Chapter 5

"Anyone feelin' lightheaded and a little silly?" Cut asked while watering the fire.

Coy shook his head. "No. And neither are you."

"Just making sure." Cut shrugged. "I guess all this was for nothin' then."

"Better safe than sorry." Coy continued to beat down the fire spots that kept popping up.

"Yeah, I suppose." Nash sounded disappointed. "I just hate to see all this money burn. We can really use it."

"Is it really that bad?"

"It isn't great. At least what I saw or heard while Mama talked to the bank," Nash shared. "Of course, when I went down to the bank myself, they were happy to take my money and apply it to the loan against the property but wouldn't share details because I was not authorized on the account. Go figure."

"Loan?" Cut asked. "There isn't a loan against the property. Hasn't been since the last expansion right before Pop passed."

"Mama didn't tell you?" Nash paused and perched his chin on the rake he was using. "Why would she keep that a secret?"

"Same reason she kept being sick a secret," Coy concluded. "Didn't want to burden anyone with it."

"I suppose so," Nash agreed. "I just wish she felt like she could come to all of us."

"She knew she could," Cut added, taking a break from the burn pile. "She chose not to. Maybe there's more we don't know yet."

"I think it's time to go through the financials and Mama's will." Coy's suggestion came out sharper than intended but the idea made things feel final. "We don't want to miss anything important and I'd say that loan… is important."

"Are you all trying to reconcile the math like I am?" Cut went on. "If Mama took out a loan to cover her medical expenses because they exceeded what insurance would cover, then how much did she take out and why was she burdened by it? We aren't rich, but we do well. You all get the quarterly financial reports."

"Medical care is extremely expensive," Ransom shared. "Especially something as serious as Lilah's diagnosis, even with insurance."

"I don't have exact figures, but I do believe the loan was in the seven-figure range," Nash shared with the group. "There was a new teller at the bank last time I made a payment. She made those doe eyes at me and I decided to flirt a little. I couldn't get the girl to tell me anything, but when I leaned over the counter to flirt a little more, I caught a glimpse of the screen and there were an awful lot of zeros."

Cut wiped his brow. "Seven figures?"

"Had to have been. I couldn't see the front couple of numbers but what I did see, was enough zeros to land there," Nash said. "And that's after I drained my savings paying off what I could and I know Mama had done the same. That's why she was such a mess tryin' to figure it out."

"She was out of money?" Coy asked.

"Afraid so, big bro. Gone through her and Pop's life savings."

"Hold on a second. Is it even possible she went through that kind of money that fast to the point she was panicking?" Coy asked. "I understand healthcare is pricey, but is it really that pricey?"

"Hard to say without knowing how much she took out against the ranch and seein' some medical bills." Cut shrugged. "Nash, how long did you say you knew she was ill?"

"I don't know. A year maybe? Give or take." Nash used his rake to beat down a small fire that had popped up from a pile of glowing embers. "Not too long. It took Mama pretty quick."

"So, in a year, Mama went through a seven-figure loan, her entire savings and yours… to cover what insurance didn't?" Cut questioned. "That sound right to anyone?"

"Not even a little bit." Coy also went back to working the fire, turning the dampened soil over the glaring embers, clearly frustrated with the reality settling in. "Mama had a secret. A really fucking big one and we need to know what it was."

"I hate to say it, but I agree," Ransom chimed in, trying not to overstep. "This doesn't add up in the least."

"Mama was too smart with money. Too smart with the ranch. Too smart to take out a loan like that. She would've quit her treatments before doing something so drastic without telling us first. She wouldn't risk all of this, not without a surefire plan," Coy went on. "And since when did that woman start keeping secrets? I understand the cancer secret, even if I don't agree, but the money? Loans? Risking the ranch? It's all out of character."

The men mumbled amongst one another, each agreeing with Coy's summation.

"Let's finish up here and get Devyn and Dillon in the loop. Dev has all the files we need, just have to go through them, is all," Coy continued. "You all on board? I know we've been putting it off, and for sound reason, but I think we put it off any longer and we might have bigger problems than the grief we're trying to process."

"Agreed," Cut said as he got back to working the burn pile.

"I miss this." Ransom changed the subject to help take minds off heavy things. There would be time to worry later. "Getting my hands dirty. Sweat on my brow. This is good shit."

"Maybe those plants are putting something off," Nash teased. "Here comes trouble."

"Not much longer, Mr. President, and you'll be free again to drive yourself places, get your hands dirty, and all the other crap you miss." Coy grinned.

"I love what I do. Love serving our country. But man, I hate suits and the other bullshit. It'll be good to get back to doing stuff like this."

"Your plan still to leave politics altogether?" Cut asked.

"For the most part. I don't think you can ever truly leave completely from this level, but I do want a private life again, and focus on things I'm really passionate about. We'll spend time here, of course, helping however we can, and on my family ranch in Montana as well," Ransom answered.

He stood, leaning on his shovel, and thought for a moment. "My main focus will be assisting Coy and his teams with Safe Haven. I've tried my damnedest to put a stop to some of the world's greatest ills while in office but haven't been able to do much. Stonewalled left and right. I think Coy and his team have done more to eliminate human trafficking and equally heinous crimes than any politician can, for whatever reason. So, I'm putting efforts there."

