what I am. I
knew you were good, but the fact you make sounds like that on this beat-up old piano is amazing.
Her cheeks burned and she couldn t stop smiling. In all her years of playing, she d never received
such heartfelt enjoyment from a listener. Her teachers and parents had been too busy pointing out the flaws
in technique she needed to correct if she wished to reach concert performance level. Gary had occasionally
complimented her, but with the air of a man praising a clever pet. She knew he didn t really care about
music. He just liked to show her off to his friends.
I should ve asked Grandma and Mom along to hear you play. They d love it. But I wanted to have
you all to myself today. Bryan rose from the folding chair he was straddling. I want to do things to you
that aren t appropriate for an audience. He leaned against the piano. Although, come to think of it, having
an audience could be really sexy just not one that includes my family.
What kinds of things did you have in mind? Sylvia teased. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]