searched for hours.
Nothing.
At 9:30 p.m., I remembered the steel cabinet.
It sat behind an old workbench in the machine barn.
Dad called it the fire box.
Not actually fireproof.
Just heavy.
Inside were old insurance documents and property papers.
I hadn’t opened it since his funeral.
The key still hung above the office door.
Third drawer.
A folder marked CEDAR RIDGE.
Inside were letters from Charles Varden.
Offer: $70,000.
Rejected.
Offer: $100,000.
Rejected.
Offer: $175,000.
Rejected.
Then a fourth letter.
No dollar amount.
Just a request for a meeting.
Attached was Dad’s handwritten note.
Varden wants temporary farm access for “survey/testing.” Said county road plans may change. Told him NO.
Beneath that sat another document.
A copy of a certified letter Dad had sent.
Mr. Varden,
For clarity, Mercer Farm grants no road, recreational, utility, construction, survey, or public-access rights to Cedar
