The Widow and the Will

by J. Thomas-Like

  “Don’t be silly,” Ruth scolded. “She’s my daughter. You think I’m going to leave her here by herself?”

  “That’s exactly what you’re going to do,” Lilly insisted gently. “You guys are exhausted. I’ll be fine; we’ll be fine. Please. Go home. I’ll call you in the morning, I promise.”

  She knew her mother was about to argue, but for once her father stepped in and took control. Usually, he let Ruth have her way in all things child related, but this time he followed his eldest daughter’s lead. “She’s right, honey. It’s all over now. Let’s go home and get some sleep. We can come back first thing tomorrow.”

  Not ready to let go just yet, Ruth opened and closed her mouth several times before grabbing Lilly for a hug. “All right. Fine. But we’ll probably see you before you can even call.”

  “Okay, Mom.” Lilly gave her a tight squeeze before breaking the embrace.

  When her parents finally left and they were out of sight, she slumped against the wall and dropped her head into her hands. Hudson rushed to her side and put his hand on her arm. “What’s wrong? Lilly?”

  “Nothing, nothing,” she sighed, flapping her hands at him. “I’m just tired.” She found a reserve of energy from somewhere inside and stood up straight. She shook her shoulders and snapped her head from side to side. She looked at Ford and wondered how he was still standing. He looked as used up as she felt with dried blood all over his pants. “I’m sorry they wouldn’t let you see her in the ER, Ford. The whole ‘not family’ thing.”

  Ford shook his head and put his hands out. “Don’t worry about it. They told me she was all right and that was good enough.”

  Oh, he’s lying through his teeth. If I don’t let him in that room soon, he’s going to go insane.

  “Can we see her for a minute?” Hudson asked, glancing through the doorway.

  “She’s asleep, but I guess it’d be okay for a minute.” Lilly nodded at Ford, but then grabbed Hudson by the arm to keep him from going in, too. “Let your brother go first.”

  Hudson gave her a strange look, but stopped his forward motion as Ford practically ran into the room. “What’s going on?”

  “Come sit with me for a minute.” Lilly took his hand and pulled him down the hall to a little nook with chairs. She pushed him into one and then sat in another beside him. “I think there’s something you need to know.”

  Maybe it wasn’t her place to tell Hudson about the budding feelings between Ford and Tess, but Lilly knew the situation had changed. She figured it was better if she explained things to Hudson first before he could misunderstand.

  “I don’t really know how to tell you this,” she began, “but Ford and Tess have a little, uh, thing going.”

  Hudson shook his head and his eyebrows lowered. “What? No. What are you talking about?”

  Taking a deep breath, Lilly told him about the night her sister and Ford hooked up and how both of them were into each other, but weren’t really ready to admit it yet. With everything that had happened in the last day, Lilly knew that was going to change. “I don’t tell you this to cause trouble or hurt your feelings, Hudson. I just wanted you to be prepared for whatever happens next.”

  “Prepared? How can I be prepared if I don’t even understand what you’re talking about!”

  Lilly sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I think you understand perfectly. They each had a little crush and then they hooked up. They tried to deny how much they liked one another, but what happened today is either going to bring them closer or push them apart for good. I think from this point on, we need to stay out of it and let whatever is going to happen, happen naturally.”

  Hudson stood up and paced around in the little alcove. “Why wouldn’t Ford just tell me?”

  “I don’t know,” Lilly admitted. “Maye he thought you had a thing for Tess and he didn’t want to hurt your feelings?”

  “Jesus,” Hudson breathed. “We did have a talk about that a while ago. He told me I needed to focus on her like she was a client, nothing more. I’d say that was pretty hypocritical, wouldn’t you? I mean, if he wanted her, he should have said something. But she’s his client too, I mean, like–” Hudson stammered, his thoughts all over the place. Lilly felt sorry for him and began to second guess her decision to say anything to him.

  “Look, I shouldn’t have said anything to you.”

