Love Means Courage - Andrew Grey

for that brief moment in high school, but he couldn’t, and he felt like a coward. “I should change before we go.” Len walked toward his car. “I’ll meet you at your truck in ten minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll get Geoff ready to go and meet you at the truck.” Cliff turned and walked back toward the house while Len headed into the tack room. Once inside, he pulled off his work pants and shirt before changing into a pair of pants and shirt he’d worn when he worked at the dealership. It had only been a few weeks, but it seemed like a lifetime since he’d worked there.
    As he finished getting ready, Len smiled to himself. He liked it here on the farm, working outside in the fresh air, and he felt like he was making a difference or at least helping. He never felt that way before.
    After running his fingers through his hair nervously, he folded his clothes, leaving them on the chair, and walked through the barn, meeting Nicole on his way. They exchanged greetings, and he told her he’d be gone for a few hours. She met his smile and told him not to worry; she’d watch things while he was gone.
    Cliff was strapping Geoff into his seat as Len approached the truck, and a few minutes later, they were all on their way into town with Geoff in his car seat between them, talking a blue streak the entire time as he pointed out every horse or cow they passed.

    In town, Cliff drove directly to the bank and parked the truck, getting Geoff out of his seat before leading the way into the bank and approaching one of the tellers. “Can I help you?” The middle-aged woman smiled her “customer” smile.
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“I, er, we have an appointment with Gordon Frisk.”
    “Ah, I see.” She closed her window and came out through a small swinging door before leading them into a small office. “Please have a seat; he’ll be with you in a few minutes.” Cliff thanked her and then sat down with Geoff held tightly on his lap like a shield.

    “Morning, Cliff, what can I do for you?” A man in his late thirties entered the office, speaking cheerfully as he shook hands and sat behind his desk.
    “My father took a large mortgage against the farm just before he died, and we can’t find any trace of the money, or what he did with it. I was hoping you could help us?” The man opened a file on his desk. “As I told you when you were in before….” Len nearly bristled at his tone but kept to himself. “Your father took out the mortgage against the farm but wouldn’t tell us what he planned to use the money for. I think it was something he wanted to keep quiet.”
    Because everyone in this town, including your employees, have big mouths, Len thought, but again he kept quiet.
Cliff looked to Len, who took that as a signal to go ahead.
“When you paid out the money, did he put it in one of his accounts, or did he take it as a check?”
Gordon checked through his file and then consulted the huge computer on his desk. “It appears he had it deposited into a savings account.”
    Len spoke up. “Can you get the statements for that account? It would help to see when and how the money was withdrawn.” You’d think a banker could figure things like this out for himself and be remotely helpful.
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“Give me a minute to look through the files.” Gordon got up and left the office.
Len turned to Cliff. “Don’t you have copies of the bank statements?”
    “Some, but not all of them. Dad tended to do things his own way, and he kept a lot of things in his head.” Geoff began to squirm, and Cliff pulled a truck out of his pocket and let Geoff play on the floor near his chair. “If dad would have kept better records, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
    “You need to set up a filing system to organize everything.
Maybe hire an accountant to help you set something up that you could maintain yourself.”
    Their conversation was cut off when Gordon came back in the office carrying a bundle of papers. “Here are copies of the statements.” He sat at his desk and began to go through them.

    “Here’s where he deposited the money.” He looked further, shifting to a different statement. “And it looks like he withdrew all but a thousand dollars a month later.” He handed over the statement for Cliff to see, and Cliff passed it to Len.

    “How did he make the withdrawal?” Len asked. Gordon shrugged, and Len rolled his eyes, not hiding his annoyance from the banker. “Did he take it as cash and stuff it in