It was an explicit trust intent note, witnessed and stamped in the city of Portsmouth, naming me as the sole irrevocable beneficiary of the farmhouse and the land around it.

The document specifically barred my father from ever acquiring title, citing thirty thousand dollars he had taken from my grandfather’s savings account without permission in 2009.

I unrolled the document and held it next to Lewis’s folded service flag on my lap while Knox lay down on the cold floorboards beside my boots.

I picked up my truck keys, left Knox in the warm kitchen, and drove back to High Street.

Daniel was sitting in the legal archive room behind the High Street library, surrounded by stacks of real estate law journals.