Authors: Vanessa Stone
He
shrugged. "I consider it money well spent. I'm going to be in town for at
least a few more days and heard about the auction. I thought it might be
fun."
"Fun?
For you maybe, but not for
me," I muttered.
"Where's
your community spirit?" he teased.
"Don't
you tease me about community spirit," I snapped. "In fact, I doubt if
you even know the meaning of the word anymore."
His smile
disappeared. "Memphis, I'm here now, so can we try to make the best of
it?"
I shook my
head. "We could've done that without you bidding for dates, for crying out
loud!"
It was his
turn to shake his head. "I kind of doubt that. Besides, we need to
talk."
"Talk?
No. It's kind of late for that,
don't you think?"
He sighed.
"Look, Memphis, I realize I've made a lot of mistakes—"
"Mistakes?"
I broke in, my eyebrows lifting.
"Is that what you call your disappearing act and breaking off contact for
the past eight years?
A mistake?"
"I
didn't break off contact," he insisted. "I talked to my mom a couple
times…but I figured that the rest of family didn't want to have anything to do
with me after—"
"After
you just walked out on everyone's lives?"
I couldn't help but ask.
"After you walked out on me?" He didn't answer but continued to look
down at me, an unfathomable expression on his face. "Look, Donovan, I
don't mean to make you feel bad, especially right after you've just buried your
father. But to be quite blunt, there's nothing more between us. You left and I
moved on. You've made a life for yourself, and so have I."
"You
get married?" he asked.
I paused,
wondering if I should even answer his question. Then, I decided it wouldn't
serve any purpose not to. "No. What about you?"
"No,"
he said.
I had a
million questions but didn't want to voice them. After all, we were over,
weren't we? He had moved on, and I had just told him that I had. No sense in
dredging up old wounds, opening old scars, and reliving the hurt. "I've
got to go back inside," I said finally.
He sighed
and nodded. "Can I see you tomorrow?"
I thought
about it, and returned the nod. Better to get these "dates" over with
as quickly as possible and then he would leave. I started to head back into the
bar and grill, and then paused to look over my shoulder. "Call me in the
morning. My number’s the same."
Chapter 7
Donovan
I walked
into the attorney’s office behind my mother, with Julie and Shane close behind.
Cameron and Tammy were to meet us here, but Shane, Julie, my mother and I had
come together in Mom’s car. Damien had gone to his hotel room in town where he
was going to stay for a few hours, making phone calls and using their business
center to take care of some business.
The
secretary nodded and smiled as we entered.
"You’re
the
Sandersons
?"
"Yes,"
my mom told her. "We're still waiting for two others."
The four
of us situated ourselves in the comfortably furnished waiting area but no one
spoke. Several minutes later the door opened and Cameron stepped in, standing
back to allow Tammy to enter, and then he closed the door softly behind him.
While Tammy stepped toward the settee where Mom and Julie sat, Cameron remained
standing by the door. I sat in a chair by myself.
"I'll
let Mister Bowman know that you're all here," the secretary said. She
stood, knocked once on the door, and then entered the attorney’s office,
closing the door softly behind her.
Several
moments later she emerged. "Give him one more minute," she said.
"He's finishing up with a phone call."
We all
waited without much conversation. My mom and the girls murmured softly among
themselves. It wasn't as if my mom didn't have a copy of Dad’s will, but
apparently there were some other items that the attorney had wanted to discuss
with her, as well as the family. Even though I was a latecomer to the entire
situation regarding the ranch, I was interested in knowing how the ranch was
doing, and if Mom would be okay financially, depending on Dad's life insurance
policy coupled with the income the ranch would bring in.
Several
moments later, the door to the attorney’s office opened and a portly,
middle-aged, and balding man appeared. "Lisa Sanderson and family?"
he said, eyebrows lifted. He nodded without waiting for an answer and
introduced himself. "I'm Steven Bowman
.
Please, come into my office."
As a group
we stood. My mom entered the office first, followed by the girls, Shane,
myself, and then Cameron. There weren't enough chairs in the room to
accommodate us all, so my brothers and I remained standing while my mom and my
sisters each took their seats in front of the attorney’s desk. I glanced around
the well-appointed office. A number of file cabinets were stacked one on top of
the other in one corner, while three or four bookcases filled with law
journals, textbooks, and who knew what else took up most of the other wall.
Behind the attorney’s desk was a window that overlooked Main Street, still
relatively quiet and calm at nine o'clock on a Monday morning. The attorney
cleared his throat and looked at all of us in turn, and then at my mother.
“First, I
want to express my condolences regarding Frank's death," Mr. Bowman began.
"He was a good man."
"We
hadn't realized that Dad had procured the services of an attorney,"
Cameron stated
.
"How
long have you been working with him?"
Mr. Bowman
looked at Cameron. "Frank contacted me about three years ago," he
explained. "He wanted to have his affairs in order, especially in regard
to the ranch. Now we need to go over all that with you, Missus Sanderson."
I glanced
at my mom, who watched the attorney with a wide-eyed and somewhat surprised
expression. I knew that she had been unaware of my dad’s seeing an attorney,
and I could imagine that she was wondering why he wouldn't have discussed it
with her.
"Well,
let's get started," Mr. Bowman remarked, again clearing his throat.
He opened
the file folder in front of him on his desk ledger and retrieved a copy of what
I assumed was Dad’s will. He glanced at my mom.
