The Widow and the Will

by J. Thomas-Like

  Usually, Ford just did whatever Hudson wanted him to do. He didn’t get emotionally involved or invested in any of the cases they took on. But this one was different. He admitted to himself that she reminded him of the type of woman he used to go for, back when he was a normal guy. More years than he cared to remember ago, he wouldn’t have hesitated to pursue a girl who looked like Tess, when he was the captain of the football team and cute blonde girls were the head cheerleaders. But that was before shit got real in his life and he took a different path. Since then, his perception of life and himself had become somewhat altered. Nice, cute, blonde girls weren’t in the cards for him anymore.

  That didn’t mean he couldn’t fight hard for this one, though. Ford had plenty of contacts in plenty of places. He wouldn’t hesitate to use every single one of them to make sure Tess Kingston ended up with the result she deserved.

  Chapter 12

  Tess contemplated the pile of paperwork at her feet and reached for the first few pages. She had finally gone through every scrap in Jack’s desk and filtered out everything she thought needed saving. A few years’ tax returns, a couple of years of bank statements, just in case they still weren’t available online for downloading. Other than that, the rest of the utility bills and miscellaneous nonsense Jack had squirreled away was ready for the shredder. She fed a few sheets into it and smirked when the loud whirring noise made the cats flee the room.

  Tess’s own rummaging had not yielded anything more than Lilly’s had. She found nothing pertaining to Jack’s secret past. If he had gotten copies of the estate documents, he hadn’t kept them at home. If Lilly hadn’t found Hudson’s card, Tess wasn’t sure where she would be right now. She had spent hours reading over the documents her new lawyer had given to her, but little of it made much sense. It was typical legal mumbo jumbo and she was waiting for their meeting on Saturday to get a full explanation.

  To keep busy while she waited, Tess had finally decided to tackle the job of cleaning out the office. All of Jack’s clothes were now boxed up and ready for donation. She hung on to all of his portfolio books of the graphic and web design work he had done over the years. She also couldn’t part with his favorite Detroit Lions football jersey or his pillow.

  It was difficult for Tess to see the boxes and bags piled up to be taken away for some other person or family to use. It seemed so strange to give away things Jack had loved or worn. There was just no reason for her to hold on to them, other than sentimentality. Tess was torn between her heart wanting to keep everything Jack had ever touched and her brain that logically spoke of the spirit of giving and donating so someone else could benefit. She knew it was perfectly normal, but it didn’t keep her from feeling the conflict anyway.

  Only for a minute had Tess considered giving the things to Jack’s family for them to sort out and deal with. Perhaps it would have been the kind and thoughtful thing to do. But because they had been so nasty to her, she couldn’t find it in her heart to have anything more to do with them until she absolutely had to. Tess knew that confrontation was coming and she wanted to put it off for as long as possible. If giving Jack’s things away on her own was a way of doing that, she refused to feel guilty over it. Besides, none of the items in the boxes and bags were from Jack’s childhood or held any value to his mother or father. They were things he had acquired in his adult life with Tess and she felt confident that it was her decision to make.

  When the entire pile was shredded, Tess gathered the bags of minced paper and combined them all into one giant bag. Tossing it into the corner with the other trash, she would haul it out to the dumpster later. The room was decidedly blank now, with all of Jack’s personality stripped from it. Timothy and Spencer hesitantly ventured back in, looking around for the machine that had caused them such fear before. Not seeing it, they both wandered over to her and rubbed against her shins.

  “What should we do with this room, I wonder?” she said out loud to the felines. She wasn’t disappointed when she didn’t receive an answer. “I guess it can be my office now.”

  Tess had given her notice to Dr. Guildford the day before. She called him and explained the situation about the insurance policy, saying she wouldn’t really need to work for a while. Since she was having such a hard time doing a good job for him anymore, she didn’t count on him being as upset as he was by the news. Dr. Guildford had argued with her for fifteen minutes that she could still keep her job, just take an extended leave of absence. A million dollars wouldn’t last forever. He needed her; she was the best transcriptionist he’d ever had. In the end, Tess had told him no and that she was really honored by his disappointment but that she couldn’t in good conscience continue working with him. She agreed to finish the last of her backlogged work, but he would need to find someone else as soon as possible.

  Tess decided it was as good a time as any to honor her promise and finish the last of the transcription. She had told herself she would do that before she started thinking about the insurance money and what to do with it. Until it actually hit her bank account, she wasn’t really sure she believed it was coming.

  In spite of Lilly’s insistence that the windfall was the best thing that could ever have happened, Tess wasn’t so sure. It was true; she’d never really struggled where money was concerned. Her parents had taken good care of her until she was old enough to work and then she had gotten jobs to pay for the things she wanted. A few times she had gotten in over her head with credit card debt, but those were valuable lessons learned. Now, she was going to have hundreds of thousands of dollars at her disposal and the thought was daunting. Her first impulse wasn’t to go out and buy a car or a house or do something stupid. Instead, she was worried about all the tax implications. The coming lawsuit and fight with the Kingstons. What would be left after she paid all the attorneys’ fees? Money, to Tess, wasn’t a Godsend; it was a curse.

  Chapter 13

  “Can I help you?”

  Lilly Langford stepped inside the small office, a business card in her hand. “Yes, I’m looking for Hudson Marks.” She looked around and wasn’t impressed. It certainly wasn’t a silk stocking kind of firm. Not that it mattered, she was really only interested in knowing what kind of a person was representing her sister. Yet, the dingy and somewhat bare office didn’t lend a lot of confidence, to her way of thinking.

