"Hattie, can I use your phone?" Adam asks. "I have to find out what's going on."

"Sure, Sweetie, it's behind the counter." Hattie tells him.

"Honey, you know what's going on." Tim says looking up at his husband as the blonde stands.

"I'm kinda hoping that Chris wouldn't stoop that low. Maybe is just a glitch in their computer system." Adam says with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"Stoop that low? Seriously? Angel, you're talking about someone who pushed you down on purpose and broke your ankle." Tim says.

"Yeah, I know." Adam says sadly. "Well, I'm fixing to find out." He turns and heads toward the counter. He nods hello to Mark and Bob as they walk into the cafe.

"What's wrong with Blondie? He doesn't look too happy." Bob says as they join Tim at the table.

"His brother has reared his ugly head again." Tim replies.

"You want us to kill him?" Bob asks.

"What has he done this time?" Mark asks.

"He called the bank pretending to be Adam and had his bank card canceled." Tim answers.

"What an asshole." Mark says, shaking his head. "And a dumb one at that. Banks normally record conversations like that. Does he not think that Adam will fight back?"

"They probably have the number that the call was made from too." Hattie adds and Mark nods in agreement. "Just about every time you call a bank there is a recording that says that your call may be recorded and monitored."

"I've never dealt with a bank before so I wouldn't know." Tim says as he shakes his head. He just realized that his friends, the ones that Chris calls stupid Cajuns, slugs or swamp rats, were actually smarter than he was.

Adam huffs as he sits back down next to his husband.

"Well?" Tim asks.

"Apparently, they received a call from an Adam Rupp claiming that he had lost his card and needed it canceled." Adam says. "The call came in at about 11:35. That was about ten minutes after I hung up from him this morning."

"What an asshole. Do you want us to kill him?" Bob asks.

"No." Adam chuckles. "I also called my lawyer. He said that we could easily get a court order for all the records from the bank. He could file the legal papers to get the call history from Chris's phone. But...."

"But what.." Tim replies.

"Uh, we have to go to Minnesota." Adam says with an apologetic look.

"How? We don't have the money to get to Minnesota, Sweetie." Tim says. "And no telling how long we would have to stay there."

"We'll come up with something." Adam says with a smile. "Just don't start worrying about it, okay? You'll give yourself one of those headaches. Come on. Let's just go home."

Tim reaches into his back pocket for his wallet. He wasn't sure how much cash he had but hopefully, it was enough to pay for their meal.

"Don't even think about it, Timmy." Hattie says as she picks up their ticket and tears it up.

"Hattie..." Tim says, shaking his head.

"If you insist on paying? You can pay when you guys get all this sh*t straightened out." Hattie says with a smile.

"We'll get it straightened out. My lawyer said that Chris wasn't being too smart by doing this. He could even get jail time." Adam says. "He left too much evidence. He doesn't think I'll do anything about it. But he's wrong."

"Spoken like a true Cajun." Bob laughs.

~~

Hattie stands behind the counter, staring out at the empty dining room, lost in her thoughts. She was worried sick about Tim and Adam. They were like her sons. And NO ONE does her sons wrong! She had to find a way to help them.

"Miss Hattie are you okay?" A deep voice asks.

"Oh, dear heavens!" She jumps, not expecting any customers to be coming in so early in the evening. "Chance, you scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry." Chance chuckles.

"You looked pretty zoned out." Kelsey says.

Hattie just stares at them. Maybe there WAS a way to help Tim and Adam.

"Hattie?" Rob calls to her as he snaps his fingers in front of her face.

"Oh, sorry." She giggles as she grabs some menus. "I've got a lot on my mind." She adds as she leads them over to a table.

"Anything we can help with?" Kelsey asks politely as she sits down.

"Well..... maybe there is." Hattie answers.

"Have a seat. Dr. Rob is listening." Rob chuckles.

"It's not for me. Uh, it's for Tim and Adam." Hattie says with pleading eyes.

"We're listening." Chance says as he pulls up another chair and motions for her to sit down.

"Chris is at it again." Hattie says as she joins them.

"Are you kidding me?" Kelsey says, rolling her eyes. "Why doesn't he give it up. He's not going to break those two up." 

"What's he done now?" Rob asks.

Hattie begins to fill them in on everything that happened. Starting from the very beginning of Adam's card being rejected to the couple needing to go to Minnesota but the cash just wasn't available.

"Tim knows that I will help in any way possible." Chance says.

"Problem is, Chance. Tim Foust will not ask for help. He's very prideful." Kelsey replies. "It took a lot for him to ask for help the last time that he needed to go get Adam." 

"He was going to pay for their meal with his last few dollars." Hattie adds.

"Well, we need to think of something." Chance says.

"Y'all just leave it to me. I've known Timmy all my life. He's like a brother to me. I know how to deal with him." Kelsey smiles as she looks over the menu.

~~

Tim sat on the front porch staring out across the swamp with Satchmo lying at his feet. Adam was inside napping on the couch.

What was he going to do? They had to go to Minnesota but how the hell were they supposed to get there? They had no money for plane tickets or for a hotel stay. He racked his brain trying to think of things that he might sell for cash.

He glances up as he's taking a sip of his tea to see Kelsey pulling into the drive. Was it laundry day?

"Hey, Timmy. Care for some company?" She smiles as she walks onto the porch.

"How can I say no to my favorite girl." Tim smiles but Kelsey notices that his smile did not reach his worried brown eyes. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thanks." Kelsey answers as she sits down in the rocker next to Tim. "Where's Adam?"

"He's taking a nap." Tim says as he turns his eyes back to the swamp. "Why do I feel that this ain't no social call?"

"Because I'm here for a reason." Kelsey states. "You and Adam need help and you're too d*mn stubborn to ask for it."

"Kelsey..." Tim says as he hangs his head.

"No. You listen to me, Timothy. I know what's going on with Chris. He is stealing Adam's inheritance. Half of that is rightfully Adam's. You can't let him get by with that. If you do, you are just letting him win." Kelsey says as she reaches for his hand. "Honey, I know that y'all don't have the money right now to go to Minnesota but you need to get your asses up there as soon as possible to get this taken care of before Chris drains that account dry. He's already bought a house out of it. Which I'm sure that Adam will be compensated for. Swallow your Cajun pride, Sweetie, and allow us to help. Please."

"I don't know what else to do." Tim sniffs as he quickly wipes a tear before it had time to roll down his cheek.

"You have no choice but to accept our help." Kelsey says softly as she squeezes his hand.

"We'll pay you every dime back, Kel. I promise." Tim says quietly.

"If you insist. But we're not asking." Kelsey replies, shaking her head.

*******

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