“You said he invited us.”

Ashley rubbed her forehead.

“I said Mike was fine with it.”

Tom shook his head.

“No. You said he invited us because he didn’t want to spend his first summer here alone.”

“Dad, that’s basically the same thing.”

“No, it isn’t.”

Linda spoke quietly.

“You told me he suggested we take the master bedroom because of my back.”

Ashley looked annoyed now.

“Because that room makes the most sense for you. Do we really need to dissect every sentence I used?”

I opened the folder.

“She told me to clear my closet and move into another bedroom.”

Tom looked at me.

Then at Ashley.

“You told him to move out of his bedroom?”

“Temporarily. Why is everybody saying it like I threw him into the garage?”

“Because it isn’t your bedroom to assign,” Linda said.

Ashley rolled her eyes.

“Mom, please. Don’t start doing this just because he’s sitting there with a folder trying to make me look like some horrible person.”

I slid the printed messages toward Tom.

“You don’t have to take my word for anything.”

Ashley reached for them.

“Those were private messages.”

Tom pulled the pages closer before she could take them.

“They’re private messages about me moving into this man’s house. I think I’m allowed to know what’s in them.”

He read quietly.

Linda leaned over beside him.

Ashley sat back with her arms folded.

When Tom reached the message about me selling the cabin, his expression changed.

“You told him to sell his house and move back to Louisville?”

Ashley shrugged.

“We were arguing.”

“You also told him he’d be more useful there.”

“Dad, don’t read one angry text like it’s sworn testimony.”

“It’s not one angry text. It’s right here in the middle of you telling him where we’re sleeping and what he needs to move before we arrive.”

Ashley turned toward me.

“Are you happy now? You got to sit my parents down and show them private messages because I hurt your feelings.”

“This isn’t about my feelings.”

“Of course it is. If it were really about space, you have plenty. This is about you needing everyone to acknowledge that you’re the owner.”

“I am the owner.”

She laughed.

“Yes, Mike. We know. Congratulations. Your name is on a piece of paper. Nobody forgot.”

Tom put the messages down.

“Ashley, enough.”

She looked at him.

“What? Am I supposed to pretend this isn’t ridiculous? He’s got a whole house sitting here and he’s making two retirees feel like squatters because he wants everybody to bow down to the deed.”

Linda’s face tightened.

“Don’t speak to him like that.”

Ashley stared at her mother.

“You’re defending him now?”

“I’m telling you that you lied to us.”

“I did not lie. I assumed he’d behave like family once you got here.”

That sentence sat there for a moment.

I reached into the folder and took out the rental agreement.

“Then here’s the other option.”

Ashley stared at it.

“What the hell is that?”

“A rental agreement for June through August.”

She laughed in disbelief.

“You’re charging my parents rent?”

“No. I’m giving everyone a choice. If I invite somebody, they’re my guest. Guests don’t pay me. But if somebody else decides my house is a free summer rental without asking me, then we can treat it like a rental.”

Tom looked at the rate.

Then he pushed the paper back toward me.

“We’re not signing this.”

Ashley immediately pointed at him.

“Exactly, because this is insane.”

Tom looked at his daughter.

“We’re not signing it because we’re not staying.”

Her hand dropped.

“What?”

“I’m not spending three months in a man’s house after finding out he never invited me.”

“Dad, you drove all the way here.”

“Then I’ll drive fifteen minutes farther to a hotel.”

“You’re seriously going to waste thousands of dollars because Mike wants to have a tantrum?”

Linda stood.

“Stop calling it a tantrum.”

“What would you call this?”

“His house.”

Ashley stared at her.

Linda picked up her purse.

“I would call it his house, Ashley. And I would call what you did embarrassing.”

Then Jason Walked In

Ashley went outside and called Jason.

She didn’t tell us she’d done it.

Twenty-five minutes later, his truck pulled into the driveway.

He walked into the kitchen looking irritated.

“What happened?”

Ashley immediately stood.

“Your dad decided my parents aren’t welcome unless they pay him rent. He actually printed a contract and sat them down like they’re strangers trying to scam him.”

Jason looked at me.

“Dad?”

I slid the blue folder across the table.

“Read it before you say anything.”

Ashley scoffed.

“Oh, yes. The famous folder. Apparently we’re conducting a trial now.”

Jason opened it.

He read the messages.

Then he looked up.

“Three months?”

Ashley frowned.

“What?”

“You told me they were staying for a week.”

Nobody moved.

Tom looked at his daughter.

Linda slowly lowered herself back into her chair.

Ashley shook her head.

“I said they’d start with a week.”

Jason stared at her.

“No, you didn’t. You said, ‘My parents are going down to Dad’s for a week, and he’s fine with it.’ That’s exactly what you told me.”

“Okay, and plans changed.”

“When?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because apparently the plans changed for everybody except Dad.”

Ashley folded her arms.

“You knew my parents were coming.”

“For a week.”

“And you didn’t object.”

Jason put the papers down.

“Not objecting to something you didn’t tell me isn’t permission.”

“Oh, please. Don’t start copying your father now.”

Jason’s face changed.

“What does that mean?”

“It means both of you are standing here acting like I committed some crime because I tried to arrange one nice summer for my parents.”

Tom shook his head.

“Don’t put us in the middle of that.”

Ashley turned.

“I did this for you.”

“No,” Tom said. “You did something without asking Mike and then told us he’d asked for it. That’s not doing something for us.”

“You were excited!”

“Because I thought the man invited me.”

Ashley looked at Linda.

“Mom, seriously? You’re just going to stand there and let everyone pile on me?”

Linda answered quietly.

“What do you want me to say? You told me something that wasn’t true.”

“I told you what should have been true. There’s a difference.”

Jason stared at her.

“Did you actually just say that?”

Ashley threw her hands up.

“Fine. Maybe I assumed too much. But look around. He’s alone in a three-bedroom house. Mom and Dad being here would not hurt him. This whole thing is about control.”

I closed the folder.

“You’re right about one thing.”

She looked at me.

“What?”

“I control who lives in my house.”

Her mouth tightened.

“There you go. That’s exactly the attitude I’m talking about.”

Jason shook his head.

“Ashley, stop.”

“No. Your dad has been waiting for an excuse to make me look bad, and now everybody’s giving him exactly what he wants.”

Jason’s voice stayed low.

“Dad didn’t tell three different stories.”

She stared at him.

“So now you’re against me too?”

“That’s what you always do.”

“What?”

“Somebody tells you no, and suddenly they’re attacking you. Dad says no to your parents living here, so he hates your family. Your parents don’t want to stay after finding out the truth, so they’re betraying you. I ask why you lied to me, and now I’m against you.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“You are humiliating me in front of everybody.”