"An honorable effort," Nash said. "I know y'all see some wild and ugly stuff. I don't know how you do it."

"Once you see it, live it, and start fixing it… it gets easier. You don't wish that kind of hurt on anyone but getting to be part of the solution… Well, there's something to that." Coy stared off in the distance for a moment while his own words washed over him. It was as if he was trying to decide if he was being honest about his statement or if it was just some sales pitch he just gave.

Coy had seen the worst the world had to offer and kept going after more. He was at a mental crossroads where he couldn't decide if it was because there was satisfaction in the accomplishments they were making, or if it was to continue punishing himself for his wife's death. Both seemed reasonable, fair, and appropriate assessments. Healthy? Probably not, but his work with Safe Haven was like a lifeline connecting him to his past, as if he'd ever forget, and forging a new future even if it was full of ghosts.

"I don't know how you do it. Just the little bit I understand about what you do and what you see…" Cut said respectfully, "How do you not see it all over again when you close your eyes at night? I don't know how you sleep."

"I don't," Coy admitted.

"You're a damn hero, brother," Nash said, breaking the silence between them. "The ultimate sacrifice, in more ways than one. If only the world knew what y'all did and there was a metal. You'd surely get one."

"The world can't know –– not entirely –– or we lose the upper hand."

"A selfless and thankless job," Ransom said.

"Oh, there's plenty of thanks." Coy recalled the women he'd rescued on his way to Texas, Rexly in particular. The look of relief in their eyes when he helped free them was enough thanks. "You can feel it."

Devyn was approaching with a child's red wagon in tow. "This thing sure came in handy. Why didn't you have kids sooner?"

"Because," Cut responded with a dismissive eye roll.

"Well, snacks are here. Brought you drinks, too. Don't worry, the lids weren't tampered with. I just put some electrolytes in there for y'all so you stay hydrated and healthy." Devyn passed around water bottles.

Nash reached for a half sandwich. "Is this your new role on the ranch? Snack girl? Water girl?"

"Ha. Ha. Don't eat all of those, I'm going to take some to Ran's guys," Devyn shared.

"Of course you are." Cut shook his head.

Coy nodded in the direction of a sedan parked outside one of the work barns where Nash had an apartment above. "Whose car is that?"

"Guessing it belongs to the young lady sneaking out of his apartment right now." Ransom chuckled as they watched a woman tiptoe outside.

"Well, never you mind. You're actin' like a bunch of nosey old biddies gossiping around the fire."

"Isn't that the girl from the funeral?" Devyn asked.

"That's her," he replied.

The woman spotted Nash in the distance and smiled as she got into her car and drove off.

"She seems… nice." Devyn snickered.

"She was Mama's nurse. The one I told you about," Nash said, poking at the fire that was nearly out.

"Let me guess…" Coy teased. "She stayed out here with you to feel close to Ma?"

"She and Ma grew real close. She's as devastated as we are," Nash defended. "You know Mama brought Charlotte some of her famous banana bread nearly every treatment? Didn't matter how sick she was… Ma made a fresh loaf for her and I wasn't allowed any unless Charlotte shared it with me."

Cut let out a slow low whistle. "Banana bread? Wow. She really did like the girl."

Nash nodded. "Pumpkin bread during the holidays."

Devyn gasped. "She made her pumpkin bread? I asked her to send me some at school and she sent me the recipe. No bread."

"Dillon asked too… White House Pastry Chef got a copy of the recipe instead." Ransom laughed. "I guess we all know where we ranked."

"So that's what you were doing last night? Making her banana bread?" Cut teased.

"No. We're both mourning Mama so we spent the night… grieving together."

"So, that's what the kids call it these days." Coy snorted.

"I'm sure they were doing more than grieving…" Cut went on.

"Eww. That's my cue to leave. Did y'all get somethin' to eat because me and this wagon are out of here," Devyn warned. "You boys never change."

Devyn huffed and went on about her way, red wagon in tow. The guys laughed as Devyn's pace quickened when the latest man of interest rotated with another one of Ransom's agents and took post outside the main house.

"You be careful with that girl," Coy warned. "Make sure y'all like each other for the right reasons and not just… making banana bread."

"Nah. It ain't like that. Charlotte is a sweet girl. She's special," Nash admitted. "It's like Mama took one look at her and knew… She saw to it that Charlotte and I… made friends. And I'm sure glad she did and that she got to know Mama."

"This is sounding serious," Coy said. "I think I'm going to go with Dev."

The men laughed at the joke and went back to work, tossing the last of the dirt on the barely smoking pile when Coy's shovel met resistance. He'd hit something hard and dug away the dirt around it.

"What the hell?" Coy said, getting the attention of the other men.

He grabbed the damp handkerchief from around his neck, wiped the sweat and dirt from his face one last time, then bent down and used it to pick up the debris he'd uncovered. The men moved in closer for a better look as Coy pulled a skull from the ashes.

A human skull.

He turned to his family. "We better go take another look at your garden, little brother."