Five of Us at Christmas, But They Only Got Four Cookies novel · Chapter 18 of 24

Chapter 18: His Father's Letter

Emmett slid his thumb under the flap and the old glue let go with a dry crack.

The page inside was one sheet, written on both sides in blue ballpoint.

Dorothea took a step toward him.

"That's a sick man's scribble," she said. "He didn't know what he was writing. Pastor, don't let him."

"Let him read it, Dorothea," the pastor said.

Emmett unfolded the paper.

His hands were steady.

I stood close enough that my sleeve touched his, and I felt the effort in his arm.

"Emmett," he read. "If you are reading this, either Bryce found it or I was too slow."

His voice was low and flat, and every person in that hall leaned toward it.

"The money that went out of the business these last four years did not go out through you. Your mother drew it. A little each month, into an account in her sister's name, and she covered the draws in the books. I signed where she put the pen. I did not ask why, because I was a coward about her."

A sound came from the back, a chair scraping.

Emmett kept reading.

"When I saw the size of it I understood what she meant to do with it. She will say it was you. She will say it in church, because she always says it in church. Don't let her. I'm sorry I let her send you away. The shop in the barn is yours if you want it, and so is the name."

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