Ren opened the door before they knocked.
Sandra gave her the concerned smile she used whenever she needed Ren to cooperate.
“Oh, honey. Look at you.”
Ren said nothing.
“We’ve been worried sick.”
“You knew where I was.”
Sandra laughed softly.
“We never should have left you this long. Your father has been beside himself.”
Garrett looked at the porch boards.
Dutch stood beside Ren.
Sandra noticed him.
“Where did that dog come from?”
“He lives here.”
Sandra’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Can we come in? It’s freezing.”
Ren stepped aside.
Sandra immediately began scanning the cabin.
The burning stove.
Food on the shelf.
The rug no longer covering the hatch.
The lamp.
The dog.
If she noticed that Ren no longer looked frightened, she did not mention it.
Instead she placed a leather bag on the table.
“Here’s the situation,” she said. “We’ve been trying to keep this simple because you have enough on your plate.”
She removed a manila folder.
“The estate is more complicated than we realized. Taxes, title issues, old records. Your father and I can take care of everything.”
She slid the folder toward Ren.
Inside was a proposed quitclaim deed and other transfer paperwork.
A notary block remained blank.
Sandra placed a pen on top.
“We can get the formalities handled in town. Once this is transferred, you won’t have to worry about any of it.”
“And then what?”
“We sell the property.”
Garrett finally looked up.
Sandra continued quickly.
“It’s the practical thing.”
“You told me it was worthless.”
“I said it was old.”
“You said nobody wanted it.”
“Ren, don’t twist words.”
“Which lawyer prepared this?”
Sandra blinked.
“What?”
“You said you’ve been dealing with the estate. Which lawyer?”
“Ours.”
“Name?”
Sandra’s mouth tightened.
“Why does that matter?”
“Because I met Emmett’s lawyer today.”
Silence.
The fire shifted inside the stove.
Garrett shut his eyes.
Ren kept looking at Sandra.
“Office over the hardware store. He’s been waiting for me. He told me you and Dad went there in March.”
Sandra’s face changed.
Only slightly.
But Ren saw it.
“He also told me the cabin doesn’t belong to Dad.”
“Nobody said it did.”
“You did yesterday.”
“I said it came through family.”
“It came to me.”
Sandra reached for the folder.
Ren put one hand over it.
“Leave it.”
Sandra’s voice hardened.
“You walked eleven miles in winter?”
“Wendell gave me a ride halfway.”
Garrett’s head came up.
“Wendell?”
“You remember him?”
Garrett looked around the cabin.
Something in his expression collapsed.
Sandra ignored him.
“Do you understand how irresponsible that was? You could have been hurt.”
“Stop.”
“Excuse me?”
“Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“The concerned mother routine.”
Sandra’s face went flat.
Ren continued.
“You aren’t my mother.”
Garrett flinched.
Sandra stared at her.
Ren did not raise her voice.
That surprised even Ren.
For years, she had imagined finally confronting Sandra and pictured herself shouting.
Instead she felt almost cold.
Clear.
“I know what you did.”
Sandra folded her arms.
“And what exactly do you think I did?”
“Dad’s business failed. You found out in March that Emmett left the land to me. You found out a timber company wants it.”
Garrett looked at Sandra.
Sandra said nothing.
“You couldn’t sell it,” Ren continued. “You couldn’t borrow against it. You couldn’t transfer it. I had to do that.”
“Ren, you don’t understand the finances.”
“I understand enough.”
She pointed toward the door.
“You drove me eleven miles up here. You took my phone. My money. The car. Even Mom’s things. Then you left me in a freezing cabin you told me was basically worthless.”
“We brought you food.”
“You left me two granola bars in my own bag.”
Sandra’s jaw tightened.
Ren looked at the transfer papers.
“You were coming back once I was cold enough to agree to anything.”
“That is ridiculous.”
“Then tell me I’m wrong.”
Sandra opened her mouth.
No words came.
Garrett spoke.
“Sandra.”
She turned.
“Don’t.”
“Tell her.”
“Garrett.”
“Tell her.”
His voice cracked.
Sandra looked at him with naked anger.
Garrett sat down.
For several seconds, he stared at his hands.
Then he looked at Ren.
“She isn’t wrong.”
The words changed the room.
Ren had expected denial.
Arguments.