Chapter 11 #2
Chelsea shook her head. “Dear God, this makes no sense. And it’s totally stupid, but a part of me still can’t even believe my mother did all that, yet I should.”
“I lived the foster life, so I know it to be true,” he declared, “but I do need to move on with my life now.”
She nodded slowly, then turned to Lindsey and said, “I’ll talk to you later.” And, with that, she was gone.
Lindsey faced Sterling. “How are you feeling?”
“Pissed,” he acknowledged, and she winced in return. He added, “I need to contact this lawyer Grandpa used, as well as my attorney, and get this thing moving.”
“Why don’t we find a place where we can pick up a coffee and pull off on the side of the road? Then you can do just that,” she suggested. When he eyed her in surprise, she shrugged. “It just seems that sooner is better in this case, so let’s get the job started.”
And that’s what they did. They picked up coffee nearby, and a small park was up ahead, so they pulled in there.
He got out and started making phone calls.
Lindsey walked around a bit, found a bench, and just relaxed, realizing that things had been put into motion and that they would not come out of motion easily.
This would be the state of his world for a little while.
She did remember the property somewhat from her visits to buy vegetables, and what she had seen was absolutely gorgeous.
If he managed to regain that, it would be huge.
She understood that there would probably be a legal fight over it all, but she didn’t necessarily think it would be all that bad.
First, Penny was too broke for lawyers and a lengthy battle, right?
Plus, surely a judge would side with Sterling.
But to even have to pay for legal fees at all might burn through a ton of money that he likely didn’t have.
She watched as families walked by—laughing, cheerful, and happy—realizing just how blessed she was to have the family she had.
That made her pick up her phone and call her own grandpa.
He was surprised to hear from her but delighted.
“Is there a particular reason for the call?” he asked curiously.
“No, just a friend of mine is going through some troubled times, and it reminded me how blessed I am to have you in my life.”
“Oh,” he murmured, sounding incredibly pleased. “That’s one of the nicest things anybody has ever told me,” he shared.
“I think that’s a sadness in itself,” she replied. “You were always there, and I haven’t always been the easiest.”
“When your grandmother passed, things changed here, and I know your other grandparents had already passed. So, that was tough on you as well, particularly as you ended up taking over the business and all.”
“Yeah, a lot of loss,” she agreed, “and somehow I ended up ignoring their passing, rather than trying to integrate those losses into my world.”
“You can’t hold that against yourself,” her grandfather replied.
“It is lovely to hear from you though. Tell me what kind of trouble your friend is in.” When she explained it, he snorted.
“I know the woman you’re talking about, and she’s definitely trouble.
Yet he should have no problem getting the land. ”
“I hope so, but you and I both know that just because there should be no problem doesn’t mean it’ll be that easy.”
“True, and, if she’s been working the land for a long time, they might end up insisting that Sterling repay her something.”
“And how fair is that when his grandfather has been paying for all the property taxes and improvements?”
“And he put the property in the grandson’s name, you say?”
“Yeah, apparently he got a little suspicious and had some investigative work done, which revealed that Sterling was alive after all. So since the grandfather had the mother’s will, and the mother’s estate had never been settled, he went through some process that put it in Sterling’s name the minute he turned eighteen.
It had been in trust for him prior to that anyway. ”
“And Sterling’s grandfather did it without telling Penny, which may or may not be deemed appropriate either.”
Lindsey snorted. “Considering that Penny signed her dead sister’s eight-year-old son into foster care and moved right into the home he’d shared with this mother, plus Penny told her grieving father that his grandson had died as well as one of his daughters, I don’t have much regard for Penny or any standing she may think she has. ”
“Oh, I hear you,” her granddad stated. “Greedy people will do all kinds of things to have what they somehow consider as theirs.”
“It’s pretty heartbreaking,” she murmured.
“And you seem to be … you seem to be really affected by it.”
“I am. Is that an odd thing?”
“No, no,” he replied, “I’m not saying that. I’ve just never heard you sound this emotional about anybody before.”
“For one thing, it’s the horrific reality of what has already been done to him, in addition to what Penny’s still trying to do,” Lindsey explained. “Beyond that, I really like him.”
“Now, that’s the part I was getting to,” her grandfather declared, a smile in his tone. “We haven’t seen you get very close to many people in this world.”
“You’re right about that,” she agreed, with a laugh. “I don’t know how this will go, but he’s very nice.”
“In that case, why don’t you bring him around and let me see what kind of a man he is?” suggested her grandfather.
“Well …”
“Are you worried I’ll scare him away?”
“No, he doesn’t seem to scare easily.”
“Not if he’s going after that Penny woman,” he noted. “You do know she’s a bit on the wild side, right?”
“Yeah, and, of all people, Sterling’s got a pretty good idea just what Penny’s all about. Still, I worry that he won’t really know what he’s up against or how ugly people can get until it’s down to the wire.”
Grandfather agreed. “Sterling needs to avoid Penny until they must have a confrontation, and then some intermediaries need to be there.”
“I hear you, and I understand what you’re saying,” she said, “but I’m not sure that’ll be possible.”
“No? In that case, do me a favor and stay a long way away. I’ve never heard much good about Penny. To hear about what she’s done to her own nephew, to her sister’s farm and legacy, to her own father? Well, that just reaffirms everything in my mind.”
“Sterling thinks he can handle it.”
