Read Online The Cottage at Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri - Free Book Online

more to do with memories of her mother and their time together on Burke’s Island.
    â€œ ‘There once were two young brothers who lived in Killaran,’ ” Nora began. “ ‘They found a coracle by the sea.’ ”
    â€œWait a second,” Ella said. “Why do boys get to have all the fun?”
    They did, didn’t they? Her husband too, in the running for philanderer of the year. Nora cleared her throat. “Good point. Very well, then.
    â€œ ‘There once were two sisters who lived in Killaran . . .’ ”

Chapter Four
    A nnie woke the next morning having dreamed of a coracle on sapphire seas, of gorgeous towering waves, the compass needle spinning, spinning, sea glass falling from the sky like hail, the ocean outside the cottage window a wayward cousin of the one in the book, a body of water that wouldn’t be contained. What was it hiding? What would it bring?
    â€œDo you think the boat’s still there?” Annie threw back the covers and hopped out of bed.
    Ella, always slower to awaken, mumbled a reply and burrowed deeper into the blankets.
    Annie didn’t wait for her. She pulled on a sweatshirt and a pair of shorts and dashed outside. Wildflowers painted the meadow with strokes of red, blue, and yellow. She raised her face to the sky. A light wind was blowing, pleasantly cool on her cheeks. She spread her arms wide. I’m a kite, she thought. I’m a bird.
    It was a Tuesday. Tuesdays at home meant swim team and art class at the museum. They’d been doing a unit on Picasso and cubism, and the instructor, Rodney, had them paint a portrait. She’d done one of Ella. She felt bad about using her for a subject, putting her face in pieces like that, later, when she wasn’t mad at her anymore for saying she was stupid. Tuesdays at home meant takeout Chinese, which their dad brought home from Ming’s, at least until recently, when he hadn’t been coming home much. Annie had asked Nora if he’d migrated, like the geese. They’d been studying migration at school. She’d said no, but Annie wasn’t so sure.
    There weren’t any geese on Burke’s Island, at least not at the moment, or fathers who didn’t come home. Tuesdays were different here too. There was no schedule to be kept. She could fill Tuesdays—and any other day of the week for that matter—with whatever she chose.
    She scrambled down the bluff. The beach was deserted, except for a boy standing at the tide line, the water rushing over his feet, sand huddled between his toes, streaking his legs. He was bare-chested. He wore a pair of tattered brown shorts. He was wet, as if he’d been swimming. His skin was deeply tan. She guessed him to be eight or nine years old.
    â€œHello,” Annie said, happy to meet someone close to her own age. “Do you live around here?”
    He nodded. He seemed shy. His eyes were dark, watchful.
    â€œMy name is Annie.”
    â€œI’m Ronan.”
    â€œThat sounds like a superhero’s name. Do you have special powers? I can fly, see?” She sailed off a rock, at least for a second or two.
    He laughed.
    â€œIs it all right if I call you Ronie?”
    â€œIf you want to.”
    She noticed a crab leg in his hand, the shell broken open. “What’s that?”
    â€œBreakfast,” he said.
    â€œIt’s like a crab cocktail, without the sauce.”
    â€œFresh is best.” He licked his lips. “I’ll bring you some next time.”
    â€œFrom where?”
    â€œOut there.”
    â€œI’ve only been on the open sea in the charter boat. We came in a few days ago. There were porpoises running ahead of us. I wanted to stop and watch, but the captain doesn’t stop the boat for anything. Mama said it had to be on time. There’s so much in the ocean, isn’t there, beneath the surface?”
    He nodded. “Look.” Beyond the rocks, two whales