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."
I was
rather surprised that my dad had not placed the responsibility for the ranch on
either Cameron or Shane's shoulders. I wasn't surprised that such
responsibility hadn’t been left to me either, as I had been out of the picture
for quite some time.
"What's
going to happen now?" Tammy broached, her eyes filled with tears and her
voice uncertain.
"That
I can't tell you," the attorney said. "I'm sorry that the news isn’t
much better. The only thing that might delay any foreclosure process is for
some kind of a good faith payment to be made against the debts that have
accrued."
Julie and
Tammy glanced at one another, and then at Cameron. "But none of us has
even close to that kind of money. What kind of a payment are we talking about?"
The
attorney shrugged. "Five to ten thousand would be a good start," he
said.
Mom
uttered a low moan and placed her head in her hands. I wanted to say something.
"Mom, we'll figure it out—"
"And
how do you propose to do that, Donovan?" Cameron demanded.
I tried to
maintain the voice of calm, as everyone in the room appeared to be quickly
headed to a state of panic. I forged ahead. "I've got some money put away—"
"Nobody
wants any money from you!" Cameron interrupted. "Who do you think you
are, just popping back into our lives after you've been gone for nearly ten
years, and now here you are, claiming you can save the day? I oughta —"
"Boys,"
my
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."
I was
rather surprised that my dad had not placed the responsibility for the ranch on
either Cameron or Shane's shoulders. I wasn't surprised that such
responsibility hadn’t been left to me either, as I had been out of the picture
for quite some time.
"What's
going to happen now?" Tammy broached, her eyes filled with tears and her
voice uncertain.
"That
I can't tell you," the attorney said. "I'm sorry that the news isn’t
much better. The only thing that might delay any foreclosure process is for
some kind of a good faith payment to be made against the debts that have
accrued."
Julie and
Tammy glanced at one another, and then at Cameron. "But none of us has
even close to that kind of money. What kind of a payment are we talking about?"
The
attorney shrugged. "Five to ten thousand would be a good start," he
said.
Mom
uttered a low moan and placed her head in her hands. I wanted to say something.
"Mom, we'll figure it out—"
"And
how do you propose to do that, Donovan?" Cameron demanded.
I tried to
maintain the voice of calm, as everyone in the room appeared to be quickly
headed to a state of panic. I forged ahead. "I've got some money put away—"
"Nobody
wants any money from you!" Cameron interrupted. "Who do you think you
are, just popping back into our lives after you've been gone for nearly ten
years, and now here you are, claiming you can save the day? I oughta —"
"Boys,"
my
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