Justified Love (The Southern Gentleman Series Book 1) (26 page)

“Your Honor, the defense would like to call Wynonna Wilson to the stand,” I spoke up not before making notes in my folder.

“Ms. Wilson, that is a beautiful broach,” I said trying to stir the pot a little.

“Thank you. Ms. Parker gave it to me as a birthday present,” she said unwillingly admitting to her close relationship with Paisley’s mother.

“So, you would say you have a close relationship with Ms. Kiki Parker?” I asked.

“You could say that.”

“But you’re not that close? Are you? If you were, you would have known that your husband was having an affair with Kiki Parker, and had given her that broach as a present. Talk about re-gifting,” I said chuckling with the courtroom.

“He just told me he was working out a deal with the bank….” She began.

“What sort of deal Ms. Wilson, and remember you are under oath.” I said knowing I had her so heated she would throw Shepley and Kiki under the bus in a heartbeat.

“Shep said he was working with Kiki on finalizing the development loan, but I knew he was lying. He was spending too much time there. I guess I should have known he was having an affair with her. Shep knew about the property lines for a long time which is how he convinced Kiki to draft the “loan papers,” stating Earl owned the home. Every month they collected money off Earl’s mortgage payments when there wasn’t a loan to begin with. They split the money, and no one was the wiser until Shep got greedy. When Earl stopped making payments on the house, that’s when Shep decided to push the development deal. By doing this, he put a spotlight on himself. I think Shep just thought that no one in this town would challenge him on the issue. Corbin thought Shep was doing the right thing at first when he “sold” the house to Earl, when he did no such thing. Just before Corbin died, he found out what Shep was doing. He wasn’t an ignorant man. The unfortunate thing is, he passed away before he could do anything about it himself,” Wynonna finished with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry Earl,” she sobbed.

“So you admit you were aware that Shep and Kiki were extorting money from Mr. Mason but said nothing?” I asked about to nail this bitch in the face.

“Yes,” she said in disgust.

“That’ll be all, Your Honor.”

Sitting back on the defense bench, Colt leaned over, “How did you know about the affair?”

“Paisley may be smart, but she is awfully materialistic. I saw her wearing the pendant years ago. She must have stolen it from her Mama that night. I figured it out, but wasn’t one hundred percent sure. Seeing the broach, confirmed my suspicions. Sorry to throw her under the bus like that,” I said leaning against the spectator bench.

“No sweat off my back. That’s their problem. I want no part of them anymore,” he gave me an encouraging smile.

“You are doing amazingly out there! That authoritative attitude is sexy as hell. You have me hot over here watching you work that ass across the floor,” he said leaning in to give me a kiss.

“You love this fine ass,” I chuckled sitting back in my chair waiting to see if Shep’s attorney was going to question Ms. Wilson.

“Will the prosecution be questioning the witness?” asked Abernathy.

Looking flustered Shep’s attorney rifled through papers on his desk, “No, Your Honor.”

“Your Honor, the defense would like to call Attorney, Joseph Banks, to the stand.” Looking shocked Shep was not prepared for this witness.

“Hello, Mr. Banks, I said approaching the bench. You’ve been the Wilson family attorney for over forty years, is that correct?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s correct. I’ve been handling their affairs since Shep was a little boy,” he said smiling.

“So, you were extremely close to Corbin Wilson, correct?

“Of course.”

            “And you drafted his will forty years ago, correct?” I asked smiling to the Jury.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“You were fired a couple months ago, after Corbin passed away, is that right?”

“I’m afraid so. Mr. Shepley said I was getting “too old” to represent the family anymore.”

“Interesting. Seems odd how he fired you just after Corbin passed away. Seems awfully strange, doesn’t it?” I asked.

“I thought so myself. I think Mr. Shepley had ulterior motives for my termination though,” he said.

“Mr. Banks, when was the last time Corbin Wilson revised his will?” I asked.

“Objection!” Shep’s attorney yelled. Bingo! I had gotten under Shep’s skin. He knew I was on to him.

“Overruled. You may continue, Ms. Mason,” Abernathy stated.

“Mr. Corbin came in about three months before he died to revise his will,” he divulged.

“That’s funny because the documents Mr. Wilson is saying is the current will, is over forty years old,” I started looking Shep straight in the eye.

“Oh, no, no, Ms. Carrington. He specifically came in to change his will. He came in saying he found out what Shep was doing and needed to make sure he would receive nothing after he passed. I keep all my records locked away in a safe. I gave a copy to Mr. Colton yesterday to look over, especially since he was such an enormous part in the will,” he said smiling at Colton.

“So, is it your assumption that Mr. Shepley fired you because he knew Mr. Corbin had revised his will cutting him out of everything?” I asked with confidence.

“I have no doubt. Mr. Corbin loved Colton he would never leave him out of the will.” I couldn’t help but get a little misty at the omission. Feeling flustered again, Shep’s attorney had nothing. “Would the prosecution like to question the witness?” Judge Abernathy said annoyed.

“Ugh, no, sir,” he said on shaky breath. The jury shook their heads and looked disgusted at Shep and his side of the bench. Round three goes to, Carrington. Let’s put this baby to bed!

