Chapter 13
“Listen, I’m just going to cut to the chase,” Greg, our family attorney, said, resting against his high-backed desk chair. “The financials are in bad shape, Beth. I think your best bet is to sell. He left you in charge of making the decisions when it comes to the place.”
I blinked at him a couple of times, eyeing the stack of papers on the desk. “They can’t be that bad.” I scooped them up, and began to flip through them one by one, my stomach clenching with every new bit of information. By the time I set them back down and looked up at the balding, sixty-something lawyer, I knew exactly why my mom had put me up to this task. Sifting through all the debts and underpayments was grueling.
“Two-hundred-fifty thousand dollars,” Greg said with a sigh, totaling them up for me. “And that’s just barely scratching the surface.”
“Why did they take out a line of credit,” I groaned, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “I don’t know why they didn’t just sell off some of the equipment to pay for these.”
“Well,” Greg clicked the pen in his thin fingers, “ Your father was a stubborn man, and you and I both know that he was not going to give in to anyone else’s advice. He’s defaulted time and time again, and still, he always kept trying to make it work.”
“So, you’d been telling him to sell some assets to pay this off, right?” I leaned my elbow against the conference room table, resting the side of my head against my hand. I didn’t want to blame Greg, but at the same time, their financial predicament was… bad.
“Look, I’ve been working on him for years to get this sorted out, thinking of the mess that it would leave behind if he didn’t get it under control. He didn’t listen, and now you and Andrea are having to suffer the consequences. He just kept thinking that he was going to dig himself out with hard work—but hard work doesn’t make lenders happy.”
“Did Mom not know?” I studied his face, watching lines gathering around his chocolate-brown eyes as he hesitated. He had to be at least ten years my mom’s senior—and I was pretty sure that we were related somewhere down the line...
“Andrea kind of knew, but she put all her trust in your dad.” He paused, letting out a heavy sigh. “I really don’t know what else to tell you, Beth. You got stuck with a hard decision. Honestly, my advice would be to sell the ranch, cut your losses, and use the money to buy your mom a house in town. You’ll make plenty to put back for your kids someday.”
“I want my future kids to be able to see where I grew up,” I countered, shaking my head.
He chuckled. “Well, you can point it out to them when ya drive past. That’s how it works for a lot of us. Nothing wrong with it.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but then relaxed. He was just doing his job, but… “I don’t think I can sell the ranch. It would ab solutely devastate Mom—even if she’s not showing it right now.” I took a deep breath before I continued, already having considered the worst-case scenario. “I have nearly one-hundred-fifty thousand in savings. Will that keep the debt collectors at bay?”
Greg’s face dropped. “Don’t lose your life savings on the ranch.”
“I can build it back up,” I said with a shrug. “It’s just money.” I hesitated as the emotions began to swell in my chest and cleared my throat. “Greg, she’s all I have left. I don’t want to dump her off in some house in town. That ranch is everything to her.” And maybe it means more to me than I thought it did.
He nodded. “That’s up to you. Take those.” Greg gestured to the papers. “Once you’ve had a chance to really look them over and think about it, you come back and see me. I won’t let anything happen until then.”
I gathered up the stack of documents, shoving them into my messenger bag I’d brought. I had made it a point to dress a little nicer for the visit, putting on a pair of dark wash trousers and a white blouse—but that was as good as it got. I slung my black bag over my shoulder and rose to my feet.
“Thanks,” I forced a half-hearted smile. “I’ll try and come up with something over the next few days.”
“Yeah, of course, Beth. Like I said, I won’t let anything happen until you make up your mind one way or the other. No need to rush it.”
I turned to go, trying not to feel like I was drowning.
“Oh, one more thing,” Greg’s voice caught me as I opened the door.
“What’s that?” I stopped, peering back at him .
“You know, I have some good connections in the DFW area. It’d be a great way for you to be close without being too close, if you know what I mean. Or also, my wife is on me to start slowing down…So I could use the help here, if you considered staying. It’s not criminal defense in Chicago, but it’s still interesting. Trust me. ”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I gave him a grateful smile. “But right now, I’m just trying to take it day by day. I’m not ready to go back to work. I won’t be leaving town any time soon either, but I doubt I’ll stay too long.”
“Good on you to put your mom first like that,” Greg’s gaze was full of sympathy. “Y’all sure haven’t had it easy. But did you hear about Sarah Armitage?” he added suddenly. “I saw it on the news first thing this morning—and I just can’t even believe it.”
My mouth went dry at the mention. “Yeah, it’s horrible, really.”
“Shot to death.” He shook his head, despair written all over his face. “Can’t even fathom who would want to hurt that woman. Everyone loved her.”
I nodded, trying to ignore the sick feeling in my gut. “It’s shocking.” With that, I slipped out of the conference room, quickly making my way out of the law office. I hadn’t checked the news since the night before, and obviously, I had missed them finally breaking the story.
