Rosella explained that Henrietta had hired attorney Patricia Odom to prepare the deed. She had also arranged for a doctor to document her mental capacity on video before signing it. Carlton himself had witnessed the signing. Henrietta had been determined to make everything legally secure, knowing her other sons might challenge her decision. She had even written my full name on a napkin to ensure every letter was correct. After all those years, she wanted the land returned to the family whose name had once been on its original papers.

But the story behind Carlton’s sudden dismissal was more complicated than I imagined. His brothers, Thurston and Bertram, were planning a major development called Pecan Hollow. Their three-hundred-acre project depended on the road frontage running through my thirty-eight acres. Carlton had known they intended to pressure Henrietta after her death, so he pretended to fire me and handed me the check as a warning. On its back, he had written a short message: “Don’t cash this. Go see Rosella. — C.” Suddenly, the strange goodbye at the screen door made sense.