In it was the official deed from Oakhaven County, stamped in blue court ink, naming me sole owner of the Elm Street house and the Blackwood Lake property.

The long six-year shadow of unanswered questions, missing money and quiet suspicion had finally lifted off our lives.

Still, standing in the quiet kitchen where Dean had set down grocery bags and offered to pay off my mortgage, nothing in the air felt like a celebration.

Our family was broken past mending, and the memory of Daniel’s last trip to the water would always carry the stain of what his brother had done.

I took my key ring out of my coat pocket and held the cold brass in my hand.