“Of course, but then he’s a young man who may feel he has something to prove and undoubtedly carries an awful lot of anger over all this,” her grandfather pointed out. “While that is completely understandable, it can make for a dangerous situation.”
After she ended the call, she thought about it for a long time, wondering just how ugly this could get.
Even this pretty park location couldn’t keep her mind from wandering back to this worrisome topic.
When Sterling finally got off his phone, he returned to her and sat down beside her, sipping his coffee.
She sat back and waited for him to speak.
“Things are in motion,” he finally announced.
“Both lawyers agree the property is rightfully mine. Yet the question will be whether Penny and Charlie hand it off easily or want to go to a full court case. They may even countersue for money put into the farm. However, Grandpa’s list, documenting what he put into the property over the years, along with his letter stating that it was all mine and that he was contributing to the property for me should really help.
He’d also written that, as far as he was concerned, with his diminishing health, Penny was merely holding the property in trust and was meant to leave as soon as I showed up. ”
“You’re right. That should help a ton. Especially since the documents were written some years ago.”
“The problem is,” he began, studying her carefully, “that this will all come out of the blue for Penny.”
“And yet how much out of the blue is it? She’s probably been looking over her shoulder for a very long time.”
“That’s true, but is anyone ever really prepared for this, even though they’ve known it was inevitable? Even when it’s right there in front of them, they balk. Also, according to Chelsea, the boyfriend is a complete unknown.”
“And an ugly unknown at that,” Lindsey pointed out.
“While you were on the phone, I called my grandfather, the only grandparent I have left, and told him how much I appreciated that he had been in my life all these years,” she shared, feeling the emotions choke her up.
“It’s one thing to see someone else’s reality, but it’s another thing entirely to come face-to-face with the fact that you have been well and truly blessed. ”
“Sounds as if you have been blessed,” he told her, “and that’s a good thing. Not everybody has to find out the ugliness of their family gone awry.”
“Penny seems to be an anomaly like nothing I have ever seen.”
“The fact that she’s a mother and still trying to do this to Chelsea is pretty upsetting,” he replied.
“It’s not unheard of for parents to steal from their kids or to take out credit cards in their kids’ names, you know?
They blow all the money and leave the kids to pay for it, thinking they’ll discharge the debt easily.
Yet it’s not easy on them and starts them out in a hole financially, which completely ruins their strength and confidence. ”
She nodded. “That’s so awful. I’ve seen it firsthand too, when doing people’s taxes.”
“It is awful, but it’s also how some people operate. So, yeah, I hope my aunt hasn’t done that, but it is among the many things the lawyers will be looking for.”
“Right.” Lindsey shook her head. “My grandfather would love to meet you.” When he stared at her, she shrugged. “It just seemed to come up in the conversation.”
He grinned slowly. “It would be interesting to meet a few of the old-timers around this area.”
“He is also familiar with your aunt. He said she’s caused quite a bit of trouble around town, and he also seems to think that she won’t go easily into the night, so to speak.”
“No, I don’t think she will either,” Sterling agreed. “The question is how to make her go without a full-scale battle.”
“She’ll want a payout for one.”
“And she won’t get it, not after Grandpa made it very clear that he had put in all the money, had paid all the taxes, and even now is still paying for the farm. He cut off Penny but still took care of the taxes, protecting the property for me. I’m still shocked about all that.”
Lindsey muttered, “I wonder if Penny did anything for the property at all.”
“Not according to Chelsea. It sounds as if Chelsea did a lot of the labor on the place. And both Chelsea and my grandpa mentioned that Aunt Penny always had big plans, but every attempt she made fell apart.”
“I wonder about that,” Lindsey suggested. “So did Penny keep trying or did she give up after one try and couldn’t quite find her forte?”
“I don’t know, and I’m not too worried about it either way,” Sterling acknowledged. “At the moment I have an awful lot on my hands, and it really doesn’t include time for having those kinds of thoughts. Plus, I’m not feeling that generous.”
“No, of course not,” she stated, with a smirk. “I sure would hold it against her that she left me in foster care and stole my mother’s farm. Anybody would react the same way.”
“It’s definitely how I feel about it,” he confirmed. “We each have to sort out who and what we are and who and what we’ll do and be,” he explained. “I feel bad because I know it will be hard on Chelsea if this all gets ugly. I’m just not sure what other choice I have.”
“You don’t have any other choice, in my opinion,” Lindsey claimed, “because you must speak on behalf of your mother, who can’t defend herself here.”
He frowned at her and slowly nodded. “Wow, I didn’t consider that, but you’re right. She put her heart and soul into that place,” he noted, “and I know it would absolutely devastate her if her sister hasn’t kept it up.”
“Yeah, not to mention what she did to you … and to your grandpa, for that matter.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “For that reason alone, a part of me wants to get her off the farm, … even if I end up selling it.” When she frowned at him, he sighed.
“I have such mixed feelings about it. Definitely I have an attachment to that property because of her and my early memories, but also an awful lot of bitterness after her passing. I’ll need to shake some of that in order to find the joy that I would want to feel there. ”
“Right, and that makes sense. I hadn’t considered that, but it is your property regardless,” she noted, “and even a judge should understand that.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Maybe he would have an easier time if he thinks I’ll turn it into some shrine for my mother. I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t really know what to think right now. It’s all kind of overwhelming.”
“Of course, so maybe you really need to give yourself a break.”
He laughed. “That would be nice, but I’m not sure it’ll happen, at least not anytime soon.”
She just gave him a wise, knowing smile.