“I swear on my two boys I didn’t know about Grandpa’s creek lot.

I thought Mom and Dad just had cash put away in savings.”

She reached into her pocket and took out her keys, her fingers shaking on the metal ring.

“If I’d known, Nate, I would have stayed in that rented trailer another five years before I took creek money.”

“You have two boys who needed a backyard with a fence,” Nate told her, his voice softening.

“Don’t give that money back.