Spreading the cards across the kitchen table, Kathleen could compare the testimonies of one person to another and as she did so, a premonition settled in her chest.
It was the same feeling she’d had three years earlier in New York City. She’d been attending Columbia at the time and headed home for the weekend. As she’d neared the Port Authority Bus Terminal, she saw someone up ahead. Despite the drizzle of rain in the air and the dusky sky, he wore sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled low over his forehead. For a full block, he followed a white-haired woman who was moving slowly. When she neared the corner, he broke into a run, knocked her over, snatched the purse from her hand, and disappeared in a flash.
Kathleen had sensed it was going to happen. If she’d called out, he might have run away or perhaps some other bystander would have been at the ready to grab him before he could flee. But she hadn’t called out. She’d done nothing. A trickle of blood ran down the woman’s face as Kathleen helped her to her feet.
“I didn’t see that coming,” the woman said tearfully.
Kathleen had, but she’d said nothing for fear of seeming foolish.
She wouldn’t let that happen again. This time, the premonition of wrongdoing would factor into what she said.
After nearly two hours of studying the cards and weighing one fact against the other, Kathleen sat at the computer and typed up her report, including both the hard facts and her gut feeling. She started with a review of Dominic.
“Although the plaintiff claims he has been denied access to the boy,” she wrote, “I have reason to doubt the truth of his statement.” She went on to say that Dominic’s now-deceased grandmother had a relationship with the child and during the last few months had visited often.
“In view of this, I find it difficult to believe the child’s mother would prevent the birth father from visiting unless she had substantial justification.” She then detailed the Thanksgiving Day incident.
The next two paragraphs were about Tracy and Gabriel. After stating that Tracy was possibly an overly protective mother, she claimed that it was understandable given Lucas’s medical situation. Of Gabriel, she said he was extremely fond of the boy and had expressed hope to one day legally adopt Lucas.
“Through Gabriel Hawke’s testimony, I learned Charlie Barnes, a family friend, often drove Alice DeLuca to visit her great-grandson. When interviewed, Mr. Barnes was a cooperative witness with no apparent reason to color his testimony in either direction.”
She went on to say Charlie Barnes knew for a fact attorney Matthew McGinley had recently prepared a will for Alice DeLuca.
“I have called Mr. McGinley three times but was told he is out of the country and no one can speak on his behalf. Although this is speculation, I believe the will may have a codicil, which might be the impetus behind Mr. DeLuca’s request for guardianship.”
At the end of her five-page summary, Kathleen concluded that, in her opinion, the child would be best served if guardianship was denied and supervised visits allowed.
Kathleen Miller’s report arrived in Judge Kingston’s box on Tuesday morning. When he first received Hiram Selby’s appeal for guardianship, Judge Kingston had thought the problem was a negligent mother, but after reading over the report, it appeared otherwise. He read it through a second time, then phoned Hiram.
“Have you read the psychologist’s report on the parties involved in this case?” he asked.
“Yes, I’ve read it,” Hiram said, “but the report has a rather biased slant, don’t you think?”
“In what way?” the judge asked.
“It favors the defendant based solely on the basis of motherhood. Plus, these allegations of a will providing some ulterior motive are ridiculous. My client is Alice DeLuca’s only heir. The fact that he will most certainly inherit the residence and farm only increases the legitimacy of his claim to have the child’s best interests at heart. I would think it’s obvious he would like to pass the property on to his son one day.”
“I’ll be the one to decide what’s obvious,” the judge replied sharply.
When Judge Kingston hung up, he sat there drumming his fingers on the desk, trying to remember if he’d ever before heard a plea from Hiram Selby. Then it came to him: he’d known this lawyer back when he’d worked civil law. The guy was an ambulance chaser who’d filed an endless stream of nuisance lawsuits, which inevitably settled out of court.
“Not this time,” he grumbled and rifled through the pages of Kathleen’s report in search of the lawyer who’d failed to return her calls.
Matthew McGinley was at the office early Monday morning. He’d arrived back in the US on Sunday, but with the time difference, he was bleary-eyed and exhausted. By three o’clock, the endless pile of documents awaiting him began to blur, and he found himself nodding off. Deciding to take the remainder of the afternoon off, he promised himself he’d plow through the remainder the next day.
When Judge Kingston called on Tuesday morning, Matthew had yet to reach the death notification put there by Pamela.
“Why hasn’t Alice DeLuca’s will been filed for probate?” the judge asked.
Just the fact that Alice DeLuca was dead came as a surprise to Matthew, and beyond that, he couldn’t imagine why the will hadn’t gone to probate.
“I’ll check into it and get back to you,” he said.
“Make it today!” Kingston said and hung up.
“Pamela!” Matthew yelled. “Why wasn’t the DeLuca will sent to probate?”
A second later she was standing in front of his desk, her hands set squarely on her hips. “In case you don’t remember, you told me not to disturb you on vacation unless it was critical.”
“Submitting a notarized will for probate is a routine matter,” he said sharply. “Why didn’t you just go ahead and send it?”
