I smiled despite myself.
“He’d have liked hearing that.”
The boy glanced up at the ladder.
“Did he bring you out here?”
“Every autumn.”
“Even when it was this cold?”
“Especially when it was this cold. He claimed the deer were more polite when their ears were freezing.”
For the first time that morning, Evan smiled.
And for one brief second, I could almost hear Wes laughing beside me.
Then headlights appeared through the trees at the northern end of the property.
Cody had arrived.
He came out of his truck wearing camouflage trousers, a heavy jacket, and the same confident expression he’d worn at family dinners for years whenever he wanted everyone to believe he belonged at the head of the table.
He saw me first.
Then Richard.
Then the two empty coffee cups on the stump.
His expression tightened.
“Aunt Marlene,” he said, walking toward us. “What are you doing?”
I didn’t answer the question.
Instead, I pointed to Richard’s phone.
“Would you like to explain this agreement?”
Cody glanced at it.
His eyes flicked toward Richard and then back to me.
“This is a family matter.”
“No,” I said. “It became a business matter when you charged strangers for access to land you don’t own.”
“I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody.”
“Then why did you tell them you owned it?”
He rubbed his jaw.
“Because people don’t pay to hunt on somebody else’s property.”
I let that sit in the air between us.
There it was.
Not a misunderstanding.
Not a mistake.
A decision.
Richard stepped forward.
“You told me your uncle left the property to you.”
“He practically did,” Cody replied.
Richard stared at him.
“Practically?”
Cody’s cheeks reddened.
“My uncle was like a father to me. I spent years out here. He wanted me to have a place in the family.”
“That may be true,” I said. “But wanting someone to feel welcome on your land is not the same as signing it over to them.”
Cody turned to me.
“Wes wouldn’t have wanted you to do this.”
That was the first thing he said that truly hurt.
Not because I believed him.
Because he had taken my husband’s name and used it as a weapon against me.
I set my cup on the stump.
“Don’t tell me what Wes wanted.”
His mouth closed.
“He wanted you to have a chance in life. He wanted you to learn how to work, how to keep your word, and how to take care of people who trusted you. He gave you years of his time. He gave you a key to this gate because he believed you would respect what was behind it.”
I pointed to the chain hanging loose from the post.
“You used that key to sell access to his land.”
Cody looked away.
Then he said something I hadn’t expected.
“I need the money.”
Richard shifted beside me.
I waited.
Cody swallowed.
“My truck needs repairs. I’ve got credit cards due. My rent went up, and I’ve been behind for two months. I thought I could make a little money before winter.”
“Then you should have asked for help,” I said.
He let out a bitter laugh.
“Right. Ask Aunt Marlene for help. Again.”
I studied him.
“How many times have you asked me for help?”
He didn’t answer.
“Your mother called me in March because you were behind on rent. I sent you eight hundred dollars. In June, you needed tires. I paid the mechanic directly. In August, you said your hours had been cut, so I covered your electric bill.”
“I paid some of that back.”
“You paid back two hundred dollars.”
His face reddened further.
“I was going to pay the rest.”
“I know. You always intend to do the right thing eventually, Cody. But eventually doesn’t help the person standing in front of you today.”
He looked toward the creek.
For a moment, I thought he might apologize.
Instead, he said, “You have money. You don’t even use this land much anymore.”
I felt the last of my hope leave me.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The reason you thought you could take it.”
I stepped closer, keeping my voice quiet.
“You looked at a widow and decided that because she didn’t have her husband beside her anymore, her property had become available to you.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You didn’t need to.”
He stared at me.
Behind him, Richard had taken his son’s shoulder and was guiding him toward the gate.
I nodded at them.
“Go ahead, Richard. I’ll make sure this is handled.”
Richard hesitated.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He held out his hand.
“I am sorry for what happened.”
I shook it.
“Don’t apologize for trusting someone. Just be careful what you trust next time.”
He and Evan walked toward their car.
Before getting in, Evan turned around.
“Mrs. Whitaker?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry about your husband.”
The words were simple.
They were sincere.
And they nearly undid me.
“Thank you, Evan.”
He climbed into the passenger seat, and they drove away.
The sound of their tires faded down the frozen gravel road.
Cody and I were alone.
He shoved his hands into his pockets.
“So what now?”
I looked at him for a long time.
“Now, you’re going to tell me how many people you’ve charged to hunt on my land.”
His eyes moved toward the gate.
“Aunt Marlene—”
“How many?”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Guess.”
“Four or five groups.”
My stomach tightened.
“How long have you been doing this?”
He said nothing.
“Cody.”
“Since last season.”
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Last season.
That meant he’d been doing it for months, perhaps longer. While I paid the property taxes, maintained the insurance, and kept up with the cost of the land, he had been collecting money from people who believed they were dealing with an owner.
“Do you have their names?”
“Some.”
