“Do you still have that form?”
Dad shook his head.
“Where does Caleb live?”
I asked.
Jessica gave the attorney an address in the next county.
Robert wrote it down.
“Has he contacted either of you today?”
Jessica hesitated.
Her phone buzzed on the workbench.
Nobody moved.
The sound seemed too loud in the quiet room.
Jessica looked at the screen.
“What is it?”
I asked.
She turned the phone toward me.
A text message from Caleb.
We need to talk before Michael contacts the bank.
Don’t let him see the second file.
Jessica’s face went white.
Robert held out his hand.
“May I?”
She passed him the phone.
“What second file?”
I asked.
“I don’t know.”
The phone buzzed again.
The original deed is still with me.
If you want your parents to keep the house, come alone.
Dad stood so quickly the bucket scraped across the floor.
