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“Do you actually think this claim has any legitimacy?” Charlotte bit her fingernail, a bad habit she resorted to whenever she felt nervous. Savannah House was their inheritance from Miss Hattie, their beloved benefactor. They had renovated the historic bed and breakfast and spent a great deal of money to modernize it. Savannah House had opened a few weeks ago to sold out rooms. So far, the resort was a smashing success. It would be horrific if someone came along and spoiled their exciting enterprise.

“I have no way of knowing,” Mr. Mayhew said. “My first piece of advice is to retain the services of an attorney. One who specializes in probate matters.” He adjusted his glasses. “If I were in your shoes I would also retain the services of a private investigator. This man, Grayson Holloway, needs to be investigated. Vetted. You’ll save yourselves a lot of attorney’s fees and time and stress by cutting to the chase. A private investigator might be able to discover some red flags that would undermine his claim right from the get-go.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Olivia said with a fierce nod of her head. She looked around at the other ladies. “What do you guys think?”

“I’m in agreement,” Callie said with a nod. “I’m going to call Mac and ask for his cousin Parker’s number. Even though he’s in Pelican Bay, Florida, he travels for jobs. He’s the PI who helped Mac track me down, so I’m a big believer in his work.” Callie and her biological brother, Mac Donahue, had been separated as children due to lies and deception. Mac’s cousin, Parker Donahue, had reunited them through his masterful detective work.

Mr. Mayhew closed his briefcase and stood up from the table. “I’ll let you ladies discuss this amongst yourselves. My work here is done.”

“Any other words of advice?” Hope asked. Although Mayhew could be a stick in the mud, they all respected his work ethic and wise counsel.

“One word. Pray. I’d hate to see all of this taken away from you gals, especially since I know how hard you’ve all worked and how much Hattie wanted you ladies to own her beloved Savannah House.”

Charlotte, moved by Mr. Mayhew’s words, stood up and wrapped her arms around him as he walked by. He stiffened his posture and untangled himself from her enthusiastic hug. He raised his eyebrow at her. “Good day, Miss Duvall.”

Charlotte nodded, suppressing a grin. Clearly, she’d made Mr. Mayhew a tad uncomfortable. As soon as he strode out of the room, a fit of giggles erupted. Charlotte raised her hands to her cheeks. She knew she was blushing.

“Now that was funny,” Callie said, chuckling. “He looked like he might burst into tears.”

“And now I’m crying,” Fancy said, laughing so hard it was causing her face to turn crimson.

“We desperately needed that laugh,” Hope said, wiping away tears of laughter from her eyes.

“What possessed you to hug him like that? He’s not exactly a teddy bear,” Olivia said, clutching her stomach as she continued to roar with laughter. “And you’re not usually so warm and fuzzy.”

Charlotte shrugged, feeling slightly embarrassed. She wasn’t the impulsive type, nor was she very demonstrative. The impulse to hug him had come out of nowhere. She’d felt grateful to Mr. Mayhew for his guidance, and a tad emotional about the possibility of someone crashing into their lives and taking away their inheritance.

“I think we should contact an attorney immediately. I can call Case to get a recommendation,” Fancy offered.

“Great,” Charlotte said. “Callie, can you find out about Parker so we have all areas handled?”

“I’m on it,” Callie said, getting up from her chair and making her way out of the room.

Fancy followed right behind her, ostensibly to call her fiancé about obtaining legal representation.

“I’m going to have to figure out how to deal with this from a publicity angle. If the papers get wind of this it could really blow up and become a nightmare for us,” Charlotte said, chewing her lip. So far her job as publicist for Savannah House had been a breeze. It had taken her a while to figure out what her role was in the bed and breakfast. Although Olivia had initially planned to do publicity, it had been apparent that being liaison for guests and handling all guest-related issues was more than enough for one person.

Charlotte had stepped up to handle publicity and the public image of Savannah House. It suited her temperament and it made her feel invigorated. She loved being one of the owners of this historic resort and handling publicity allowed her to promote the resort in a way that led to more guests and a more visible profile.

“I better head off to the kitchen.” Morgan glanced at her watch. “Breakfast is in a half hour.”

Just then, Callie came walking back into the room followed by Fancy.

“Parker can’t help us out due to other work commitments.” She made a disappointed face. “He did refer me to someone local. He says he’s one of the best security experts in the country.”

“That sounds amazing,” Hope said. “I’d take Parker’s recommendation any time after what he did to bring Callie and Mac together.”

Fancy and Callie exchanged a loaded glance.

“What’s going on?” Charlotte asked. She knew both women well enough to know that there was a hitch somewhere.

“Who is it?” Hope asked.

“Marc Cabron.” Callie tossed the name out like a live grenade.

All eyes swung toward F

ancy. She shifted from one foot to the other.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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