Chapter 48
Chapter Forty-Eight
Mason
“ W hy the hell are you here?” Lucas demanded as I climbed out of my Bronco, taking in the sight of the leveled barn. I had heard that the fire had taken the whole thing… But I never imagined what was in front of my eyes now…
Which was just a leveled pile of steel and remnants of what was once a really nice barn.
“I’m just here to help you pick through it, and be here for you as a friend,” I said carefully, surprised that Lucas was still angry. “Have you taken the money to the bank yet?”
He shook his head. “I’ve been a little fucking busy, Mason.”
I winced at the sharpness in his tone, but continued to ignore it, stepping into the heaps of ashes. “I know. You gonna turn this one into insurance.”
“I don’t know if arson is covered,” he said, his voice falling and losing some of its edge. “I’m still waiting to hear from them, but I’ll take a damn burned barn over losing my ranch. At least that’s not gonna happen.”
I nodded, thankful for the positive outlook he had. “I think you’re right. I think that’s a positive side to this mess.”
“Okay, Dr. Phil,” Lucas chuckled, rolling his eyes at me. “Thanks for that affirmation.”
“You know… Even if Cody did this, there’s a chance that maybe he was just following orders from his dad or—” The sound of a vehicle pulling in cut me off, and both of us turned around to see a black SUV parking next to my Bronco.
“Great,” Lucas muttered. “I should’ve gone to the bank this morning.”
I didn’t understand what he meant until I saw Frank, the bank officer and none other than Brittany, climb out of the SUV. “What is she doing here?”
“She was the biggest offer on the ranch, so that’s probably what she’s doing here,” Lucas snapped at me, shaking his head as he went to greet them.
Well… this makes sense.
Maybe Cody wasn’t on such bad terms with his stepmom. I took a deep breath, standing back as I watched Brittany take in the sight of the barn. She looked… confused?
“What the hell happened here?” she asked, looking to Frank and Lucas, ignoring my presence in its entirety—which was fine with me.
“The barn caught on fire,” Lucas said, his voice flat. “But neither of you have a reason to be here, and you both can leave.”
“Now Lucas,” Frank said with a sigh, running his fingers through his white beard. “You know that today is the cut off, and Brittany is the buyer… So I have to show her the damage that was done last night in the fire. ”
“I didn’t realize it was this bad,” Brittany gasped, and I couldn’t tell if she was feigning it or if it was genuine. “This is going to take money off the price, right? Because there’s no way that I’m paying full price for this eyesore.”
“You don’t get to buy my ranch. I have the money,” Lucas said through gritted teeth to Frank. “The fundraiser was a success, and it’ll pay it almost in full.”
Frank’s face filled with surprise. “You have the money?”
“Yeah, I told you that I would bring it first thing in the morning.”
“This is true, but you weren’t here first thing this morning, so I didn’t think that you had the money.”
“Well, I have it, and I will happily go get it for you,” he grunted, shaking his head.
“Not with her present,” I stepped up, finally interjecting. “Her stepson was arrested for committing arson last night. There’s no way I’m letting you hand him any large sum of money with her here.”
“Wait, what?” Brittany demanded, and for the first time since her arrival, I realized this reaction was genuine. She looked… pissed. “Does that mean we’ll have to pay restitution for the fire? You have to be fucking kidding me!”
“Easy now,” Frank turned to her. “I think you’re done here… It’d probably be best if you just went ahead and went back to town. I think Sheriff Hewitt can give me a ride.”
“Um, that’s fine, but I’m calling a lawyer, I guess. Oh my god, I am so done with this family. I just want to finalize the divorce and go on.” Her heels dug into the ground as she made her way to the driver’s side of the SUV, shaking her head and cursing the entire time.
I watched her carefully, and couldn’t help but wonder…
Did she know about the fire? Did Cody act alone? Or… is Lucas ri ght?
“I have a hundred grand,” Lucas said to Frank as Brittany’s SUV disappeared down the driveway, her taillights fading. “And I think that will be more than enough.”
“Oh…” Frank’s voice trailed off. “I think that’s plenty to catch you up.”
“Perfect, I’ll go get it,” Lucas said, glaring at me as he made his way to the house. “Y’all can just wait out here.”
Frank let out a sigh as soon as Lucas was out of earshot. “You know, I know that I’m seen as the bad guy, but I’m just doing my job.”
“Yeah, I know,” I gave Frank a half-hearted smile. “I know Lucas is in a mood, but he’s just been through the ringer. It’s like the moment things get made right, it all goes sideways again.”
Frank nodded, looking past me to the fire. “I think you’re right, and I feel for him. His dad went through some similar incidents like this as well. You know there was an old family rivalry going on? I’m sure it’s got nothing to do with all this,” he motioned to the wreckage. “But it sure makes me wonder.”
I furrowed my brow. “I’ve lived in this area and grew up on this ranch, and I don’t ever remember hearing nothing about something like that.”
“That’s because it started well before your time. Lucas’s father only got a big dose of it back when he was about your age. You and Lucas would’ve just been too young. I was just starting as a bank officer.”
I nodded, shifting my weight into the heels of my boots. “So, what kind of family rivalry are you talking about? Who was it? A family here in town? Or was it within the Lowe family?”
Frank chuckled. “You might not want to hold me to the information I’m going to give you, because my memory sure does fail me sometimes, but I think it started within the family. Lucas’s great grandpa was one of the founders of the town and ranch—or maybe it was his great-great grandpa—hell, I’m not sure.” Frank wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Anyway, he had a sister who had gone off and married a man with the last name of Frederickson, and they thought they needed a portion of the ranch. Of course, Lowe agreed. It was her right to some of the land.”
I nodded, pulling out my notepad. Everything that Frank was saying felt brand-new, and I wanted to do some digging into it. If there was any validity, could someone still be holding a grudge? Emma had mentioned that it all felt personal…
And maybe that’s because it was.
“So anyway,” Frank continued. “Lowe gave her the land, but she passed before they had any kids. He let her husband stay there—even after he got remarried and had kids. However, he told them no when they asked for more land to use. I don’t know whether that was right or wrong, but I think there were some other problems.”
I furrowed my brow. “And then what happened?”
“Then the back and forth started,” Frank chuckled. “I know that for a time, it was just petty things. You know, defacing property. I remember my grandmother telling me stories about it—and how it escalated. They were kind of like the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s, I suppose.”
“But when did it stop?”
“When old man Frederickson died, it all seemed to quiet down. However, they lost the land that was given to them by the Lowes in the end.”
“Why?”
“They defaulted on it when they’d kept taking loans up against it. It went back to the bank, and when it did, the Lowe’s bought it.”
“And when did that happen?”
He took a big deep breath. “I don’t know. It was finalized when I was a teenager. I don’t know how much Lucas really knows about it, but I would assume that it’s been talked about at some point.”
I nodded. “This is just news to me.”
“Well, it really died down after a while.”
“What died down?” Lucas asked, carrying the box that had the fundraising money in it.
“The feud between the Fredericksons and the Lowes,” Frank said before I could. “I was just telling him about the old family feud.”
“Yeah, I don’t think there’s any Fredericksons in town anymore. Dad always said that they left town after the last of the feud settled down, I think. I don’t actually know. I was never alive when it happened. It ended a couple of generations before me.”
“And you don’t think it could be why you’re being targeted?” I turned to Lucas, offering it out there.
Lucas was quiet for a few moments, his expression shifting to deep thought. “You know… I never thought about it. I just… I just figured someone wants the ranch. I never thought that it might be someone from that family.”
“I think it’s a stretch,” Frank said with a shrug and smile. “But anyway, let’s get that money to the bank and call this good.”