The Brontë Plot Read Online Free

Blue Dragon . Lucy bit her lip and dashed a quick glance to James. He was unaware of anything amiss.
    â€œPlease call me Helen. I’ve heard about nothing but you for the last two weeks.”
    â€œGrams,” James chided.
    â€œIt’s true.” Helen tilted her head to Lucy. “You have a most unusual eye color.”
    Lucy smiled. “A gift from my dad. Sid, my boss, calls it #574 Once Upon a Time veering to #559 Paradise Valley when I wear yellow. We talk a lot in paint colors around here.”
    â€œ Once Upon a Time fits perfectly.” Helen looked around the gallery. “I know Sid. He did some work for me about five years ago. He’s a rare talent.”
    â€œHe is. I started here four years ago this spring. I just missed you.”
    Helen turned back to Lucy. “And your family lives here in Chicago?”
    â€œYes and no. My maternal grandparents and my paternal grandfather are from here. But my dad moved us around a lot when I was a kid, so I didn’t call it home until I was eight—when he left and Mom moved us back here. I can’t imagine going anywhere else now. A true Chicagoan.”
    â€œAre your grandparents still here?”
    â€œNot anymore. My mother’s parents retired to Arizona a few years ago and my father’s are both dead.”
    â€œDead,” Helen whispered.
    â€œYes, my grandmother died years ago when my dad was thirteen, and my grandfather died when I was about two.”
    â€œGrams is a Chicago lifer too,” James added. “You might’ve known them, Grams.”
    Helen frowned.
    Lucy offered a light laugh to dispel the awkwardness. “You all probably didn’t move in the same circles. My grandfather owned a watch shop in the South Loop.”
    â€œMy generation is disappearing.” Helen looked up at James. “Growing smaller with every conversation.”
    â€œGrams,” James chided again, this time in a different tone.
    â€œI . . .” Helen wobbled.
    â€œGrams?”
    â€œOh . . . Please sit.” Lucy lunged for a high-backed upholstered chair and pulled it over.
    James led his grandmother the two steps and seated her.
    â€œLet me get you some water.” Lucy ducked to the back room and grabbed a small water bottle from the refrigerator, twisting the cap open as she walked back into the gallery. She knelt before Helen. “Here.”
    â€œThank you.” Helen took a few sips and recapped the bottle. “James, I think I’m done for the day.” She passed the bottle to James then faced Lucy, who was still squatted next to her. “Extraordinary eyes,” she whispered more to herself than to Lucy.
    Lucy reached for her hand to help her stand. Helen nodded her thanks and added, “I suspect we’ll meet again if James has any say.”
    James offered an awkward chuckle and an eye roll before he reached for his grandmother and led her toward the door.
    As they left, he called back, “I’ll text you later. You still here tonight?”
    â€œI am.”
    â€œI’ll bring the Chinese.”
    Lucy threw him a bright smile, but as soon as the door shut, it fell. That did not go well.

    Lucy’s phone beeped with a text.
    At the alley door.
    She tapped it off and dashed to the workroom door. Pushing it open, she found James standing in the dark but brightly lit by the security light. He hoisted a white plastic bag high. “Dinner!”
    â€œThank you. And thanks for texting.” Lucy swung the door wide.
    â€œI figured if I knocked without warning, it might scare you.”
    â€œOpening a solid metal door into an alley at night does feel unwise.” Lucy held the door open with her shoulder so he could enter.
    James stepped into the workroom. “So this is where all the magic happens.”
    â€œHave you not been back here?” She cleared the worktable and brought over two stools as James spread out their meal. “Not that