24. Tessa
Tessa stood at the bathroom counter of her mother’s hospital room on Sunday morning, rolling her fuzzy socks into the tote.
While she busied herself with packing for the expected discharge, Tessa listened through the open door to the people she loved being happier than she could currently afford to be.
Lynda’s deadline loomed…and they had no house, no solution, no compliance. Tomorrow morning at eight, she had to turn Olive over to strangers in a strange land.
Their voices were low as Jo Ellen drifted in and out of sleep in the center of the room. Vivien was telling Eli and Kate all about how she set up Jo Ellen’s temporary rehab room, with minimal stairs and plenty of space for the nurses who would visit throughout her recuperation.
Eli repeated his mantra for the week, assuring them that “all the balconies have been secured and inspected.”
Kate gave him grace for the tenth time, her voice tender toward him. Something about the trauma of the past week had fundamentally changed Tessa’s sister, and she and Eli seemed to be firmly “together” and on the same page again.
Dusty had taken Olive home to the Summer House for a brief stay, because even the “regular” hospital room was no place for a child, which just tore Tessa in half because she wanted to be with her mother and her little girl. She’d stay one more hour here, then Dusty would come back for her.
“Oh, Maggie just texted!” Vivien called out to everyone. “She’s coming back with Dusty to supervise the discharge process.”
“Of course she is,” Eli cracked, making them all laugh.
Yes, the mood was jubilant and not just because they’d cheated death. The worst of the hurricane had hit east of them and spared Destin. Far fewer homes than expected had sustained damage and they had all the power restored.
Sadly, Tessa and Dusty’s wasn’t one of the lucky ones. And worse, the bill they had to pay wasn’t just financial—it was the biggest emotional hit Tessa could remember.
Dusty had turned this town and the surrounding areas upside down trying to find a suitable house, but they simply couldn’t buy anything in a week. And a rental, which he could find, was only good enough for Lynda—and the state—if they’d been there a year.
Without another miracle like the one Kate had shared with her about their mother, Olive was going to be living with a stranger in Milton, Florida. She’d sleep there tomorrow night.
Tessa forced a breath in and out, then lifted a bottle of moisturizer from the counter. This chore could all have been done in under a minute, but she dragged out every movement, needing to be alone with her personal misery.
She didn’t want to bring down the happy family given a second chance with Jo Ellen.
She flipped open the locker-like door to get her mother’s bird robe—Maggie had insisted on bringing it for her—when she knocked something to the ground that hit her toe hard.
She looked down at a hard-sided notebook with a pink leather cover open on the floor, a page sliding out from the back. Yikes, that looked like one of Vivien’s diaries that she might have just abused.
Bending over, she picked it up and tried to slide the paper back in, but…it wasn’t a page from the diary. Sticking out from the glued backing of the cover was a thick, expensive sheet of stationery folded neatly in half.
“Viv?” she called. “Can you come here for a sec?”
In no time at all, Vivien appeared in the doorway, a look of concern on her face. “You okay, Tess?” she asked. “I know you’re upset.”
“And you’re about to be.” She held out the notebook with the paper hanging from the back. “I dropped this and I might have permanently damaged this notebook. I don’t know what this is.” She fluttered the paper. “Or why you hid it in the back of your diary. Which is here…why?”
“Maggie wanted to read it to Jo Ellen when she was in the coma.” She took the notebook, ignoring the paper to look hard at Tessa. “You and Dusty will figure this out, honey. I know you will.”
Tessa knew no such thing and was a little tired of platitudes. “I’m sorry about…whatever that is.”
On a sigh, Vivien looked down and eased the paper out completely. “I have no idea,” she said, opening it. “But it looks official. Jeez…”
Tessa didn’t really care, so she turned back to the robe to start folding the fluffy material to get it in a bag.
“Tess.”
“It won’t fit,” she murmured. “She’ll just have to wear it out of here, and won’t that be a sight?”
“Tess.”
“I’m kidding, Viv, I won’t—”
“Tessa Wylie, will you shut up and read this?”
She spun around at the tone in Vivien’s voice, reacting as she stuck the now open paper in front of her…with shaking hands.
“What is it?”
“Your life just changed.”
What? Tessa squinted, her hated readers somewhere in her bag. But she could see an official embossing at the top in black, with raised letters that said “Law Offices” big enough for her to read.
She glanced up at Viv, who’d gone pale. “Read it,” she ordered.
Codicil to the Last Will and Testament of Roger Thomas Lawson.
“What?” Tessa croaked.
“Keep going.”
