Page 40 of Bit's Bliss
“How can you be sure?”
He rested his forehead against mine. “I’ll tell you later.”
When we walkedinto Zin’s law office, Uncle Michael met us as we walked in the door. He held hisarms out to me, and as I fell into his embrace, I thought about how much I needed this from my own father. He could be demonstrative, but it wasn’t that often. Not like my mom had been. Tears ran down my cheeks as I thought about how much I missed her but also how good it felt to have her brother comfort me.
“Thank you for being here,” I said, wiping my tears.
“We’ll get this sorted,” he said, motioning me into the conference room before shaking Trevino’s hand. “Thank you for all you’re doing,” I heard him say.
Zin pulled out a chair for me and waited until Trevino was seated beside me before he and his father took seats themselves.
“Before we go any further, there’s something I need to ask you, Eberly. You may not be able to answer me right away, and that’s fine, but it’s something you need to think about,” said my uncle.
“How to handle what my dad’s done?”
“That’s right. We don’t know the whole story, so most of what we’re going on are the facts as they’ve presented themselves. There is a chance that if everything is as it looks, your father may face legal ramifications.”
“I’ve considered he might.”
“Have you come to any conclusions?”
Trevino reached over and took my hand.
“I want to hear his side of the story, but at the same time, I can’t lose the house because of it.” No one understood why not more than my uncle. It was where he and my mother grew up. When my parents married, they moved into a guesthouse on the property, and when my grandmother passed away, my granddad tookthe smaller house. He insisted my parents live in the bigger one, and while I wasn’t born yet, my mom was pregnant with me at the time.
“It wasn’t his to use as collateral,” I said, looking into Uncle Michael’s eyes. “He knew I wouldn’t agree to it, which is why he handled it the way he did.”
“It’s easy to make that assumption,” said Zin. “However, we need to give him the same benefit of the doubt the court would.”
“I agree,” I responded.
“I think what my dad is saying is, if it comes down to it and your father is facing prosecution, you will need to decide whether you want to press charges. The decision may also be taken out of your hands. The main thing is that you’re aware of the possibility.”
“I am.”
Trevino squeezed my hand when I glanced over at him. I hoped he knew how much I appreciated him being here and, for the second time, not interjecting his opinion.
“One thing we’ll be asking for this afternoon is to subpoena the sales documents for Eberly Winery. I believe, given the questionable nature of the loan documents, the judge will grant the order,” said my uncle.
As much as I didn’t want confirmation that my father had done the same thing with the sale of the winery as he did with the house, I had to know. If there was any way for me to save it, I couldn’t stop short.
I couldn’t believe it,but by the end of the hearing, the judge had granted everything Zin asked for. In addition to the injunction preventing the foreclosure on the house, there was an order stopping the removal of any assets from the winery.
Now, it was imperative we find my dad. There was a good chance he’d disappeared intentionally, not knowing how to handle telling me we’d lost everything. What I had no idea how to do was get in touch with him to tell him what I needed more than anything was for him to come home.
When we returned to Zin’s office and I said as much, Trevino asked to speak with me privately.
“I have an idea, Eberly, but I can’t share exactly what it is with you yet. I’m asking you to trust me on this.”
I stared into his eyes. “I do,” I said without hesitation.
He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my palm. “I can’t tell you what that means to me. How much I’m honored by it.”
I sensed there was more he had to say, and whatever it was, I wouldn’t like. “But?”
He smiled. “It means I’ll need to be elsewhere for at least a couple of hours. In turn, that means our talk will be delayed.”
I hated that being apart from him for that long worried me as much as it did. A week ago, I was alone most of the time.
