Page 5 of Redemption

“Are you sure you don’t wanna stay the night? I hate the thought of you heading home in the rain.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes darting back towards the house. “Nah, I think it’s best I go home. I’ll see you in the morning though,” he said and with a wave, he was running off the porch and heading over to his car which was parked next to my truck.

I sat for a moment longer before I got to my feet, my bones aching like I was sixty instead of thirty. I locked up the front door, turned out the lights and checked that none of the girls were still downstairs. They’d all gone to their rooms. Was it weird that we all still lived at home? I couldn’t tell. We had all moved out at some point but ended up back at the ranch and then just settled again.

What did I do now? Did we stay? Did we sell up? My gut clenched at the thought of selling this place where we’d all grown up, where we had all the memories of our parents. I shook my head and decided these thoughts were gonna be no good when I’d had wine and was grieving.

I took myself off to bed. My room was the biggest with an adjoining bathroom. The widewooden window sat low on the wall and looked out over the front of the ranch. I had a baby blue and white patchwork loveseat under the window where I usually found August sitting and reading; she said it was the perfect view even though she was only looking at her book.

My king-size bed called to me and I changed into pajamas and collapsed into it, sinking into a deep sleep almost immediately. I woke with a start a few hours after I drifted off. My eyes scanned the darkness but I couldn’t see anything.

“It’s the wine,” I groaned, burying my head in my hands. I scrubbed my face then got up, opened the drapes and cracked my window a little so I could listen to the rain as I drifted off again and it felt like my Daddy was right there, watching over me.

CHAPTER TWO

Katarina

“You’ve got to be kidding me? We’re broke?” I cried.

The lawyer nodded solemnly and I fought the overwhelming urge to scream until my voice cracked. Because the shit news just kept coming.

It had been four weeks since we scattered my father’s ashes, and his absence was still an aching chasm in all of us. We’d been just about getting by with us all pitching in and Leo helping out too but I knew we were barely keeping our heads above water. What I didn’t realize is that right under that water were sharks, waiting to take chunks out of us.

Daddy had always kept me away from thebusiness side of the ranch, insisting that when the time came, he would take me through it all and show me the ropes. I always wondered why he was so protective of the books and now I guess I knew.

I scrubbed my hands through my hair, tugging on the pale blonde ends and the pain traveled up my scalp, grounding me. Glancing out the kitchen window, I watched as Daisy walked one of the horses back into the stables, her lasso clipped to her waist. She was a whizz at roping cattle, could out-rope any of the ranch hands and I’d wondered if she would enter rodeo events but she had other passions.

“How long?” I asked.

“Beg pardon, Miss Cartwright?” Peter Davidson, my father’s lawyer, asked.

“How long until we lose the ranch?”

“Oh forgive me, I see. Well, you’ve got enough to get you through the next few months but unless you do something soon, likely six months, give or take a few weeks. I’m so sorry. Charlie was a good friend of mine and this is the last thing I want to be telling you girls.”

I nodded, my tongue glued to the roof of my mouth. “What if we sell off some of the land? Or sell the little cabin behind the house?”

Peter didn’t meet my eyes as he shook his head. “You could try and sell off some land, but it won’t be enough. Charlie’s been in the red for years. I’m amazed he managed to keep it going this long. He’d been borrowing. And as his beneficiary, it now falls to you.”

Of course it fucking did.

“FUCK!” I shouted, unable to keep it in.

Peter twitched at my outburst.

“I apologize.”

He waved a large hand. “No need, I can only imaginethe grief—” He rolled his lips inwards at my stern glare. If one more person told me that they didn’t know how I was coping, I would go on a rampage.

“We’re gonna lose it all,” I said absently.

“You have six months.” Peter tried to be positive.

I snorted. “I honestly don’t have a fucking clue what I’m doing, Peter. Daddy always kept me away from the business side of the ranch. Now I know why.”

“I understand. But six months is a lifetime away yet, you’ve got time. I’ll leave you to it but let me know if you need anything.” He shuffled his papers and put them back into his plain black briefcase. He drank the rest of his coffee before I showed him to the door.

“Once again, Katarina, I’m very sorry.”

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