A breeze moved through the trees.
No answer came, not in any mystical sense. But Dorothy found her eyes resting on the daffodils—bright against the dark ground, impossible and stubborn.
Colleen had loved daffodils because they returned after every winter no matter how ugly it had been.
Dorothy stood.
Then she went back to the hotel, ironed her navy dress, set out three tiny onesies for the babies’ next visit, and prepared to finish what Colleen had started.
Part 5
The final hearing began on a Monday under the same fluorescent lights and stale coffee smell as the first, but the room felt different.
Not calmer.
Sharper.
Truth had a way of changing the temperature of a space.
Grant did not bring Whitfield Bradford this time. Rumor had it the older attorney withdrew after the fraud issue deepened. His replacement was younger, eager, and already defeated in the eyes. Laurel Ashford was absent. She had not answered Grant’s calls in nearly two weeks. Society women forgave affairs. They did not forgive scandal that showed up in newspapers.
Dorothy sat beside Emmett with Colleen’s first letter in her purse and both hands folded neatly in her lap to stop them from trembling.