The Widow and the Will (9 page)

Chapter 14

Only a few minutes before noon, Tess opened the door to Linda’s Place at Shook and Crocker, feeling the rush of air conditioning on her skin. Her arms broke out in gooseflesh. Pushing the strap of her purse higher on her shoulder, she scanned the small restaurant for Hudson Marks. She saw his raised arm at a booth to the left. As she walked to his table, a waitress behind the counter raised a pot of coffee in question and Tess nodded vigorously.

“Good afternoon,” Hudson said with a smile as she slid into the booth across from him.

“We still have three minutes.” She flipped over the mug on the table and slid it to the edge, hoping it would get filled quickly. Her limbs felt heavy with exhaustion, sleep having eluded her much of the night before.

“Rough night?”

“Yeah.” Tess half smiled and sighed. “It’s kind of a given.”

The waitress appeared and dumped a few creamers on the table while she poured the steaming coffee.

“Would you like to order, or do you need a few minutes?”

“Nothing for me, thanks.” Tess grabbed a creamer and opened it.

“Can we have a little while?” Hudson smiled and gave the waitress a wink. She returned it, but said nothing as she left. “Thanks for meeting me here. My office isn’t, uh, let’s just say it’s not the fanciest of places.”

Tess smirked and glanced around at the hole-in-the-wall restaurant. “And this is? Don’t worry about it. I love this place. The food is awesome.”

Hudson’s eyebrows perked in surprise. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

Tess watched him sip his coffee over the edge of her own mug. Setting it down, she took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s get started.”

Hudson tried not to laugh with his mouth full and barely succeeded, to Tess’s amusement. “For as tired as you look, you’re full of piss and vinegar this morning, aren’t you?”

Tess’s mirth vanished. She knew she looked like shit, but she didn’t need this guy reminding her. Her shoulders slumped self-consciously and she lowered her chin, looking to the side. “Yeah, well, it’s either get with the program or stay in bed under the covers for the rest of my life.”

Hudson’s face was awash with shame, making Tess feel a bit more forgiving.

“I understand.” He cleared his throat and took another sip of coffee. “First, before we waste a bunch of time, are you still considering letting the Kingston’s keep any or all of the estate?”

Tess chewed on her bottom lip, trying to figure out how to explain her thoughts about it. It was what kept her up most of the night before. “Not really,” she finally said. “I gotta tell you, I go back and forth on it. One minute I’m pissed off and want to take every cent away. But then I hear Jack’s voice telling me to be a better person. Better than them. And then I get mad again. I don’t know what I’ll do in the end. I guess I want the satisfaction of knowing they’re being called on the carpet for the shitty thing they did to me.”

Hudson listened as she yammered and Tess felt glad that he didn’t seem to judge her.

“Sounds to me like you want to send a message: don’t underestimate me. When it’s all over, you can opt to share the inheritance with them.”

“Yeah. And I probably will, just so you know. But don’t say anything to my parents about it. They’d have a conniption.”

Hudson chuckled. “Mum’s the word. Then let’s get started with an explanation of everything I did for Jack.”

Tess tried to pay attention to Hudson as he explained all of the steps he took to set up Jack’s estate, but her lack of sleep made it nearly impossible to really grasp everything. All the questions she thought she had vanished as he spoke. His patience put her at ease, though, and she knew he would do whatever was necessary to represent and protect her interests. She figured it was why Jack had chosen him in the first place. Hudson’s demeanor exuded confidence and tenacity. She was comfortable believing what he said and following whatever advice he gave. Tess actually felt the relief easing the tension in her shoulders, knowing someone was going to help her figure it all out. She didn’t feel so alone.

“So basically, because he left everything to you, it should have been a pretty simple process.” Hudson looked around for the waitress and motioned her over. She appeared immediately with a fresh pot of coffee and filled their cups again.

“Would you like to order now?”

