Far Harbor Read Online Free PDF Page A

gifted you with all that lovely Titian hair. After all, it’s common knowledge that the women from that branch of the family all possess second sight, and—”
    “Mother.” Savannah cut Lilith off and looked her directly in the eye. “We’re not talking second sight here. It’s merely the process of elimination. If there’s some impediment to my buying the lighthouse, and it doesn’t involve the property itself, then it would stand to reason the problem is with the owner.”
    Lilith slid her veiled gaze out over the sparkling bay. “I don’t believe Henry really wants to sell the lighthouse.”
    There had been several times over the past days when Savannah had questioned the practicality of attempting to refurbish such a ramshackle property. Still, her heart sank at this news.
    “Then why on earth would he list it in the first place?”
    “Because he doesn’t want it any longer.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    Another sigh. “The problem is, he doesn’t want anyone else to own it, either. Not so long as his mother’s spirit is still there.”
    “I should have known you’d believe in the ghost.”
    “I’ve never seen her. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t exist.”
    “Well, if she does, I certainly hope she knows how to use a paint brush, because her former home is in definite need of a new coat of paint.”
    Lilith waved the comment away with a graceful, beringed hand; her recently acquired wedding band—engraved with wolves because they mate for life, she’d explained—gleamed in the morning light. “Well, whatever Henry’s feelings, you shouldn’t have any problem convincing him to sell. He may be getting up in years, but he’s still a man.”
    “A bitter, dried-up old man,” a voice offered from the doorway. Ida Lindstrom’s head was barely visible over the huge cardboard box she was holding. “He was never all that much of a charmer, but after his wife died, he turned downright ornery.”
    Savannah’s grandmother was a small, wiry woman known throughout the county for her seemingly endless trove of energy, her dedication to her former patients, and her strong, often controversial opinions.
    In contrast to her glamorous daughter, she was wearing baggy jeans and a T-shirt that read Of Course I Believe You, But Can I Get It in Writing? The message was pure Ida, which Savannah feared didn’t exactly bode well for Lilith’s palm reader friend.
    “It must be eight years since Ruth passed on,” Lilith reminded her mother. “Which means that Henry’s been without female companionship for a very long time. I can’t believe that he wouldn’t jump at the chance to spend the afternoon with our Savannah.”
    “I refuse to stoop to using feminine wiles to talk Henry Hyatt into selling me his lighthouse,” Savannah insisted.
    “Of course you wouldn’t,” Ida agreed briskly. “You’re my granddaughter, after all, and everyone knows that rolling stones don’t fall far from the trees.” Along with her bumper-sticker T-shirts, the retired general practitioner had long been Coldwater Cove’s queen of malapropisms.
    Lilith rolled her expressive eyes as she rose from the step, handed Savannah her empty mug and took the box from Ida’s arms. “This weighs a ton,” she complained. “What do you have in it, rocks?”
    “Of course not. Why would I want to be mailing rocks to anyone?” Ida was looking at the box as if seeing it for the first time. “Who’s it for, anyway?”
    Lilith exchanged a brief, puzzled look with Savannah. “Since it’s addressed to Gwen, I assume it’s for her.”
    “Well, of course it is.” Ida’s brow cleared. The momentary confusion in her eyes was replaced by the usual bright intelligence that reminded Savannah of a curious bird. “When she called last night from science camp, I could tell she was homesick, so I’m sending her a bunch of her favorite things. Wouldn’t want the girl to get so upset she starts shoplifting again.”
    Knowing that they