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as sweet as she was as a child. Although I do
worry about her, I have hopes that she will even­
tually allow herself the blessings she deserves.
As Mary continued to read, she was surprised
how often her name appeared, but more how joyful
Mrs. McQueeth s year had been. Her friends, her
activities she had lived every moment to the ful­
lest and even discussed the man she called  My
Heart. Mary smiled as she continued to read, then
gasped when a certain name jumped out at her.
Edmund came over today as he always does.
Edmund had visited her? When? Mary continued
to read in disbelief.
He took me to the museum as he promised.
He knows that I get lonely when the anniversary
of Luella s death comes by. He even brought a
cake to celebrate her birthday.
And another entry.
We visited the cemetery today. Edmund
showed me where his grandparents are buried.
I know it hurts him to talk about them, but he
trusts an old woman and I use that to draw him
234 Power Play
out.He doesn t trust easily and that s his failing,
but with time he will learn.
And another.
We bought the ring for Mary. It s beautiful.
Edmund thought it was too plain, but I said it
was perfect.I know my Mary.I can t wait until
he asks her.
And more.
Edmund and I had a little argument today.
He still hasn t asked Mary to marry him.He says
that Mary s not ready. I think he s afraid she ll
say no.He doesn t take rejection well.I told him
that I won t live forever and I want to be at their
wedding. I hope he asks her soon.
Mary slammed the diary shut, unable to read
any more. Pain mingled with disbelief. Twice Ed­
mund had told others he d wanted to marry her?
Why hadn t he told her? She pushed the diary back
in the drawer and closed it. Part of her knew the
answer. She d never given him a chance. She was
the one who d wanted to keep their relationship as
an affair, and that s what she d gotten. It was too
Dara Girard 235
much to take in. She glanced down and noticed a
black feather on the floor. Damn her mother s silly
hats. She spent a fortune on buying them& Mary
stopped. A fortune. Slowly, an idea came to her.
She knew how to raise money for the community.
She said goodbye to some of Mrs. McQueeth s
friends, then left the hall. At home, she immedi­
ately called Jenna.  I need your help.
Chapter 13
They met for lunch along with Mrs. Davis and Mrs.
Lemon. And Mary told them of her idea. With the
government funding temporarily on hold, the com­
munity needed some form of fund-raiser, or Edmund
and the other investors and, most important, the resi­
dents would lose everything. Mary wanted to hold
an auction and use Jenna s contacts to help her.
Jenna immediately contacted the home office
for Madison s Hats, and used her business savvy
to negotiate an unbelievably low price for the large
number of items she purchased from them.
Dara Girard 237
They agreed to provide a total of one hundred
hats, each costing an average of five hundred dollars,
plus one hundred designer bags and shoes to match.
Following several planning meetings they agreed to
use the residents as models, and Mrs. Lemon
amazed them all by getting the grand ballroom of
the famous downtown Yardley Hotel for the event
and having them cover all costs. Mary engaged the
help of Rania and Cynthia from the hair salon to do
the makeup and style their models hair for the event.
The residents were beside themselves. Rania offered
to loan clothing for the event and the excitement of
the upcoming event renewed the community.
Edmund felt it, too, although he was careful not
to be too close to it. Mary wanted him out of her
life and for now it would stay that way. He d seen
her at the funeral, but she d disappeared before he
had a chance to say anything. Unfortunately, he
had to hear about how wonderful and brilliant Mary
was from Jenna and his mother. Although it hurt,
he liked to know that she was happy. That night he
fell on his couch, exhausted from another tedious
meeting of investors, taking back their money. He
had already sold a property to cover some of the lost
revenue. After watching a sitcom on TV he
promptly fell asleep.
238 Power Play
He didn t dream at first, then he imagined
Mary s voice calling for him.
 Edmund, please help me!
He couldn t believe how real it sounded.  I
always will, he mumbled.
 Please, Edmund, I need you!
Edmund slowly woke up. The pounding contin­
ued. His eyes flew open. He dashed to the door and
swung it open. His heart leaped at the sight of her,
then constricted with worry by the look on her face.
He gripped the door frame to keep from touch­
ing her.  What s wrong?
She held up what lay cradled in her arms.  It s
Cammie. She s been panting and she s hot to the
touch. When I called my vet he said she s likely
overheated and to just put her into a cooler area,
but she hasn t cooled down yet and I don t know
what to do.
Edmund took Cammie from her.  I do. He [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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