Page 143 of Key West Homecoming

For the next twenty minutes, she took the judge through the 2018 will Arthur had submitted for probate and the 2022 will Gloria had signed in Miami-Dade. She explained the witnesses, the notary and the original document from the safe deposit box at Ocean National Bank on Brickell. Then she moved to the records concerning the cottage and the trips Gloria had wanted to make to Key West but hadn’t made because Arthur told her the house was unsafe.

Emma listened without looking at him.

Hearing Rachel tell the story in order made Arthur’s choices seem even more deliberate. There was no family confusion in the dates laid out before the judge. No misunderstanding. Gloria had made her wishes clear, and Arthur had decided they didn’t matter.

Judge Ellsworth interrupted three times with questions. Rachel answered each one and continued.

When she finished, she sat down.

Ellsworth turned to the other table.

“Mr. Ballard.”

“Your Honor.”

“Do you have a response?”

Ballard stood and straightened his tie before looking down at his notes.

“Your Honor, my client’s position is that he acted in good faith on the will he had been given by his mother, which he believed to be the operative document.”

Judge Ellsworth looked over his glasses.

“Mr. Ballard, your client testified under oath Monday that he became aware of the 2022 will in November of last year. That’s in the transcript.” He paused. “Are you asking this court to disregard his testimony?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“Then good faith is difficult to reconcile with the record before me. Your client knew about the later will. He proceeded under the earlier one anyway. He sold his mother’s condominium and liquidated the brokerage account. He was also in the process of selling the Key West property when the later will came to light.”

Ballard said nothing.

“Do you have another argument you’d like me to consider?”

“No further argument, Your Honor.”

“Thank you. Sit down.”

Ballard sat.

Emma kept her eyes on her hands.

She didn’t look at Arthur or turn toward Edmund and Jake. Rachel had told her what to do, and she did it. Still, her heart had begun beating hard enough that she could feel it beneath the gray blazer.

Judge Ellsworth wrote something in the folder. He removed his glasses, put them back on and looked up.

“The court finds that the 2018 will submitted in the original probate was superseded by the 2022 will. The later will was properly executed and is the operative document governing the estate of Gloria Marie Kendrick. The prior probate orders inconsistent with that will are vacated, and the estate will be administered under the terms of the 2022 instrument.”

Emma held her breath.

“The property at Twenty-Three Hibiscus Lane, Key West, passes to Emma Kendrick under that will. Any pending sale of the property is without authority and will not proceed. Recovery of estate assets sold, liquidated or distributed under the prior administration will be addressed through further proceedings. This court will retain jurisdiction.”

Emma heard Rachel exhale softly beside her.

The cottage was hers.

She had known what Gloria wanted since reading the letter at the kitchen table but knowing it and hearing a judge say it were different things. Arthur couldn’t sell the cottage. He couldn’t take it from her, and he couldn’t take it from Jake.

Judge Ellsworth turned a page.