Page 95 of Grit
Ninety days was three months. Right around the end of the year. After Christmas but not after New Year’s.
“I could sell cows,” she said.
“Didn’t you tell me prices were crap right now? That’s why you’re waiting to cull?”
“Yeah.” She was sitting at the small table in Cary’s room, and he was opening a bottle of wine for them. “But I could sell some, even if I took a hit.”
“Which would screw up both your herd and possibly your income for the rest of the year, right?”
She shrugged. “Ninety days, Cary.”
He handed her a glass. “No problem.”
She smiled. “Do you have a magic money tree I don’t know about? I thought we were friends who kiss. You holding out on me?”
He sat across from her. “I already talked to my banker, okay? Give me the word and I’ll have one hundred grand in your account in four weeks.”
Melissa froze. “Cary, you can’t just give me one hundred grand.”
“I’m not giving it to you. It’s a loan. Not a gift. You’re gonna pay me back, just like you were gonna pay Greg and Beverly back. I’m just not gonna be an asshole about it.”
She shook her head. “I can’t take money from you.”
“The terms of this loan would be ten years. And you’d pay me back in two, right?”
She kept her face blank. “The harvest next year should be enough. Butshouldis not definitely, Cary. I can’t guarantee—”
“No one can guarantee anything in farming, okay? I get that. That’s why I got approved for a ten-year note. You’d have to pay the interest, but you’d have ten years.”
“I can’t take your money.”
“Why?” He leaned forward. “Why not? I have a hell of a lot more confidence in you than I do in anyone else I work with because I know you take care of your shit.”
“But I haven’t taken care of this, have I?” She shook her head. “This is my fault. I should have read that note before—”
“No, fuck that!” He lowered his voice and reached for her hand. “I’m sorry, but fuck that, Missy. Calvin should have told you what the terms were. He should have told you, and he shouldn’t have waited three years to do it. If you were my wife, I wouldn’t borrow a hundred grand from Mother Teresa without telling you.”
She squeezed his hand. “She was a nun. I’m pretty sure she didn’t have that kind of cash to loan out.”
“Missy—”
“My mom is threatening to cash in her retirement account.”
“And she will take a huge financial hit if she does that. Let me help you.”
She put a hand on her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. “Why are you doing this, Cary?”
He stood, took her wineglass, set it down, and drew her to her feet. Then he put his arms around her and held her close. “I’m doing this for all the reasons I said. I’m doing it because I’m your friend. Because you’re a good businesswoman and I trust you. And I want to help.”
She slid her arms around his waist and pressed herself into his body.
He kissed the top of her head. “And I’m also doing this because I love you, Miss Melissa Oxford. I want to make your life a little bit easier.”
She froze, but Cary kept swaying back and forth.
“You’re probably going to freak out that I said that, but let’s be honest, you already knew. I’ve loved you for years. I’ve wanted you for years.”
She looked up at him with wide eyes. “Cary—”
