Chapter 40: Empty Nest

Rhiannon was so enthusiastic that I joined her Friday on a trip to Nappanee and we spent the afternoon pricing out the new construction.

Of course, it wouldn’t be possible to order the house yet. That would have to wait until the insurance company settled. But it gave us an idea of what it would actually cost to replace the house. It would be a point of negotiation with the insurance company. I was impressed.

Saturday morning after Betts headed for the airport with Maddie and Addison, Hayden, Marilyn, and I loaded in the camper and went down to the ranch. We didn’t want it deserted over the weekend while Doug and Doreen were off at Spring Mill. It was just one night but with no one else at the ranch we didn’t feel we needed to restrain our voices. Or our location. Hayden built a fire in the firepit and we spread blankets on the ground. We made love under the stars in every combination we could think of. The fence around the burn-out was depressing but having seen the way Brian, Rose, and Jennifer responded to the rest of their hearthmates and took courage and strength from them, we did the same with each other.

Perhaps that is one of the strangest aspects of a relationship. I’d always thought of giving and taking love, comfort, and encouragement to my mate or mates. It was a new experience to have courage and strength multiplying itself within us as we shared our bodies and souls. Like Casa del Fuego, we three would face the new day and come out the stronger for it.

We met Doug and Doreen when they returned to the ranch and talked about security. We’d seen how incredibly dark it was out here in the country as our fire died during the night. Hayden suggested that Doug have Ron Filmore install a security light on the construction power pole.

An idea in motion takes on a life of its own and often all we can do is hang on for the ride. We’d seen that with the dating group. It had grown into something different than any of us expected. But we saw it was also true of the ranch. When Brian first proposed renovating the barn enough that it could be lived in, I was skeptical. I thought we should put the money into re-building the house. Only there was no money.

Six of the clan were living at the ranch in the new duplex bunkhouse. As many as possible were moving down after Independence Day to spend their time on-site figuring out how they could live there. Hayden had left the camper and the Millers had left a travel trailer. I even investigated what it would cost to move a couple of mobile homes onto the property.

Everything took money. I met with Rex, with Jean Duval, with my ex, and with John Clinton, the banker. Every idea came down to the same things—money and collateral. Hayden and Marilyn had modest savings. They considered mortgaging their home to help fund a project. Other parents hemmed and hawed around the idea. Most had already put up $5,000 as an investment in the production company and were seeing the idea of actually having a production come out of it slipping away. No studio, no production.

Sly fielded the idea of a camp at the ranch for part of the summer so the younger clan could get more training in self-defense. That idea was met with enthusiasm from many quarters.

Then Brian activated the calling tree and invited all parents to the ranch on Saturday. He said they’d found a solution to the housing problem and wanted the sage advice of their elders. We all went, hoping to get a tour of the bunkhouse now that it was fully occupied and were guardedly excited to hear about Brian’s plan.

That boy never does anything halfway.

We’d done our research as well. A bank loan to do any work at the ranch was out. Even pricing out the manufactured house Rhiannon had designed would run $150,000 by the time we added in the foundation work and finishing crews. And the design kept changing. Every time one of the kids had seen it, they’d suggested an improvement to the livability of the house. If we rushed into construction this summer, we’d be building something that hadn’t settled into a good design and that put us heavily in debt. Me. It would put me heavily in debt and Hayden and Marilyn hadn’t signed up for that.

We could get a double-wide mobile home moved onto the property for about $25,000, including delivery, hookups, and foundation work. The problem with that was no one was lending money to buy a used mobile home. Art, my ex-husband, looked at his wife Teri during one of our group meetings. She nodded.

“Private financing,” he said. “It would take some work, but you could raise the money through private financing if there was a suitable return guaranteed. It’s risky, but at the moment I don’t see any other options.”