Hudson grabbed a menu being held up by the mustard and ketchup bottles. “Yep, I’m starved.” When Tess didn’t move to take one too, Hudson nodded at her sternly. “I don’t like to eat alone.”

“All right.” Tess pulled a menu but didn’t bother to look at it. “I’ll have the Farmer’s Special, eggs over-medium, rye toast, pancakes instead of hash browns and four strips of bacon.”

As the waitress scribbled furiously on her pad to keep up, Hudson’s mouth dropped open. “You must be hungry! I’ll have exactly the same.”

“You’ll love it. I told you, the food’s great.” Tess raised her mug in the air toward Hudson and they toasted with coffee.

“This isn’t going to be simple anymore, though, is it?”

“Probably not,” Hudson admitted. “Because David opened the probate estate, we have to refute everything that’s already been filed. In all likelihood, I see a lawsuit coming. They should probably hire an independent lawyer from here on out.”

“Pffft, don’t hold your breath. David will be in charge, I guarantee it, whether they hire someone else or not.”

Hudson chuckled. “I got that impression, too. Let’s just say he wasn’t thrilled to hear from me.”

“He’s an ass.” Tess’s eyes went wide and then she giggled. “Sorry, I guess that was kinda rude.” Rolling her eyes, Tess flapped her hands dismissively. “Jack knew I never really liked David. And after the other day, I sure as hell don’t now.”

“No worries. Your secret is safe with me.” Hudson winked at her. “I tried to schedule an appointment with the family, but David wouldn’t commit to a date or time. I don’t know if you’ll have to go through that or not at this point.”

“Gee, that’s a bright spot at least.” Tess grinned. The longer she spoke with Hudson, the more relaxed she felt. He was giving her reasons to be hopeful and that counted more than any dollars possibly could. “They don’t have a leg to stand on, though, right?” Tess’s eyebrows crinkled slightly as she thought of fighting with her in-laws in court. “Listening to you, it seems pretty airtight. They’ll just fight because they can” It was a statement more than a question, really. She already had her answer from the way they treated her.

“It would seem that way,” Hudson admitted. “But they could do all sorts of stupid things. They could say that Jack was unstable. They could say he didn’t understand the magnitude or scope of his inheritance. And, of course, they could try to drag your good name through the mud.”

Tess snorted. “How do you know I have a good name?”

Hudson smiled and shook his head. “Well, I guess I don’t. You haven’t given me any reason to think otherwise, yet, so I’m going to go with my gut and say you’re a good person.”

“Well, thanks.” Tess pulled a napkin from the dispenser and began to twist it and tug at the edges, making a pile of confetti in front of her.

“Have you read the estate documents yet?”

“Yes.” Tess squirmed. “Sort of. I mean, I don’t really understand it. What you say makes more sense than the words on those pages.”

“Fair enough.” Hudson gave her a sympathetic smile. “Maybe we should do that next, while we eat. I can go over paragraph by paragraph so that you understand exactly what Jack did.”

“That makes sense.”

“Before we do that, I have to fully disclose a couple of things to you.”

Tess’s stomach did a flip flop. She didn’t like the sound of that. She was beginning to hate surprises.

“Now, don’t look at me like that,” Hudson laughed. “You look like I just told you I was going to kill your cats or something!”

Tess laughed and relaxed the slightest bit. “That obvious?”

“Yes. All I want you to know is that I’m a pretty new lawyer. I’ve only been out of school and in practice for about three years. This might turn out to be more complicated than I can handle. If you’d rather find a more experienced attorney now, or even later, I’d understand.”

Tess could tell Hudson was holding his breath by the way he straightened up and waited. Her instincts told her that if Jack trusted him, she should. “I don’t think I need another lawyer. I’m comfortable with you. Besides, you knew Jack personally and saw what he was like when he made all these decisions. Someone new would have to learn all this stuff from scratch and that doesn’t make sense.”

