Sea Glass Summer Read Online Free

Sarah knew those who would have kept a stranger on the step, but she hadn’t been brought up that way.
    â€˜Hi, I’m Sarah Draycott. Please come in,’ she encouraged.
    â€˜Just for a moment.’ The woman entered nippily, confirming Sarah’s thought that the stick was mainly for show. ‘I hear you’re from Chicago!’ The dark eyes twinkled. ‘Word gets around on winged feet here. I’ve brought you a loaf of banana bread.’ She poked at the Saran-wrapped oblong.
    â€˜Oh, that is nice.’
    The round face broke into a beaming smile. ‘It’s been in the freezer for months if not years. I’m not much of a sweet eater. Just a blatant excuse to get my foot in the door. But you look too nice a girl to hoodwink with trumped-up offerings.’
    â€˜Thank you.’ Sarah took the bread and set it on the table by the staircase. ‘I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.’
    Coat and cane deposited in the foyer, Nellie Armitage followed Sarah into the living room. ‘My, you’ve already got your furniture in place. Looks right comfy.’
    The room did look inviting, even with the sofa and chairs lacking their slipcovers. A fire would have made a nice contrast against the rain streaming down the windows. Sarah hadn’t yet decided between gas logs and wood burning. She wished she could have offered sherry, although she doubted alcohol was ever needed to bump up her visitor’s obvious zest for life. Nellie closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
    â€˜Good aura. No restless spirits here, so far as I can tell.’
    â€˜That’s nice to know,’ said Sarah; she’d just as soon not see Nan Fielding floating down the stairs. ‘Are you a medium?’
    â€˜Can’t make that boast,’ Nellie replied with beaming honesty, ‘but I do attend the spiritualist church out by Dobbs Mill. Wouldn’t call myself devout, though. Take anything too serious and it stops being fun. That’s the way I look at it.’
    Sarah bit back a smile. Her Aunt Beth would not think speaking of religion as a recreational activity amusing. ‘How about a cup of coffee?’ she suggested when her guest was seated on the sofa.
    â€˜Just had one. You sit yourself down; I’ll guess your feet need resting after a busy morning.’
    Very hospitable, thought Sarah. Increasingly amused, she settled herself in one of the armchairs.
    â€˜Glad to have you in the neighborhood.’
    â€˜I’m really looking forward to living here.’
    â€˜Mind if I call you Sarah?’
    â€˜I’d like that.’
    â€˜How old do you think I am?’ Nellie fired the question as if sure of a winner.
    This was tricky. Sarah had learned from her grandparents and their friends that the older people got the more eager they were to admit to their true ages, even to the point of boasting of the number of years under their belts. Best to go with the honest answer.
    â€˜Seventy-five?’
    â€˜Ninety,’ Nellie shot back smugly. Sarah tried and failed to smother a laugh. Given the bubbling echo from the sofa no offence was taken. Her visitor was fully aware of her entertainment value.
    â€˜Well, you certainly don’t look it.’
    â€˜I was the youngest of seven, the only one left now. Never married and can’t say it worried me any.’ She went on to talk about Reggie, her devoted great-nephew living only a few miles away in Ferry Landing with his nice wife Mandy and nine-year-old son, Brian. ‘Reggie will be coming to collect me at five. Always spend Friday nights with him and the family. Now tell me about you. Did your job bring you up here?’ Nellie leaned forward as if hanging on the answer. Sarah could see the irrepressible little girl peering from those sparkling brown eyes, awaiting further revelations.
    â€˜No, I’m lucky in having work I can do anywhere. Being single I don’t have any ties. I design patterns for