“Your Honor, I’d like to call my last witness to the stand; Colton Wilson,” I said with pride. Watching Colt rise to walk to the bench. He was mouthwatering the way he moved.

“Hello, Mr. Wilson, I said almost seductively.

“Hello, Ms. Mason.”

“Would you mind doing me a favor,” I ask with the sweetest smile.

“Anything,” he smiled grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“Would you mind reading this letter that your grandfather, Corbin Wilson, wrote in correlation with his will?” I asked with sympathy in my voice.

“Yes,” he said taking the note.

Dear Colton –

I’m sorry I am not here to see you grow my son. I had planned to stick around and annoy you for another twenty years, but twenty additional years, I did not have. I just wanted to let you know how deeply proud I am of you and the man you’ve become. You have a deep soul that can only be a gift from God and kissed by the angels. I blame myself for the tortured relationship you have with your father. Perhaps if I had loved him more as a child he wouldn’t have grown into the sad man he is today. I was very hard on your father partly because I was mad and angry at myself. When I was your age, I fell in love with the love of my life. I loved your grandmother dearly, but she wasn’t my first love. My first love was Ms. Birdy Mason. We were destined to be together, and your great granddaddy Wilson forbade me to marry her. I resented him for making me marry your grandmother at first, and I resented him even more when we were told to start a family to carry on the name. I took out that anger on your father and pushed him away.  As a result, he acted the same way towards you. That is something I can never take back or apologize enough for. The only thing I can change is the future going forward.

Colton, I know you will respect my wishes and follow through with my last will. I trust you more than I trust anyone in this family. I would like you to give the Mason family farm back to Ms. Birdy Mason. I had originally bought this land and Mr. Johnson’s farm for her and me. I had wanted to get married and raise our children there. When I married, she married as well, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her I still owned it. When Mr. Earl Mason came around and purchased the land, I was extremely happy the house would go to Birdy. Your father isn’t a good man, Colton. When I found out your father was extorting money from Mr. Mason, I decided to draft this new will. This is not how I wanted Birdy to live. Birdy and her family did not deserve this. They are good people. I hope by now you have come to realize that.

With that said, I would like you to have the Johnson farm. I know how much you loved the lake as a child, and I enjoyed our Sunday morning fishing trips. It is a very personal property to me, and I know you will take care of it the way you take care of everything you care about. I am also leaving in your care, my entire estate to do with as you will. Sell it. Give it away, whatever you like. All I ask is that you give half to Birdy.

Colton, one thing I regret most in life, is not standing up for what I loved the most; Birdy. She was, and is, the love of my life. You remind me so much of myself, son. Please promise me this when you find true love, not puppy love, but an earth shattering true love, never let go. You hold on tight no matter what obstacles may come your way. I’ve watched you throughout the years and I’ve seen that love in your eyes. I saw it in your eyes ever since you were little. I know true love when I see it, and I see it when you look at Birdy’s granddaughter Carrington; I can tell that’s your soul mate.

I hope you find this letter well, and you realize what true happiness is. I used to tell my Birdy this all the time but, “love hard.” Don’t let her slip away. You fight for her no matter what either one of your families says. Don’t go to your grave regretting a single thing like me. I will miss you every day and just know that I love you very much.

I love you,

Your Papa

Looking over at Granny, I couldn’t help but give her an enormous smile as she wiped the tears streaming down her face. All this time, I thought she was talking about Granddaddy, but actually, she was talking about Papa Wilson. They may not have those lost years, but at least he left this world telling her how he felt. Had Colt not found this will, Granny would never have had that closure. Thinking about their situation, I’m glad Colt didn’t hold back approaching me. We would never have found each other, and found love as strong as we do. I don’t want to leave this world regretting the time I should have been spending with Colt. Watching him read the letter out loud just made me fall in love with him so much more.

Not trying to make the whole courtroom cry, I couldn’t help but feel good about bringing justice to the right people. All I ever wanted to do, since I was little was defend those who couldn’t defend themselves. I just hope it wasn’t too late. Maybe all there’s left to do is sit and wait for the verdict.

Walking back from the bench and sitting on the defendant’s side, Dad gave me a hug. “I am so proud of you, Care Bear.”

Leaning over the spectator’s bench I actually saw Harley crying.

“Well, look at you. The Ice Queen does have a heart,” I said giving her hell.

“Oh, shut the hell up, hooker, before I beat your ass and we’re back in court for friendship abuse,” she said with love.

I turned to Chuck, “You need to handle that.”

“Oh, hell no, that’s not my responsibility. That’s all on you as one of her best friends,” he said.

“I think it’s so sweet. The profession of love to someone is so romantic,” Skye said.

“Yeah, and so is a blow job, but you don’t see me doing that in public. Do you?” Chuck said.

“Really, Chuck?” He didn’t respond but just smiled like a goon.

Sitting in the courtroom, I couldn’t help but notice Paisley throwing icicle glares at me. Cocking an eyebrow, I dared her to approach me. As she stood up and started to move towards me, I felt like a new person. No longer would I allow Paisley Parker to dictate my emotions.