The Piano Man Project Read Online Free PDF Page B

had pulled himself up to standing and almost pulled himself together, although tear streaks still dredged across his face.
    ‘Tequila,’ Honey said, and stepped close enough to touch his arm. He took the bottle she placed into his hand with muttered thanks. ‘Is there anything else I can do for you?’ she asked. ‘You know, any help with … stuff?’
    Hal huffed. ‘Don’t start the Mother Teresa thing again just because you know I’m blind.’
    ‘I won’t. I still think you’re an arrogant twat who drinks too much.’
    The smallest twitch of humour tugged at the corner of Hal’s mouth. ‘And I still think you’re a frustrated girl guide with a stupid name.’
    ‘Good. Then we understand each other.’
    ‘Don’t bang on my door again.’
    Honey watched him turn and walk away, staying close to the wall until he reached his own doorway. ‘Fine. But shout if you need anything.’
    ‘I won’t need anything you could possibly give me, Honeysuckle,’ he said, his voice low and gravelly. He clicked the door closed, leaving Honey alone in the hall – a little enlightened, a little troubled, and, strangely, a little in lust.

CHAPTER FIVE
    Lucille and Mimi stared at Honey with slack mouths and trembling hands.
    ‘So I’m afraid that unless someone steps in and buys the place, the shop will be closed down. The home too,’ Honey finished. She’d waited until the end of the day to tell the ladies, knowing they’d need some quiet time to digest the news.
    ‘They can’t do this to us!’ Lucille cried, her face anguished.
    Honey smiled sadly. ‘There’s still six months yet, Lucille. Let’s hope for a miracle.’
    ‘Over my dead body are they closing our shop.’ Mimi squared her fragile shoulders, which were swathed today in the palest lime green cashmere twinset. As was often the case, Lucille had coordinated her outfit with her sister’s and had arrived this morning sporting an identical twinset in a complementary shade of lemon. Lemon Meringue and Key Lime Pie. Both ladies had knotted long strings of beads around their necks and large rings sparkled on their fragile fingers. Their outfits sang of sunshine, summer days and sweet spun sugar, but their faces told a far more melancholy story. Lucille’s big blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and Mimi had a look of fierce defiance that would have caused Emmeline Pankhurst’s heart to swell with pride.
    Lucille turned to her sister with a flicker of hope. ‘Do you think we should fight it?’
    ‘Why ever would we not?’ Mimi said, looking from Lucille to Honey.
    Honey frowned. Much as she hated the idea of closing the shop down, the idea of actively protesting hadn’t crossed her mind until now. Was there any point? For all his official talk of periods of consultation, Christopher had made it sound like a cut and dried decision last night. He’d probably been offered a sweetener to keep him onside, a golden handshake to make sure he didn’t allow anyone to rock the boat. He certainly hadn’t seemed overly concerned by the plight of the residents. ‘Dispersed’ was the word he’d used, and one Honey had carefully avoided when she’d tried to explain to Mimi and Lucille how the residents would be rehomed at other places.
    ‘Rehomed. We sound like a bunch of unwanted dogs,’ Lucille said, wringing her slender hands in her lap. ‘No one wants old animals so they get put down. Is that what’s going to happen to us, Honey?’
    The wretched expression on Lucille’s face tore at Honey’s heartstrings. She wished she could offer her friend some genuine hope, but at that moment there wasn’t much to offer beyond a hug and a cup of hot, sweet tea.
    ‘What if they can’t place us together, Mimi?’ Lucille said, and Honey took the violently trembling cup and saucer gently from the older woman’s grasp for fear of it spilling on the ivory sunray pleats of her skirt. The sisters had shared connecting rooms in the home with their own bathroom for