  The handsome, tall guy behind the metal desk stood up and came around to extend his hand. “You’ve found him.”

  Lilly took his large hand in hers and gripped it with what she hoped was a decent amount of firmness as she admired his kind eyes and boyishly handsome face. “Nice to meet you. I’m Lilly Langford, Tess’s sister.”

  “Hi!” He looked stunned and did not release her hand right away. Leaning in toward her, his face clouded with concern. “Is everything all right? Is it Tess?”

  Lilly relaxed, deciding that he didn’t seem to be like the jackass lawyers she saw on television. He certainly was good looking enough to be on some crime show, but she didn’t let that blind her. “No, everything is fine. I just wanted to come by and meet the attorney who would be handling her case. She has no idea I’m here.”

  Hudson motioned for her to take a seat on the couch and she did, while he pulled the rolling chair from behind the desk and positioned it a few feet from her.

  “Well,” Hudson said with hesitation, “I can’t really discuss any specifics of the case with you unless Tess is here…” His voice trailed off, a look of embarrassment flitting across his face.

  “I don’t expect you to and I don’t plan on asking any questions.”

  Hudson chuckled. “Just sizing me up?”

  Lilly smiled and nodded. “Something like that.” She made sure to look at him directly, hoping she could convey her concern without coming across as a meddling sister. “I know you met with my folks and Tess already, but I want you to understand a few things. The last six months have been really horrible for my sister. She was just starting to get back to normal when all of
this happened. She brought me up to speed about Jack’s adoption and inheritance and how shitty the Kingstons have treated her so far. I need to make sure you are the right person to take care of her.”

  Hudson rubbed his chin with his hand and nodded. “I understand. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Tess. I’m only three years out of law school, but I’m confident I can handle it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s nothing more than a good old fashioned dog fight. David Kingston might think he’s the bigger dog, but I’m pretty scrappy myself.”

  Lilly laughed and leaned back into the soft leather couch. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. I don’t care if you haven’t been a lawyer very long. What matters is that you have the testicular fortitude to stand up to them. I never liked them. Jack was all right, but the rest of his family is a bunch of pretentious assholes.”

  Hudson laughed with her and she liked the deep, rolling sound that emanated from his chest. He leaned his elbows on his knees. Looking her in the eye, he sobered. “I haven’t met all of them and I’ve only spoken with David on the phone, but I’m inclined to agree. I promise that I will do everything in my power to make things right for Tess.”

  “Thank you,” Lilly said softly, suddenly realizing how close he was to her. He was pretty broad in the shoulders and gave off a strong male presence with the muscular build that she was certain lurked beneath his button down shirt. Struggling to remain calm and reserved, Lilly tried to think of anything but his nearness.

  “Don’t thank me yet. We haven’t done anything.” Hudson straightened and leaned back, crossing one long leg over the other at the knee.

  “We? Do you have a partner?” Lilly cringed inwardly at the way her voice sounded a little breathless and hoped he didn’t notice.

  “Not exactly. My brother works with me. He’s sort of my investigator and law clerk all rolled into one.” He looked as if he would say more, but the door to the office whooshed open. “Speak of the devil.”

  Lilly turned to see a slightly older, considerably grungier version of Hudson stride through the door. His face was covered with five o’clock shadow and he wore jeans, motorcycle boots, a white t-shirt, and black leather vest, in direct contradiction to Hudson’s professional, navy blue suit, clean shaven face, and tidy hair.

  “Good afternoon to you too,” Ford muttered as he walked directly to the coffee pot.

  “Ford, this is Lilly Langford. Tess’s sister.”

  Lilly took the opportunity to stand up and take a step or two away from Hudson. She put out her hand and Ford swiveled to shake it. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses so she couldn’t get a look at them to see if they were just as opposite as his brother’s. She thought he oozed a certain kind of dangerous charisma, but it didn’t give her the nervous jerks like Hudson did. Still, she smiled and tried to be open and friendly with him.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Ford.” She kept her own cornball joke about their names to herself, figuring they’d heard them all before anyway.

  “Same,” he responded as he took the coffee pot to the bathroom to dump it out. When he came back, he didn’t seem all that interested in talking with her and busied himself with making a fresh pot.

  “Would you like some coffee?” Hudson asked. “Ford makes the best.”

  “No, that’s okay.” Lilly shook her head and then took another step toward the door. “I need to get going. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me about this. Please don’t tell Tess that I was here.” Hudson took two steps and was beside her, reaching for the door to open it for her.

  “It’s our secret. When we meet in front of Tess, I’ll pretend like it’s the first time. We’ll probably see a lot of one another in the coming weeks. I’m going to have a lot of questions for Tess and she’ll probably need all the support she can get from her family. I’m glad to know she’ll have it.”

  Lilly smiled and nodded as she stepped out into the humid July heat. Coupled with the warmth she felt just by looking at Hudson, she wasn’t surprised when sweat popped out on her upper lip right away. “She will. You just make sure you do everything you can, or you’ll have me to deal with.” She winked at him and immediately felt like an idiot. How cheesy.

  “You bet.”

  He flashed her one more grin, and Lilly forced herself to walk away before she said any more stupid things. She climbed into her car and headed for her apartment on Little Mack Avenue near the Meijer grocery store, chastising herself the entire way.

  “You’re such an idiot,” Lilly said out loud to her reflection in the rear view mirror as she drove. “Do not get a crush on your sister’s lawyer. Do not!”

  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.”