Free The Ladies of Garrison Gardens by Louise Shaffer Page A

day. “I'm truly in your debt, Laurel.”
    And the only thing Laurel could think to say was, “How did you get it hooked up so fast?”
    “Perry did it. He came over early this morning. I thought you'd asked him to,” Li'l Bit said.
    Before she could find out more, Maggie appeared from inside the house wearing the rose brocade coat. She saw Laurel and blew her a kiss; then she did a little turn, showing off the shimmering pink silk lining like a runway model. She finished with a slightly arthritic curtsy.
    The opera was blasting, Maggie and Li'l Bit were both laughing, thrilled with their loot, and she'd made it happen. She realized she was getting a glimpse of what having the Garrison money could mean. And for the first time since she sat in Stuart Junior's office and heard that Peggy had turned her into the Garrison heiress, Laurel felt like everything was going to be okay.

Chapter Thirteen
    MRS. RAIN

    2004
    F INDING OUT ABOUT Laurel Selene McCready had become a mission. Unfortunately, Mrs. Rain admitted to herself, it seemed to be a doomed one. Phone calls to her two main contacts in the outside world—her lawyer and her man of business—hadn't turned up any information, nor had Cherry's visits to the library and the historical society. After four frustrating days, Mrs. Rain was ready, reluctantly, to admit defeat.
    It seemed that Laurel Selene McCready had no important family behind her, and no social or political connections. Obviously she was a local girl—her writing seemed like that of a young person—from Charles Valley who had somehow caught Peggy Garrison's attention and then earned her loyalty.
    And now Ms. McCready was the heir to the Garrison fortune. God help her, or maybe not. It depended on how well she dealt with Stuart Lawrence Junior. And that would depend on whether Stuart Lawrence Junior was anything like his late father. Of course, Stuart Senior had had leverage.
    Thinking about it all was tiring. Her infant doctor had warned about avoiding stress, which meant avoiding life, a concept that seemed to elude the boy.
    However, his word was law, so she'd been bundled off for a nap. Essie and Cherry had turned down her bedcovers and tucked her in as if she was a geriatric five-year-old! Well, she might be lying down but she was damned if she'd sleep. She fumbled around for her glasses and focused enough to read the clock on her bedroom wall. It was four in the afternoon.
    In an hour, Cherry would serve her her supper in front of the television. Then she'd watch the news and stop brooding about things that were none of her business. Especially since there was nothing she could do about any of it, no matter how much she wished she could.
    She sighed into the murky half-light of her bedroom. Just one more time in her life she'd like to be relevant. No one ever told you how incredibly boring life could be when your major accomplishments were keeping your bowels regular and remembering to take your blood pressure medication. And if you'd played for the kind of high stakes she'd known in her time . . . well, best not to think about that. After all, Charles Valley and its residents had been off-limits to her even before she became a doddering old relic. Once, she had resented what the place cost her, but she'd given up on that long ago.
    So here she was with her breakfast trays, her television, Essie, Cherry, and the child prodigy doctor. Laurel Selene McCready would have to fend for herself. Still, it was a pity that the young woman didn't have the kind of family or background she would probably need to go toe to toe with Stuart Lawrence Junior.

Chapter Fourteen
    LAUREL

    2004
    S TUART LAWRENCE, JR. (“Just call me Stuart,” he'd begged) had asked Laurel to come to supper so he could explain what he referred to as her holdings. That, it seemed, was the correct word for what she'd been calling “the stuff Peggy gave me in her will.” And the Lord knew she needed someone to explain it to her, because