Page 14 of Stone Cold Sinner

“Mama didn’t tell you?” Nash paused and perched his chin on the rake he was using. “Why would she keep that a secret?”

“Same reason she kept being sick a secret,” Coy concluded. “Didn’t want to burden anyone with it.”

“I suppose so,” Nash agreed. “I just wish she felt like she could come to all of us.”

“She knew she could,” Cut added, taking a break from the burn pile. “She chose not to. Maybe there’s more we don’t know yet.”

“I think it’s time to go through the financials and Mama’s will.” Coy’s suggestion came out sharper than intended, but the idea made things feel final. “We don’t want to miss anything important, and I’d say that loan… is important.”

“Are you all trying to reconcile the math like I am?” Cut went on. “If Mama took out a loan to cover her medical expenses because they exceeded what insurance would cover, then how much did she take out, and why was she burdened by it? We aren’t rich, but we do well. You all get the quarterly financial reports.”

“Medical care is extremely expensive,” Ransom shared. “Especially something as serious as Lilah’s diagnosis, even with insurance.”

“I don’t have exact figures, but I do believe the loan was in the seven-figure range,” Nash shared with the group. “There was a new teller at the bank last time I made a payment. She made those doe eyes at me, and I decided to flirt a little. I couldn’t get the girl to tell me anything, but when I leaned over the counter to flirt a little more, I caught a glimpse of the screen, and there were an awful lot of zeros.”

Cut wiped his brow. “Seven figures?”

“Had to have been. I couldn’t see the front couple of numbers, but what I did see was enough zeros to land there,” Nash said. “And that’s after I drained my savings paying off what I could, and I know Mama had done the same. That’s why she was such a mess tryin’ to figure it out.”

“She was out of money?” Coy asked.

“Afraid so, big bro. Gone through her and Pop’s life savings.”

“Hold on a second. Is it even possible she went through that kind of money that fast to the point she was panicking?” Coy asked. “I understand healthcare is pricey, but is it really that pricey?”

“Hard to say without knowing how much she took out against the ranch and seein’ some medical bills.” Cut shrugged. “Nash, how long did you say you knew she was ill?”

“I don’t know. A year, maybe? Give or take.” Nash used his rake to beat down a small fire that had popped up from a pile of glowing embers. “Not too long. It took Mama pretty quick.”

“So, in a year, Mama went through a seven-figure loan, her entire savings and yours… to cover what insurance didn’t?” Cut questioned. “That sound right to anyone?”

“Not even a little bit.” Coy also went back to working the fire, turning the dampened soil over the glaring embers, clearly frustrated with the reality settling in. “Mama had a secret. A really fucking big one, and we need to know what it was.”

“I hate to say it, but I agree,” Ransom chimed in, trying not to overstep. “This doesn’t add up in the least.”

“Mama was too smart with money. Too smart with the ranch. Too smart to take out a loan like that. She would’ve quit her treatments before doing something so drastic without telling us first. She wouldn’t risk all of this, not without a surefire plan,” Coy went on. “And since when did that woman start keeping secrets? I understand the cancer secret, even if I don’t agree, but the money? Loans? Risking the ranch? It’s all out of character.”

The men mumbled amongst one another, each agreeing with Coy’s summation.

“Let’s finish up here and get Devyn and Dillon in the loop. Dev has all the files we need. We just have to go through them. That’s all,” Coy continued. “You all on board? I know we’ve been putting it off, and for sound reason, but I think we put it off any longer, and we might have bigger problems than the grief we’re trying to process.”

“Agreed,” Cut said as he got back to working the burn pile.

“I miss this.” Ransom changed the subject to help take minds off heavy things. There would be time to worry later. “Getting my hands dirty. Sweat on my brow. This is good shit.”

“Maybe those plants are putting something off,” Nash teased. “Here comes trouble.”

“Not much longer, Mr. President and you’ll be free again to drive yourself places, get your hands dirty, and all the other crap you miss.” Coy grinned.

“I love what I do. Love serving our country. But man, I hate suits and the other bullshit. It’ll be good to get back to doing stuff like this.”

“Your plan still to leave politics altogether?” Cut asked.

“For the most part. I don’t think you can ever truly leave completely from this level, but I do want a private life again and focus on things I’m really passionate about. We’ll spend time here, of course, helping however we can, and on my family ranch in Montana as well,” Ransom answered.

He stood, leaning on his shovel, and thought for a moment. “My main focus will be assisting Coy and his teams with Safe Haven. I’ve tried my damnedest to put a stop to some of the world’s greatest ills while in office but haven’t been able to do much. Stonewalled left and right. I think Coy and his team have done more to eliminate human trafficking and equally heinous crimes than any politician can, for whatever reason. So, I’m putting efforts there.”

“An honorable effort,” Nash said. “I know y’all see some wild and ugly stuff. I don’t know how you do it.”

---