“Told them you were winding things down.”
My fingers went cold.
“Winding what down?”
“The farm. The cattle. Everything.”
I stared at him.
“You told our neighbors I was closing the farm?”
“Well, that’s what most women would do in your situation, isn’t it?”
Suddenly, I understood.
Those buyers hadn’t knowingly taken advantage of a grieving widow.
They thought Dwayne was handling a legitimate sale on my behalf.
They believed I was selling off feed I would no longer need.
And because Dwayne was Tom’s brother, they trusted him.
I leaned forward.
“Dwayne, I’m going to give you one chance to make this right.”
His smile disappeared.
“What are you talking about?”
“I want all 212 bales returned by Sunday. If you can arrange that, we won’t have to take this any further.”
He let out an irritated laugh.
“Karen, they’ve been sold.”
“Then explain the situation to the people who bought them.”
