carried a cost they couldn’t ignore.
One autumn afternoon, nearly eighteen months after the lawsuit ended, my mother visited the cabin.
Alone.
I found her standing near the dock where Grandma and I used to fish.
She looked nervous.
“I wasn’t sure you’d let me come.”
“I almost didn’t.”
She nodded.
Fair enough.
For a while we simply watched the lake.
Then she said something I never expected.
“We failed you.”
I remained silent.
She continued.
“We spent years worrying about Kelsey because she always seemed fragile.”
The wind moved
