“Kirb, honey,” Rhonda started beseechingly, leaning forward and even reaching out a hand to her younger son. “You’re too young to understand but I’m doing the right thing for you and your brother.”

“No, you aren’t.” Kirb shook his head. “I don’t know what house you been livin’ in since forever but if you’ve been livin’ in this house with Dad, Fin and me you’d know you aren’t. You’re doin’ what Aunt Debbie wants you to do. You’re too weak and stupid to see she’s usin’ you. Dad knew what she was like. He even said it. He said it all the time around you. Did you even listen? Do you pay attention to anything? ‘Cause I don’t think you do. I don’t think you ever did. I think you’re the most selfish person I ever met because even before Dad died you just took and took from him and now you’re takin’ from me and Fin and Aunt Dusty and Gramps and all because you’re stupid and weak. Weak and stupid. That’s all you are. And with Dad gone, we gotta put up with it. Since he died, the way you been actin’, I’ve been wonderin’ if he was the way he was with you for you or to protect us from what you are. Now I’m thinkin’ it’s that last one.”

And with that, he got up, eyes to his feet and walked out of the room but he ran up the stairs and Mike heard his bedroom door slam.

Mike looked back to Rhonda to see she looked like she’d been struck.

But his eyes cut to Dusty because she spoke next.

“You deserved that,” her lyrical voice was vibrating with emotion and her eyes were locked on Rhonda. “You deserved every word both of them said. But they didn’t deserve to feel that way and you made them feel it. You carry that responsibility. If Darrin knew this was happening and you were aligning yourself with Debbie he’d lose his f**king mind. And he loved you, Rhonda, he loved you fiercely. But if he knew you made his sons feel like that, you put their future and this farm in jeopardy and why you have, make no mistake, he would set you out.”

Rhonda’s eyes filled with tears but Dusty wasn’t done.

“If you deposit that check, Rhonda, I’ll set you out. And I am not f**king joking.”

“You can’t turn me out of my own home,” Rhonda whispered, the tears starting to stream down her cheeks.

“Try me!” Dusty hissed, losing it and leaning forward.

“Angel,” Mike called gently and her eyes shot to him. “Try and calm down, sweetheart.”

She held his eyes then she sucked in breath.

Then she looked back at Rhonda and stated, “You made a very bad decision. Very bad. And you need to rectify that. Immediately. I’m not gonna tell you how to do that because you’re older than me, for God’s sake, and it’s time you grew the f**k up. And I’m not talking just about this shit with Debbie but that is definitely priority. I’m talking about you not snapping out of it and being a mother to your sons and the woman of this house. You need to kick in, now. If you don’t, Rhonda, I swear to God, you’ll regret it. No matter what Debbie is promising, no matter what she’s convinced you of, in your lifetime, you have not held down a job that can support you. And you just severed ties with the five people who have your back. Debbie does not like you. She is not going to take care of you. And you two, if you align with her, are not going to win this farm. So you gotta think fast and you gotta do it smart or you are going to lose everything. And I’ll point out the most important things you’ll lose are your sons. They’re slipping through your fingers and only you have the power to catch hold before they’re gone.”

Rhonda stared up at Dusty, face wet and getting wetter but Dusty was done.

She moved through the room saying to her father, “Tell Mom I’ll be back in a while to eat.” Then her eyes came to him and she whispered, “I gotta ride, babe.”

Then she was gone.

Rhonda got up and dashed out of the room, up the stairs and Mike heard another door slam.

Dean stalked out, muttering, “Gotta talk to Della.”

Mike, No and Rivera stood in the living room, silent.

“Welp!” Rivera ended the silence. “Kids wanted spring break in Disneyland. I like my roller coasters but, gotta say, this is a f**kuva lot more interesting.”

Mike clenched his teeth to stop himself from smiling. If No tried this he didn’t succeed but luckily his amusement came out in a low chuckle.

Mike looked between the two then told them, “I’m gonna go talk with Kirb.”

“Good luck with that, bro,” Rivera muttered, Mike shook his head at him then he walked out of the room, up the stairs and knocked on doors until he found Kirby.

*

Mike stood in the barn, back against the side of a stall, Blaise’s starred nose over the door. Moonshine’s stall was empty since Dusty was now on her back somewhere on the land. Rivera was three feet away, arms crossed on his chest, legs planted, eyes on Mike, ears peeled.

Mike was waiting for Dusty and he was on his phone. Rivera was waiting for an update.

“You gotta step this shit up, Ryker,” he said into the phone.

“I told you, this dude is slippery,” Ryker said back.

“He hit the sister-in-law. Don’t know how but do know she has a five thousand dollar check,” Mike informed him.

“Well, I do know that I hope like f**k the bitch hasn’t cashed it because of all the nothing I know about Bernie McGrath the one thing I do know about him is that he doesn’t take refunds for payoffs,” Ryker remarked.

“Is that all you got for me?” Mike asked.

“He’s in bed with the sister,” Ryker told him something else he knew.

So he informed Ryker of that. “Already know that, Ryker.”

“No, he’s in bed with her. Got an in close to this guy who don’t know much. What he does know is that there was some showdown a while ago, the bitch from DC was ticked and she showed at the office, spread her bitch love, stormed into McGrath’s inner sanctum and she worked out her anger by lettin’ McGrath f**k her on his desk. Apparently, the bitch is noisy and active. The computer fell off the desk. Everyone in the office heard it.”

Jesus.

“He’s since hit DC twice. Not business,” Ryker went on.

Only Debbie would end what had to be, from her disposition, a dry spell by letting a shady real estate mogul bang her.

Fuck.

Mike’s eyes went to Rivera. “I gotta make an approach to this guy that succeeds in gettin’ him to back off this land. This means I need intel, Ryker. Somethin’ that I can lean on him with. And I need to do this yesterday.”