Who is Laurel Conklin from It's Not Summer Without You and what is their importance?

Laurel is Belly's mother. She spent all of her childhood summers at Susannah's beach house. After Susannah's death, Laurel has a hard time getting it together and grieves for her. When her daughter, Belly, calls her from the beach house drunk and crying. Laurel snaps out of her own grief and takes control, convincing her best friend's husband of the beach house's importance to them all.