I pushed through the glass door and stepped out onto the quaint Main Street. A cool breeze blew through, whipping my hair around my face, and I peered up at dark gray clouds that were covering the sun. I hadn’t watched the news, but it appeared that it might rain. My eyes then drifted to the old truck waiting for me, parked right off the street. I headed toward it, already dreading the conversation I was bound to have with Mom when I made it home. But as much as it made sense to sell the ranch...
It just wasn’t going to happen.
She wouldn’t have to worry about that.
I stepped down off the sidewalk and reached for the handle, wrapping my fingers around it.
“Beth!” a deep voice caught my attention. “Beth Young, is that you?”
You have to be kidding me.
I plastered a smile on my face as I looked up, expecting to see someone who went to church with my parents or something, but instead, the face I saw made my chest feel tight. “Hey, Lucas.”
“Hey,” he sounded out of breath with his snapback hat on backwards and his rugged complexion dotted with beads of sweat. “I was hoping to catch you around.”
“Yeah?” I studied his faded and stained jeans paired with an equally faded red T-shirt. “What can I do for you?”
“Uh, see, I was talking to Ty and Gabriel, and they said they saw you at Outlaws with Sarah the night she... you know .” His face contorted with emotion, and for a moment, I thought he might break down in tears right there on the street.
“I was there with her,” I admitted, my eyes searching around the empty area. “But not very long. She left before I did.”
He nodded, his expression difficult to read. He had once been one of the most popular guys in school—the cliché quarterback of the football team and what not—and had been with Sarah since sophomore year. “I just wanna know if you saw anything. ”
“I didn’t. I didn’t see anything but her walk toward the exit.” I chose my words carefully. I didn’t even actually see her leave the place. I just made that assumption. “I’m so sorry that you’re going through this. I hope they can find some an?—”
“You just lost your dad, right?” he countered, his voice going up a notch as he cut me off.
I tugged on the handle, opening the door a little. “Yeah, I did.”
“How’d you lose him, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Well, I do. But whatever.
“He was allergic to wasps and was stung.”
“Dang, that’s brutal.” Lucas said, though his voice seemed devoid of any real sympathy as he took a step toward me. “So, what did Sarah tell you that night?”
“Um, I don’t know what you mean. We just had a couple of drinks and then she left—that’s it,” I reiterated, watching his lanky frame closely as he took another step toward me. It only left a few feet between us, and I squeezed the door handle a little tighter.
Lucas was unfazed, his eyes staying trained on me. “You keep saying that, but did she mention me at all? Did she mention the divorce? I can’t see her trying to take you under her wing, and not mention me.”
I couldn’t tell if he was searching for some kind of closure or if he was angry with me, his tone of voice growing more strained by the second. “Lucas,” I began calmly. “She briefly mentioned the divorce, but we didn’t get far into the conversation before she had to go. She didn’t say much at all…”
“Go where? Where’d she go?”
Jeez.
“She said the bathroom, but she never came back,” I answered quickly, holding up a hand in surrender position. “I don’t know anything more than that.”
He shook his head, and I noted his clenched fists. “Was Garrett there?”
I knew the color drained right out of my face, and as I opened my mouth to conjure up some sort of vague answer, Lucas closed the distance between himself and my truck.
“He was there, wasn’t he? He’s always there!” Lucas’s fist slammed down onto the hood, rage turning his face red. “He had something to do with it. I know he did!”
“I don’t know,” I said, trying once again to remain calm. I took a step to the side, popping the driver’s side door open and situating my body just behind it. It put something between us—just in case. “I’m really sorry for what happened. I know that it can’t be easy?—”
“And you know what?” Lucas cut me off, his voice still oozing with anger. “His daddy down there at the sheriff’s office ain’t gonna do a thing about Sarah. Just like he didn’t do a dang thing about Sam. He’s just too busy tryin’ to cover up his son’s messed up head!”
My chest tightened a little more as I slid a little further behind the door. “I don’t know. I just really need to get home.”
“I don’t know why you ain’t angry,” he sneered, shaking his head as he stood, looking ready to fight. “He’s a loser, Beth. He did somethin’ to her,” Lucas continued to rant. “Just like he killed your brother—and yet, you just sit here in silence, protecting him.”
“I have to go,” I nearly shouted, making a lunge for my truck’s driver’s seat. I slammed the door and locked it in one big swoop, barely able to breathe as I fumbled for the keys.
“You might as well have done it yourself!” Lucas continued to yell, jerking on the door handle. “You’re just as guilty as he is for knowing. You’ll pay for it, Beth.”
My hands shook as I finally located the keys at the bottom of my bag, and I shoved them into the ignition. The truck roared to life shortly after. Lucas continued to jerk at my door handle, and I threw the truck into reverse anyway, fear pumping through my veins. I shot backwards into the street, leaving him standing in the empty parking spot.
He threw his hands into the air at me, still just as angry as before. “You tryin’ to run me over, Beth? That’s it! You’ll pay. ”
But I could hardly hear him as I zoomed off down the street.