“Jesse is being cooperative,” Detective Miller said, looking at my brother. “But he will still have to answer for his part in the investigation.”

They led Simon out. Misty followed them down the hallway, her heels clicking frantically, screaming for a lawyer.

The room went quiet.

I looked at Jesse. He finally looked up at me, tears streaming down his face. “Cassandra, I’m sorry. Simon told me you were going to sell the house and leave me with nothing. I didn’t know he was stealing.”

I did not hug him. I did not tell him it was okay.

“You should have asked me, Jesse,” I said. “You should have trusted your own family.”

I stood up, took my purse, and walked out of the office.

It took 6 months to sort out the legal mess. Simon pleaded guilty to grand larceny and was sentenced to 4 years in state prison. Jesse received 3 years of probation and had to sign over his remaining interest in our father’s business to pay back his share of the stolen funds.

Misty disappeared. I heard from a neighbor that she had to sell her car to pay her credit card debts, and she was now living in a small studio apartment near the highway, working at a retail store. Her expensive perfume was gone.

I kept the house.

Today, the sun is shining. The air is cool, smelling of wet earth and autumn leaves.

I am back in the garden. I spent the morning digging up the old, overgrown trellis. It was falling apart, a relic of a time that ended long ago.

I planted 3 new white rose bushes along the fence. They are small, but their roots are deep in the soil my father loved.

My brother Jesse called me this morning. He asked if he could come over next weekend to help me paint the garage. I told him I would think about it. It is not a perfect fix. We are not a happy family again. But it is a start.

I wiped the dirt from my hands and looked at the new plants. The white buds are just beginning to show. They look small. They look perfect.

I smiled, picked up my watering can, and got back to work.