The Conduit The Gryphon Series - By Stacey Rourke Page 0,3

dreams destroyed, he moved back home. Since then if anyone even inquired about his future plans he’d snap and yet another tirade would ensue.

So when Grams mentioned “the unmentionable” I braced for yet another blow up. To my surprise, he just gave a noncommittal “Not yet.”

“Do you plan to get a job?” Grams pressed.

“Don’t know.” Gabe shrugged, but didn’t look up from his pizza. I couldn’t tell if the tension in the room had actually reached a palpable level, or if I was anxious it was about to.

Grams pursed her lips, clearly not happy with how this conversation was progressing. “How did you occupy your time back in Michigan?”

“Sports and stuff.”

“I see. And did you become a professional athlete with one of those million dollar contracts?”

“No.” He said with a sarcastic half—grin.

“Hmmmm. Guess you should probably get a job then, huh?” She raised her eyebrows, daring him to argue. Wisely, he did not.

“Probably.” He answered.

“I could talk to Will Burke for you.” Grams grabbed some napkins off the end table and passed them out. “He’s the athletic director at Gainesboro High. He might be able to find a coaching position for you.”

A spark of genuine interest lit up Gabe’s broad face. “That’d be great Grams. I’d really like that.”

I marveled at this turn around. Maybe I wasn’t the only one that needed a fresh start in a new place.

“As for you.” Grams turned to me with narrow, pondering eyes. Her hands rested on her hips. “I know you have all the grace of a two-legged race horse, so what the heck do you do for fun?”

Ahh, nothing like the loving banter of family. Just gives me warm fuzzy feelings.

I pushed a strand of uncooperative brown hair behind my ear. “Until I head off to Rhodes in the fall my plan is to sketch, veg, and basically give my pre—collegiate brain one last chance to be mush, before it’s forced to study and actually learn stuff.”

Relaxation of any kind had been foreign in my life for a while now. After Dad died I put my college plans on hold and concentrated on taking care of my family. Mom needed all the help she could get, so it hadn’t really been a choice. With time things calmed down enough for Mom to begin prodding me to put the focus back on my education, and my goal of becoming an art teacher. First up, I wanted to have a nice, relaxing summer. Then rejoin the land of the living as a freshman at Rhodes College in Memphis. I couldn’t wait. Eighteen seemed a good age for my life to finally begin.

Pleased with how our “orientation speech” had gone, Grams plopped back down in her recliner. “Sounds good to me. You should head up to the clearing. You’ll find plenty to sketch up there.”

I wiped my face with my napkin to remove the remnants of the pizza slices I killed. “The clearing?”

Grams kicked up her foot rest and grabbed a gossip magazine off the end table. “Grandpa and I used to take you kids there when you were little, remember? Just outside of town there’s that walking trail that leads into the mountains. You follow it up and you’ll find a clearing right next to a little brook. It really is lovely. I don’t know why I don’t go up there more often. Ooh, another celebrity bump watch! I love those.”

Gabe quirked his eyebrow in Grams’ direction and laughed. There was no question as to why Grams didn’t hike anymore. Grandpa was the outdoorsmen, not her. When he passed, so did her hiking days. But I did remember our trips into the mountains and all the amazing things we saw. It would be the perfect place to find inspiration for my drawings.

“That’s a great idea, Grams.” I admitted. “I’ll definitely check it out.”

Grams set her magazine in her lap and folded her well—manicured hands over it. Her eyes crinkled with a warm smile as her gaze shifted from Kendall, to Gabe, and finally to me.

“Kids, I think this is gonna be a pretty unforgettable summer.”

Chapter 2

We spent the following morning unloading the truck and settling in. That lasted until early afternoon when Grams’ “stories” came on. Then we were kicked out of the house and told to go find our own fun. Gabe and Kendall set off with their own agendas. My plan had been to check out the trail and stretch my artistic muscles — until I saw the mess that my darling