Page 43 of Love, Hate, Love

“Do you know what’s wrong?” she said, turning toward me.

“No. Just go up to the ranch office. Door is open. I’ve got something else I have to do, so I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

“You’re not coming?” she asked, her antenna way up now.

“My truck engine light came on and I want to check it out before it gets dark.” Hopefully she forgot that I not only had a garage, but floodlights I could turn on.

Chapter20

Leah

I sat in the office,my hands shaking so badly that it took me two tries to dial my brother. There was no way it was good news, not when even Kade appeared to be pitying me. He said he didn’t know, but at the very least, he too expected something bad.

“Hey,” Monroe answered.

“What’s wrong? Kade said I needed to call you.” I was gripping the receiver hard enough to crack the thing.

“Leah, I’m really sorry, but they’re pulling your mortgage for your apartment.”

The room nearly swirled around me as I felt like I’d taken a hit in the head. It took a second to get my bearings before I said, “That has to be wrong. I’m up to date on all my payments. I know because there hasn’t been enough time to have missed one.”

“It’s not the payments. It’s some morality clause.” Monroe was speaking to me like he was a doctor with a patient who was getting a bad diagnosis.

“I didn’t sign a morality clause in my mortgage.” There was a mistake, or someone had been screwing with him.

“Leah, I had a lawyer look it over, and I’ve been on the phone with people all day trying to get it fixed. It’s something in the fine print because of the conviction. The lawyer said that we could try to fight it but that odds were the bank would find something to hang their hat on and you’d still be screwed. You’d only end up racking up legal fees.”

I dropped my head into my hand. “How long did they give me to come up with the balance?”

“You’ve got ninety days to pay the mortgage in full or they’ll take the property and sell it at auction.”

They weren’t just taking my home, they were going to obliterate any equity I had. “They’ll never get what it’s worth at auction. By the time they discount it, take what I owe and whatever fees they can screw me out of, I’ll get nothing.”

He didn’t say anything for a few seconds because he knew I was right. There was no silver lining in this storm cloud.

“Leah, I’m trying to find a solution. I’m going to see if Dad?—”

“No. Don’t say a word of this to him or Mom. And he’s not my dad.” Hearing my brother call him that was like a thousand nails on a chalkboard.

“Maybe he can help, though,” Monroe said, almost pleadingly.

Damned if I’d let that man into my life even an inch after what he’d done to me.

“He can’t, and it’ll stress Mom out. You know she can’t handle stress, or did you conveniently forget our childhood?”

There was another long pause while I stared at the door, expecting Kade to stroll in and get another front-row seat, this time forThe Devious Debutante’s Downfall Part Three.

“Maybe Tiffany’s?—”

“No. I won’t have you go to your wife and her family. That’s too much. You can’t do that.” My life might be in the shredder, but I wouldn’t have his marriage be part of the collateral damage. It wasn’t like I had a small mortgage. My financials would strain the sturdiest of foundations.

“I might have a few leads on different lenders that could step in. It’s not a done deal yet.”

“Okay,” I said, struggling to get more words out without my voice cracking.

“I’ll call as soon as I know anything else. Kade obviously understands this is different and can’t wait until Sunday. Just hang in there and––”

“Does Kade know? What did you tell him when you called?”

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