Page 11 of Bred for the West

“He thinks he can pull this ranch out from under me apparently but that isn’t going to happen. There’s no way. We’re married and have a baby on the way. Those were the two conditions. I was the only one at the will reading. I don’t even know who Benson is.”

“Let’s not get worked up over it. I’ll go change and we can just go to the lawyer’s office. Maybe get there before Benson and ask a few questions of our own.”

“I like how you think.”

He wrapped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. His hugs were so comforting.

Wren could tellthat Hudson was nervous. He hadn’t said a word since they left the house and he was fidgeting with the cover he had on his steering wheel.

This time she reached her hand across and covered his.

“It’s going to be ok you know. You’ve done everything right.”

He squeezed her hand.

“Thank you. And you know, I saw a different side of you today, that surprised me. I think that we have a little more to talk about, like maybe back story. You took charge when he presented me with those papers like you knew what you were doing.”

“Oh, yeah that. Well, I, oh wait you know what? There’s a hospital in Buffalo right? I think we should stop by there and have a blood draw done for a pregnancy test. That way it’s official and they can’t say anything about a faulty home test.”

“Yeah that’s good thinking. How long does a test like that take?”

“Just depends on how busy the lab is. It’s a weekday and it’s still morning so we might get lucky and they can read it today still.”

“Well then the hospital it is.”

Surprisingly enough the ER wasn’t busy and Hudson knew the girl at the counter so Wren got her blood draw and they turned the test in to the lab. The lab would work on it and call them as soon as the results came up. They were then on their way to the lawyer’s office. An hour early hopefully would beat Benson there.

When they arrived at Hanson Law offices, the secretary greeted Hudson and asked that they be seated until she knew if Mr. Hanson was free to meet. Only a minute later, the woman came out and let them know he could see them.

“Mr. Hansen, it’s nice to see you again.”

“Hudson, good to see you as well. I take it the papers arrived to you safely?”

“They did but I was a bit surprised, and I only received them a couple hours ago.”

“Oh no, well I was afraid of that. I do apologize. I should have delivered them myself. This wouldn’t even need to be a problem if Benson wouldn’t have pushed. He brought his own lawyer into the mix. I’m so sorry for being so rude. Apparently he was under the impression you would not be able to follow through.”

The lawyer turned to Wren and extended his hand.

“My dear lady, my name is Mr. Hansen, I am the family lawyer, or at least for the late Mr. Rivers.”

“I take the blame, Mr. Hansen, this is my wife Wren Rivers.”

“Mr. Hansen, it’s a pleasure to meet you and personally I believe it would be wonderful to have you as the family lawyer.” She looked at Hudson for approval. “I believe I speak for the both of us.” Hudson was nodding his agreement.

“Congratulations to you both, that’s wonderful and good to know for this meeting today. Now you also know that there was one additional stipulation to the will correct?”

“We do sir, and you will be pleased to know that Wren actually took a test this morning that was positive, she’s even got the morning sickness to go along with it.”

“I do extend my sympathy for the morning sickness. That cannot be easy. Seems that I owe you another congratulations. I do need to tell you however, that a home test is not a legal proof of pregnancy. You will need to have a blood drawn test for accuracy.”

“We thought that might be the case Mr. Hansen, so I had Hudson swing by the hospital here first and we had the test done. The lab will be calling us with the results as soon as they are read. She can also email the paper results for your records.”

“You are both very efficient. I don’t think Mr. Benson Rivers will be able to support his case against you. I wouldn’t know what else he could produce. He is also one generation younger than you so you are the older heir. Besides, the will clearly states that the entirety goes to you as long as you fulfill both requests by the deadline and you have.”

“There was a deadline?”

Wren looked to Hudson for an explanation but he only shrugged.

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