Chapter 18 - THE DEBT MY HUSBAND REPAID
Thomas had taken a loan from Graham twenty years earlier. I knew that much. Ryan had needed surgery at thirteen, and the bills arrived before the insurance decisions did. We had borrowed from anyone willing to help.
What I had forgotten was the name on one of those checks.
In the tackle box I found the promissory note and a stamped receipt marked PAID IN FULL. There was also a separate, never-exercised option Graham had demanded as security. Thomas had obtained a written release and recorded it.
Teresa verified the old records. The documents gave Graham no current right to the property. But he knew the old debt would make me feel ashamed, as if needing help for a sick child were something to hide.
Ryan read the papers at my kitchen table.
“Dad did that for me.”
“We both did. And we'd do it again.”
“You never told me.”
“You were a kid. You had enough to worry about.”
For a while we sat without speaking. The old kitchen clock ticked between us. Then Ryan said, “I've been so busy making sure Paige didn't feel judged that I let her judge you.”
I touched his hand. “You're allowed to love somebody and still say they're wrong.”
Teresa called with another development: the police had interviewed Nolan. His account conflicted with Graham's, and investigators wanted to speak to Paige again. She had retained separate counsel.
That evening a courier delivered a small cardboard box to my doorstep. Inside were my grandmother's pearls, returned without a note, and a key to the old Cedar Point boathouse.
May you like
Tied to the key was a tag in Paige's handwriting.
HE HID THE ORIGINALS UNDER THE FLOOR.
