“Let her talk,” Dale says.
“For fuck’s sake. Fine. What is it, Callie?” Already I regret my harsh tone. None of this is her fault.
“You asked me to research property titles in Snow Creek. I did that today.”
“Okay.”
“And…” She lets out a harsh sigh. “The Steels do own this town.”
Ashley’s eyes pop into circles. “What?”
“Something called the Steel Trust has ownership or liens on almost all the business property in town, except for Ava’s bakery.”
My jaw drops. I thought I was ready for this. I knew it was coming. But in the back of my mind—that place where I keep all those things I never think about—I was hoping I was wrong.
But rumors start somewhere.
“Just a minute,” Dale says. “What the hell is the Steel Trust?”
“I don’t have a clue,” Callie says. “I figured you guys would know.”
I shake my head. “Uncle Bryce would know. He’s the CFO. And Uncle Joe, of course, because he and Uncle Bryce have been tight since they were in diapers and they run the company together.”
“Fuck,” Dale says. “I mean, it’s not weird that the family has a trust. I’m sure we have many. I just didn’t think any of them owned the town.”
“Technically a lien isn’t ownership,” Callie says. “It’s a claim against a property by a creditor.”
“Why the hell would our family be creditors?” Dale asks. “Is the property mortgaged?”
“Some of it is,” Callie says. “Murphy’s isn’t, but still they have the lien.”
“Which means the Murphys owe some kind of debt to the Steels?” Ashley asks.
“It’s not that simple,” I say. “The bar was actually sold with the lien, which means the trustee of the Steel Trust had to okay the sale to the Murphys.”
“Who’s the trustee?” Ashley asks.
“Who knows?” I say. “None of us even knew the trust existed.”
“It gets weirder,” Callie says. “Some of these properties are mortgaged, and not by any company that your family owns, at least not that I can tell. Which means the mortgage holder took the loan with a lien on the property. Which is really weird. Most mortgage holders won’t give a loan on property that has any encumbrances.”
“Except,” I say, “we’re the Steels.”
Dale nods. “I can’t believe our parents would do this kind of thing.”
“It’s still possible they don’t know about this.” Though even I don’t believe my own words. Not anymore.
Mom and Dad have been lying to us since we got here. Lies of omission, sure, but still lies.
“Maybe the Steels do own a mortgage company,” Dale says. “We could own a buttload of them for all we know.”
Ashley massages her jaw. “I’m still not able to wrap my head around just how rich you are.”
“We are, baby.” Dale entwines his fingers with her free hand.
“You know,” I say, “a thought occurred to me a while ago, once all this shit started in motion. It’s not something I ever thought about before. I guess I never needed to. But here it is, front and center. Our main business is ranching. Beef, fruit, wine. That’s how we—the Steels—make our money. We’re good at what we do. We have a huge operation, but here’s my question. Who the hell becomes a billionaire from ranching?”
Ashley and Callie both widen their eyes.
Dale does not.
I cock my head. “Do you know something I don’t?”
“No,” he says. “But your question doesn’t surprise me. It’s something I’ve been wondering myself since we first talked to Brendan about what he found under his floor.”
“Do you think it’s occurred to any of the rest of our cousins? Our sisters?”
Dale shakes his head. “I doubt it. They’re all a lot younger than we are. Just starting their lives. Plus, they don’t know about what we found at Murphy’s.”
“Donny,” Callie says, “you’re scaring me.”
“I’m with Callie,” Ashley agrees. “Are you insinuating that your family is into something illegal?”
“God, no,” I say. “Not our mom and dad, anyway. But I can’t say the same about our grandfather, Brad Steel. Seems he kept a lot of shit hidden. Shit that seems to be rolling downhill at the moment. Toward us. In fact…” My thoughts race. “I wish we hadn’t brought the ladies in on this.”
“Hey,” Ashley says, “I stand with both of you. Always.”
“I do too,” Callie says, though the look in her eyes is a little haunted.
A lot haunted.
Her amber eyes, usually on fire, have dulled a bit. She’s frightened.
Hell, so am I.
But the last thing I ever wanted to do was frighten the woman I love.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Callie
I should leave.
I should just walk away.
Donny’s dealing with his own problems, and he’s sharing them with me.
This is good. I want to help.
But my God, I have my own mess to deal with at the moment, and I’m not sure I can add his to mine.
Though isn’t that what love is all about? Helping each other? Supporting each other?