Page 87 of Cabin Fever

That got his attention. Carter lifted his gaze. "I can find another farm, somewhere else. I'm sure I have enough money to—"

Austen leaned forward and clasped his hands on the desk. "And then what? You would use all your savings to purchase a farm, and then how will you live?"

I shifted my gaze from the papers to Austen. It sounded like he was mad at Carter for not signing. Maybe he did get some kind of payment or percentage if Carter signed.

"What I make from the farm. I'll live off that."

"No, you won't. What you make off your small farm isn’t enough to have even a meager living. What happens when one of your ewes gets sick or you have to rent a ram or any number of costly surprises that dealing with a farm brings?"

"What is wrong with you?" I narrowed my eyes at Austen.

I also believed Carter should sign, but I wasn't going to bully him into doing something he didn't want to do.

Austen straightened in his chair and scratched at the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I got carried away. It's just . . . I've seen what owning a farm can do to people. The hard labor put in working the earth and dealing with the animals and barely getting enough money for that effort. It's driven some people to do things that . . . I just don't want to see that happen to you."

Carter reached for the papers and read over them once again. He then grabbed the pen Austen had put out when we first arrived. Placing the papers on the table, his hand hovered over the bottom of the will. After a moment, he put down the pen and stood.

"I can't do it. That's not me. My father raised me to understand money can easily corrupt people. He taught me better. I'm sorry I wasted your time, Mr. Goode. Call my grandmother and tell her about the will."

He turned and walked out the door. In shock, I sat there and stared at the empty hallway.

"He's going to regret this," I heard Austen mutter.

What a greedy dickhole.

I turned back and narrowed my eyes. "Why? Because you don't get your big cut from him signing the paperwork? This was his decision, not yours."

"No, I don't get a cut. It's my job to guide people with bank accounts. Whether they have five dollars or five billion, I get paid the same salary. No bonus. Not even a lunch out on the company dime. I have seen the damage and heartache owning a farm can do to a person. You know the reason Carter can still shop for groceries or eat out at the diner or pay Tyler when one of his sheep has whatever illness sheep get?"

"Because of the bank account from his father."

Austen nodded and pointed to the will. "That's what keeps Carter afloat. I've seen the amount of money coming into his account versus the amount going out. There are months that he takes out more than he puts in. Now, imagine his life without that cushion of cash. What will happen to Carter? Will a big group of his friends bail him out and keep bailing him out for all the bad months that keep happening?"

I was Carter's only friend.

"I could cover his bills. I could take over where his father left off." I folded my arms, refusing to let the man I cared for have his dreams die.

Austen leaned closer and held up the sheet with the corrected amount in the savings account.

"He wouldn't take this. Do you really think he's going to take your money? You know Carter, does he seem like the humble sort?"

I thought back to when I first got the credit card from Bea and tried to pay for our meal at the diner. Even then, he wouldn't let me pay.

My shoulders sloped forward. "No, I guess not."

I couldn't let Carter struggle. I wanted to sign the paperwork for him just to make sure he would be okay, but I wasn't allowed. It didn't stop me from asking or suggesting I forged it. But Austen was a stickler for the law.

I got up and said, "I'll try to convince him. Just hold off on calling his grandmother until you absolutely have to, please."

Austen nodded. "You have until Monday."

It was Thursday, so I was hoping that was enough time.

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