Free Tomorrow's Promises (Bellingwood Book 7) by Diane Greenwood Muir Page B

desk at her friend. "Do or do not, there is no try."
    "Then Yoda, you will relax about it because we are helping. Come on, let's get back to the party. There are a lot of ladies in there that I don't know and pretty soon Bunny is going to lose control."
    "What do you mean?" Polly stood up, laughing.
    "She's going to start begging them all to find her a husband. It will be embarrassing. She already cornered a couple of them and asked if they were bringing their sons to the party tonight."
    Polly grabbed Drea's arm as she went past her. "Oh, for pity's sake, let's hurry, then. Bunny on the loose is dangerous for Bellingwood."

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER EIGHT

     
    "Friends are the best," Polly said, a little sloppily. She took a drink of the wine Sal put on the table in front of her. They were in her apartment again, laughing as Sal regaled them with tales of her mother's latest attempts to find her an appropriate husband. Bunny had tried to interrupt a couple of times, asking why Sal wouldn't pass off the rejects to her, but Polly scowled at her and she finally got into the spirit of things.
    They'd finished brunch and once the guests had left, quickly set up for the evening's festivities. Polly and Henry insisted that it be simple. The most important part of the weekend was time with friends. Off-white muslin tablecloths with squares of dark blue layered across the top , set the color and tone for the evening. Candles placed in the mason jars she had purchased for last year's hoedown were set on mirrored glass in the center of each table. It had nearly killed Jeff to leave it so sparse, but Henry backed her up. They hired a band for dancing and Sylvie was cooking dinner. She was thankful her husband didn't have extravagant taste. It was one thing to create lavish parties for Sycamore House, but for the two of them, simple was much more appropriate.
    Once the setup was complete, Lydia, Beryl, Andy and Joss joined them in the conference room and office. All eight of them spent two hours calling retail stores in the Waterloo / Cedar Falls area looking for Jessie Locke. They had no luck, but left the Sycamore House phone number with as many people as would take it. Polly had hoped that they might stumble across the girl. Watching Curtis Locke's pleading eyes as he left with the EMTs had been tough.
    She was so thankful that she and her father had always said the words, "I love you," before ending any phone call. Polly was crushed when he died, but at least she didn't feel guilt over unspoken love. In the darkest nights when she was all alone, tears still fell when Polly thought about how much she missed her dad and how she wished he was here to be part of this crazy life she'd created. He would have enjoyed every single thing at Sycamore House, from the gardens to the animals, the rebuilding to the people. Oh, how she wished he could have known Henry.
    Henry came home after she and the girls had gotten comfortable. He was still wearing his Hawaiian shirt and shorts and plopped two blown up palm trees just inside the front door. "Just in case you want to have a luau," he said and headed for his office. Polly was just drunk enough to be silly.
    "He's pretty hot, isn't he?" she asked. "I'd do him in a second."
    Drea started chuckling and took the wine glass from Polly's hand. "You might have had a little too much today. You need to pace yourself, there's a long night ahead of you."
    Polly bared her teeth, growled, and snatched the glass back. "I am pacing myself." She stood up and her legs felt wobbly, so she handed the glass back to Drea. "Okay, you're right. You're always right. But, I'm going to go pat his butt. I've missed it today."
    The three laughed as she went through to his office. He was sitting on the edge of his desk with the phone to his ear and tilted his cheek for a kiss. Polly wrapped herself around him and slid her hand under the tail of his shirt, drawing her fingers up his back. Henry looked at her in