Avery Came Home From Overseas and Found Her Name on the Lake Deed

She would never own a square inch of land again, but she would never end up sitting on a sidewalk either.

I leaned against the corner piling and looked down at the dark reflection of the pines.

“The water’s completely still this morning,” I said quietly to the empty dock.

My military direct deposit had been switched back to my regular checking account, leaving four thousand dollars in reserve after paying off the last of the fuel vendor accounts.

The brass key fob in my pocket felt heavy against my thigh.

I turned away from the edge of the lake at half past six and walked up the gravel path toward the 1998 Ford truck.