Page 102 of Peach Tree Family

"We'll go for a drive," Seth said and got them on the road.

"I found out why my aunt is here. She wants money. She wants me to sell the house and give her the money. She said I owe her, but she's really blackmailing me. I either give her the money or go to jail and lose Ace. I guess I should be grateful she didn't already have me arrested."

"What are you going to do?"

"The house was built by our great-grandparents. I don't want to give it up, but it's better to lose the house than Ace. It makes me sick that she's using Ace as a bargaining chip, but that means she is willing to give up on him."

"So you'll sell?"

"I might have to, but I own it jointly with Ace. My aunt is not in charge of Ace's stake in the house. One of Mom and Dad's friends is. He would have to give permission for the sale to happen." Theo still doubted he could find a buyer, but there was another obstacle. "If I give my aunt the money, I would only have her word that she would give up on Ace. That means I can't give her anything before I have custody of Ace, but I don't know if she'll agree to that."

They drove for a while, following the river, and seeing all the signs of spring. The riverbanks were turning green, and in some places, colorful with flowers.

"How did Ace seem?" Theo asked.

"Poor guy was sad, but then there were cats to wrangle, and Mitch and Rico are building a playhouse for Sammy. It was supposed to be just a dollhouse but it kept getting bigger. Ace and Sammy are helping. I wanted to lend a hand, but they didn't need all that many extra hands."

"I'm glad things are busy over there. That will help keep Ace's mind off our aunt being here," Theo said. "We can get some lunch and take it over to them. Maybe from that barbeque place."

They drove a little longer then circled back to L&L barbeque. The small building with its big roof and all the open air cooking on the side got Seth's approval.

"That's what a barbeque place should look like," he said.

Getting closer, Theo saw that they would have to park on the rise then walk the rest of the way toward the riverbank. Just as Theo, got out of the truck, he got a call from Mrs. Del Rio. "My real estate gal just let me know that a woman who said she was your aunt has been inquiring about the sale of your house and land."

Hearing that, Theo let Seth take care of the food while he stayed by the truck and talked to her.

"That was my aunt, but the house isn't hers to sell," Theo told Mrs. Del Rio.

"That was my thinking. Your aunt spoke like she was sure the property would be on the market soon, but I knew that couldn't be right. That's why I wanted to speak to you."

Theo decided to just come out and tell her the truth. "My aunt thinks she can blackmail me into agreeing to sell the house and give her the money." Theo grit his teeth then he continued. "You see I don't have custody of Ace yet. She does. But I couldn't leave Ace with her." Theo told her about his aunt's boyfriend and hoped she would understand the situation he was in.

After he was done, Mrs. Del Rio's voice was shaking as she told him, "Well, that aunt of yours, she is... I'll be ladylike and say no more. But I do have to tell you, honey, it's my fault your aunt thinks the house is worth blackmailing you for. I had my real estate gal look into buying it a while back. I asked her to find the owner and make an offer. I guess your aunt got wind of it. I didn't offer all that much really. I'm sorry, honey."

"Our aunt is just greedy. It's not your fault."

"This boyfriend isn't around here, is he?" Mrs. Del Rio wanted to know.

"I don't know."

"You need to let Sheriff Jackson know about him, just in case."

"And tell her I took Ace away without getting custody of him first?" Theo said.

"Ah. Well, that's what lawyers are for." Theo was about to say he couldn't afford one and was still looking at Legal Aid, but she guessed the truth. "You don't have one? Let me talk to mine. See how you can get on the right side of this."

Theo thanked her, and leaned against the truck door. That explained why his aunt was doing this, but he still didn't have a solution.

While he waited, Theo could see Seth waiting in line for the food. He went down to join him, but then he had to step away to take another unexpected call.

On the way back to the truck with the food which smelled amazing, Theo told Seth what he found out. "Mrs. Del Rio wanted to buy the house and the land at one time. Now she feels bad that her offer made Aunt Cindy see dollar signs, so she offered to get her lawyer involved. Then Julian called to tell me Mrs. Del Rio asked him to help us out too, and a custody lawyer would be in touch with me. She called it an 'all hands on deck situation'."

"That's good. You'll take their help, right?" Seth asked and gave him a sideways look.

"I haven't let my pride get in my way so far," Theo said. "This is too important. I'll take whatever help I can get, but that doesn't change the fact that I basically kidnapped my little brother."

"No one in their right mind would call it that," Seth said. "You're a good big brother."

"Maybe you can be a character witness for me," Theo said as they climbed into the truck, but then he noticed that Seth stopped and frowned.

"What is it?" Theo asked him.

Seth stopped frowning but he could only manage a sad smile. "I would do anything to help you and Ace stay together," he said, but for some reason, his words gave Theo an uneasy feeling.

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