Tessa sat down on the closed lid of the toilet. She squinted and cursed her dyslexia, but forced her brain to concentrate on the words in front of her.
The document was dated September 14, 1995. It was witnessed and notarized with a stamp that had faded but was still readable.
I, Roger Thomas Lawson, being of sound mind and body, do hereby make, publish, and declare this codicil to my Last Will and Testament.
I direct that the real property located at 199 Gulf Shore Drive, Destin, Florida, shall, from this day forward, be equally owned and never divided between me and my heirs and assigns, and Arthur J. Wylie and his heirs and assigns.
In the event of my death, the property shall transfer to Magnolia Fredricks Lawson, my children, Eli, Vivien, and Crista Lawson, and Arthur J. Wylie, Jo Ellen Wylie, and their children, Theresa and Katherine Wylie, all equally co-owned for their personal and private use.
In all other respects, I confirm and republish my Last Will and Testament as previously executed.
Tessa stared at it. “What…does this mean?”
“That my dad wanted the property to be shared by Lawsons and Wylies.”
As they sat in a second of silence to digest, the heavy room door opened.
“I brought a surprise,” Dusty called out.
“Oh, Maggie’s here, Mom,” Kate said.
“Mags.” Jo Ellen sounded weak but happy. She was about to be a whole heck of a lot happier. “We heard you don’t trust the hospital.”
“I don’t trust anyone.”
The conversation drifted in, barely audible over Tessa’s pumping heart as she and Vivien stared at each other in shock.
“You own the house with us,” Vivien said in a hushed whisper. “That’s what it says.”
She shook her head. “How is that possible? How could Maggie have not known?”
“I don’t know, but let’s ask her.” Vivien started out, but Tessa grabbed her arm.
“Wait. Wait. I have to think about what this means.”
“What what means?” Dusty stepped into the room, searching the scene with curiosity.
“This.” Vivien handed it to him. “This tiny bit of life-changing news.”
Dusty skimmed the page while Tessa tried to calm her heart. Then he looked up with a glint in his eyes she hadn’t seen since…well, since the night they tore out of the cemetery with Olive.
“Tessa,” he whispered.
“What?”
“You have a home. You own a home.”
“Do I? Is that what it means? Is it legal? Is it real?”
“Let’s find out.” He shoved the paper back into Vivien’s hands and took a step backwards. “I’m calling Lynda.”
Without another word, he pivoted and shot out the door to the hall.
For a moment, she just stood there, using the counter to prop her up, her breath stuck in her lungs. Was it poss—
“Come on, come on. Grab that diary.” Vivien pulled her toward the room. “Everyone needs to see this!”
She said it loud enough that they all looked when Vivien and Tessa walked into the room.
“Eli,” Tessa whispered to Vivien. “Give it to Eli first.”
As she did, Vivien said, “We just found this hidden in my last diary.”
Eli looked confused, then looked down, touching his breast pocket for glasses and then realizing he had on a T-shirt. Kate snagged them from the table.
“For once, I’m giving you glasses,” she joked.
He smiled at her and put them on, his jaw going slack as he read. Then he eased the paper over for Kate to read. She leaned closer, read the words with typical lightning speed and gasped.
“What?”
Eli stood and walked toward his mother, who was at Jo Ellen’s bedside, holding her hand.
“Brace yourself, Mom. It’s from Dad.”
She lifted a brow. “Excuse me?”
“This is a legal document signed by Dad stating that the property on Gulf Shore Drive is to be co-owned by both families.” He gave a soft laugh as the impact of that hit him. “I assume this is news to you?”
Some blood drained from her face as she took the letter without letting go of Jo Ellen’s hand.
“I’ve never seen this,” she said. “This isn’t the law firm I used…this…this…” She read the page, straightening with each word. “Oh, my goodness.” She looked down at the woman in the bed. “Jo! Look what he did! Look what Roger did for you! For all of us!”
The room practically exploded with questions, all of them raining down in a cloud of confusion, surprise, and, honestly, delight.
Tessa stayed silent, though, as the possibility meant so much more to her—not just a beautiful vacation home to share for generations. The loving generosity of the Lawsons had already made that possible. But if she owned the house—
“You guys!” Vivien called out, waving the diary. “There’s more! He wrote more! There’s a handwritten note inside the back cover that I never saw before.”
Silence fell as she opened the notebook completely, lifted the unglued backing and turned it for them to see a man’s strong handwriting in blue ink.
“He speaks from the grave,” Maggie muttered, reaching out her hand. “May I, Vivien?”
“Of course.” She gave her mother the book and they all took one collective breath.