“Who was it written to?”
Mom looked at me.
“You.”
I reached toward the folder.
She hesitated before giving it to me.
That hesitation told me there was more.
“The property taxes are overdue,” she said. “The house needs repairs. Everyone thinks selling is probably the smartest thing.”
There it was.
The real reason for the visit.
“And you need me for what?”
“Because the letter gives you a claim. We need someone to petition for the deed transfer.”
She still hadn’t apologized for the vacation.
She hadn’t asked how Leah was.
She needed paperwork.
Again.
I opened Grandma’s letter.
Her handwriting was unmistakable.
She wrote that she trusted me with the beach house because she believed I would care for it instead of immediately turning it into cash.
She said she wanted me to have it.
I read the letter three times.
Then looked at Mom.
“You want me to use this letter to get control of the property so everyone can sell it?”
“We’d split the money equally.”
“Even though Grandma specifically said she wanted me to have it?”
Mom hesitated.
