Dane had suspected something was off with the farm’s finances but that was one aspect he’d never been given full access to. Eviction date? Dane set his coffee on the counter and headed out to meet them. “Morning, Silas.”
“Dane.” Silas was wound up so tight, Dane could see the vein popping out of his forehead.
“Coffee?” Dane offered.
“He’s not staying,” his father answered.
“I’m sorry to disturb you this morning, Dane.” Silas offered him a tight smile. “I heard about last night. I’m so glad everyone is okay.”
“I appreciate that. We were all damn lucky.” Dane glanced at his father. “What’s this all about?”
His father glared at him, thrusting his chin out like a belligerent toddler. If he hadn’t overhead the meat of their argument, he might have laughed. As it was, Dane couldn’t bring himself to laugh.
“Silas?” Dane shook his head. “I’m completely in the dark here so feel free to start at the beginning.”
“I’ve been trying to reach someone for a week now so I figured I’d drop by on my way into town—as a courtesy. Then I heard about the fire and—”
Dane’s father snorted. “You’re here sniffing around, aren’t you?”
“What’s going on?” Dane didn’t want to lose his patience, he wanted answers.
“The farm is behind on its loan payments.” Silas paused. “I negotiated the best terms I could, lowest interest rates and all. But I can’t give another month’s forgiveness—I’ve already given two.”
“You haven’t given me a damn thing.” Dane’s father was red-faced.
“Loan?” Dane cut in. “What loan?”
There was dead silence then. Silas started sweating and his father’s face immediately paled.
“A second mortgage was taken out on the home.” Silas cleared his throat. “If we don’t get some form of payment this month, I’m afraid we’re looking at foreclosure.”
“What?” Dane almost dropped his coffee. “Foreclose on...?”
“Everything.” Silas’s gaze darted from him to his father. “The property and everything on it.”
“Well, hell, Dad. Don’t you think that’s the sort of thing you should share with Leif and me? Or were we going to come in from the apiaries one day with the locks changed and a For Sale sign in the front yard?” He knew he wasn’t helping but Dane couldn’t wrap his head around what he’d just heard.
“I’m taking care of it,” his father snapped.
“Dad, you’re not. You can’t. This isn’t something you can take care of on your own. Stop acting like it’s not a big deal, dammit. You’ve already wasted time we don’t have, from the sounds of it. Leif and I have a stake in this. We had a right to know what you were doing.”
“Now you can have your moment and save the day.” His father scowled. “You don’t want to hear what I say, boy. You want to throw your money away on that hall and those cabins. You think I want those things here?”
Dane paused, anger rolling over him. “Youtold me to go ahead with them. You said the bottom line looked good.”
“We needed the money. I didn’t think it’d take a year and a half to get the damn ball rolling.” His father’s disappointed expression was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“You’re telling me I sank part of my 401(k) into an expansion so you could use the profits to pay off a loan—when we could have used part of my 401(k) to pay off the loan directly?” Dane could only stare, his anger all but choking him. “What sort of sense does that make?”
His father was red-faced all over again. “You think I’d ask you for money and have to endure that? Hell, no. I’d never have heard the end of it.”
“Instead, you’ll risk our home for it?” He shook his head. “What was the loan even for? Not for any improvements around here, that’s for damn sure.”
“My personal life is none of your damn business. I don’t need you judging me or looking down your nose at me more than you already do.”
“It stops being your personal life when the consequences affect all of our livelihoods.” Dane couldn’t stop the words. “You and your damn pride. I hope it can keep you warm and fed because that’s all you’re going to have left when this is over.”
“If you think you can hurt me, son, you’re fooling yourself.” Harald shook his head. “I cut you out of my heart the minute you knocked me to the dirt.”
