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.
“She was getting older.”
I almost laughed.
“She knew exactly what she was writing.”
Mom said nothing.
I finally told her,
“I’ll think about it.”
Relief crossed her face.
As she reached the door, I stopped her.
“Mom.”
She turned.
“If you needed my help, you could have called me before this.”
She looked down.
“I didn’t know what to say.”
“You didn’t have to fix everything,” I said. “You just had to not stay silent.”
After she left, Leah and I sat at the kitchen table with the letter between us.
“You’re not giving it to them, are you?” she asked.
“No.”
She exhaled.
“But I’m not rushing into anything either.”
The next week, I hired a local real-estate attorney.
I gave him the letter.
The property history.
Information about who had maintained the house.
He explained that without a clear will, the matter would need proper legal review.
But Grandma’s written statement of intent could be significant.
So we filed through the appropriate process and allowed the court to determine ownership.
While that happened, I began researching the property itself.
I had helped Grandma maintain it two summers earlier.
I knew it needed work.
But it was in an excellent location near the Carolina coast.
Private dock.
Walking distance to newer developments.
Good bones.
Instead of seeing an immediate sale, I saw possibility.
Jordan called.
