No Defense Read Online Free PDF Page B

exaggerating
the delay to create suspense. He stopped reading, loosened his tie,
and ran his hand back through his hair.
    “Ah-hah,” he said, reading again. “To Ms.
LuAnn Hagerdarn Garrett.”
    “What?” I asked, astounded. My feet fell to
the floor; I sat up at attention, more alert than I’d been all day.
“What?” I said again.
    I wasn’t the only one in shock. Eddie, Buck,
Jane, and Mother couldn’t have looked any more dumbfounded had I
just delivered the twins on the table next to the remains of prime
rib, baked potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. Only Junior and Ben
seemed unruffled.
    “I don’t know what to say,” I said.
    “That’s unusual,” Buck said.
    “‘Thank you’ would be just fine,” my father
said jokingly.
    He walked over, handed me the deed, and
kissed me.
    The deed was dated five days earlier: March
31, 1978.
    “Everything’s set up. When you get to town
y’all can stay in the old house where you grew up,” he said. “The
renters are moving away this month and the house is full of the new
furniture we bought when we moved to the lake. I’ve arranged for
Jolene to come days to look after Jessie and the babies. Your
horse, Glory, has been waiting a long time for you to come home.”
He smiled, looking pleased with himself
    Howard and Mimi Bledsoe followed close
behind Daddy; he shook my hand, she hugged me. Eddie stood up,
leaned over, and snatched the papers out of my hand. He walked over
to the bar, filled his glass with the equivalent of a triple
scotch, and studied the deed.
    “But, Daddy ...” I began. I was bewildered
by this turn of events.
    “You probably need to think about it,
honey,” my father said. “Talk with Eddie. You don’t need to say
anything today.” He sat down again next to Mother. “I know you’ll
do what’s best for you and the children.”
    “Well, I have something to say,” Mother
declared, her usually pale, placid face a bright pink. “What on
earth do you think you’re doing, Newell?”
    I was shocked at this rare display of
boldness on her part. She always agreed with Daddy and, if she
didn’t, would certainly never let on. I loved her because she was
my mother, but I loved her more as an extension of my father, the
role she’d played, without deviation, for as long as I could
remember.
    “I’m taking care of my family, Gladys, just
doing my job,” he said, dismissing her concern.
    Mother walked over to the bar and held out
her hand to Eddie. He gave her the papers and looked at me, his
face showing a mixture of confusion and anger. Then he turned away,
shaking his head slowly.
    Jane’s reaction was equally unenthusiastic.
She scooted her chair back from the table and, frowning, asked,
“How could you possibly run this place and raise three small
children? Why even bother to have them if you’re going to take on
something like this? If I had one--even one--you wouldn’t find me
anywhere but at home with him … or her.”
    “I work now ,” I pointed out.
    “Some people like to work, Jane,” my father
said. “You have never been one of them, that’s all.”
    “That’s true,” Buck said, laughing.
    “If Daddy told you I was a bank robber,
you’d agree with him, wouldn’t you?”Jane asked petulantly.
    “I would not, Jane,” Buck replied,
sulking.
    “And I do too like to work,” Jane said. “I
run our home and I do tons of volunteer work: the Junior League,
the County Hospital Board, the Garden Club, the Church Guild. Who
raised all the money for your new courthouse park, Daddy? Me and
the other Garden Club girls, including Mother, that’s who.”
    “I know you do your share, Jane, just like
your mother, but some people like to have real jobs,” Newell said.
“LuAnn needs to do more than the kind of ladies’ club stuff you do.
And she’s too smart and too good to work for other people. This is
a great opportunity for her to quit those pissantjobs she’s had to
take in Atlanta and have something of her own.”
    I