When Jamie and Arf came down from the attic, the house was quiet and all but the usual nighttime lights were off.

“Well Arf,” Jamie whispered. “It appears that everyone has retreated to their rooms for the night. They must think I went home and you’re in with Katie. She was so exhausted, she’s probably been sleeping the whole time and didn’t miss you. Just a minute, and I’ll take you to her room, in case the door is closed or something.”

“There you are.” The voice startled both Arf and Jamie. “I knew you were around here someplace, but I wasn’t about to go searching for you. It would take me a month of Sundays to look through this whole house.” Miss Bessie was standing in the hall doorway.

“Hi Miss Bessie,” Jamie said. “Arf and I were looking around up in the attic. I love to explore up there and we let time get away from us. Do you know where I can fine an envelope and sheet of writing paper? I need to leave something for Brad.”

***It was good to hang out with Jamie and Miss B., but I wanted to get up to Katie’s room in case she needed me. It had been a long day for both of us and we needed our rest. I decided I would go on up and see if I could get into her room, but I wanted to see if I could remind Miss Bessie that I hadn’t had one of the good kind of bones yet today.

Luck was with me. She had one in her hand. I took it and went upstairs.

“I’m sure we can find what you need in the office, Jamie. Let’s go see.”

Jamie was surprised that the door to Brad’s office was unlocked. She was just as surprised when Miss Bessie just walked right in. It was his private office and it somehow didn’t seem right for them to be in there. It was apparent that Miss Bessie felt right at home. She walked over to a credenza and opened one of the drawers. She took out a legal sized envelope, a pen and some paper and handed them to Jamie.

“Here,” she said. “Will this do?”

“Yes,” Jamie answered. “I just need to write a note and I’ll leave this here. Would you mind letting him know in the morning that I left something for him on his desk?”

“I’ll tell him as soon as I see him.”

Jamie waited for Miss B, to leave, but she didn’t. She sat down in a nearby chair to wait. “Is that the Will?” She asked. “I overheard someone say that the boy’s grandparents left a Will that no one had been able to find. If it were me, I would be tempted to read it. That way if there’s something in it that could cause trouble for Brad, it just might go back to being lost…or maybe it never existed. I wouldn’t do it of course, I’m just saying I would be tempting.”

Jamie sat down and wrote a note to say she and Arf had decided to look for the Will and had discovered it in an old filing cabinet hidden behind a large piece of furniture in a dark corner of the attic. When she finished writing, she put the Will and note inside the envelope and handed it to Miss Bessie.

“I was going to leave it on his desk, but it might be better if you gave it to him. It’s getting really late, and I have to put in some hours at the clinic tomorrow. Thank you so much, Miss Bessie. I’m going to take off now.”

Jamie and Miss Bessie walked out of Brad’s office, shutting the door behind them.

***The next morning, Katie and I got up early and I helped her get ready to go downstairs for breakfast.

We didn’t have to go to our spot to practice balancing, because she needs to learn how to do everyday things. I hope we still go on our picnics, though. I have fun doing things with my Katie.

After I helped her get out of her bed, she wheeled herself around and did everything she could do like wash up and comb her hair. She got the clothes she needed from her chest of drawers and wheeled over to the big vanity with the big mirror. After maneuvering around in her chair to dress, she stood. There was my Katie, standing by herself in front of the mirror with the biggest smile on her face.

“It feels so good to stand here all by myself,” she said. “My next goal is going to be to stand behind Mommy while she sits at this vanity. I’m going to brush her hair. I’ve dreamed about doing that for the longest time. I’m going to walk and stand and do all kinds of things, Arf. Do you think I’ll be able to run someday?”

***Bark, Bark, Bark, Bark, Bark, and Bark….

It was a long day at work for Jamie. Even though she hoped to hear from Brad, she didn’t expect to. What if Miss B. hadn’t given him the envelope with the Will in it. Was she secretly hoping she hadn’t? She decided to drive to the ranch after work. She couldn’t stand not knowing.

“Hi Helen,” Jamie said as she walked into the kitchen at the ranch. “Something smells good.”

“You’re just in time for dinner,” Helen said. “Alice is making BBQ ribs and I just took an apple pie from the oven.”

“Actually, I was looking for Miss Bessie. Is she around here somewhere?”

“She and Dina are out in the garden, I believe,” Helen said as she started to set the table. “Can I set a place for you?”

“Uh…I can’t stay long, today…chores you know, but thank you, anyway. I’m going to see if I can talk to Miss Bessie for a moment.”

The garden is so beautiful, Jamie thought as she walked over to where Dina and Miss B. were sitting.

Photos by Nancy Authier

“Hello Jamie,” Dina said. “Did you just get off work? You must stay for the delicious dinner Alice and Helen are preparing.”

