House of Clouds: A heartbreaking story of love, loss, self discovery and second chances by K.L. Gleeson

Author:K.L. Gleeson [Gleeson, K.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-14T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Two

Pockets of mist hovered over the lake, the trees arcing around them as though they were trying to contain them. Many of the leaves were brown now, especially the oak, and the vibrancy had muted to a soft maroon, umber, and sienna color, against the background of the green of the pine trees now emphasized by the overcast sky. Kate studied the scene, wondering if the memories would ever leave her. The lake seemed harmless, and it was, she reassured herself.

She hadn’t bothered to lift her camera yet, having taken a seat on the edge of the dock, her feet dangling over the water. It was early, barely past dawn, and cold.

She pulled down the wool beanie she’d shoved on her tangled hair and pushed her hands in the pockets of her mother’s old wool pea coat. She took deep breaths and made an effort to continue to observe the lake, the trees, and the mist in detail. Noted all the tiny movements, the way the mist curled over near the far shore, the stillness of the water, the distant splash of a fish and the scent of pine in the air.

It had been another night of little sleep, the third in a row. Last night owed nothing to Giancarlo’s amorousness. Even he seemed to have given into the exhaustion of the last few days’ activities. No, it was her own mind, the turmoil, the unnamed restless desire to do something.

Her dad had sensed it. He’d even questioned her quietly when they’d had a moment alone, yesterday afternoon, when she and Giancarlo had returned from New York. He’d taken her hand as she leaned over to kiss him goodnight and looked into her eyes and asked her what was wrong. She’d shaken her head and denied that anything was wrong, but she’d given him an extra long hug that night, noting his jaundiced skin and that he was so frail now she might snap him in two.

That was part of it, she knew. The waiting. The knowing what was to come and being unable to stop it. Halloween had passed that weekend she and Giancarlo had been away, and no one had even remarked on it. She could imagine the darkened house and the nurse’s quiet tread as she ignored anyone who’d attempted to knock the door for a treat.

Tom felt the waiting, too. She could see it in his stiff demeanor and false heartiness, along with the shadows in his eyes and his drawn face. He’d been there yesterday when she’d returned, frowning when he’d caught sight of her tamed hair and chic outfit. His only comment had focused on her shoes, a seemingly innocuous remark about slipping on her more comfortable Converses, but Kate heard and felt all the subtext. Tamzin hadn’t been with him. Apparently she was in Boston and wouldn’t be down for a while, She had too much to do. Tamzin obviously knew he wouldn’t make the trip up to see her, not now, but surely Tamzin could see Tom would need support more than ever.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.