Mrs. Rhode’s shaky handwriting.
And beneath it:
A small metal key.
My hands started trembling before I even unfolded the letter.
James,
You’re probably angry right now. I imagine you think I lied to you.
I didn’t.
What I’m leaving you matters more than a house.
Tears blurred the words almost immediately.
I wiped my face and kept reading.
I know you first agreed to help me because you needed money. There’s no shame in that. But somewhere between grocery runs, burnt dinners, and shouting at television game shows, you