She narrowed her eyes and gave him a petulant glare. “You have a note in the file indicating you want to handle this personally because of Mrs. DeLuca’s letters!”
“Gosh, you’re right,” he said, sounding apologetic. “I’d forgotten about that.” He thought back to the afternoon Alice gave him the letters to be handed out at the reading of the will. She’d said there was bound to be anger over some of the decisions she’d made, and hopefully the letters would clarify things. He’d promised to see to it personally, and that’s exactly what he was going to do.
Before the hour was out, Pamela had called everyone and told each of them the reading of Alice’s will was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at two o’clock.
“Tomorrow?” Dominic exclaimed. He’d been hoping to first be awarded guardianship so he’d be ready regardless of what Alice had decided. “I can’t make it that soon,” he said. “Hold off for a few weeks.”
Pamela informed him that Mr. McGinley said regardless of who was there, the reading would be held at the scheduled time.
Once the meeting was set, Matthew called Judge Kingston back. He informed him that the will was to be read the following afternoon and before end of business would be submitted for probate.
“Send me a copy,” the judge said. Almost as an afterthought, he asked, “Is there anything in the will that would make it more advantageous for whoever was the guardian of her great-grandson?”
“No,” Matthew said earnestly. “Nothing.”
The judge’s next phone call was to Hiram Selby. Without mincing words, he said, “This appears to be a frivolous lawsuit with little justification. My understanding is that the defendant will agree to supervised visitation, and I think your client would be well advised to accept that compromise and move on.”
“With all due respect, Your Honor, my client will never go along with that. He is prepared to be flexible on shared custody but adamant about the guardianship issue. He feels it’s imperative he be involved in decisions regarding the boy’s future.”
Running low on patience, Judge Kingston cut to the chase. “I don’t suppose the terms of his grandmother’s will have anything to do with Mr. DeL
uca’s sudden need for guardianship. Or do they?”
“Absolutely not, Your Honor. My client’s pursuit of this is only in the best interests—”
“Yes, I know,” the judge said cynically. “In the best interests of the child. We’ll see about that. I’ll have a copy of the will on my desk tomorrow, so on Thursday morning, I want to see you and opposing counsel here in my office.”
“Of course, Your Honor.”
As he replaced the receiver, Hiram Selby suspected he had a problem.
That same afternoon, Hiram called Prescott Anderson and made one last plea for a settlement.
“We’re willing to drop shared custody if your client will go along with guardianship.”
“No deal,” Prescott said. “Judge Kingston has advised that it would be better for all concerned to wait until after the will is read.”
66
Reading of the Will
When Gabriel got the call from Pamela asking that he attend the reading of Alice DeLuca’s will, he questioned it.
“I think there’s been a mistake,” he said. “The person you’re probably looking for is Tracy Briggs, Lucas’s mom.”
Pamela bristled. After having been chastised for not bringing immediate attention to Alice’s death notice, she was none too anxious to have another mistake laid at her feet.
“Mr. McGinley specified you should be there, and I most certainly have not made a mistake,” she said curtly, then hung up before Gabriel could ask a question.
He sat wondering about it for a few moments, then called Tracy.
“Alice’s lawyer just called and asked for me to be at the reading of her will tomorrow afternoon. Do you know why?”
Sounding almost as confused as Gabriel, Tracy said, “I got the same call, and they asked me to bring Lucas. After being so snippy with the psychologist, I’m worried that . . .” Her voice trailed off as if the thought was too painful to finish.
“This lawyer has nothing to do with the custody issue,” Gabriel assured her. “This is about Alice’s will, but I can’t imagine what.”
Tracy gave a weighted sigh. “I’m sure Dominic will be there, and I’m not looking forward to seeing him. The last time we saw each other, he tried to yank Lucas out of my arms.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that happening again. We’re meeting in the lawyer’s office, so he’ll behave himself.”
Tracy started to say that even Dominic’s best behavior was questionable, but she held back. Hopefully Gabriel was right and things would go smoother than she anticipated.
That night, Tracy found sleep almost impossible to come by. As soon as she dismissed the thought of one worry, another cropped up. Knowing Dominic as she did, she couldn’t help but wonder if this meeting was some kind of ploy to give him a say in Lucas’s life.
The thought brought tears to her eyes. Moments later, a tear rolled down her face, and she tasted the salt of it. Regardless of the cost, she had to make certain this didn’t happen. Letting Dominic back into Lucas’s life meant he’d be back in hers. He was clever and skilled at gaining an advantage. Dominic could take a single word and turn it into an argument. Sooner or later he’d find a way to cause friction between her and Gabriel.
Dominic could afford to gamble, because he had nothing to lose. She had everything.
After a night of sleeplessness, Tracy woke weary and with red-rimmed eyes. She dressed in black slacks and a matching sweater, which made her skin appear even paler than it was. Skipping breakfast, she went into the Snip ’n Save office, booted up the computer, and for the next fifteen minutes just sat there, staring at the screen.
Finally, she opened the filler ad for the Chamber of Commerce and tried moving some type around. She added a panoramic photo of the shops on Main Street, then decided it didn’t look right and deleted it. After almost an hour of achieving nothing, she powered down the computer, went into the kitchen, and sat across from Lila.
