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Hayley Phillips was riding on fu transmission The radio still worked, thank God, and she had it cranked up with the Dixie Chicks blasting out It kept her energy flowing
Everything she oas jammed into the Pontiac Grandville, which was older than she was and a lot more temperamental Not that she hadthat could be sold No point in being sentimental Money took you a lot more miles than sentiment
She wasn&039;t destitute What she&039;d banked would get her through the rough spots, and if there were h spots than she anticipated, she&039;d earn oing She just didn&039;t knoould happen when she got there
But that was fine If you knew everything, you&039;d never be surprised
Maybe she was tired, andold car farther than it wanted to go that day But if she and it could just hang on a few et a break
She didn&039;t expect to get tossed out on her ear But, well, if she was, she&039;d just do what needed to be done next
She liked the look of the area, especially since she&039;d skirted around the tangle of highways that surrounded Mee beyond the city, the land rolled a bit, and she&039;d seen snatches of the river and the steep bluffs that fell toward it There were pretty houses - the neat spread of the suburbs that fanned out froer, richer ones There were plenty of big old trees, and despite some walls of stone or brick, it felt friendly
She sure could use a friend
When she saw the sign for In the Garden, she slowed She was afraid to stop, afraid the old Pontiac would just heave up and die if she did But she slowed enough to get a look at the hts
Then she took a lot of slow breaths as she kept driving Nearly there She&039;d planned out what she would say, but she kept changing her ave her a dozen different scenes to play out in her head It had passed the tielled for her
Maybe so her mind was part of her probleed yourone? It seemed to Hayley she&039;d known too , and how could that be using the brain God gave you?
As she headed toward the drive, the car began to buck and sputter
"Co attention I&039;d&039;ve got you gas at the last place"
Then it conked on her, half in, half out of the entrance between the brick pillars
She gave the wheel a testy little slap, but it was halfhearted Nobody&039;s fault but her own, after all And her to kick her out if her car was out of gas, and blocking the way
She opened her purse, took out a brush to tidy her hair After considerable experimentation, she&039;d settled back on her own oak-bark brown At least for now She was glad she&039;d gotten it cut and styled before she&039;d headed out She liked the longish sweep of side bangs and the careless look of the straight bob with its varying lengths
It made her look easy, breezy Confident
She put on lipstick, powdered off the shine
"Okay Let&039;s get going"
She climbed out, hooked her purse over her shoulder, then started the walk up the long drive It took money - old or new - to plant a house so far frorown up in had been so close, people driving by could practically reach out and shake her hand
But she didn&039;t ood house, and part of her had been sorry to sell it But that little house outside Little Rock was the past She was heading toward the future
Halfway up the drive, she stopped Blinked This wasn&039;t just a house, she decided as her jaw dropped It was a- she&039;d seen big-ass houses before, but nothing like this This was the most beautiful house she&039;d ever laid eyes on outside of a azine It was Tara and Manderley all in one Graceful and feainst s, others flooded the lawn As if it elco her Wouldn&039;t that be nice?
Even if it wasn&039;t, even if they booted her out again, she&039;d had the chance to see it That alone orth the trip
She walked on, s, the pine and woodsers on the strap of her purse for luck and walked straight up to the ground-level doors
Lifting one of the brass knockers, she gave three firm raps
Inside, Stella came down the steps with Parker It was her turn to walk hiet it"
Parker was already barking as she opened the door
She saw a girl with straight, fashionably ragged brown hair, a sharply angled face do She s a bit of an overbite, and bent down to pet Parker when he sniffed at her shoes
She said, "Hi"
"Hi" Where the hell had she come from? Stella wondered There was no car parked outside
The girl looked to be about twelve And very pregnant
"I&039; for Rosalind Ashby Rosalind Harper Ashby," she corrected "Is she home?"
"Yes She&039;s upstairs Come in"
"Thanks I&039;m Hayley" She held out a hand "Hayley Phillips Mrs Ashby and I are cousins, in a complicated southern sort of way"
"Stella Rothchild Why don&039;t you coo find Roz"
"That&039;d be great" Swiveling her head back and forth, Hayley tried to see everything as Stella led her into the parlor "Wow You&039;ve just got to say "
"I did the first ti to drink?"
"I&039;m okay I should probably wait until" She stayed on her feet, wandered to the fireplace It was like so on a television show, or the movies "Do you work in the house? Are you, like, the housekeeper?"
"No I work at Roz&039;s nursery I&039;et Roz You should sit down"
"It&039;s okay" Hayley rubbed her pregnant belly "We&039;ve been sitting"
"Be right back" With Parker in tow, Stella dashed off
She hurried up the stairs, turned into Roz&039;s wing She&039;d only been in there once, when David had taken her on the grand tour, but she followed the sounds of the television and found Roz in her sitting room
There was an old black-and-whiteShe sat at an antique secretary, wearing baggy jeans and a sweatshirt as she sketched on a pad Her feet were bare, and to Stella&039;s surprise, her toe-nails were painted a bright candy pink
She knocked on the doorja out an idea I had for a cutting garden along the northwest side of the nursery Thought it ht inspire customers Come take a look"
"I&039;d love to, but there&039;s someone downstairs to see you Hayley Phillips She says she&039;s your cousin"
"Hayley?" Roz frowned "I don&039;t have a cousin Hayley Do I?"
"She&039;s young Looks like a teenager Pretty Brown hair, blue eyes, taller than nant"
"Well, for God&039;s sake" Roz rubbed the back of her neck "Phillips Phillips My first husband&039;s grandmother&039;s sister - or maybe it was cousin - married a Phillips I think"
"Well, she did say you were cousins in a complicated southern sort of way"
"Phillips" She closed her eyes, tapped a finger in the center of her forehead as if to wake up irl He died last year Well, I&039;d better go see what this is about"
She got up "Your boys settled down for the night?"
"Yes, just"
"Then come on with me"
"Don&039;t you think you should - "
"You&039;ve got a good level head So co it with you"
Stella scooped Parker up and, hoping his bladder would hold, went downstairs with Roz
Hayley turned as they came in "I think this is the most completely awesome room It makes you feel cozy and special just to be in it I&039;hter My daddy was a connection of your first husband&039;s, on his mother&039;s side You sent me a very nice note of condolence when he passed last year"
"I remember I met him once I liked him"
"So did I I&039;, and I didn&039;t et here so late I had soht Sit down, Hayley How far along are you?"
"Heading toward six ize, too, because ht at the front of your driveway"
"We can take care of that Are you hungry, Hayley? Would you like a little so to eat?"
"No, ot to feed the car I have money I don&039;t want you to think I&039;m broke or here for a handout"
"Good to know We should have tea, then It&039;s a cool night Hot tea would be good"
"If it&039;s not too ot decaffeinated" She stroked her belly "Hardest thing about being pregnant&039;s been giving up caffeine"
"I&039;ll take care of it Won&039;t be long"
"Thanks, Stella" Roz turned back to Hayley as Stella went out "So, did you drive all the way from Little Rock, isn&039;t it?"
"I did I like to drive Like to better when the car&039;s not acting up, but you have to do what you have to do" She cleared her throat "I hope you&039;ve been well, Cousin Rosalind"
"I have been, very well And you? Are you and the baby doing well?"
"We&039;re doing great Healthy as horses, so the doctor said And I feel just fine Feel like I&039; as a house, but I don&039;tU fine?"
"Yes, they are Gro Harper, that&039;s uest house He works with me at the nursery"
"I saw it - the nursery - when I was driving in" Hayley caught herself rubbing her hands on the thighs of her jeans and er than I expected You must be proud"
"I am What do you do back in Little Rock?"