Chapter 5 #2
Jaxon and Poppy sat in chairs in front of Billy’s desk while Huck stood in the corner with his arms crossed. Billy was sitting behind his desk talking on the phone . . . with Cadee’s lawyer.
“Now I don’t think we need to postpone the meeting, Ms. Gavin.
Especially since everyone is here. We aren’t going to make any decisions without you.
My clients just want to talk to your client.
” He glanced over at Cadee who was still hovering by the door.
“Of course, I’ll let you talk to her. She just stepped in.
” He held out the phone to Cadee as Jaxon jumped to his feet and offered his chair.
With everyone’s eyes on her, she felt extremely uncomfortable as she took the phone and sat down. “Hi, Yvonne. What happened? Why aren’t you here?”
“I got stuck in court. I tried calling you but couldn’t get through.”
“Sorry, the cell service is horrible here in Promise Springs.”
“Well, that explains it. Anyway, you’ll need to reschedule. Next Wednesday looks good for me.”
A part of Cadee wanted to postpone it. The other part wanted to get it over with. It was Huck’s intense gaze that made the decision for her. She refused to act like she was intimidated.
Even if she was.
“No. I think Billy’s right. Everyone’s here so we might as well have the meeting now.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I hear the Hennessys can be volatile.”
“Only when provoked,” Poppy snapped.
Since the Hennessys could obviously hear the entire conversation, Cadee brought it to a close. “It will be fine. I’ll call you as soon as it’s over.”
“Don’t sign anything!” Yvonne yelled before Cadee ended the call.
Billy accepted the phone from her and placed it back in the cradle. “Okay, then. Why don’t you take a seat, Cadee?”
Jaxon nodded at the chair he’d vacated. “You can sit here.”
She moved to the chair and sat down, ignoring the mad-dogging she was getting from Poppy.
Billy rested his folded hands on the desk in front of him, flashing his big diamond rings. “The Hennessys wanted to meet with you today, Cadee, in the hopes that we can get things settled without taking it to court.”
“Settled how?” she asked.
Billy smiled widely. “To everyone’s satisfaction.”
Poppy spoke up. “The only way I’m going to be satisfied is if I get what I have coming to me.”
“Poppy.” Jaxon’s voice held a warning. One Poppy completely ignored.
“Don’t Poppy me.” She turned to Cadee. Cadee had always been a little scared of the youngest Hennessy.
Probably because she’d witnessed more than her fair share of Poppy’s tantrums. It looked like she was going to witness another.
“What the hell is your problem, Cadee? I never took you for a gold digger, but that’s exactly what you are since you didn’t think it was necessary to tell my brother he had a kid until money was involved. Now you want it all? That’s such bull—”
“That’s enough, Poppy!”
Cadee didn’t know who was more shocked by Huck’s outburst, she or Poppy. Huck adored his little sister and had never gotten after her that Cadee could remember.
“Camden is Huck’s?” Billy stared at her.
Huck released a frustrated sigh. “Way to go, Pops.”
“Billy is our lawyer,” Jaxon said. “He needs to know the truth and he’s not going to repeat anything.”
Billy nodded. “Of course not. Client confidentiality and all.”
Poppy snorted and Cadee wanted to. Billy gossiped with the best of them. Client confidentiality be damned.
“But this certainly complicates things,” Billy said. “Unless we can come to some kind of agreement that works for everyone.”
There was a long pause before Huck spoke.
“Cadee can have my share of the inheritance.”
Cadee was more than a little surprised and she couldn’t help turning to see if there was a teasing sparkle in his eyes. But he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at Billy. There was nothing teasing about his solemn features.
“That’s bullshit!” Poppy glared at her. “The Stocktons aren’t hurting for money.
They own one of the biggest ranches in the area.
” A ranch that was mortgaged to the hilt.
But Cadee didn’t say that. She just sat there and let Poppy continue.
“And I’m not giving up any of my money to a kid who’s probably as spoiled rotten as the rest of the Stocktons. ”
“Then you’re willing to wait for years for your share?” Billy asked. “Because that could be how long it takes to run things through the court system.”
“Poppy doesn’t need to share any of her inheritance,” Huck said.
“Neither do the rest of you. Camden is my . . .” His gaze connected with Cadee for a brief second.
She hated how breathless it made her. “Responsibility. Therefore, I’m the only one who needs to give up my share. How much is that, Billy?”
Billy glanced at the papers in front of him. “Excluding the share of Honky Tonk Heaven and the house, around two hundred fifty thousand.”
If Billy had sprouted hair on the top of his bald head, Cadee wouldn’t have been more surprised.
“Dollars?”
Billy’s bushy eyebrows lifted. “You didn’t know how much money Rosie had?”
She slowly shook her head. “No. She never mentioned how much was in her estate. I thought it was just the house and Honky Tonk Heaven.” She glanced around at the Hennessys. “And just so you know, I don’t want your family home.”
“So all you wanted was the dancehall?” Poppy laughed. “Funny, but I didn’t take the Stocktons for bar owners.”
“I planned to sell it.”
“We’re not selling the dancehall,” Huck said. “Jaxon and Tully want to run it. But you can have my share of the profits . . . once we’ve paid back the loans Tully took out for renovations.”
Cadee was too overwhelmed to do more than stare at him. He stared back, his doubloon eyes giving nothing away.
“So what do you think, Cadee?” Billy asked, pulling her attention away from Huck.
“You want to settle for two hundred and fifty thousand and a share of Honky Tonk Heaven’s profits or take it to court and, more than likely, wait a year or more to get anything?
That’s if you can prove to a judge that the Hennessys didn’t meet Rosie’s criteria and opened Honky Tonk Heaven too late.
That might be hard to do since it was technically opened for Jaxon and Tully’s wedding. ”
Her lawyer had told her that they had a fifty-fifty chance of winning.
She had been willing to take the chance, but now she didn’t have to.
And she could get the money right away instead of waiting a year or more.
Since one more drought or cattle disease could force them into bankruptcy, she quickly made her decision.
“I’ll need everything in writing and my lawyer will need to look it over before I sign,” she said.
“I can have the paperwork drawn up and sent to your lawyer by tomorrow.” Billy smiled and clapped his hands together, his diamonds flashing in the sunlight coming in through the window. “See. Hennessys and Stocktons can get along.”