“Or he can sell them on eBay. I’ll bet he could get some good money for the spokeshaves and bevels. Some we should actually keep though, like Dad’s first hammer and…”

“No. Ann. Would you stop and just listen?”

Ann put her hands on her hips.

“Remember the refrigerator in the barn?”

“What about it? Oh God, Brad can have it, too. It hasn’t worked since I can remember. Some people turn those old refrigerators into coolers, bookcases, couches. I’ll bet Brad could…”

“Ann!”

What was going on? “What’s your problem?”

“Freezers are where people hide their wills. You know, so they won’t burn up in a fire.” Poppy walked over to the desk and pulled out a legal-sized manila envelope. “This is what we found.”

“A will? You found it?”

“Brad did. And Noah.”

“I can’t believe Noah didn’t tell me sooner.”

“It happened just this morning, before you got here. We know what Mom and Dad wanted now. Ann, we don’t have to fight over the house anymore. Michael can’t force the sale. The evil developer can’t buy the property and build a road.”

“What evil developer?”

“Carol told me about some guy who wanted to put a road through the property.”

“No way. Are you kidding me? What does the will say? I’ve looked everywhere for this.”

Ann greedily ripped the large envelope out of Poppy’s hands and pulled the papers out. Her eyes wildly scanned the pages. “Wait a minute,” Ann said. “The house is in a trust.”

“Right. We can’t even sell it or buy it from each other or whatever. It’s set up to skip generations.”

The logistics began to sink in. “We don’t inherit it. The grandchildren do.” Ann set the envelope on her lap and smiled, elated. “So, that means the house belongs to Noah now! Michael can’t have it. Oh my God, that’s the best news ever!” Ann started dancing around the room, so relieved she thought she might cry. She reached for Poppy’s arms, trying to pull her up to join her in her celebration, but Poppy wouldn’t budge. “What’s your problem? Don’t you see? I don’t even need Maureen. Michael can’t get his dirty hands on this place. How perfect!”

“Ann, there’s something—”

“Does Noah understand what this means for him? He must have been out of his mind. I need to call him.”

“Wait!” Poppy said. “Slow down. Please.”

“What? What’s wrong?”

Poppy took a deep breath. “Ann, Michael has a kid.”

“He has a what?” She was sure she had misheard.

“Avery. She’s eleven or twelve. She looks just like him. I saw her picture in his office the other day.”

“That could be someone else’s kid. Are you sure it’s his?”

“I’m sure.”