Gordon read the letter without speaking. Winifred had written that she loved him, but love did not erase what had happened. She knew about every transfer, every excuse, and every promise to repay money that never returned. She also knew about the water bill. In fact, she had known for years. She wrote that Josephine had never once asked for recognition, repayment, or anything in return.
Then Preston reached the section concerning the will. Winifred had not left me her house, despite what Gordon had assumed. The property was to be sold, with most of the proceeds placed into a scholarship fund for local nursing students. Gordon would receive a smaller fixed inheritance, reduced by the amount Winifred documented as unpaid transfers. I had been left only one thing: her old wooden card table and the tin of peppermints she always kept beside the door.
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