Bet The Farm - Staci Hart Page 0,86

it was on me to figure out how.

25

Deal with the Devil

OLIVIA

A hundred twenty sick cattle.

Thirty-two dead in three days’ time.

Kit’s face was drawn as she finished arranging the basket piled with sausage biscuits I was to take around to the crew.

“Miguel should hear something on the tests today, right?” she asked, her eyes on her hands.

My heart sank even lower than it already was. “He got them this morning. Nothing.”

“I just don’t see how that’s possible,” she huffed. “These labs don’t know what they’re doing. They’re supposed to be giving us answers, not a bunch of zeros. Somebody has to help, and they’re the professionals.”

“I know. But all they can do is give us data, and the data doesn’t show anything. Miguel’s running another round of mineral and toxin tests on the stock as well as the water, hay, feed. The FDA was here yesterday, for God’s sake. We’re in danger of being shut down, so we’ve got to figure it out—and soon. We’ve checked the fields for any signs of interference, but it could be anything, Kit. Somebody could have tampered with the soil, planted something in a corner that’d hurt the herd to eat. Put something in the water that we couldn’t detect with our own tests. Let’s just hope this round turns something up, because no one seems to be able to work out what’s going on.”

“I’m just so mad,” she said, her voice trembling as she used too much force to stack the little sandwiches. “And scared. After everything, now this. It just all feels too big, too hard.” She sniffled and pushed the basket in my direction.

“I know,” I said with my insides in pieces as I walked around the island to give her a hug.

She held on to me like she’d fly away if she let go.

“What are we gonna do, Livi?” she asked quietly. “How are we going to survive?”

“We’re going to keep on trying,” I said with hope. “We need money to replace the cattle we lost and keep ourselves up and running, and we haven’t tried the one place that happens to have a safe full of it.”

“The bank?” She leaned back to meet my eyes. “Livi, are you going to try to take out a loan? Mortgage the farm again?”

“I already applied. I have an appointment this afternoon to find out if we got it.”

Her eyes widened with hope. “Do you think they’ll give it to you?”

“All I can do is cross my fingers.”

“Then I’ll cross mine too.”

“Oh, and Kit—don’t tell Jake.”

She gave me a look.

“It’s not like that. I just knew he’d say no. If I get it, I’ll tell him. If not, he’ll be none the wiser.”

Kit drew a long breath and let it out in a sigh. “I hope you can pull it off. If anybody can, it’s you.”

The banker across the desk wore an expression of pity as she pushed my folder of financial paperwork back at me.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Brent. But on looking at your statements, returns, and debts, there’s no equity to draw off of. There’s no collateral.”

“There has to be something we can do,” I insisted. “Our farm has to be worth something.”

“Given your outstanding debt, we can’t in good conscience lend you the kind of money you need. I really am very sorry. Your farm is a staple in this town, and your grandfather was a cornerstone in our community. But at the end of the day, the math has to work out. And I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you that in this case, it just doesn’t.”

I swallowed back bile and nodded my head, reaching for the folder with shaking hands.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked, knowing good and well this was the only thing she could do for me.

“No, thank you,” I said as I stood. “I appreciate your time.”

We shook hands. She walked me to her door. I left her behind me, trying to tamp down tears, but the closer I got to the sliding doors of the bank, the less control I possessed. I couldn’t see past the curtain of tears, the futility of our circumstance a sledgehammer, and I’d been driven into the ground.

I have to get out of here. I have to get out. I have to—

I slammed into a blurry figure who caught me before I ricocheted off them.

“Olivia?”

When I blinked, fat tears fell without even touching my cheeks, revealing Chase Patton.

He looked down at me