always teased him and called him a silver fox.
Unfortunately, the temptation of a young thirty-two-year-old was something my father apparently couldn’t pass up. He had been in Dallas, Texas, at a farmers’ association conference for a week. He apparently met her on the third night and spent the next three days fucking her brains out in his hotel room.
When he came back home, my mother said she knew right away something was off. At first he was overly loving toward her. They had always had an amazing relationship, but my mother said he couldn’t seem to leave her side after that trip. Telling her how much he loved her, how beautiful she was, how he didn’t deserve her. Then, he did a complete turnaround and started to push her away and began drinking. He would get so drunk he was unable to work the farm.
That meant Michael had to pick up the slack, and he didn’t have any idea how to do the books. Things didn’t get paid, they fell behind, and soon Michael was getting notices of unpaid bills. Threats to take away part or all of the farm caused him to panic, and he turned to the tables in Vegas in an attempt to win some money. He said he felt like he was out of options. He couldn’t figure out another way to get money without taking out more loans.
I blew out a breath and looked into my mother’s eyes. “What’s going to happen when Daddy comes home?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure, Merit. I don’t know if I can forgive him.”
Tears threatened to spill from my eyes, but I held them back. The idea of my parents divorcing was not something I wanted to think about. I couldn’t blame my mother, though. If I were in her shoes, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to forgive him, either.
“How are your therapy sessions going?” I asked.
She smiled. “Good. They’re going good.”
There was the sound of a truck outside and I glanced back out the window.
Michael.
“Excuse me, Mom, your son is home, and I’m going to rip his balls off and shove them down his throat.”
“Merit Grace Eden!” my mother called out after me.
I ignored her and made my way out of the house and over to where my brother’s truck was parked. “I’m taking you off of the bank accounts.”
Michael froze and turned to face me. “Excuse me?”
“The bank accounts. I’m taking your name off. You’re not going to start gambling away the farm money or my money anymore!”
Anger rose in his eyes. “Your money? What the fuck are you even talking about, Merit?”
I planned on being calm when I spoke to my brother. But an intense anger was building in the middle of my chest, and I had no idea why. After the last few months, I was starting to think maybe I was the one who needed to go to therapy. The anger I felt was becoming unbearable.
“I’m talking about you withdrawing money again! I figured you were on your way to Vegas with the large amount you took out. I’m done, Michael. I put every last dime I had in my savings—along with the max withdrawal from my retirement—to pay off that loan Dad took out. I will not sit by and let you pull money out of the account to gamble it away.”
His eyes widened in shock. “That’s how the loan got paid down?”
I rolled my eyes. “What in the hell did you think happened? The loan fairy came and sprinkled fairy dust over the farm and money just started growing?”
With a confused expression on his face, he replied, “I thought maybe the bank had lowered it. That you somehow had it refinanced or something like that. I had no idea.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “Are you really that damn naïve, Michael?” I spat out.
“Fuck you, Merit! I’ve been doing my best to keep this farm afloat while you’ve been hiding in New York City all these years.”
“Hiding?” I asked, feeling my stomach drop.
“Yes, hiding. Everyone knows you left Hamilton because Dirk Littlewood broke your heart somehow. It’s never been a secret. And now…now you sweep in with your fancy job and big savings and save the day. Now you want to take everything away from me after I worked my ass off for years on this farm?”
I pushed my nausea down. “No, I only want to take away your access to the money if you’re gambling it away.”
He glared at me and