Blue Lily, Lily Blue Read Online Free PDF Page B

touched his fingertips.
Just this —
He pinched her fingers lightly, just for a moment, and then
he withdrew his hand and put it back on the wheel. His chest
felt warm.
This was not allowed.
Ronan had not seen; Adam was still sleeping. The only casualty was his pulse.
“Your exit, dick!” Ronan snapped. Or Dick . It could have
been either, really.
Gansey steered in a hurry. Adam blinked awake. Ronan
swore. Gansey’s heart restarted.
Eyes on the road, Gansey.
At the airport, the professor was not waiting at the outdoor
passenger pick-up area as arranged, nor did he pick up his phone.
They finally found him sitting by the baggage carousel, near a
group of chattering people, a tower of luggage, and an irritablelooking service dog. He looked precisely as Gansey remembered him. There was something of a turtle in his visage, and he had not only one chin, but another waiting in line behind it. His nose and his ears appeared to be fashioned whimsically from rubber. The round bags beneath his eyes perfectly mirrored his round
brow lines. His expression was befuddled.
“Mr. Malory!” Gansey said gladly.
“Oh God,” Ronan said under his breath. “He’s so old .” Adam punched Ronan, saving Gansey the trouble. “Gansey,” Malory said, clasping hands with him. “What a
relief.”
“I’m terribly sorry to keep you waiting — I called!” “My blasted phone. The battery on these things is rubbish.
It is like a conspiracy to sell us something. Blood pressure medication, possibly. Are airplanes always like that? So full of people ?” “I’m afraid so,” Gansey said. Out of the corner of his eye, he
noticed that Adam was regarding Malory in a not entirely Adam
sort of way, his head cocked, pensive concentration in his eyes.
Disconcerted, Gansey hurried on. “Let me introduce you. These
are my friends: Ronan, Adam Parrish, and Jane.”
Adam’s expression focused. Became Adam-like. He blinked
over to Gansey.
“Blue,” Blue corrected.
“Oh, yes, you are blue,” Malory agreed. “How perceptive you
are. What was the name? Jane? This is the lady I spoke to on the
phone all those months ago, right? How small she is. Are you
done growing?”
“What!” Blue said.
Gansey felt it was time to remove Malory from the terminal.
“Which of these is your bag?”
“All of them,” Malory said tragically.
Ronan was trying his best to meaningfully catch Gansey’s
eye, but Gansey wouldn’t let him. The teens collected the bags.
The service dog got up.
Blue, friend to all canines, said, “Whoa there, fellow. You
stay here.”
“Oh, no,” Malory protested. “The Dog is mine.” They eyed the Dog. It wore a smart blue vest that advertised
its usefulness without providing further details.
“Okay,” Gansey said.
He avoided another meaningful look from Ronan. On the
curb outside, they all stopped for Malory to remove the Dog’s
vest and then they watched the Dog relieve itself on the sign for
the rental car shuttle.
Ronan asked, “What’s the Dog for?”
Malory’s turtle mouth got very small. “He is a service animal.” “What nature of service does he provide?”
“Excuse you ,” Malory replied.
Gansey avoided a third meaningful look from both Adam
and Malory.
They reached the car, which had gotten no larger since they
entered the terminal. Gansey disliked confronting the consequences of his folly so directly.
Ladies and gentlemen, my trick for you today will be to take this 1973
Camaro —
Removing the spare tire from the trunk, Gansey abandoned
it beside a streetlight. The price of Malory’s visit.
— and fit five people, a dog, and a hell of a lot of luggage inside.
    After performing this magic trick, he sank into the driver’s seat. The Dog was panting anxiously. Gansey knew how it felt.
“May I pet her? Him?” Blue asked.
“Yes,” Malory replied. “But he won’t enjoy it. He’s very highly strung.”
Gansey allowed Blue to exchange a meaningful glance with him in the rearview mirror as they got back