“This is the part that I came up with, so I have to make the presentation,” Brian said when everyone gathered together. “The only thing I really care about is keeping my family together and getting us all to school this fall. The part I’m taking the blame for is the part about how to get the $75,000 that we need. I did a little research, but bankers don’t really talk to kids. I had to pretty much lie about what I wanted in order to get information. The ranch property itself is currently valued at $2,300 per acre. That’s $92,000, give or take a little depending on whether it is tillable or residential. But that’s what the county recorded as the value of your purchase, Anna Mom. An 80% mortgage on the land would yield $73,600. That’s close enough to the $75,000 estimate that I’d be willing to front any extra out of my own savings if necessary. The payment on that would come out to about $800 a month on a thirty-year mortgage. Nine of us plan to live here full-time, plus an additional payment from Hearthstone Entertainment for its use of the kitchen and to pay for utilities. We had all agreed to pay $100 in per month as rent on the house. With the payments that we were to collect, we would have $1,200 per month and pay Anna $1,000. The other $200 was intended to go to utilities. The same payment would provide the mortgage payment and a couple hundred as profit to Anna. Unfortunately, of course, we can’t take out that mortgage. Only Anna can.”

There we were, back at the $75,000 number. I was willing to take the loan and guarantee it with the property, but I still didn’t know how to go about raising the funds.

Rex explained that we couldn’t get an 80% loan on raw land. Even if it was producing, the banks wouldn’t lend more than 50% loan to value and the interest rate would be higher. Brian was crushed. I wondered how much dirt we could shovel onto these kids before they realized they were buried.

“I believe that Rex and Anna and I could put together a package that would be quite attractive and might not delay getting started,” Jean Duval said. Rex had turned to me as soon as he finished his explanation so I didn’t catch everything that was said.

“Anna, we have the $75,000,” he whispered. “The lender wishes to remain outside the arena of common knowledge.”

“I can’t take money from Art,” I said. I had a reasonably good relationship with my ex, but I just couldn’t fall back on him at a time like this, even though it was really to help his daughter and her friends.

“He was willing to put up some of the money but we have another source who is offering unbelievable terms.” We turned as Hayden was describing the terms to the kids.

“ ... loan of $75,000 at a commercial lending rate. That is currently 10% but it rises and falls with the market. You need to know that the interest rate could be 15% in two years, or it could be 5%. We don’t know. The investor will carry the loan for six months, interest free. That means that if your show suddenly started reaping big profits or if you came into a lot of money, you could pay it off at the end of six months for $75,000. It’s pretty generous.”

“It’s not free,” Rex said, turning from me. “Everyone here wants to believe in you. We voiced that with our investment in your production company. But lenders require security.” He turned to me. “That’s where it all falls on you, Anna. Are you willing to put the farm up as collateral for the loan?” he whispered. I nodded.

“What do we have for security?” Brian asked. “When it comes down to it, even what we own we mostly owe to our parents.”

“That’s true,” I said. “That’s why I’ve put the farm up as collateral. I’ll guarantee the loan.”

“Excuse us,” Rose said. “We need a casa meeting. We’ll resume in a minute.” She grabbed Brian and all fifteen in the casa headed for the barn.

Marilyn slipped up beside me and wrapped me in her arms. I leaned against her.

“You all surprised me a little,” I said. “When did the funding come in?”

“During dinner. Now that the kids are gone, you should know that John Clinton has agreed to put up the money. He just didn’t want to be seen talking to you about it. He really doesn’t want the kids to know it’s him.”

“John? He has that kind of money? His daughter isn’t even planning to live here.”

“Something happened during our break. He talked to Brian and came out changed. He wouldn’t tell me what had happened,” Hayden said. “John comes off as being a hardcore conservative banker and religious fundamentalist. But he is a good man and loves these kids as much as all the rest of us do.”

“I need to thank him.”

“That can wait until we go into town tomorrow and sign the papers.”

Saturday night and Sunday morning were emotional times. Most of the parents headed to town for the night, or went all the way back home. Those few who stayed at the ranch could hear love cries throughout the night, including one that echoed and was amplified by the barn. It was inspiring and the three of us rocked the camper.