  Taking a deep breath, Hudson sat back down and looked into her eyes. “No, you did the right thing. Something’s been off for a while with Ford and I would never have guessed Tess was the reason. I’m glad I know.”

  Lilly played with the cuticles on her fingers, suddenly feeling a little shy. “Do you have a thing for Tess?” she asked softly.

  Hudson didn’t answer right away. “No. In the beginning, I guess I was a little infatuated with her, but I decided a while ago that I had to think of her like a client and nothing else. I kind of thought she wasn’t over Jack yet. Not to mention I could lose my license if I got involved with a client.”

  “Oh, she’ll never get over Jack. He’s going to be in her heart for the rest of her life. But she’s a smart girl. Strong. She was already moving into accepting what happened before this whole mess started.”

  Hudson stared at his hands as he leaned over and dangled them between his knees. “Well, I knew Jack a little. I knew I’d never be able to really see her without seeing Jack too. Does that make sense?”

  “Yep. Perfect.” Lilly smiled and leaned her head on her hand. “That’s how you know it wasn’t meant to be with Tess. So you can’t be jealous.”

  “Yeah,” Hudson agreed. “I’m not jealous. If they want to be together, that’s fine with me. I just wish he’d talked to me about it. I’m his brother, for Christ’s sake. Why didn’t he think he could trust me?”

  Lilly almost couldn’t focus on the words he was saying because she was so relieved to hear Hudson say he wasn’t jealous or angry. “I don’t think it’s about trusting you, or you trusting him. I think Ford’s got issues with trusting himself.”

  Hudson shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe. We didn’t exactly have the best role models growing up.” He looked sideways at Lilly and gave her a rueful grin. “He thinks I don’t know about a lot of what happened when we were kids, but I know more than he thinks.”

  Lilly screwed up her courage and reached to take one of Hudson’s hands in her own. “It sounds to me like you two need to have some honest conversations.”

  “Shit,” Hudson scoffed. “Why start now? All that’s in the past.” He surprised her by not letting go, their fingers remaining intertwined as they sat beside one another.

  “Not if it’s going to negatively affect your future.” Lilly’s left eyebrow rose in a skeptical way. “You can save all that for another time, though. For right now, just let the two of them do whatever they need to do. Okay?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  * * * * *

  Hudson watched as Ford sat on the edge of the bed, holding Tess’s hand and stroking her fingers. He was whispering to her, but he couldn’t hear what his brother was saying. Maybe that’s a good thing. I probably shouldn’t even be spying like this.

  Hudson was torn. He wanted to go in and punch his brother in the face for keeping secrets. He also wanted to see his brother happy. And the way he looked at Tess, it was obvious she made him happy in spite of himself.

  Chapter 60

  Ford didn’t want to leave the hospital, but Ruth Langford unceremoniously evicted him, saying that if she saw him again before he’d gotten at least six hours of sleep and a shower, she would personally kick his butt. She and Harry had arrived to find him sitting in the chair he’d pulled next to Tess’s bed and slumped with his head next to their daughter’s lap, sound asleep.

  Not wanting to argue with the mother of the woman he was now in love with, Ford had accepted his banishment, promising to come back later. He still hadn’t spoken to Tess about his feelings because the pain meds had kept her asleep the entire night. It didn’
t matter. There would be plenty of time for the two of them to hash things out.

  As he drove back to his place, he had plenty of time to think about everything that had happened the day before. The hour-plus drive should have let him reflect and process, but all he could remember was the feel of Tess’s arms around his neck when he had finally been able to get to her.

  Ford did as he was told and went home to get a shower, but he ignored Ruth’s demand that he get some sleep. Who needed sleep when there was coffee to be had? Dressed in fresh clothes and with the first cup of coffee in his stomach, he decided to go to the office to catch up with his brother. He’d been sending texts and had tried to call a couple of times, but Hudson wasn’t responding. After all the drama of the last few weeks, Ford’s trouble radar was taking a rest and he didn’t think anything of it.

  When he arrived at the office, the door was open, the lights were on and the smell of fresh coffee was thick in the air. “Hey!” he called out as he entered and dropped his helmet and vest on the couch.

