Read IN FOR A PENNY (The Granny Series) for Free Online

truck, she might climb into her bed, pull up the covers and not come out until someone came to cart her away. “How much do I owe you?”
    Darrell flipped through a catalog on the counter. “Those new fiberglass extension ladders are pretty precious. You’re looking at three and a quarter.”
    Over three hundred dollars for a ladder. Lillian swallowed, trying to cover her shock. That kind of money for something you climbed? She’d hoped to pay cash, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen. “You know, I just realized I forgot my wallet. Would you mind putting it on the Summer Haven account?” She added that to her mental list. Another thing she needed to take care of so Maggie wouldn’t have to. God knew that big old house was enough of a financial burden without her compounding the problem.
    “Sure thing, Miz Lillian.” He jotted down the figure on a sticky note, stuck it to his register and then headed for the stockroom. “I’ll just go in the back and get that for you.”
    Lord, if only that piece of paper would come loose and get lost somewhere.
    She was just reaching for it when the warthog bellowed again.
    Lillian jerked her hand back and turned to find Angelina Broussard, owner of Broussard Bed and Breakfast and the woman who headed up all the Summer Shoals holiday celebrations, entering the store.
    “I saw your car parked out front. You’ve been hard to catch up with lately.” The woman tugged an envelope from a pocket on her huge designer handbag and thrust it in Lillian’s direction.
    Lillian took the envelope and flipped it over. The golden seal and fancy lettering on the front were high quality. “What is this?”
    A smile spread across Angelina’s face. That grin was so wide and her lipstick so bright that she seemed to transform into the Joker right in front of Lillian. “Honey, I’m the president-elect of the brand new Bartell County Historical Society.”
    “The what?”
    “Oh, yes. You haven’t heard?” Angelina fluttered a hand against her chest. Lillian knew darn well that Angelina had likely gone great lengths to keep the news of that committee out of her earshot. If anyone belonged on that committee it was Lillian Summer Fairview!
    “Anyway,” Angelina said. “We’re doing site visits to all the historical markers in the county to ensure they are up to the standards we see fit for our reputation.”
    “You’re mistaken, dear.” Lillian folded her arms and tried to steady her voice. No way was she letting Angelina and her posse traipse around the estate. “Summer Haven is not locally registered, it’s nationally registered.”
    “Yes. Exactly my point, dear .” Angelina placed her hand on Lillian’s arm. “The national registrars don’t care if the place is falling apart. We’re looking to raise those standards for Bartell County. We’ll help you. Don’t you worry.”
    “Summer Haven is just fine, thank you very much.” Lillian lifted her chin and bit down hard to keep it from trembling.
    “We’ll see. It’s all in the letter. Our site visit to Summer Haven is scheduled for the first week in August.” That bright-lipped smile was back. “You’ll want to be sure everything is shipshape or well…”
    Yes, what Lillian wanted to say was better left unsaid as well.
    “Oh, and by the way, while I’ve got you,” Angelina added, “I wanted to chat about the July Fourth plans.”
    Lillian’s heart cringed and tried to hide somewhere behind her lungs. This woman was bound and determined to get her goat one way or the other. “So early? You’re really on a roll this year.”
    Angelina cocked her head. “Early? It’s less than a month away.”
    All that mattered to Lillian was that it was more than twelve days in the future.
    “I know it really goes without asking, but I wanted to confirm that you’ll lead the parade in your daddy’s car like you always do.”
    Even if she were going to be around, she’d be hard-pressed to do this woman any favors after