Page 67 of Finding Hayes
“What does that mean?” Hayes asked as I sat beside him at the large kitchen table. “Who do we know that can represent her?”
“You’ve met my brother,” Emerson said, looking at Hayes first and then turning her attention to me. “I told you that I have a twin brother, Easton. He’s an attorney, and he’s handled cases like this. I phoned him this morning, and he’s meeting us here in a little bit,” Emerson said.
“He’s coming here?” I asked, shaking my head in disbelief, as I knew her family lived in Rosewood River.
“Yeah. Emerson also has a brother who has access to a helicopter, so Easton will be here shortly. He’s a brilliant trial attorney, and he’ll be able to handle Sheana just fine.” Nash took a sip of his coffee.
“I’m sure she’s just trying to cash in one last time, but she doesn’t have a leg to stand on. But I’ve never been involved in an inheritance lawsuit, and I want to make sure you get the best representation possible,” River said. “Bert is a probate lawyer, so he reads the will, but he doesn’t handle disputes. That’s where Easton will come in.”
Emerson glanced down at her phone and pushed to stand. “He’s here. Let me go get him. I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you so much for doing this. It means the world to me,” I said, feeling a lump form in my throat. It had been a very long time since I’d depended on anyone other than myself.
She smiled before heading toward the front door.
“It’s going to be fine. I’ve heard Easton is a badass,” Hayes said, his hand covering mine where it rested on the table.
“Hey,” the man I assumed was Emerson’s brother, Easton, said as he walked into the room. “I’m Easton Chadwick. Nice to meet you.”
Nash made introductions, and Emerson handed her brother a coffee as he took the seat across from me. He was wearing a button-up and a pair of jeans, and he seemed like a casual guy until he spoke.
“I’ve got to be back in Rosewood River by noon, so let’s get down to business. Did you bring me those copies of the will?” He directed his question to River now, who handed him a stack of papers. Easton glanced over the papers and then looked up at me and Hayes. “All right, River has filled me in on the basics. I’m going to give it to you straight, but what I need to know right now is if you would like to speak alone.”
Hayes glanced over at me before looking back at Easton. “It’s fine to speak freely. We’re all family here.”
“Sounds good.” He took a sip of his coffee and then shot a look at Emerson. “Seriously? It’s unsweetened?”
She smiled. “No. It has two pumps of sweetener instead of four. Mom said that Dr. Plume said your blood sugar is high.”
He rolled his eyes and set his cup down. “Ignore her. I had my blood work done after a late night out with a lot of cocktails. It had nothing to do with the coffee.”
We all chuckled, and Nash reminded Emerson how much sugar she put in her unicorn Krispies, which got a few more laughs.
“So, let’s talk about this lawsuit.” He cleared his throat, quickly scanned the contract again, and then set the papers down. “She’s after the money. I looked into it, and I know the attorney that she hired. Mike Hardman, he’s a slick attorney out of Los Angeles. The good news for you… I’m better at this whole law thing than he is.”
“If you don’t say so yourself,” Emerson said, using her hand to cover her laughter. “There’s a reason everyone in the legal world calls him a shark.”
“A shark?” I asked.
“Yeah. He looks all casual in his jeans and cowboy boots, but the dude is a cutthroat attorney.” Nash smirked.
“All right. Thanks for the ego boost. Anyway, back to the facts. She’s going for the cash grab. He left you a lot of money, and you’re the only thing standing in her way. She’s Abe’s ex-wife, and she’s claiming that Abe made a verbal promise to her that he was going to leave everything to her.”
“They never spoke again after they were divorced, and he was angry that he had to give her the money that he did to get her to leave,” I said.
“I’m sure you’re right, but that isn’t going to stop her from shooting her shot. Obviously, she and her attorney think they have a case.”
“Do they?” I asked.
“Well, that depends on a few things. If everything in that will is followed correctly, she can’t do a damn thing about it. But my guess is that Sheana heard about Abe’s passing from someone in town, and she found out that everything was left to you. It’s a small town. I’m sure people talk, and she probably got wind that you got married shortly after you arrived back in Magnolia Falls. Maybe she was in contact with the probate attorney, and he filled her in on the stipulation regarding the inheritance.”
“The stipulation?” Nash asked.
“The stipulation that Savannah had to be married within thirty days, which you pulled off just under the wire,” he said, holding up his hands when Hayes started to argue. “I’m on your side. There is no judgment here. I’m pointing out the obvious. She wouldn’t have filed a suit if she didn’t think there was room to get in there and rock the boat.”
“What kind of room?” I asked.
“Like I said, she’s claiming that there was a verbal promise made to her by Abe that everything would be left to her, which clearly makes no sense, seeing as his will was recently updated within the last three months.” Easton reached for his coffee.
