Constance Green’s estate. Mr. Matthew Avery, whose address is 21 Main Street, Jasper Lake, Colorado, has been appointed as the administrator of the estate. All documents, pleading, and information relating to the estate are on file in the Clear Creek County Courthouse under case number R000049872. The last day to file claims against the estate is October 21, 2021. The assets of the estate of Mrs. Constance Green will be disbursed 30 days following the date of this notice. Executed by the administrator of the estate of Mrs. Constance Green . . .
Kendall lowered the paper to the desk when she could no longer read the print. Her hands were shaking too hard to hold the letter still.
Constance Green.
She’d never heard the name before, but they shared the same last name, and someone was informing her she’d inherited part of this woman’s estate. Surely that meant they were related somehow.
In the twenty-four years since she’d been abandoned at a day care center in a Denver suburb, she’d always imagined something like this happening. But now that it was here, she had absolutely no idea what to do about it, other than call the lawyer whose name and number were printed on the letterhead.
And maybe, just maybe, she would finally know what had happened to her mother.
Kendall hesitated for a moment before she picked up her cell phone and dialed the number.
The phone rang, and she half expected a secretary to answer, but instead a gruff voice came through the line. “Matthew Avery.”
Kendall cleared her throat, the words suddenly sticking somewhere in her esophagus. “Mr. Avery. My name is Kendall Green. I just got a letter—”
“Kendall Green!” The lawyer’s voice boomed out, now more enthusiastic than gruff. “You certainly know how to cut it close.”
She blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“The cutoff date. October 21. It’s less than two weeks away.”
“Yes, I know, but I just received the letter. I’ve been traveling for the past month, and I just got home today.”
“Right, but it’s been almost five years since she passed, and this is a rather critical situation for Jasper Lake.”
Kendall pressed her fingertips to her temples, trying to work through the stream-of-consciousness information coming from the lawyer. “For the town? I was under the impression this had something to do with a relative’s estate.”
The line went silent. She pulled the phone away from her ear to check if they were still connected, then pressed it back. “Hello?”
“Sorry. I . . .” Matthew Avery sounded discomfited. “Did no one contact you when Connie died?”
A laugh bubbled out of her, and she was aware it was tinged with hysteria. “Mr. Avery, I was abandoned at five years old and raised in foster care. I wasn’t aware I had any family left. I don’t even know their names.”
The lawyer sighed heavily on the other end of the line. “Well. I certainly didn’t expect to be the first to tell you this. You probably know your mother’s name was Caroline, and I’m afraid I can’t tell you much more than that. The estate in question, however, belonged to Constance. Your grandmother.”
A grandmother. She had a grandmother. Of course she had a grandmother, but one who actually knew of her existence? If she knew that Kendall was out there somewhere, why hadn’t she gotten in touch with her? And why had it taken someone five years to let her know she had died? Kendall hadn’t even met the woman, so she was shocked by the sudden pang of loss.
Avery was talking again, and she realized she’d missed a big chunk of the conversation when he said, “. . . come take a look at it yourself and decide what you want to do with it.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I know it’s a lot to take in, Ms. Green. But it is a sizable amount of property, and as you’re the sole heir, it is going to revert to the county in less than two weeks if you don’t file a formal claim against the estate. You can do it remotely, but I think it would be easier if you did it in person.”
Avery went on, but Kendall had stopped listening. A sizable amount of property. Colorado was getting expensive, wasn’t it? That meant even in a small town, it had to be worth something. She had no time for sentiment with a massive rent hike staring her in the face.
“Of course,” she said, her voice resolute for the first time during this phone call. “I’ll be there as soon as