Ship of Dreams (Dreams Come True Series Book 2) by Rebecca Heflin Read Free Book Online

her father offered excuses. He’s smarter than his teachers. He just needs more stimulation. Or her favorite, He’s got his eye on the Armstrong business and can’t be bothered with mundane schoolwork.
    As for her mother, well, Cherise was too busy with committees, bridge club, hair and nail appointments, and society dinners and gatherings, to help much with the kids. She may have given birth to them, and the jury was still out on that—she couldn’t see her mother willingly participating in such a messy, painful process—but other than making sure Laura was polished and educated so she could find and marry the appropriate man, she had no other role in the upbringing of her children.
    Having no idea what to do with a boy, Cherise left Neil’s upbringing to his father. Big mistake.
    Her father’s disregard turned to unmitigated disdain when at the tender age of twelve she failed on a monumental, and very public, level. While many witnessed her epic failure, no one, not even Darcy, knew the words her father spoke later that evening. And no one ever would.
    After that, she lost all hope of ever gaining her father’s love and affection, much less his respect.
    But she never gave up on being the best she could be. Where she’d once worked hard hoping to gain her father’s attention, if not his love, she now did it for herself alone. She discovered a love of winning, and she loved the praise that came with it, even if it didn’t come from her parents.
    Left to her own devices most of the time, Laura developed a resourcefulness and independence. Science project: she developed her hypothesis, did her research, gathered her supplies, and completed the project, earning high marks. College applications: she wrote her essays, completed her forms, mailed them, fielded any interviews, and arranged for her apartment when she was accepted.
    After being independent for so long, she had no desire to hitch her star to anyone else’s wagon, much less a man’s. Besides, why do that, when she knew she could succeed on her own?
    Laura’s paternal grandmother, Octavia Spencer Armstrong, reigned over her family like a third-world dictator, especially after her husband died. Laura’s paternal grandfather, Parker, had been kind to her during his lifetime. Not overly effusive, but at least he’d paid attention to her. Upon his death when she was only sixteen, he’d left her and her brother substantial trust funds.
    She took control of that fund four years ago at age twenty-five. The money gave her financial independence, so even if her grandmother followed through with her many threats to disinherit her, she’d be secure. She managed her trust fund investments with the same attention to detail as she managed her client accounts.
    Given her financial resources, it was fair to say she didn’t work hard for the money. She worked for the satisfaction of a job done well. She loved the hunt for new accounts, the adrenaline rush, the challenge, and finally, the kill when the agency scored the account. The diversity of the work didn’t hurt.
    Laura knew she couldn’t completely escape from her family’s influence and DNA. She’d learned her haughty stare and overbearing manner from her grandmother, but she liked to think she only dispensed them when they were well-deserved. She’d inherited her father’s workaholic tendencies, her mother’s glorious mane of hair and blue eyes, and her grandfather’s determination.
    It was this determination that often made her and her grandmother butt heads. Her grandmother deplored her ‘loose’ lifestyle, and while her grandmother was outspoken, she found it unflattering in her only granddaughter.
    Laura sighed as her aimless wandering took her to her favorite room, the solarium just off her bedroom that connected with the garden terrace, which thanks to her skillful gardener, bloomed in a riot of color and texture.
    She collapsed into an upholstered chaise and drained the last of her port.