Page 95 of Brother In Arms

Chapter 32

Bailey

“Well, it ain’t pretty, but it’s totally doable,” Shelly said, sitting back in her chair.

I sighed and pressed my fingertips into my eyes, rubbing. “I’m really starting to hate Blue Hills, which is miserable because I’ve always loved that place. I was always way more invested in it than any other person in my family, including my dad.” I sighed and turned my head to stare out Shelly’s office window. We’d just finished poring over the financials to see if I had enough to refund the money owed on incomplete contracts with the owners of the horses that had been housed at Blue Hills. Not all of them were as appreciative of the bait and switch to keep their animals safe during the crisis, either. A few of them threatening to sue until Marion Cranston stepped up and threatened to take offense.

That shut them up in an impressively short amount of time. God forbid anyone offend Mrs. Marion Cranston. Their reputation would take years to recover. I was beginning to severely doubt that my family name ever would.

“So please tell me you’re saying that we can do it, without selling the farm. Because I don’t want to have to sell it only for it to end up with the GDG anyway.”

Shelly laughed a little and said, “Don’t you worry, I took that into account. No, when I say it’s doable I mean it’s totally doable but it ain’t pretty. It would literally leave you down to practically nothing in the business accounts you have access to, and your personal accounts to make it happen. The good news is-”

I stopped her, throwing up my hands and saying, “Ah, finally, there’s some good news in here somewhere!”

She snorted and repeated herself, “The good news is, that once all the legal bullshit is dispensed with, you’ll have enough for the renovations you want to make and to get Blue Hills up and running the way you want it.”

“Yeah, that is good news, if it weren’t for the fact that the legal battles are likely going to take years to complete.”

“Not with what Data and I dug up,” she sang out.

I let out an explosive sigh, “Lawyers, they get paid to move things along at the speed of snail.”

Shelly laughed, “Won’t argue with you there.” She let out a gusty sigh of her own and said, “I know it’s a lot of shit that’s come down in a real short amount of time, and it feels like the whole world is fucking you raw, but this is it, I promise.”

“God, so is this what the bottom feels like?”

“Yep, but I’m here to tell you, when you’ve hit bottom you’ve only got one direction left to go.”

I smiled and nodded at Reaver’s cousin, “It’s just tough to stay positive right now.”

“I totally get it, trust me.”

A knock fell at Shelly’s front door and she lit up, “Who’s that?” I asked as she pushed herself up out of her chair.

“That,” she said, “Is plan ‘B.’”

“Plan B?” I echoed, confused and got up to follow her. She went out to the kitchen and opened up the door.

“Hi!” Ashton and Hayden called in unison.

“Shhh! Harmony is down for a nap,” Shelly said, laughing.

“Oh, sorry!” Hayden whispered back.

“Dining room table,” Shelly said. “More room to talk.”

We went to the dining room table and sat. It seated six, so we all just sort of gathered around the middle. Shelly went back to her office and brought out her laptop.

“Okay, I called this little meeting because I’ve been doing some research and crunching the numbers and Ashton, I think I have a deal for you…”

An hour later we sat around the table in silence, Ashton saying “Let me get this straight, you want me to buy into a horse farm.”

I kept staring at Ashton and wondering why we were even having this conversation, I mean Hayden Michaels I understood because her family had money but Ashton Howard?

“What I’m proposing isn’t so much a buy-in, as it is buying Bailey’s brother out. The cost for renovations can be paid back in full as soon as the money comes up, and that would leave just interest on the loan which could be worked out over a matter of the first five years. All of the facilities are in place for the most part, all you need is lodging for guests and to rebuild the house, right?”

“And horses… and probably the first year’s operating costs –”

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