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“Eh.”
“You sign the papers?” I asked, as my stomach knotted with concern.
“He had a letter from my mom asking to see the will. The attorney wants to grant her that request before we finalize everything.”
“I thought Lila specifically excluded her from the will?” I asked, my jaw tightening.
“She did.”
I stretched my neck to ease the tension. “Then why is he accommodating her?”
“I think he wants her to see it for herself and explain it to her. Maybe then she’ll get it? I don’t know.”
“You think she’s going to contest the will?” I hated asking, but I had to know.
Marley sighed, and I wished I was with her so I could comfort her in some way. “It’s a possibility. He advised Lila to give her a nominal amount in the will and add a no-contest clause. She’d lose everything if she contested the will and lost.”
I let my head fall back. “She didn’t want to do that?”
“Nope. Gram was strong-willed like that. If she didn’t want Mom to have any of her money, then that was that.”
I screwed my eyes shut. “Even if her attorney thought this was a better option?”
“I guess so. Mom can contest it, but what can she say? Gram wasn’t in her right mind when she drafted the will? Apparently, it was done when I was eighteen.” Her words were thick with emotion.
“Where are you?” I asked, having this overwhelming urge to comfort her.
Marley sighed. “I’m sitting outside of your house.”
“Go inside. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” I hung up, hurried to pack up my tools, and locked up the inn. The last thing we needed was vandals causing problems here.
I drove my truck to my house, irritated I hadn’t insisted on going with her to the appointment. The thing was, Marley was strong and independent. She didn’t want anyone there, but what if she needed someone to be? She probably hadn’t even considered it to be a possibility. She’d been on her own for so long.
Lila never would have wanted to take that independence away from her, knowing how important it was to her.
I jumped out of my truck, slamming the door as I took the porch steps two at a time, and threw my key into the lock. The door swung open, and I scanned the room for Marley.
When I saw her on the sectional, I closed and locked the door, throwing my phone onto the counter as I made my way to her.
Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she’d been crying. I sat on the ottoman across from her, caging her in with my legs.
I took her hands in mine. “Are you okay?”
She tried to smile but wasn’t successful. “I will be.”
“Are you upset because your mother wants something that’s yours? Or that she’s back in your life?” I asked carefully.
She chewed her lip and looked away from me. “I think it’s that she’s back. And not to apologize or have a relationship with me, but because she wants something. So, both, I guess.”
“It’s okay to be conflicted.”
Marley blinked away tears. “Your mother is supposed to love you unconditionally and show you that with everything they do. The love in your mom’s dining room last night? I’ve never felt anything like it. It was palpable, and I felt like I was a part of that.”
I squeezed her hand. “I should have invited you over back then.”
Marley shook her head. “It wouldn’t have been right. You didn’t want my brother to know.” Her gaze lifted. “But I’m glad I saw it. It showed me the way moms should be, and the contrast with how mine was.” Then she sighed, and her shoulders drooped. “The question is, will I always be disappointed and hurt, or will I eventually heal and move on?”
“I’d like to think that you can heal and move on. But it’s hard. I’ve never been through anything similar. When my father died, I carried a lot of guilt and shame because I worried we’d missed a sign or that we weren’t paying close enough attention to him.”
