But an odd place to hold an auction. What did I know, though? The sheriff seemed to think there was going to be a large turnout, and from the way strangers were filling the seats, he wasn’t wrong.
“Mom, I don’t think we’re going to be able to bid enough. Look at all these people.” I whispered the concern in my mother’s ear, my heartbeat thumping erratically. My parents were willing to cash out everything in their name if I won the bid. They gave me a substantial number to work with, but I feared it wasn’t going to be enough.
“What are they doing here?” Aspen snarled from my other side. I turned to look in the direction she was staring and found a few men in suits, congregating against the wall.
“Who is that?”
“They’re the land developers that keep snooping around the farm. Dad’s had to call the cops on them for trespassing twice in the last month. They’re relentless dirtbags.”
“The sheriff said the land and property couldn’t be awarded to a developer. They weren’t allowed to bid.”
“They’re probably trying to see who they can weasel it out of, I’m sure.”
“What do they want it for anyway?”
“Not sure. But Betsy at the grocery store overheard them talking about an industrial park of sorts.”
That was not what I expected. Our town was all for change and expansion when it did right by the people, but an industrial park wasn’t something they were going to be too happy with. Back in high school, they voted to keep three other developments like that from moving in. We thought we’d proven our point, but apparently not.
“Now I really wish I had more money with me to make sure they didn’t figure out a way to get their grubby hands on it.”
“Everything will work out how it’s supposed to, sweetie,” my father said from the end of the row where he sat next to Alex. Rory was between her and Aspen. My sisters had all taken the day off work for the occasion. They wanted to support me and help get our land back.
The booming room quieted when the sheriff took the stage and began describing the property. I felt ill listening to him talk about the land and home that had once belonged to us. It felt dirty watching the eyes of all these people light up at our misfortune.
A man in a three-piece suit stepped onto the stage and moved behind the microphone stand the sheriff vacated. Mom’s hands gripped our registration papers as the bidding began.
I didn’t raise my hand right away, more engrossed in listening to the numbers climb as people furiously threw their hands up to place a bid.
The offers began to slow and I saw my moment.
The bids were settling around the fifty thousand mark and I raised my hand to place a bid at seventy-five thousand. The couple in front of me turned and sneered before raising their hands to counter bid.
This continued with a few other people in the auditorium until I was reaching one hundred thousand over my initial bid. My family and I knew what the house and land were worth. That was really what we were paying for, but no one else did. They didn’t know the significance of that property or the impacts it had on history, being one of the first farms in the area. They were there for a pretty piece of land to make their summer home.
“Mom.” My voice shook as we approached the top of our budget. My parents had offered more, even suggested a personal loan at their expense, but I refused. I could do with the money they were willing to cash in because I knew I could pay them back for it in time. That was money they already had. I couldn’t ask them to take out more on such a gamble. That was how our family ended up in this mess to begin with.
“It’s okay, Autumn. Go with your gut. If you’re not comfortable going higher, we can deal with someone else on our land.”
“But we shouldn’t have to,” I explained as I raised my hand as the bid hit the two hundred thousand mark.
“One million, fifty thousand, with lien payments on top.”
The bid silenced the crowd. That was far more than the house or the land were worth. Someone was playing a devious game.
Collectively, the crowd looked back at the bidder only to find him tucked in the far back shadows of the theater, ball cap covering the remainder of his face in its own shadows.
“Sold?” the auctioneer questioned, as no one countered his bid. “Um, well, uh. Congratulations. You can meet with the sheriff to determine the collection of your winnings. Thank you all for coming.”
Beside me, my sisters grumbled that they all needed a drink, but I was too busy focusing on the figure slinking further back into the shadows before he ducked into a stairwell altogether.
“Autumn?” Mom said from beside me and turned back in my chair quickly.
“Yeah, I could use a stiff drink. Think The Purple Goat would serve alcohol at 10 a.m.?”
My mother patted my knee in condolence. “I think Harold will make an exception today.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry I let everyone down.”
“You didn’t, sweetie,” Dad said from the end of the aisle where he stood and began gathering our light jackets. “That was a crazy bid that I don’t think anyone here prepared for. It’s obvious the man wanted the property. We can only hope that he’s not as slimy as those men that keep trespassing.”
As one, we filed out of the row and made our way down the aisle and out of the main theater into the lobby. Conversation flowed around us. Everyone wondered who the shadowed man was and where he came from. He was the new town mystery and rumors were going to swirl. On the bright side, that took the heat off my reasoning for returning home. I didn’t want to feel ashamed of my return.
“I’ll let you girls enjoy your morning. I’m going to head back to the house.”
“Aspen, are you staying or going?” At twenty, she wasn’t of legal age to drink yet, but I didn’t want to keep her from being with us.
“I’ll stay and give everyone a ride home.”
“That’s a great idea,” Dad said as he tugged me into his arms – my favorite place to be. “I’m sorry we lost that one. At least we know we tried. Who knows? Maybe we’ll be able to work something out with the new owner.”
In my head I was certain it was going to be torn down by the time we arrived back at the ranch, even though I knew my mind exaggerated that scenario. It still left me bereft.
“I know, Daddy. Thank you all for supporting me, even if it didn’t turn out in our favor.”
Dad said his goodbyes and the rest of us headed across the street to The Purple Goat. To this day, I was still unsure how the bar came about its name. Mom theorized it was something Harold lost a bet on.
It seemed everyone we knew liked to make a wager every now and then.
