Sanibel Treasures by Hope Holloway

Author:Hope Holloway [Holloway, Hope]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-14T18:30:00+00:00

Claire didn’t tell anyone anything, except to say there wasn’t a resolution yet, until she had gathered her mother, Eliza, and Teddy together. Once they were all at Teddy’s house, she explained what the judge wanted to do next.

And her mother looked stricken.

“Non, non. Je ne peux pas faire ça.” She slipped right into rare French, which she sometimes whipped out during emotional turmoil. “I cannot do that,” she self-translated as she stood. “No. I…non.”

She rubbed her hands, then crossed her arms, then looked like if there was a random Gauloise nearby, she’d smoke the living daylights out of it.

“Maman,” Claire said calmly, looking up at her. “We will prepare you for every possible question the judge could ask.”

“I won’t do it.”

“Then we’ll lose!” Teddy exclaimed.

“You’ll lose,” Camille fired back, her eyes flashing. “I might lose, I might not.”

“Much worse, Maman.” Claire stood and put a hand on her mother’s shoulder. “If you don’t go, Birdie will win by default. You don’t want that.”

She looked even more horrified at the thought of that possibility.

“So, you will do it,” Claire added.

“Will they make me? Will she?”

“You can be subpoenaed to appear by the opposing counsel, but he likely will not do that,” Claire said. “He knows that if you don’t appear, the decision goes in Birdie’s favor.”

“Oh, mon Dieu.” She groaned and fell back on the sofa next to Teddy, closing her eyes. “I don’t know what to say to her.”

“You don’t have to say anything to her, Camille,” Eliza said. “Does she?”

“You’ll merely answer the questions put forth by her attorney,” Claire said.

“What kind of questions?” Camille asked. “Like…about my relationship with Dutch?”

“Possibly. We’ll get you ready to answer in non-personal but clear ways. I do think he might ask you about what your plans are for the property.”

She looked at Claire, then blinked. “What difference does that make?”

“To this judge? I don’t know. But you can’t lie under oath, Camille. You have to tell him you are planning to transfer ownership to Teddy, and make the compelling argument that Shellseeker Cottages, Sanibel Treasures, and the tea hut and garden have all been in her family for a hundred years. Birdie will have to be honest about her plans to sell to a hotel chain, too. It could very much work in our favor.”

“It’s a powerful argument,” Teddy agreed softly, putting a hand on Camille’s arm. “And anyone from this area is going to appreciate—”

Camille’s eyes flashed as she yanked her arm away. “I cannot do this,” she ground out in misery. “I never wanted to see her, and I’m sure she doesn’t want to see me. Is there any other way?”

“Birdie’s attorney asked if we were open to discussing a settlement,” Claire said.

And then everyone stared at her, but no one looked quite as shocked by that as Teddy.

“A settlement?” Eliza asked. “Like sharing the property or paying her off? What would that kind of compromise entail?”

“It could go many ways,” Claire said. “You could pay her a substantial sum of money and call it a deal.

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