  Hudson came out of his office to lean on the doorframe with his arms crossed against his chest. “Hey. How are you?”

  “Okay. I’m good. How come you didn’t call me back?” Ford got a cup of coffee and stepped closer to his brother. “What’s up?”

  Without any warning at all, Hudson’s fist came out of nowhere and landed squarely on Ford’s jaw, sending him stumbling backwards and the coffee cup spiraling through the air splashing liquid everywhere.

  “What the fuck?!” he yelled, rubbing his jaw and charging at his brother.

  “Whoa! Whoa!” Hudson put his hands up, palms out. “Truce!”

  “Truce? You fuckin’ hit me!” Ford ignored his little brother’s surrender and clocked him back, his right fist connecting with Hudson’s stomach.

  “Ooof!” was all the sound he could make as the air whooshed out of his mouth.

  “You don’t ever get a free shot, little brother,” Ford growled. “Now we’re even.” He grabbed some napkins from the coffee stand and threw them down on the spilled coffee, then bent over to retrieve the cup which thankfully had not broken. “Now what the hell was that for?” he asked.

  Hudson was still leaning on the door frame, but in a slightly bent posture as he rubbed his gut. “For lying to me,” he said hoarsely, trying to get his breath.

  “Lying?”

  “About Tess!”

  “Aw, shit.” Ford shoved the cup next to the coffee maker and shuffled over to the couch, where he flopped down, throwing his head back to bang against the wall. “Shit, shit, shit. How did you find out?”

  Hudson joined him and then slapped a hand on his brother’s leg. “Lilly told me.”

  “Oh for God’s sakes!” Ford sighed.

  “What? You didn’t think Tess would tell her sister? You’re dumber than I thought.” Hudson chuckled and assumed the same pose as his brother, so they both were staring at the ceiling. “She told me last night at the hospital, though I probably could have figured it out for myself, the way you charged into her room and wouldn’t leave her side.”

  Ford didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing.

  “It’s all right, brother,” Hudson said after a while. “I’m not mad at you.”

  “Could have fooled me. That was a hell of a punch.”

  Hudson chuckled and nudged him with his shoulder. “You should have just told me. I would have been okay with it.”

  “Bullshit,” Ford spat. “I told you to get your head out of your ass where Tess was concerned. You woulda told me the same thing.”

  “Maybe. But when it was all over, I would have told you to do whatever made you happy.” Hudson lifted his head and stared at his brother. “You know that.”

  “I guess.” Ford rubbed his jaw some more and wiggled it around to relieve the soreness. “This is all new territory for me, brother. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You’ll figure everything out. But you have to promise me one thing.”

  Ford turned to meet his brother’s eyes. “What’s that?”

  “No more secrets, man. Just be honest with me. Talk to me. Okay?”

  Ford didn’t answer right away. He wasn’t sure he could make that kind of promise, even to his baby brother. There was still a lot of shit in his past he didn’t want Hudson to know. If he promised to be honest, he’d just be lying. And a hypocrite. Again.

  “Is it a deal?” Hudson pressed. “No more lying. Just shoot straight with me.”

  “Okay,” Ford finally agreed. “From this point forward, no more secrets.”

  That would have to do. It was the only thing he could say to ease his conscience and satisfy Hudson’s demands.

  * * * * *

  Hudson ignored his brother’s fidgeting and twitching as they drove back to the hospital in St. Clair County where Tess was recovering. He was already pushing the truck past 90 miles an hour, what more did Ford want? Hudson had to admit, though, it was pretty amusing to see his brother as nervous as a groom on his wedding day.

  When they got to the entrance to the hospital, Ford opened the door and began climbing out before Hudson could bring the vehicle to a stop. “Hey! Don’t be an ass!”

  “See you upstairs!” Ford called over his shoulder as he bolted inside.

  Hudson parked and then walked into the hospital, well behind his brother. He punched the button the elevator and waited for one to arrive. When the doors whooshed open, Lilly came out before he could take a step inside.

