Then he stopped.
The truck’s brake lights flashed for several seconds. Nobody moved. The driver climbed out. He stared at the trench.
Claire jumped from the SUV and hurried toward him. Caleb followed.
I remained on the porch.
Clare eventually looked up at me. Her expression told me everything. She stormed toward the house, her boots sinking into the wet ground.
“What did you do?”
I folded my arms.
“I had an irrigation trench installed.”
“You knew we were bringing the RV.”
“Yes.”
“Then fill it in.”
“No.”
She stared at me as though I had spoken another language.
“My parents have nowhere to go.”
“That is unfortunate.”
“They gave up their lease.”
“That was their decision.”
She pointed toward the trench.
“You deliberately did this to stop us.”
“I installed an irrigation system on my property.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
I didn’t answer. There was no point.
Caleb finally reached the porch.
“Mom, please.”
I looked at him.
“Please, what?”
“Just let them stay temporarily.”
“Where?”
He pointed toward the trailer.
“There.”
“On my land.”
He looked away.
“Yes.”
“Without asking me.”
He said nothing.
I took a breath.
“Caleb, if you want to help your in-laws, that’s your choice. If you want to support them financially, that’s your choice. But you cannot use my retirement property to solve a problem you and Clare created.”
Clare stepped between us.
“You don’t care about family.”
I almost laughed.
“Family doesn’t mean having unlimited access to someone else’s property.”
She crossed her arms.
“You have 9 acres. What difference does one RV make?”
“It makes the difference between owning my property and allowing someone else to occupy it without permission.”
Her father remained beside the truck, watching silently. The rain grew heavier. Caleb looked exhausted.
“Mom, can you just call the contractor and have the trench filled?”
“No.”
“It would take one phone call.”
“Then make the call yourself.”
His face tightened.
“You know, we can’t afford a hotel.”
“Then find an RV park.”
“We can’t afford that either.”
“Then find another solution.”
Clare snapped.
“This is unbelievable.”
“No,” I said quietly. “What’s unbelievable is that you drove an RV onto my property after I specifically told you not to.”
She opened her mouth. Nothing came out. Then she turned to Caleb.
“Say something.”
He looked at her for the first time. I noticed something different in his face. He wasn’t angry with me.
He was tired. Really tired.
He looked at the locked guest house, then the workshop, then the trench. Finally, he looked at his wife.
“Clare, she’s not changing her mind.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”