“I’m worried, Mama.” Her words were small and as helpless sounding as they’d been when she was a child.
“About what?” Lila asked.
Tracy shrugged. “Dominic, I guess. He’s going to be there today, and I have no idea what he’ll do. You know he always had a way of . . . of manipulating . . .” Her eyes welled up again.
Lila stood, came around the table, and hugged her daughter from behind. She leaned forward and pressed her cheek to Tracy’s.
“You’ve got to stop believing that,” she said. “Dominic has no power over you. Maybe he did at one time, but you’re not the same person you were back then. You’re a woman now. A mama. The love you have for your son has made you way more powerful than Dominic; you just haven’t realized it yet.”
Tracy turned and looked into her mama’s face. “Really?”
Lila nodded. “Really.”
Before Gabriel came to pick them up, Tracy had changed into a rose-colored silk dress and brushed a stroke of blush across her cheeks. Once she and Lucas were dressed and ready to go, they sat together on the front porch swing, and she explained they would be meeting his daddy.
“Last time was different, because I was surprised at him showing up,” she said. “But this time, we know he’ll be there, so when he talks to you, you need to be nice. Even though Dominic hasn’t been around for a long while, he’s still your daddy.”
“But . . .” Lucas sat there, looking confused. “You said Mr. Gabwiel—”
“Gabriel will be your second daddy. So, just like you had two grandmas, you’ll have two daddies. One who will live with us and be there every morning to take you to school, and one who was there when you were first born.”
“I don’t wemember a first-bown daddy . . .”
“That’s okay. You need to be nice anyway.”
Lucas still looked bewildered when Gabriel pulled into the driveway.
Charlie Barnes was sitting in the reception room when they arrived for the meeting. It was the first time Tracy had seen him since the funeral. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, “We’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed coming over,” he replied. “Being without Alice is hard.”
Remembering the tales Alice told of how Charlie had handled the repairs around the farm, Gabriel said, “If you’re looking for something to keep you busy, we can always use a handyman at the school.”
Charlie gave a grin and nodded. “I just might take you up on that.”
Dominic walked in a few minutes later, and the conversation came to an abrupt halt. Before he had both feet through the door, he spied Gabriel sitting next to Tracy with Lucas on his lap. The sight of Tracy with her shoulder leaning against his made their relationship obvious.
Looking across with his brows hooded and his jaw clenched, he asked, “What’s he doing here?”
“Alice wanted Gabriel to be here,” Tracy replied.
“Why?”
She felt the color rising in her cheeks. Without even trying, he could still get her riled.
“How would I know?” she answered sharply.
That old feeling of anger was still there, just beneath the surface of her skin. One wrong word, one heckling remark, one dig from the past, and it would break loose. Suddenly she felt Gabriel’s hand on her arm, firm, reassuring, holding the anger in check.
Dominic flopped down in the chair directly across from her. He sat with his legs stretched out and splayed as if he were claiming the territory and warning her not to encroach on it. When Tracy ignored him, he turned to Gabriel.
“You wanna let go of my boy so he can come talk to his real daddy?”
Gabriel glanced over at Tracy, and she gave a nod of approval. It was the behavior she’d expected, and she’d forewarned Gabriel. It was true Dominic was Lucas’s daddy, but it was a painful truth neither of them wanted to accept. Gabriel reluctantly lifted Lucas from his lap and stood him on the floor. “It’s okay, Lucas. Go say hi.”
Lucas looked up, wide-eyed, and shook his head.
“
Don’t be frightened,” Tracy said. “Remember we talked about this at home? Dominic is the daddy who was there when you were born. You should go say hello.”
Lucas wrapped his arms around Gabriel’s leg and again shook his head.
Dominic’s face darkened. “You got him trained, huh? Well, we’ll see—”
Before Dominic could finish, Pamela stepped into the waiting room. “Mr. McGinley is ready to see you.”
She led them back to his office, then pulled the door closed as she left. It was what Matthew had suggested she do.
McGinley stood and gave a cordial nod.
“Please, have a seat.” He motioned to the semicircle of chairs facing his desk. Still standing, he said, “I am truly sorry for your loss. Alice was a wonderful woman, and I know she was dear to each of you.”
He lifted two envelopes and handed one to Dominic and the other to Gabriel.
“Alice left these for you, but before you open them, I’d like to go over the bequests and stipulations of her will.”
Matthew sat and opened the file folder atop his desk. He cleared his throat and began. Reading through the document, he said, “Alice has left her car and whatever cash there is in her bank account to her grandson, Dominic.”
Dominic glanced at Tracy and gave a snide smile of satisfaction.
Matthew continued. “Alice wanted Lucas to have Daddy DeLuca’s gold pocket watch in the hopes he would remember her side of his family.” Matthew flipped a page.
“The remainder of the estate,” he read aloud, “including the farm, land, and house will be given to the Hawke School with the stipulation that it be used to create a recreational camp for children with disabilities.”
A Year of Extraordinary Moments (A Magnolia Grove Novel) Page 23
