A Colorado Claim by Joanne Rock

Author:Joanne Rock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-05-04T15:37:14+00:00

Eight

Settling into the witness stand in the Routt County Courthouse almost six hours later, Gibson’s gaze went automatically to Lark seated between her sisters.

She wore a gray shirtdress cinched at the waist with a narrow belt, the knee-length hem and conservative cut of the outfit a far cry from the siren’s gown she’d worn the last time they’d met. Her hair was in its signature braid, her green gaze darting around the courtroom so that she looked anywhere but at him.

Because she was frustrated with the proceedings in the first day of the hearing? Or because she was unhappy with him for leveraging his media influence to garner public support for her and her sisters?

“State your full name for the record, please,” a court official intoned while a stenographer typed away silently nearby.

Gibson had already given a deposition prior to the hearing, but today was an opportunity for the attorneys to question one another’s witnesses and for the judge to ask questions about the information submitted. After sitting through hours of garbage testimony like Josiah Cranston’s insistence that Lark, Fleur and Jessamyn exerted “undue influence” over Antonia Barclay in the last year of her life, Gibson was eager to set the record straight for the court.

“Gibson Vaughn,” he replied into his microphone, mentally recalling the advice from Lark’s lawyer to be succinct and clear in his remarks.

And he would be. He planned to nail his part of this hearing so Lark would have the portion of her grandmother’s estate that was rightfully hers. He knew how much the land meant to her. He’d bought his ranch next door to Crooked Elm just to be sure they could both enjoy all the things she loved about the remote region.

Even though they weren’t together anymore, he still wanted her to have what made her happy.

So after a brief swearing in and a recap of his deposition by Lark’s attorney, Gibson was made available for questions from Mateo Barclay’s attorney, who was allowed to remain seated at his own table. The process seemed less formal than trials dramatized for the screen, with much of the day given to dry exchanges of information for the record.

Now, the plaintiff’s counsel, a tall, heavyset man with jutting brows and a weathered face leaned closer to his own microphone to speak.

“Mr. Vaughn, your statement to this court about Antonia Barclay’s personal confidences suggests you had a close relationship with the decedent in the final year of her life, but isn’t it true you were divorced from her granddaughter at that time?”

Lark’s eyes lifted to meet his.

And just like that, despite all the worry that he’d upset her today by stirring up the media, Gibson felt a bond with her that no divorce paper would ever erase. He could practically see her thoughts in her eyes—her silent caution to tread carefully. He hoped she could read him the same way, because he was mentally telling her he had no intention of letting her down.

“Yes, but Antonia remained my neighbor and friend.

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