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Mr. Mayhew, the attorney who was presiding over the reading of the will

, looked at them from behind a pair of old fashioned spectacles. He seemed like a very no-nonsense sort of guy. With his dark hair and forbidding expression, he seemed to want to cut to the chase. Dressed in a purple long-sleeved dress shirt with suspenders and a lilac bow-tie, Attorney Mayhew cut a colorful figure.

“We’re still waiting for three people,” he announced, holding up his wrist so he could check out his watch. He made a tutting sound. “This isn’t a slumber party. For goodness sakes, this is serious business. I can’t believe they’re late.” Stress was evident in Mr. Mayhew’s voice. Callie imagined that he might just snap if the other participants didn’t show up. Which increased her curiosity. Who were they waiting for?

“Maybe they’re not coming,” Pearl said in a cryptic tone. “Hattie expected things to just come together, but a person shouldn’t expect to control things from beyond the grave.”

“Who are we waiting for?” Olivia asked. A look of confusion was etched on her face.

The door suddenly swung open and Callie watched in surprise as Charlotte Duvall sailed through the door. With her dark brown hair, cornflower blue eyes and creamy complexion, Charlotte had a very sweet appearance. Her cousin had always been a bit shy and timid. Although they had grown up together as members of the Duvall family, Charlotte and Callie had been very different. Callie had been bold and sure of herself, while Charlotte had been on the mousy side. Her parents liked to joke that her twin brother Case had taken up all of Charlotte’s boldness in the womb.

Callie knew that once upon a time she and Charlotte would have known that the other had been invited to Savannah House for this meeting. But her relationship with her cousin had become a little frayed at the edges over the last few years. Callie wasn’t even sure as to why.

Why hadn’t she seen this coming? Of course. It all made sense. Miss Hattie had included all six of them in her will. Now they were just waiting for Fancy and Hope to show up.

“Hello,” Charlotte said, smiling at everyone before settling in to one of the available chairs next to Callie. “Sorry I’m late. I messed up on the time. I went all the way back home after the burial.”

“You’re fine,” Callie said, reaching out and squeezing her cousin’s hand. “We haven’t started yet.”

“Morgan! I didn’t even see you over there,” Charlotte cried out, jumping up from her seat to give her friend a warm embrace. “You’re back.”

“It’s been way too long, my friend,” Morgan said, pressing a kiss on Charlotte’s cheek. “I can’t wait to catch up. I just got back the other day.”

“How about lunch next week?” Olivia tossed out the idea. “We can meet up at the Starland Café.”

It had been one of their favorite go-to lunch places over the years. All of them nodded their heads in agreement. There was still a slight wariness hovering in the air between them.

“That would be great,” Callie said. Finally, after all this time she was feeling a little kernel of hope about fixing the broken strands between them. Where there was love, all things were possible.

“Ladies. Please. We are about to begin the reading of the will. Since Fancy Tolliver and Hope Matthews aren’t present, we must begin the proceedings.”

The sound of a baby’s cries rang out in the stillness of the house. Callie turned toward the door, which had been left slightly ajar after Charlotte’s entrance. Was she imagining things? Why would there be a baby at Savannah House?

Everyone else turned their attention towards the door and the hallway beyond it. The baby’s cries grew louder and more distinct.

“Oh for heaven’s sake, would someone please see what that ruckus is before we start the reading of the will?” Mr. Mayhew spit out the directive as if he couldn’t be bothered himself to go check out the disturbance. “Hattie Alexander must be turning in her grave,” he muttered.

Callie snapped her head in his direction. “No, Mr. Mayhew. Miss Hattie was one of the most compassionate and loving people I’ve ever known. She would never let a baby’s crying ruffle her feathers.”

“Amen,” Pearl said, shooting Mr. Mayhew an annoyed look.

Filled with curiosity, Callie headed for the door, followed by Olivia and Morgan. Charlotte trailed behind them by a few steps.

Following the sounds of the baby’s crying led them to the purple parlor. The door was slightly open, allowing them to get an earful of a feisty baby’s cries.

Gently pushing the door open allowed Callie to get a view of a woman making soothing noises to pacify a baby who was cradled in her arms. The woman turned slightly, allowing them to get a glimpse of her in profile. Callie heard a shocked gasp behind her. Her own jaw dropped. The woman whirled around to face them.

“Hope,” Callie said, shocked that she could even utter a word past the huge lump in her throat.

Hope Matthews—with her long, dark hair and almond shaped brown eyes—was a pretty woman. It was only when you looked at her a second time that one realized she was stunning.

“Hello,” Hope said with a nod and a shaky smile. “I didn’t want to interrupt the proceedings by making my entrance with a bellowing baby.”

“Whose baby is that?” Morgan asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

“She’s mine,” Hope said in a soft voice. She gazed at them shyly, as if she didn’t quite know how to explain herself. “Her name is Ella. And she’s six months old.”

“Is Ella why you left Savannah? Why you didn’t keep in touch with all of us?” Callie asked. She felt a spurt of anger toward Hope. All this time she had been hiding such an incredible secret from them. Why? It made no sense at all.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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