Chapter 10

Garrett took off Saturday for the long drive to Ft. Benning, Ga. He would attend OCS there then the Infantry Officer's Basic course before returning home. He was one of the lucky few that got to do his Guard OCS with active army people instead of taking the course on weekends and summers from state instructors. He would complete the course and obtain his commission in a little over 6 months instead of two years by doing that.

When Garrett returned he made sure no one knew of his changed status. He found he rather liked to be thought of as one of the boys and a ne'er do well. He probably had more money than most of the families in town and definitely, with his Guard pay, had as good or better income. This way, he could just be one of the 'good ole boys'.

After returning, Garrett continued to do the few minor repairs on properties owned by GKM Properties, LLC and farm his little piece of ground. Of course these were not full time jobs so he had plenty of time to fish and loaf. He never returned to his part time work with the construction company. His reputation as a ne'er do well continued to grow. From time to time the local busy bodies would comment what a shame it was that poor Kathy had to work so hard to support that ne'er-do-well Mans boy. On top of that, the bastard was never home. He was always off somewhere playing soldier for the Guard.

On Halloween, after Geoffrey and his new wife were married 17 months, they had a huge Halloween party at their house on what used to be Beatrice's little piece of the old Mans farm. Geoffrey, true to form, picked out a young, beautiful female guest in a skimpy costume and began putting the moves on her. Penny, his current wife, became angry and jealous at his actions and let him know. As they became more and more drunk the argument became more vocal and less circumspect. Finally, Geoffrey had all he could take and pushed Penny then slapped her. Unfortunately for them, she was carrying a new bottle of ever clear that they spiked the punch with. She threw it at him when he hit her and it broke, spilling the alcohol all over. This, in itself, wouldn't have been so bad except some of the highly flammable alcohol splashed into a jack-o'-lantern with a candle inside.

With a whoosh, the alcohol ignited. The burning alcohol ran farther into the house, setting a carpet on fire, then the fire spread to the woodwork. It was after midnight and all the guests were drunk, staggering about trying to get out of the burning house. Finally, someone thought to call the rural fire department. They made good time, for them, and the tanker truck pulled into the yard in 17 minutes from the initial call. Before the night ended, Geoffrey was in jail for assaulting his wife and his house was burned to the ground.

Of course, the next morning the topic of conversation at the cafe was the party, fire, and jailing of the smart ass Geoffrey.

Life ran on for Garrett and Kathy as normal. He hunted, fished, and relaxed, working only when he really had to if a rental needed repair or something had to be done on the farm. Garrett spent several days a year doing extra things for the Guard also. Kathy helped him hunt and fish when she was not in the café or store if he was home.

Geoffrey's antics kept the coffee klatch in conversation throughout the winter after his fight with his wife. First, he was actually convicted of assault this time because his father's pet judge was off work due to serious surgery. An imported judge looked at Geoffrey's priors, listened to the testimony of all concerned, and convicted Garrett, sentencing him to a year in jail. While he was in jail, Penny filed for divorce and because of the assault, she actually beat the prenup she was forced to sign. She came out of the marriage with almost all Geoffrey's money—nearly $1.7 million. The judge ruled the house, land, and other properties Geoffrey owned personally were worth that before he caused the fire so she got a fair 50% of the marital assets. Unfortunately for Geoffrey, the insurance refused to pay off on the fire because of the circumstances—Geoffrey being responsible for the conflagration while committing a crime. Somehow, Penny throwing the bottle at Geoffrey was reported as he hit her so hard it knocked it from her hands and it broke, thus feeding alcohol to the candle and starting the fire. Admittedly, this was a possibility but not what actually happened though the records showed otherwise.

In the spring, after his release from jail, Geoffrey and his father came into the cafe during the breakfast period and sat at Garrett's table without asking if they could do so. This was normal procedure in the small café but usually the people who did that knew and were friendly with the ones with whom they sat. This was not the case with Garrett and the Godfrey's.

Geoffrey had just been released from jail early because of overcrowding. Garrett and the townsfolk were pretty sure the early release was a result of the elder Mr. Godfrey pulling strings behind the scenes to get his precious son out early, not because of overcrowding. In any event, Garrett started to get up when they sat with him. Mr. Godfrey, the elder, placed his hand on his arm and said, "Please, Mr. Mans. I have a business proposition for you. Could we talk for a short time?''

Against his better judgment, Garrett relaxed back into his chair and said, "I suppose, but I can't imagine any business we might have with each other."

"As you know, Geoffrey was awarded the house and property when he and your sister divorced. I'm sure you probably heard about his unfortunate fire and the reaming he got when the little slut he married after Beatrice divorced him. I won't bore you with his problems except to say they have, perhaps, become an opportunity for you. I understand your family owned the 20 acres he now owns for over 100 years before he received it in the divorce. He finds himself badly in need of some funds and we thought you might be interested in purchasing the land back for a reasonable sum."

