He thought I was finally going to take my long-delayed revenge for the two-minute phone call that had stripped Luke of his inheritance.

I looked at the peeling white paint on the porch railing behind him.

I felt the terrifying weight of a three-hundred-five-thousand-dollar mortgage pressing on my chest.

I had no room left for revenge.

I took a slow breath of the freezing air.

“You don’t have to leave, Walt,” I said.

He finally lifted his head.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise.