“She kept the porch light on until eleven for you.

Even after you shipped out.

She said the habit kept her company.”

I kept my eyes fixed on the box so he wouldn’t see my face.

In the DEEDS box, beneath a folder of old insurance riders, was a single sheet in a blue cover, the kind lawyers use for drafts.

Edward held it up to the light from the window and went completely still.

“A quitclaim deed,” he said.