Read Online Hotel Ladd by Dianne Venetta - Free Book Online Page B

Fran.”
    She winked. “It’s my
specialty.”
    Annie lowered next to her, trailing
Fran’s backside down the counter and around the corner and into the
kitchen. The woman didn’t sit still for half a second. Was it
possible she missed Annie and Jillian altogether?
    “ Is there something else
concerning you, Annie?” Malcolm glanced to Lacy. “Other than access
and trees, I mean?”
    It wasn’t a judgmental question, rather
easy and considerate. Like Lacy, Malcolm Ward was eager to help.
Not a trait she expected in a man from Los Angeles, a city renowned
for its glitter and fast living, but she appreciated it all the
same. “Oh, I don’t know,” she replied. “Sounds like a lot of red
tape to me.”
    Malcolm smiled knowingly. “Shouldn’t be
too bad. Nick and I have found the county to be very accommodating
and have developed a great working relationship with the guys in
the office. If it will help, I’d be happy to submit a permit to the
Department of Transportation on your behalf. It might help smooth
the process for you.”
    “ Oh, Malcolm, would you?”
Lacy peered up at him in naked awe. “That would save Annie so much
time, wouldn’t it?”
    “ I think so.” With a quick
wink to his wife, he said, “I’ll call first thing in the morning
and see what their time frame is running.”
    Government. Bureaucracy. Time. More
decisions, more waiting. If she wasn’t being pressed for a
decision, she was waiting for one. “Is there a possibility I
couldn’t get a permit?”
    Malcolm punched a straw open and stuck
it in a glass for Lacy. Handing it over, he repeated the process
for himself. “No, you’ll get it. As legal owner, you have a right
to access your property. It usually takes a month or so, but I
think we can manage it in a couple of weeks. You can probably get
the forester to cut you a driveway and take the cost out of the
proceeds.”
    Money. Loss of proceeds. It also meant
she’d have to decide about Ms. Devane’s offer without a solid idea
of how much money she’d receive from a forester to compare. And how
was she going to ask anyone about the true value of her property
without raising the quilt on her dealings with Jillian
Devane?
    Hank Dakota was her lawyer. A native to
the area, he helped her prove paternity, helped her close the
initial real estate deal with Nick and Delaney. Hank was a fixture
in this town, entrenched as she and while attorney-client privilege
was the law, Annie didn’t trust the information to stay sealed
behind closed doors. People talked. They slipped. It happened.
Everyone knew what everyone else was doing and if she was seen
talking with Hank, someone was bound to make the connection. At
least ask questions.
    Questions she couldn’t afford to
answer. Not until she had all the facts, a decision made. Popping a
straw through its paper, Annie drew a sip of sweet tea. Cold and
sugary, the beverage was a welcome relief to her parched throat.
Maybe she could find what she needed on the internet. Maybe she
didn’t have to ask anyone for help.
    Malcolm raised his glass, the liquid a
light brown as it mixed with ice and didn’t mention another word.
He probably assumed she was running through the information in her
mind, glad to have him guiding her along. Suddenly the cash offer
looming in the forefront of Annie’s brain made her feel like a
heel. Here Malcolm and Cal and Lacy were working on her behalf
while she was working against them. If she sold the property, all
their time and effort would be for nothing. But she had to do what
was best for her daughter, didn’t she? Isn’t that what being
trustee was all about?
    Ten minutes later Annie
walked out of the diner with a warm paper bag in hand. The scent of
fried chicken and biscuits pulled hunger pains from her
stomach. Forgot she had to stop by Candi’s
after church . What kind of weak excuse was
that? Was Candi even home? Toting a bag full of food with no place
to go, Annie thought maybe she should go to