Hudson nodded and Tess watched him take in a deep breath of relief. “Okay, I’m good with that.”

“If you need to get help, I’m good with that too. Just make sure you stay in charge.”

Hudson nodded and then put out his hand toward her. Tess stared at it for a second and then laughed as she shook it.

“It’s a deal.”

Tess looked into his eyes and was boosted by the kindness she saw there. She pulled her hand away and looked down at her coffee. She thought he held on a little too long and there might have been something else in his eyes besides compassion. It had been
years
since anyone besides Jack had looked at her in that way, she couldn’t be sure.
Don’t be an idiot
. She scolded herself and then gave her brain a mental shake to forget about it.

The waitress arrived just then with a large tray overflowing with plates and Tess was grateful for the distraction. As she set all the food down between them, Tess spread a fresh napkin daintily on her lap. Hudson helped take dishes and layer them around the table. He then pulled a copy of Jack’s will out of his briefcase and spread it open between them.

While they ate, he went over each paragraph with her just like he said he would. By the time he reached the last page, they were both almost finished eating and Tess was feeling much better. The long and short of it was that she was the only heir and that Jack and Hudson had done all the legwork to transfer all of the assets so that everything would be hers and hers alone.

Best of all, the life insurance policy naming her as a beneficiary was a non-probate asset and it would be paid to her, regardless of any ensuing litigation. That made her feel like she’d just won the lottery. Trying to remember their meeting at her parents’ house, Tess thought Hudson might have told her that before. Unfortunately, most of that day was gone in a haze now.

“You’ll want to get in touch with a good certified financial planner, too.” Hudson wiped his mouth and then tossed the napkin onto the table.

“My parents have a great guy. I’ll make sure to use him.”

“Good. Even though everything is in the trust’s name, I have a list of the different investment companies and the guys in charge so you can get everything transferred.”

“How soon will I be able to set up the charity Jack wanted?” Tess asked as she forked the last bite of pancake into her mouth. When she initially thumbed through the will, she hadn’t caught the paragraph Jack wrote about having a charity created in his name for the benefit of homeless animals.

“When you get the insurance money you could do anything you want. Unfortunately, you can’t touch any of the other assets right now. Not until the probate case is settled and closed.”

Tess pursed her lips in a thoughtful pout. “That’s okay. I think I can do some pretty good work with a million dollars. It’s not like I have anything else to spend it on.”

Hudson gaped at her. “Are you kidding me? I know about a million things I could do with a million dollars!”

Tess grinned and leaned forward. “What would you do first?”

“Buy a new truck.” Hudson pounded a palm onto the table and the silverware rattled. “Mine is starting to show signs of being on its last legs. But not until I invested at least half of it so it would take care of me for the rest of my life. I’d probably buy a house and a new bike for Ford. I’d donate some.”

“Wow! You’ve thought about this, haven’t you?”

“I’d probably take a vacation. I haven’t had a real vacation since… well, ever. Seems like I’ve been working since I was fourteen.”

“Nice,” Tess said softly. “I guess I’m not that imaginative. When I first found out about the money, all I could think about was taxes and lawyer fees and responsibility.”

Hudson nodded sympathetically. “Yeah. I can see that. Your whole perspective on life has probably been skewed because of Jack’s death. Think about what you would have done with a lottery win of a million dollars if Jack hadn’t died.”

“Ooh, that’s a good one,” Tess breathed, totally caught off guard by the thought. What would they have done with the money? “I guess Jack would have been the one to decide. I mean, he would have asked me what I wanted, but in the end, I would have gone along with whatever he said.”

Hudson frowned. “You don’t seem like the kind of person who’d sit back and let someone else plan your future.”

“Oh no, it’s not like that,” Tess insisted. “Jack and I always talked about everything. We made decisions together. But he thought outside the box. I don’t always do that, so when he would suggest things, they made sense to me. That’s why we were so perfect together. He thought of things I couldn’t.”