8 Sandpiper Way Read Online Free PDF

sold her stuff at the local art gallery, and Tanni was afraid thatsome friend of hers might have been a judge and given her the prize out of pity. She didn’t need pity. What she needed was her father.
    Not only that, Tanni preferred to avoid being identified with her mother. They’d never gotten along well, and it was worse now than ever. The last thing she wanted was any comparison between her art and that of the great Shirley Bliss.
    “I draw, too,” Shaw said. He must have regretted saying anything, because he added, “My drawings aren’t nearly as good as yours, though.”
    Tanni didn’t comment. Drawing came easily to her; it always had. Some people were smart at algebra and others struggled with it. Drawing happened to be her particular skill—and her escape.
    She could sit in class, any class, and act as if she was taking copious notes when in reality she was making little sketches. Doodles—geometric and circular designs—and tiny portraits of the people around her. Trees and flowers and horses and dogs. She’d filled notebook after notebook with these drawings. No one had ever seen them, not even her mother. Especially not her mother. If her dad was alive, she might’ve shown him, but no one else. Shortly after her father died, she’d destroyed a bunch of those notebooks in an act of grief and rage.
    “Hey, Shaw, you comin’ or not?”
    Shaw glanced over his shoulder and then at her. “See you, Tanni.”
    “Sure.” As he started to leave, Tanni realized she didn’t want him to go. “How’s Anson?” she asked quickly.
    Shaw hesitated, then turned back with a shrug. “He’s okay.”
    “I heard he’s working with Army Intelligence.”
    “Yeah.”
    “That’s impressive. What about Allison?”
    “She’ll be around this week. You know she’s going to the University of Washington, don’t you? In Seattle.”
    “Yeah.” Tanni’s brother was coming home from college, too, and their mother was making a big fuss about that. Still, Tanni would be glad to see Nick. He was supposed to arrive this evening, driving over from Washington State University in Pullman. By the time Tanni got back to the house, Nick would probably be there.
    She missed her brother, although she’d never expected to. They used to fight constantly, but after the accident they’d established a fragile peace while they dealt with the upheaval in all their lives. Nick was the one person she talked to about her dad, the only person who felt the way she did.
    Shaw took one step toward her. “I was thinking, you know, if you want, I could show you some of my drawings.”
    “Yeah, sure.”
    “Cool.”
    “When?” she asked.
    “You doing anything after the bonfire?”
    It wasn’t like she had to check her social calendar. “Not really.”
    “I could meet you at Mocha Mama’s in an hour.”
    Tanni looked at her watch. Mocha Mama’s was new in town. She hadn’t been inside yet but she knew where it was. “Okay.”
    He smiled at her and she smiled back. Despite the cold wind, she felt a rush of warmth that didn’t come from the blazing fire.
    After a few minutes, Shaw and his goth friends took off. Tanni watched the bonfire for another twenty minutes. Hermood had improved since she’d talked to Shaw, so she walked over to where Kara stood with a group of friends.
    Tanni wasn’t sure why she hung out with Kara at all. Kara and the others were cheerleader types, although none of them was likely to make it onto any squad. They weren’t really part of the popular crowd. But then, neither was Tanni.
    Half an hour later, she parked in front of Mocha Mama’s on Harbor Street. She entered the café, looking around with interest. The decor was typical coffeehouse, with lots of dark wood and old-fashioned lamps. There were only a few other customers—a couple engrossed in their conversation, heads close together, and two older men. Shaw sat at one of the half-dozen tables positioned near the window, nursing a cup of coffee.