Garrett frowned. He would, indeed, like to have the land back again. He just wondered what the Godfrey's thought a reasonable sum was and how they planned on fucking him if he did the deal. What he said was, "Well, I might be interested, but I'm sure you know I don't have a nice high paying, full time job. I just do a little crop farming and take care of some rental units for GKM Properties. That and my pay from the guard keeps food on our table. Kathy barely breaks even here in the café and store."

"We thought of that and I think I have a way you can make the purchase and reunite that little plot of ground with the rest of the family farm. Land around here is selling for an average of $2,500 an acre without improvements. We would be willing to sell you the 20 acres for $46,000 and we would carry the loan with no down payment. You could make payments directly to my property management company. We would set the loan up to amortize over ten years. Principle and interest payments would be about $534.10 at 7% per year. Of course, the note would balloon after three years and the unpaid balance would be due and payable immediately unless we negotiated another loan. What do you think?"

"I don't know. I really don't want to make that kind of loan. What if I couldn't pay it off in 3 years?"

The elder Mr. Godfrey smiled and said, "Oh, nothing earthshaking, I'm sure we could work something out, and just think, you would have the whole farm back together. Of course, we would need collateral in order to make the loan. We would want the balance of your land put up as collateral for the deal. That's how we can make the deal with no down payment."

"No pre-payment penalties? What if I am late or miss a payment?"

Godfrey elder laughed and said, "Heck, we're neighbors, a day or two late is no big deal and if you miss a payment, you just have to pay a little penalty and make it up as soon as you can. And there would be no problem with paying off the loan early. If you can come up with that kind of money we'll be glad to take it." Both of the Godfrey men laughed after he said that and smirked at Garrett.

"This really sounds too good to be true, but I would like to have the old place all together. Let me talk to Kathy. Hold on just a minute would you?"

Both the Godfrey's smiled and Godfrey, Sr. said, "By all means, talk to the little woman. If you can't make a decision without her input, I understand completely. Not all men are able to transact business without permission. I understand."

Garrett felt a surge of anger at the insinuation but smiled and said, "Thank you, I won't be long."

Garrett went into the kitchen and quickly told Kathy what the Godfrey's were offering. He said, "I would really like to have the land all back together and I can use the extra cropland, too. Besides, I think this is a chance to stick it to those assholes. I'll get them to write into the contract that we can prepay the note, then, instead of letting them carry the note on the place we will give them a check when the deal closes. That'll screw them out of the interest and the land. I think this is an attempt for them to steal the rest of the farm because they don't have any idea we have money. They think I'll default on the payments because I only work part time and then they will have the rest of the old farm."

"Sounds good to me, honey. If you want to do it, go for it. How will we get it into GKM with the rest, though?"

"Hell, we'll just buy the land then do another quit claim deed and deed it over to GKM. It will cost a little more but shouldn't raise any real questions. Hell, in fact, when we pay him with a cashiers check we'll tell him I resold it to GKM for a quick, large profit. You know I've been wanting a new truck, I'll tell him I sold it to them along with the other land so I could have the money to buy a fancy truck. With my reputation I'm sure he'll believe it and I'm also sure he'll be royally pissed he lost out on the supposed big payday. This is going to be great."

Garrett came back to the table and looked worried. The Godfrey's became scared the pigeon had flown the coop. Garrett said, "I just don't know. Kathy really doesn't think we can afford the payments and she doesn't think we need the extra land. She says I don't take very good care of what I have and she doesn't want a larger stone around our neck."

"Well, now, maybe we can work something out here. Don't give up. What if we, say, drop the price to $2,000 an acre and raise the interest to 8%, then drop the loan length to 8 years. We really need to keep the monthly payments around $500 because that is what Geoffrey needs to even out his budget. This would be a great deal for you then. You get the land for hundreds less an acre than it's worth and only have to pay on it for 8 years before it's yours free and clear."

"Wellll, Ok, but Kath's gonna be pissed at me. I'll see if grandpa's attorney will write up the deal for us."

"OH, don't bother with that. I have a generic real estate contract out in my car. We can fill in the blanks and use it, no problem." He turned to Geoffrey and said, "Run out to the car, son, and get my briefcase so we can finish this deal."

Mr. Godfrey completed the contract faster than scat, signed it, and then turned the pages over to Garrett for him to sign. Garrett read the contract and started to sign, then, feigned reluctance, and said, "I don't know. I really think I should have gramps lawyer look at this. I mean, it says here that if I miss a payment or am late, you can take back the land and my collateral as damages. That's not what you said would happen."

"Oh, don't worry. See here? That's where it says you can make a late payment if we all agree, and over here it says you can pay off early like you asked about. It's no problem. That language is in all contracts but it's only there for legal reasons."