“Are both parties ready to start?” Judge Isaacs asked.
“Yes, Your Honor,” Cooper said. Lord, even speaking those three simple words, his voice rang with sincerity.
“We’re ready, Your Honor,” Arlen said. His voice was scratchy, and he sneezed again into his handkerchief.
“I’ve read both wills cover to cover,” the judge said, “and I’ve read the depositions provided by both parties. Mr. Remington-Mr. Cooper Remington, that is-you’re representing yourself and your cousins, is that correct?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Did you have anything to add at this time?”
“No, Your Honor. I believe the documents speak for themselves.”
Allie nearly fainted. A lawyer who didn’t want to stand up and pontificate when he had the chance?
“Mr. Arlen Caldwell, have you anything to add?”
Arlen stood. He opened his mouth, seemed to think better of it, and closed it again. “No, Your Honor, I concur with Mr. Remington. The documentation speaks for itself.”
“Then I’m prepared to render my decision.”
Now Allie really did feel lightheaded. So soon? She’d expected some kind of recess, during which the judge would ponder the facts before announcing the verdict. But since neither party added new information today, he must have already known how he was going to rule.
That didn’t mean she was ready for it.
Arlen, sensing her distress, patted her hand reassuringly.
“The handwritten will,” the judge began, “appears to be legal in every respect. Since the date on this will supersedes that of the other will, it takes priority. Therefore, I am awarding full ownership of the boat known as the Dragonfly, and everything on it, to Ms. Allison Bateman.”
Allie closed her eyes. Just like that, it was over, and she’d won. She’d expected to feel triumphant at this moment, but she felt a curious emptiness inside.
“However,” the judge said, and Allie’s eyes flew open, “the handwritten will makes no mention of the business known as Remington Charters, Incorporated. The earlier will, however, specifically spells out Johnny Remington’s wishes in regard to that business, which is a separate legal entity from the boat.”
What? Allie glanced over at Arlen. He looked suddenly worried.
“Therefore,” the judge continued, “I hereby award ownership of the corporation known as Remington Charters to Cooper Remington, Reece Remington and Maxwell Remington, to be shared equally among them. Allie Bateman, you will cease and desist using the Remington Charters name or logo, and you will turn over ownership of any corporate bank accounts and all records pertaining to the business, and the fruits of any contracts you entered into under the Remington Charters name, to Mr. Cooper Remington, representative for all three Remington parties.”
The judge droned on and on about how if she didn’t follow his orders in a timely fashion, a representative of the court would step in then. But her ears were buzzing so loudly she couldn’t hear.
Her first thought was to suspect Cooper of somehow engineering this disaster. But when she glanced over at him, she could see he was just as stunned as she was. The Remington cousins were all staring at each other, slack-jawed.
The judge ended the hearing, but Allie just sat there, because she didn’t think her rubbery legs would hold her up.
“I guess I should have seen this coming,” Arlen said in a low voice. “But I’d always thought of the boat and the fishing business as one and the same.”
“You aren’t the only one. Even Cooper didn’t anticipate this decision.”
“We can appeal,” Arlen suggested.
But Allie couldn’t stand the thought of dragging this out any further.
She couldn’t start a fishing charter business from scratch, not without a huge influx of capital. On the other hand, Cooper would have a hard time running a fishing business with no boat. He would have to buy a new one.
She knew what she had to do. But she wasn’t ready to do it.
“Send me a bill for the remainder of what I owe you,” she said to Arlen. “It may take me a little while to pull my finances together, but you’ll get paid.”
“Now, now, I told you not to worry about that. But I do have one more matter to take care of.” He reached into his jacket and extracted a sealed envelope with her name on it. “Cooper came to my office yesterday. He asked that I give you this once the hearing was over, no matter which way it went.”
She was almost afraid to touch the envelope. “What is it?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea. But I’m curious as hell,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “The boy seemed agitated when he gave it to me.”
She glanced over at the opposing counsel’s table, but Cooper and his cousins were already gone.
Allie slipped away from the courthouse through a back door, fearing she would run into Cooper otherwise. She only went to her car when she was sure the Remingtons were gone.
But she didn’t return to the B and B. She drove to the beach. She wanted to read the letter somewhere where no one could see her, because she suspected it was going to make her cry.
Anyway, she did her best thinking near the ocean, where the sound of the waves crashing on shore soothed her and the smell of salt air cleansed her mind.
Port Clara’s public beach was small. Soon the tourists would cover the sand with their towels and umbrellas, but today it was cloudy, windy and deserted. Not the best sunbathing weather, but it suited her mood.
Allie took off her shoes and walked barefoot in the warm sand, then sat at the base of a sand dune, letting the natural surroundings calm the roiling inside of her.
She pulled her knees into her chest and propped the letter across them, staring at her name. She was terrified to open it.
She’d have to sell the Dragonfly to Cooper. Or maybe, if he didn’t have the capital to buy it outright, she would lease it to him. The one thing she wouldn’t do was hold on to it out of spite. If she did, she might kill off Johnny’s legacy for good.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting there, minutes or hours, when a shadow moved over her.
“Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? I was afraid you’d gone and drowned yourself.”
Cooper.
“I appreciate your concern,” she said, meaning it, because he really did sound distressed. “Is that the effect you thought your letter would have?”
“I hope not,” he said with some alarm. “Have you even read it?”
“I haven’t. But I really need to do that alone.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a public beach and I have every right to sit and watch the ocean.” He sat down beside her, and she was surprised to see he was wearing a disreputable pair of cutoff jeans and an Old Salt’s Bar & Grill T-shirt. He looked a lot more beach bum than corporate lawyer.
“I suppose you want me to pay you back for all the money you put into the Dragonfly.”
He sighed. “No, Allie, for the third and final time-I hope-you don’t owe me anything. If you would just read the damn letter, you would know what I’m thinking.”
“The decision surprised you?” she asked, stalling.
“Yeah. I feel like an idiot for not anticipating it. I’m supposed to be the hotshot lawyer around here.”
“Are your cousins upset?”
“Truthfully? They both think the judge should have given it all to you. Johnny’s intentions were clear, even if there was a slight oversight in his will.”
“And what do you think?”
“I think the boat’s no good to you without the business.”
“And the business is no good to you without the boat,” she countered. “Which is why I’m offering to sell you the Dragonfly. It’s the only solution that makes sense.”
He appeared truly surprised. “You’d do that?”