For Seven Years I Sent Forty Thousand Dollars Every January, Until Emma Finally Spoke

“Grandpa, why did he need so much money from you?” Emma asked.

We were finally out in the open, and she deserved the plain truth.

“When your mother passed away, the insurance company gave him a huge payout,” I said.

“Half a million dollars.”

Emma looked down at the wooden floorboards of the porch.

“He hid that money so nobody in Oak Creek would know he was rich,” I said.

“He bought the yacht and the business in Oakridge with it.”

“But why did he ask you for the checks in January?” Emma asked.