Not a development empire.
Not a fortune.
Just land.
Family land.
The kind Brenda had considered wasted because it wasn’t producing enough money for people like her.
The new barn caught the morning sun.
Inside, Seamus’s blackened hammer hung over the doorway.
I could still smell new oak when the wind moved through.
For months after the fire, the smell of burned timber had stayed in my clothes.
Now it was gone.
Fresh wood had replaced it.
That seemed right.
Brenda believed burning the barn would erase the past and clear the way for her future.
Instead, it exposed everything she had been trying to hide.
And the land stayed exactly where Seamus left it.
I picked up my coffee and headed toward the barn.
Behind me, the subdivision was quiet.
Ahead of me, the doors stood open.
For the first time in a long time, nothing needed fighting that morning.
So I went inside and got to work.
The end
Disclaimer: This content is entirely AI-generated for fictional and entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locations is purely coincidental, and the creator assumes no liability for any interpretation of this content.
