Chapter 16
“This is gorgeous.” Tessa touched the emerald-colored dress hanging in the walk-in closet in her suite. Where had all these clothes come from? Hudson said he’d take care of it, but he’d been exhausted. He couldn’t have arranged all this while she’d slept.
She’d awoken a few minutes ago from a rare, nightmare-free sleep. For a moment she panicked, but it had only taken the faint scent of bourbon to remember where she was.
She’d felt Sam in this house the moment she’d stepped into the foyer. After Hudson had left her and Lia at the door, they’d talked until exhaustion won. As Tessa drifted off to sleep in the biggest, most comfortable bed she’d ever slept in, a piece of their conversation replayed in her mind.
And I’m your duty.
In more ways than one, little thief, and in some you might not like if you don’t listen to me…or maybe you will.
She might defy his orders and find out.
Josie appeared in the doorway. “Good morning, or shall I say good evening. I’m glad you’re up. It’s time to get ready for the will reading.”
Tessa turned to the stout, petite woman she’d met last night. “Hi.”
“Is Lia still asleep?”
“Yes.” Tessa tightened the belt of the burgundy satin robe she’d found next to the shower. “I just checked on her.”
“Good. Sleep will make her cut heal faster. Ready to get dressed?” Josie placed a travel mug on the shelf. “I brought you tea. There’s food in the sitting room. Wine too.”
“Thank you, but you didn’t have to do that. I could have gotten it myself.”
Josie smiled. “You aren’t used to someone taking care of you, are you?”
“No. Not until Sam.”
“You’d better get used to it when I’m around.” Josie extended an arm. “What do you think?”
Tessa spun slowly, taking in the array of clothes and shoes. “Where did all this come from?”
Josie picked up a pair of jeans and refolded them.
“Hudson asked me to call a personal shopper, so I called the one Vivian and Shayla use. They’re uppity, but they have great taste in clothes.
” Josie swept her arm to the half-dozen dresses and matching heels lining the back wall.
“And I figured you’d need armor for your first meeting with Vivian. ”
“Thank you.” Tessa twisted the belt of her robe into a knot as tight as the one in her belly. “Is Vivian really that bad?”
Josie sighed. “Yes, but she’s family.”
“What about Vivian’s mother? Sam didn’t talk about her much, but I think her name was Diana. Was she uppity too?”
Josie sat on the pretty blue upholstered chair next to the full-length mirror. “Sam’s first wife, Cora, was his everything. Diana was…different.”
A smile hinted at Josie’s lips. “Like Vivian, she enjoyed the finer things and was driven when she set her mind on something, but Sam loved them both. When Diane passed, he made a promise to look after Vivian, and he took promises seriously.”
“And Shayla? She’s Vivian’s niece by marriage from Vivian’s first husband, correct?”
“Yes. Vivian and Shayla stayed close after the divorce.”
Tessa grazed the sleeve of a soft sweater. “How did you know my size? And these colors are perfect for me.”
“Hudson sent me a photo of you, and I shared it with them.”
“What photo?”
Josie pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it to Tessa.
Tessa’s breath hitched. He’d taken it on the boardwalk this morning. Did he think he’d need it to show the cops if she skipped town?
No, she wasn’t running. She wasn’t Frank, and Hudson trusted her.
For now.
She knew that situations changed in a heartbeat. Two days ago, she was content next door to Sam. A few hours ago, she didn’t have a place to live at all and considered sleeping in her office.
Now, she stood in the mansion she’d spent the last year avoiding.
She handed the phone back to Josie. “This is too much.” Her reasons for protecting Sam from Frank, and herself from the fallout of Frank’s chaos, were too much.
Josie laughed. “Trust me, honey. This is nothing compared to what Vivian spends.”
“Well, it’s a lot to me.” She eyed the mug on the shelf and inhaled the smell of something delicious in the sitting room. “Thanks for everything, but I’m sure you have things to do besides hang out with me.”
Josie stood from the chair. “Taking care of the people in this house is what I do. I’m not going to stop because Sam’s gone.”
“Gone.” The whispered word broke Tessa’s restraint.
Josie held out her arms. On a sob, Tessa collapsed into her embrace. As she let her tears flow, she hoped Hudson was finally letting out his grief too. If he kept holding it in, the weight of it might break him.