  “Hey!” she said, before nearly bumping right into him.

  “Hey. How is Tess?”

  “Much better.” Lilly’s eyes were bright with relief and she looked much less stressed than from the night before. “Walk me to my car? I need to get home.”

  “Sure,” Hudson agreed, following her back toward the door. “I thought you left last night, since Ford was going to stay.”

  “No, I didn’t want to go. I slept in that alcove where you and I had our little talk.” Lilly closed one eye and shrugged her shoulders. “I know, I’m an idiot.”

  “Nah. Just a big sister. You and Ford have that protective thing down pat.”

  “It’s a gift.” Lilly chuckled and nudged him in the arm with her shoulder. “Or a curse. I guess it depends on how you look at it.”

  They walked in silence for a while until they reached her car. Instead of getting in, she leaned against the side and squinted up into the sunshine. The day was bright and hot with hardly any clouds in the sky. When Hudson looked at her as she enjoyed the sun on her face, he was struck by just how beautiful she was. Now that she wasn’t in “big sister” mode, the lines in her forehead and around her eyes were almost gone. The corners of her mouth weren’t being dragged down by stress anymore and Hudson could see that Lilly and Tess shared identical smiles. Why didn’t I see this before?

  “You know,” he said, “I’m the only one who hasn’t seen your sister yet. She’s going to think I dropped her case.”

  Lilly’s laugh was clear and true, and her smiling with it made her look happy and full of joy. “No, I don’t think you have to worry about that. She asked about you this morning. But now that Ford’s here, I don’t think she’ll care anymore.” Lilly gave him an exaggerated wink.

  “You’re probably right. But that’s okay.”

  “Did you and your brother talk about things today?” Lilly asked, all serious again. Even though she had changed the subject, she still held on to the radiant happiness Hudson had finally noticed.

  “Uh, yeah. You could say that.” He snickered and told her about their dust up at the office. “I think I’ll have to skip the crunches for a while.”

  “Men are dumb,” Lilly muttered. “I swear.”

  “Yeah, well. Not all siblings can be as perfect as you and Tess.” He smirked and then winked at her, not really able to stop looking at the way her hair shifted lightly with the slow summer breeze.r />
  “I guess you and Ford will just have to take lessons, then.” Lilly batted her eyes cheekily. “I’m glad you worked it out anyway.”

  “For now. You have to admit though, it’s going to be fun watching the two of them while they figure it all out.”

  Lilly nodded in agreement and her laughter filled the air around them again. “Yep. And we have front row seats for it.”

  Chapter 61

  With the pain medicine wearing off, Tess could feel the throbbing in her leg getting worse. She wouldn’t ask for any more, though, because the last thing she needed was to become an addict. The pain would go away eventually and she would just gut it out until it did.

  More than anything, she wanted to go home. The constant fussing from her parents and sister was getting on her nerves faster than she would have expected. Okay, yeah, she got shot. And beat up. But she was fine now. The injuries weren’t serious and Emily was in custody. Mike Andrews was dead. For the first time in a very long time, Tess felt like everything was going to be all right. The knot of anxiety that was constantly in the pit of her stomach and back of her mind was gone. It disappeared the second she saw the handcuffs around Emily Kingston’s wrists. Now she just wanted to go home and recover there.

  And think about Ford. And Jack. And what the hell she was going to do next. When she thought she was going to die and there were only moments left, her final thoughts hadn’t been for her parents or sister, or even just Jack. Tess had thought of Ford and how many regrets she had about him and what went on between them.

  When Jack died, it had crushed her heart. She had been lost and alone and hadn’t thought she could go on living without him for a while. But there hadn’t been any regrets. She had been honest and true to him, loving him with all her heart in spite of any of the worries or doubts she had before the wedding. Not a day had gone by in their short lives where they didn’t tell each other how much they loved one another. There hadn’t been any secrets or half-truths. Tess couldn’t look back on their time together and think, oh I wish I’d done this or that.