The Country Guesthouse (Sullivan's Crossing #5)(53)

“We are estranged, Your Honor. He’s a...” She cleared her throat. “He’s been in trouble and he stole from me. The problem is drugs, I think. I had to cut ties for his own good.”

The judge’s face remained expressionless. He said, “First your daughter and now your son? What prevented you from being a part of your grandson’s life before, ma’am?”

“My own shortcomings, Your Honor. My daughter and I had a falling-out over my son, her half brother. He was in trouble. He did not treat her decently. No matter what I did, he was always in trouble and I tried my best to help him. Erin, my daughter, she gave me an ultimatum, insisting that I cut all ties with him or with her.”

“And did she give you a reason for that ultimatum?” the judge asked.

“The same reason I had for finally giving up on him. Roger was arrested a few times and even served time in jail. He called Erin for help a couple of times. She gave him money once and was never repaid and she was done with him. I can’t say I blame her but at the time I begged her to be patient and generous. In the end, I suppose it was my mistake. But a mother is stubborn. I wanted to help him straighten out. His father was a terrible influence, Your Honor. Needless to say, the family is split apart. My ex-husband died years ago, my son can’t be trusted and now my daughter is gone. And my grandson is being held away from me.”

“And what measures have you taken to attempt a relationship with your grandson?”

She looked shocked. “He was given to someone else to raise, Your Honor. I filed a request for guardianship and was denied.”

“Did you contact your grandson’s guardian? Did you attempt any kind of reconciliation?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

The judge sighed. “Did you ask to visit with your grandson?”

“No, Your Honor. It was made clear to me by the boy’s nanny that the boy was placed in the care of someone else, that my daughter stipulated he wasn’t to be a part of my life. You can’t imagine how that hurt. I regret not begging my daughter for another chance. I always thought there would be more time to make amends. I also thought Roger would grow up and straighten out but I was wrong about that, as well.”

“Ms. Russell,” the judge summoned, “does Mrs. Addison’s story match what you’ve understood to be true?”

“Not exactly, no,” Hannah said. “Erin didn’t describe it as one falling-out that caused them to be estranged. Erin told us her mother was emotionally abusive and her brother was sometimes physically abusive. Before her death, even before her will was written, she was adamant that she would never be in the same town much less same house as her mother and brother. That’s the main reason she made her home in Madison and not Minneapolis, where we all grew up. And it wasn’t as though Roger was in a little trouble—he’s been arrested and convicted on felonies and imprisoned multiple times. He’s scary and dangerous. Erin didn’t trust her mother to keep Noah safe.”

“We?” the judge asked. “You said where ‘we’ all grew up.”

“Yes, sir. There were four of us from Minneapolis in college together. Best friends and confidantes. We were very close. We all shared stories of our growing-up years. Erin’s sounded especially hard.” She took a breath. “We’ve been best friends for seventeen years, Your Honor. Our friend Kate came to Colorado to help with this hearing if she could, but Sharon is about to have a baby and can’t be here. I believe you have her deposition. We were all together a lot. I’ve been close to Noah since the day he was born.”

“You know Mrs. Addison, then?” the judge asked.

“No, sir. I think I met her once in college but since I don’t recognize her now, I’m not sure I remember accurately. Even if we did meet once, I can’t say I know anything but what Erin told us. She didn’t come to the funeral.”

“And you, young woman—Kate. Did you know Mrs. Addison?”

“I met her once when we were in college,” Kate said. “We were all at the funeral, of course. We were pretty disappointed that Mrs. Addison didn’t even come.”

The judge frowned and looked at Mrs. Addison.

“I wasn’t even informed until the day before the event. I was completely devastated, Your Honor,” the woman said. “I couldn’t get out of bed for days.”

“My deepest sympathy, ma’am,” he said. Then he looked at Hannah. “Since her next of kin didn’t even attend, who made the arrangements? You?”

“Of course,” she said. “We—the three of us—planned it according to Erin’s wishes, took care of the details and took care of Noah. Your Honor, Noah is doing well. He’s in physical therapy for his cerebral palsy and in grief counseling and he misses his mother but he’s coping very well. We’re managing better every day. He didn’t even know he had a grandmother.”

“Oh, Your Honor, I would give anything for a second chance,” Victoria Addison said tearfully. “Any kind of second chance! Please!”

“Mrs. Addison, it doesn’t comfort me much to know you were so distraught over your daughter’s death that you couldn’t even attend her funeral. I would be concerned about a child in your care if your constitution is fragile.”

“I was afraid to go,” she whimpered. “They all hate me! My daughter told her friends that I was a horrible mother and I couldn’t face them in a public setting. I admit, I made mistakes, but I loved my daughter. You can’t imagine the pain of not having made amends and getting to know Noah before she was gone!”