“I can’t tell you how amazing you look, Dina. You’re glowing. Yesterday was a special day for all of us, but it really was incredible for you, wasn’t it?”

“All of our prayers were answered. God sent us Arf and he worked a miracle,” Dina answered.

Jamie looked at Miss B. who was sitting there uncharacteristically silent.

“Oh my goodness,” she finally said. “Steve is home and here comes Mark, but I wonder where Brad is. I haven’t seen him since this morning? Please stay for dinner, Jamie. It will be nice to have everyone at the table.”

It was clear that Tom was very resentful of Brad, and Jamie knew she had a hand in what was happening between the two brothers.

Brad had left the room and she stood there with Tom, not knowing what she could, or better yet should, say to him.

“Do you mind telling me what happened, Tom? I’m not totally sure I should even ask, but if I have caused any kind of confusion, I would like the opportunity to clear it up.”

“I don’t think anyone is confused, Jamie. I think Brad is leaving out some important facts about how he came to own this place.”

Jamie tried to bite her tongue, but it wasn’t going to happen. “If you think your brother fabricated anything, you’re wrong.”

“So you’ve known Brad for how long, Jamie? A few short months? And now you swallow whatever he says, hook, line, and sinker.”

“It doesn’t matter how long I’ve known him, I would bet my life that it all happened exactly as Brad said it did.”

“We’ll see,” Tom said. “I have an appointment with an attorney tomorrow. I’m anxious to learn how a bank could foreclose on a property that didn’t have a loan against it. And as far as the taxes are concerned, Aunt Mildred said my grandparents had their own attorney set up an escrow account for the purpose of keeping the taxes and insurance on the property current.”

“Now I’m confused. Why is this being researched now?” Jamie asked. “Brad has not only owned this property for years, but he has built on it and just look at all the improvements he has made.”

“My Aunt has always insisted that my grandparents willed the property to her. Unfortunately, the will has been elusive. In the absence of a will, the deceased’s assets would normally go through probate and after all debt was paid, the remaining funds would go to the closest living relative.”

Tom kept looking toward the doorway to the hall. Jamie wondered if he was hoping Brad would come back to the room.

He continued his explanation.

“I was stationed overseas when my grandparents died, within months of each other, and I had no sympathy for Aunt Mildred, anyway. It wasn’t until you told me how Brad came to buy the house and property that I decided to question Aunt Mildred further.

When a will could not be found, and Aunt Mildred discovered the house and property had been badly neglected, she backed off. She expected to get a final accounting once everything had gone through probate and was sold, but she never heard anything and assumed the attorney’s fees and payment of outstanding bills had eaten up all the assets. She was naive about the process to say the least, and did not even know the name of my grandparent’s attorney.” Tom paused for a moment. “Neither of us were aware that the property was sold to Brad. Anyway, I hope to get more information, tomorrow.”

Tom turned to leave. “Tell my brother I’ll be in touch. I’ll let myself out.”

Once again, Jamie had a dilemma. Should she tell Brad what Tom had said, or should she let them battle it out themselves? She decided that she would tell Brad…but not before she paid another visit to the attic.

Arf was lying on the floor eating dogfood from his frisbee. “What do you think, Arf? Could you help me find some more paperwork in the attic?”

***Jamie and I went up to that musty old attic again. It isn’t really my favorite place to be, although it is kind of fun to find stuff up there. Maybe there would be some frisbees or balls up in the attic.

When we got up all those stairs, Jamie showed me some scraps of paper and I got the idea she wanted me to play a game. It’s called, I find more paper and bring it to her. I looked everywhere. When it started to get dark, Jamie found a flashlight and started shining it into the corners and the drawers of the old furniture. Then, she saw a filing cabinet way over in a dark corner, behind a bed with a huge headboard.

“Maybe there is something in here that will help us,” Jamie said. She tried to pull the top drawer out and found it was locked. She tried the second and third drawer and they were locked, too. Finally, she pulled on the last drawer. It took some effort, but it opened.

“There is a folder in here, but it looks empty,” she said. She was about to shut the drawer when she almost dropped her flashlight. Arf happened to be looking where the light was briefly shining and spotted something. He let Jamie know that he saw paper taped to the back of the drawer. It turned out to be a small envelope. When Jamie opened it, she found two keys inside.

She put one of the keys in the lock of the top drawer and it came open. The only thing in there was a flat wooden box which was locked with a padlock. Thankfully, the second key opened it.

Inside the box was a manila envelope that held several folded legal sized papers.

“Bingo!” Jamie said. “Good work, Arf. Now…should we see what is in this thing, or should we go straight to Brad and give it to him?”