‘He’d probably complain that our filing cabinets weren’t labeled clearly enough,’ Howard replied.

I laughed, remembering Raymond’s handwriting on boxes in the garage: WINTER TOOLS, EXTRA HARDWARE, THINGS GLORIA WILL NOT THROW AWAY.

He had been right about the last one.

I still had a jar of bent nails from the year we built the porch.

The conversation turned serious when Howard asked what I intended to do if Trevor satisfied the trust’s conditions.

It was one thing to support his rehabilitation in theory and another to see a substantial inheritance placed within his reach.