"He's
left everything to you, Missus Sanderson with full discretion as to how you
want to deal with the property. If you hold onto it, and upon your death, the
property will be in turn handed down to your children. Frank did not specify
how the division of the property would work out, but did mention that you and
the children could discuss that if, and when the time came." He paused.
"Missus Sanderson, I'm not sure if you or Frank ever discussed the state
of the ranch in the event you both passed away, but I would strongly urge you
to have some discussions with your family, make decisions, and put those decisions
in writing so that there's no confusion regarding dispensation in the
future."
While I
realized that the attorney was right, I didn't want to think of my mom dying
anytime soon. Then again, I hadn't thought my dad would die so young, either. I
glanced at my mom and saw her nod.
"We
will deal with that very soon, Mister Bowman," she stated. "Can you
tell me what's going to happen now?" She shook her head. "Frank's passing
was extremely unexpected. I don't even know if I have access to some of his
accounts. We were joint account holders at the bank, and I know that both our
signatures are on the deed for the ranch when it was
handed down to us, but I'm not sure about any
acquisitions he's made in the past… well, the past ten or fifteen years, I
guess."
I glanced
at Mom, and then at Tammy, who offered a slight shake of her head. Over her
shoulder, I saw Cameron frown.
"You
mean Mom might have some difficulty with any business dealings that have to do
with the ranch?" Cameron questioned.
The
attorney shrugged.
“Probably not, at least not right now.
There is documentation regarding the ranch finances, separate from the will,
which like I said, leaves all of his monetary assets - and debts - to you,
Missus Sanderson." He cleared his throat, glanced down at the papers before
him, and continued rather hesitantly. "However, I regret to inform you
that the ranch has been struggling for the past few years—"
"Exactly
what do you mean by struggling?” I broke in.
"To
be blunt, it's in the red," the attorney stated, studying the figures on
the paper. He glanced up. "I'll be giving you a copy of everything I have.
To be honest, the ranch is in dire straits—"
Mom
gasped, and I glanced over to see her face drain of color. Julie and Tammy
seemed just as shocked, and Shane pushed himself away from the wall where he
leaned, a look of confusion on his face.
"What?"
Cameron asked, a frown darkening his features. "You mean to tell me the
ranch is close to going belly up?"
He glanced
at Shane, the girls, and my mom, then back at the lawyer, his expression one of
intense surprise. He had not looked at me.
The
attorney nodded.
"Unfortunately.
According to the
bank note, property taxes have only been partially paid in the past few years.
The debts accrued by the ranch, for feed, livestock, and equipment have far
surpassed the profits—"
I sat
stunned.
Dad was in trouble and hadn't told anyone.
"How much debt?"
I asked. The attorney glanced at
Mom, the girls, and then at me.
"Close
to one hundred thousand," he said quietly.
Mom let
out a soft wail of despair and both Julie and Tammy grew wide-eyed with shock.
Shane and Cameron exchanged glances and it became quickly obvious that I wasn't
the only one who had been left in the dark. "Foreclosure proceedings
haven't begun, have they?" I asked.
"Not
yet," Bowman said. "But if some of this debt isn’t repaid back by the
end of the month, the bank may very well press for foreclosure. What I need to
talk to Missus Sanderson about is the possibility of filing for bankruptcy—"
"The
Rocking S has been in the family since the early 1930s!" Cameron burst
out. "No one is selling a damn thing, and no one is filing for
bankruptcy." He moved toward the desk. "Mom, you knew nothing about
the financial status of the ranch?"
Mom looked
over her shoulder, tears in her eyes, and shook her head. "No, no
idea!" she got out, her voice soft as a whisper and filled with shock.
"Frank never said anything about financial difficulties.”
"You
never looked at the books, Mom?" I asked.
She
glanced at me, eyes wide with fear. "There was never any reason to. Frank
always took care of the books, though for the past few years, Memphis has been
helping him with them.”
I sighed.
It was obvious that Memphis and I had some talking to do, and that talking
involved more than our old relationship. I glanced up at Cameron. "You or
Shane didn't have any idea that the ranch was in trouble?"
Cameron
glared at me for a moment, then sighed, his shoulders sagging as he shook his
head. Shane shook his head as well. I felt guilty. While I was off in New York
amassing large amounts of money, billionaire status actually, my dad had been
burdened with the finances of the ranch, unable to tell his family what had
been going on. Why he didn't do so was beyond me. Probably a misplaced sense of
pride or downright stubbornness,
both which
suited my
dad to a tee. Mom had started to weep, and though Tammy and Julie both tried to
console her, I could tell they were scared too. What would happen to my mom if
she lost the ranch? It was her home, her life.
Cameron
was in no position to take over the ranch; and even though he owned his own
automotive business, he was not in a financial position to help much. For the
other members of the family, one hundred thousand dollars might as well have been
a million. I knew then that I would have to step in, but in such a way so that
none of the other family members knew I was helping. I was already on thin ice
with Cameron, Shane seemed undecided about my presence, and while Tammy and
Julie seemed indifferent, now was not the time for me to be bragging, boasting,
or in any other way letting them know of my successful business ventures or my
financial success. For them, it was a matter of pride. They wouldn’t accept
charity, not even from me. It would be like rubbing their noses in it, and
that's the last thing I wanted to do at this point.
"Can
we please get a copy of everything you have regarding the ranch and my dad's
finances?” I glanced at my mom. "Does she need a power of attorney or
anything to access any of dad's financial accounts?"
The
attorney nodded. "Yes, but Frank signed a release for her to take over his
power of attorney in the event something happened to him."