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Chapter One
“They’re going to take the house, baby.” Her mother’s voice rang over the line with urgency.
Maybe some women would be alarmed over this grim news, but Darcy Miller calmly took her fingers off the keyboard and said with deep suspicion, “Is this another ploy to get me home?”
Tammy had tried to get Darcy to come home since the day she’d walked out the door at eighteen, but lately her attempts had escalated. Ever since her mom’s daytime soaps—or “stories” as she called them—had been canceled, her schemes had become increasingly elaborate.
Darcy barely paid attention anymore.
“No!” Her mom’s voice cracked, turning hoarse and tragic. “I swear on the Good Book. I got an official letter in the mail saying the house is condemned and they are going to seize the property January first.” She started to cry. “What kind of New Year is that?”
Okay, maybe this was serious after all. Darcy turned away from her computer screen where she’d been entrenched in writing her latest article—a how-to on tackling premature ejaculation—to stare out the window of her tiny studio apartment.
It was the size of a postage stamp, but the view of the Manhattan skyline was worth the small space and astronomical rent.
She frowned. January first was a month away. Why was this the first Darcy was hearing about this? She narrowed her eyes. “Is this the first letter you got?”
There was a long silence. Darcy’s stomach dropped with a familiar dread as she waited for the bombshell.
Her mom squeaked out in her little-girl voice, “No, this is the fifth.”
Darcy screeched. “The fifth! And this is the first you’re mentioning it?”
Her mom sniffed. “I didn’t want to worry you.”
Stay calm.This was her mother’s way. Darcy was an old pro, all she needed to do was stay calm. “But now it’s too late to do anything. Did you talk to an attorney?”
“I can’t afford that.” Her mom’s tone was stressed, and Darcy could see her sitting at their powder blue, ancient linoleum kitchen table, worrying her hands.
Darcy took a deep breath and counted to ten before she spoke. “Okay, let’s think this through. Can you make a copy of the letter and e-mail it to me?”
“Sure, baby.” There was a pause. “How do I do that?”
Darcy rubbed at her temples. “With the printer and scanner I sent you.”
“Oh, okay. Can you wait while I get it out of the box?” Tammy asked.
God help her.Darcy loved her mother, really she did, but the woman was simply going to drive her right out of her mind. Through clenched teeth she said, “Just read me the letter.”
In a shaky voice, Tammy read, but it didn’t give a lot of information. Just that the city of Revival, Illinois, was taking possession of the house. The house had been condemned and the land sat in the middle of a city project that would significantly and positively impact the community. It proceeded to cite a bunch of legal cases, and some more jargon her mom couldn’t pronounce.
The most concerning and notable was a ruling by the Supreme Court, which apparently allowed city governments to seize property, at fair market value, as long as it’s for the greater public good.
Total bullshit, but unfortunately, sounded very legal.
She jotted down the case references to research them on Google later as her mom finished the letter. When she was done, Darcy blew out a long breath. “Mom, did they offer to buy the house?”
“Well yes, but I said no.”
“Why?” Darcy asked, the agitation clear in her tone.
Her childhood home was barely more than a shack. She shuddered. She’d hated growing up in that house. The creaking floors. The crappy plumbing. The water that was never quite hot enough. Her small bedroom, barely big enough to fit a twin-size bed. Growing up, it had been just the two of them, and Darcy’s only dream was escape. Darcy had taken off the second she’d turned eighteen, vowing never to return.
Twelve years later she’d kept her promise. She hadn’t stepped foot in Revival and didn’t intend to.
Stupid, conservative small town.
Tammy gasped. “This is my home. Where am I supposed to go?”
