Scooting, I hopped down from the vanity. “That’s a difficult invitation to pass up.”
Fin kicked off his leather loafers and removed his pants, socks, and black silk boxer briefs, before opening the glass door. Steam filled the shower with a hazy fog as we both stepped in.
The frenzy of earlier was gone. Our shower was a slower, more methodical exercise in rediscovery. It wasn’t like we hadn’t showered many times since our reunion; however, this one was different. We each ran soft, soap-filled loofahs over one another, exploring the terrain of one another’s bodies. Fin gently massaged shampoo and then conditioner into my scalp and through my long locks. By the time we turned off the water, our fingers were pruney and nerves were settled.
With wet hair and wearing only robes, we made our way out of the bedroom.
“Do you want to watch the game?” Fin asked, walking toward the television.
I went to the kitchen and pulled two clean glasses from the wine rack. “How about we order some food from downstairs?”
He was at my side. “Talk to me, beautiful.”
Swallowing, I fought back tears. “Daphne is contesting Dad’s will, and if Bre’s telling the truth, her baby will take half the team away from me.” My chin fell. “Six weeks and I’m losing everything Dad built.”
Chapter 24
Fin
* * *
“Contesting the will? It hasn’t been made public yet, has it?” I asked.
“It entered probate about a month ago. It became public then. Trish said the process would take time. The court followed Dad’s desire and named Aunt Rachel and Uncle Darin as executors. The next stage is asset identification. Supposedly, that’s what Mr. Eads has been doing with Daphne. Uncle Darin said they’ve been spending a lot of time together.” She took the glass of wine I poured by the stem and looked down into the dark red liquid. Looking up, she sighed. “Daphne brought him to today’s game. On a sidenote, Grant was upset about that. Anyway, I asked Joe Eads about the estate, and he informed me that Trish will get a notice from the court tomorrow. Daphne is officially contesting the will.”
I took the second glass and leaned against the counter. “On what grounds?”
Vee pressed her lips together and shrugged. “Marriage. I called Trish on the way home from the game.” She leaned against the kitchen island facing me. “The State of Kentucky protects a spouse from being disinherited by something called ‘elective share’ or ‘statutory share.’ Trish said by that ruling, Daphne is entitled to one-third of all real property and one-half of personal property. Trish said she anticipated this was coming.”
“And she didn’t tell you?”
“There’s no way to go to get ahead of this. And her hope was Daphne wouldn’t do it in time. The law requires that the spouse contest the will within a specific amount of time once probate begins.”
“Vee,” I asked, “what does this mean about the Coopers?”
Tears swelled in her green eyes. “I don’t know.”
Taking the glass from Vee’s grasp, I put it on the kitchen island and wrapped her in my arms. She laid her face against my robe-covered chest and wrapped her arms around my waist.
“I don’t care about the money or his properties.” Her words were muffled against the robe. “I don’t want to split ownership of the Coopers.” She pulled away and looked up at me. “I don’t trust Daphne. She could sell her portion or…” Vee shook her head. “I don’t even know. If she’s upset about Bre’s claims, she might do anything to punish Dad. She knows how much the Coopers meant to him.”
“What did Tricia say?”
“She has a copy of the will. It’s long and complicated. Her team has been going through it line by line. She said she’d call me tomorrow.”
“Let’s call down for some dinner.”
Vee nodded. “We can watch the game. Let’s hear all the talking heads say how great you played.”
A few hours later, we were both on the couch, the Coopers’ game from earlier today was entering the fourth quarter. The Coopers were up, and we both knew the outcome. It wasn’t holding my attention. Clarks’ odd behavior and something Vee mentioned was gnawing at me.
“You mentioned your cousin being upset,” I prompted.
Vee had her head in my lap watching the game. She looked up. “Grant. Yeah, he wasn’t happy about Joe Eads being Daphne’s guest.” Vee sat up. “He wasn’t his normal cocky, narcissistic self. I don’t know how many bourbons he had, but he was definitely not fit to drive home.”
“Did he?”
“I hope not. I left before he did.” She pursed her lips and hit pause on the remote. “Grant told me that we should talk.” She shivered. “I mean, I don’t enjoy talking to him when he’s sober. I wasn’t really interested in what he had to say while intoxicated.”
