Lilac Lane by Sherryl Woods

Author:Sherryl Woods
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA Books
Published: 2017-11-23T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

After waiting for Kiera to leave, Nell crossed Sally’s and stared into the upturned faces of her granddaughter and the wives of two of her grandsons and saw suspicion written all over them.

“What?” she asked innocently, pulling out a chair and joining them,

“Your timing is impeccable as usual, Gram,” Bree noted. “Kiera’s just left so I have a feeling your arrival was no coincidence.”

“You know I like visiting with all of you here from time to time,” Nell responded.

“Agreed,” Bree said, then waited patiently.

Nell frowned at her, but felt compelled to add, “I like catching up on all the family gossip.”

It was obviously not the best answer she could have given. The three young women exchanged amused glances.

“And Sunday dinners at Mick’s don’t keep you up-to-date?” Heather asked. “There’s very little that escapes your notice there. The rumor is that you have eyes in the back of your head and the kind of hearing that people half your age would envy. And the visits to the pub during the week usually fill in any blanks.”

Nell studied her with a narrowed gaze. “Are you suggesting that I have an ulterior motive for wanting to spend time with you this morning?”

“That is exactly what she’s suggesting,” Bree confirmed. “I’m inclined to agree. So what’s up? We’ve already heard that you corralled Kiera and Bryan to be on your festival committee this year. Given that those two reportedly get along like oil and water, despite what my father thinks he saw when he ran into them at Panini Bistro a few weeks ago, what’s going on in that devious mind of yours?”

Nell regarded them with as much indignation as she could muster since Bree and Heather, at least, had pretty much caught her. “Devious, is it? Is that any way to speak to your grandmother? I thought I taught you to be more respectful of your elders.”

Bree merely laughed. “Nice try playing the grandmother card, but we all know you too well. What are you up to? And how are we involved?”

As much as she’d hoped to get their involvement without them being aware that they were being manipulated, she saw that simply wasn’t going to happen. They’d known her too long and, in some troubling ways, were too much like her. She might have passed the meddling gene on to Mick, but until now she’d thought it had skipped right over the next generation. Apparently not.

“Okay, if I come clean, do you all swear that you won’t reveal my plan, not even to your husbands, cousins or siblings? I suppose I should mention parents, aunts and uncles, too, just to cover all the bases.”

Bree laughed. “We’ll keep our lips tightly sealed,” she promised.

“Unless we think someone could get hurt,” Heather corrected mildly.

“Nobody is going to get hurt,” Nell said impatiently. “The goal is to have people living happily ever after.”

“Isn’t it always?” Shanna murmured.

Nell turned to her. “I heard that.”

“I meant for you to,” her granddaughter-in-law said, undeterred by Nell’s scowl.

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