The Sky's the Limit

|Twenty-Four|

Skyler

*****

We brought Mimi to my parents new home to relax after such a taxing day. I wanted Nicole to see my parents home, now that it was lived in. My mom fancies herself an interior decorator. She could be one, seriously. All of the furniture had been delivered and set up in all of the rooms.

The home Nicole helped my mama pick out was amazing.

"Mimi and Nicole, please come in." My mama greeted us at the door with a whopping hug for everyone.

Mama directed everyone toward the living room. She patted a sofa cushion next to her, for Mimi to have a seat. Nicole and I sat on the love seat directly across from them. My father joined us wanting to know where do we go from here?

"Skyler filled us in on everything that happened at the reading of the will. That is mind-boggling that your grandfather left everything to you, Nicole. He must have really loved you." My father looked at Nicole with gentle eyes.

Mimi sat up proudly. "He loved Nicole very much and it was so painful, that he would never get to see her in person. But he wanted her to know how he felt. He wanted everyone to know how deeply he loved her. We didn't agree with the way our son, Lucas, treated her. My husband was determined to set things right, before he passed away."

Nicole tried to hide the tears that were dripping from her eyelashes. My gaze dipped to her, I wanted to kiss her. I brushed my hand across her cheek to wipe away the tears.

This woman meant so much to me. I will make sure that her grandfather's wishes are carried out to the letter.

"I'm going to represent Nicole, now that her father and June are contesting the will. The whole thing is preposterous. This is June's idea." I informed my parents.

My mother was misty eyed. "Nicole must mean a great deal to you. You haven't practiced law in a while. I'm happy you're doing this, Skyler." She sat there with such pride, watching me with Nicole.

I can't believe I'm actually doing this. But I would do anything where Nicole is concerned. My eyes focused on her.

I picked up her hand, brought it to my face, and kissed the back of it. "If you're okay, I'm going to start looking over the will in my father's office. If you need me, I'll be right here."

She blushed a lovely shade. "I'm fine. I have Mimi and your mother. Go get prepared for this case against that crazy woman. Thank you for doing this." She met my eyes with a weary look.

I tilted my head and glued my eyes to hers. "We'll get through this." I patted her hand, as I stood to start thoroughly examining the will in question.

"Can't you have lunch with us first?" My mama called out, as I was on my way to the office.

"You all go ahead and eat. I'm not really hungry," I answered back loudly. I have a lot to go over.

*****

Nicole

We went for the contestation of my grandfather's will. June's eyes popped out of their sockets, when she saw that Skyler was acting as my lawyer. I held onto his arm, and gave her a side eyed glance.

My father timidly waved at me, and April's voluminous skirt swished past me. She never acknowledged my presence. She was just like her mama.

Mimi sat quietly in her chair, waiting for the outcome. This whole experience was way too much for her. She was still grieving.

I hugged my loving grandma and squeezed her hand. "This is almost over. Skyler assured me, Grandpa's will is iron clad. June contesting it is a waste of everyone's time."

"You can't just contest a will because you don't like its terms. There are four legal reasons for a will contest in most states. It can be very difficult to prove any one of those reasons." Skyler turned to explain to Mimi and I.

"What are the four reasons?" Mimi asked curiously.

"If the will wasn't signed in accordance with applicable state laws, is one. If The Testator lacked testamentary capacity to sign the will, is number two. The third reason, is that The Testator was unduly influenced. The fourth reason would be, if the will was procured by fraud." Skyler enumerated for us.

"June thinks that I influenced my husband into making a new will, in favor of Nicole. But this was all his idea. Nicole showed you the letter her grandfather wrote to her. He couldn't have made it any clearer how he felt." Mimi started pulling out wads of tissues to dry her tears.

"Basically, proving that a will is invalid can be difficult and very expensive. Since your father and June weren't left any money, I wouldn't even continue with contesting the will. Her lawyer should have advised her to drop this nonsense from the beginning." Skyler blew out a frustrated breath, and shook his head.

"The lawyer sees dollar signs and so does June." I added.

"I'm not surprised you're a lawyer. Now I know why you wear all of those fancy designer suits." I teased him. He shot me a subtle wink, as the Judge began to speak.

My father and June looked at the Judge, with an unrelenting stare. She just knew that the new will would be thrown out. They argued, that my grandfather was unduly influenced by my grandmother to make a new will.

I figured that's what they had all surmised.

She sat there smugly, shooting a disgusted glance at Skyler. He argued that my grandfather left a letter for me explaining how he felt. Which adds much weight to his decision.

Also, his new Will and Testament was signed in the presence of his doctor, nurse, lawyer, and his wife. He only needed two witnesses to make it valid. So he took extra measures to make sure his wishes were known, and carried out.

The Judge heard arguments from both sides. Once the case was presented, the Judge saw no reasonable grounds to contest the will.

I can't believe Skyler did this for me. . . . I knew that I had feelings for him, but now I know that I love him.

June was livid. "I will not let that girl take away my daughter's inheritance. There must be something that can be done. This isn't right!"

Her lawyer's stern eyes reprimanded her. "I told you this would not be an easy thing to prove, Mrs. Dunbar. You insisted on proceeding. There is nothing else to do, I'm sorry."

"But we paid you, get back and do your job!" June yelled, and stomped her foot. Her hair came undone from her perfectly styled French roll.

"My job is done. I think you need professional help that I can't assist you with." Her lawyer gathered his papers, thanked the Judge, and left the room.

"Don't touch me. I can't believe you let this happen, Lucas. You didn't even raise her, and she took everything from our family." June shifted her angry gaze to me. "I never wanted you to steal your father's affection from, April. Little did I know, you would steal your grandfather's affection."

I stood, giving her a look of pity. "I longed for a sibling, and for my father. I would love to have shared him with my sister. I would have shared my grandfather as well. You, took my family from me. Now, you will have to fix the mess you made."

"My father, you, nor April, have shown me one shred of kindness. If you had been different, I would have shared my inheritance, gladly. But you heard my grandfather's will. It will remain undisputed, as far as I'm concerned." I gave her an icy stare.

Skyler stood behind me, and spun me around to face him. "It's over, Nicole. She's not worth another word. Let's take Mimi home." I broke down sobbing and he held me in his strong arms.

I allowed my tears to flow freely. I released all of the pent up emotions and anger that I had held toward this woman. She built an invisible wall that separated me from my family, for so many years.

*****

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