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Three days later, my secretary calls me to say that the transfer of Mrs. Kendall’s property is complete. Knox and his group of friends all have equal rights. And they’ve decided to keep it. I thank my secretary but inwardly I’m seething. Why couldn’t she have bribed Mrs. Kendall’s attorney into telling me when the signing took place? I would have stepped up my plans to get them to sell. I had only barely started on my plans to convince Asher to sell.
There’s only one person in this group that will tell me what’s going on. I call Knox, not bothering to hide my displeasure.
“None of you could decide what to do with that property and somehow you managed to convince them all to keep it?” I demand, glaring at the window of my New York apartment. “How did you do it?”
“I didn’t do anything,” Knox replies, far more even-tempered than I want him to be. It makes my own anger feel irrational.
I take a deep breath and release it slowly. “Then what happened?” I ask, my tone flat now.
“We found a letter from Mrs. Kendall to her late husband. We decided to ensure the home and treehouse stay with the community, to be a safe place for kids like it was for us.”
I scowl, but the wheels are already turning in my mind. I could start trying to get the wooded acres over the house and yard. I’ll just tell them that they don’t need it for their community center, and by selling off the forested area, they’ll be able to fund the center. That should be enough to sway at least some of them.
Then, after the luxury homes are built, the people who live in them won’t want a bunch of unruly kids running around. It’d be easy to get this community treehouse shut down, opening up the last piece of property for sale.
“Dante, let it go.” Knox sighs. “This is too important to Willowcreek. It means too much for my friends and me. You won’t convince anyone to sell.”
I don’t have anything else to say, so I hang up.We’ll just see about that.
Chapter Three
KYLIE
I’m coloring on my new driveway with chalk when an older lady approaches. She has kind, warm brown eyes and gray short hair. The pie she carries in her hands makes my mouth water.
“Well, hello there, my dear. I’m Mrs. Kendall, your neighbor. What are you doing outside all by yourself?”
I look up and smile at her. She seems very nice and the first person to have spoken to me since we moved in. Not that it’s been that long. I’ve only lived here a few days and the chaos that my mother is creating inside with her unpacking has me playing outside every chance I get. I’ve seen kids playing around the neighborhood but I’ve never been really good at making friends, and approaching them to say hi is scary.
I smile up at her and simply shrug, before looking back down at my work. I love the pretty blue flower I’m drawing now, and look through my new chalk collection before picking up a darker blue.
Mrs. Kendall shakes her head. “You’re a shy one. I can see that right off the bat.”
She puts the pie on the front step and holds a hand out to me. “All right, come on.” I frown at her. I’m not supposed to go with strangers. I look at the big windows of my new home and see Mom standing there. She smiles and nods at me, so I smile and take Mrs. Kendall’s hand.
“We’ll see about you playing by yourself,” Mrs. Kendall says, guiding me across the street. She rings the doorbell and a lanky boy with blond shaggy hair answers with his dad. “Knox dear, this is Kylie, she just moved in across the street. Kylie, this is Knox. Do you want to play together?”
Knox is already nodding, his eyes bright. “I saw you coloring outside. I have chalk too, want to color the sidewalks?”
I clap my hands, skipping on the spot. “Yes!”
Knox’s dad turns. “Dante, do you want to play with your brother and his new friend?”
I peer past them to the dark-haired boy in the house. “No!” He glares at his dad. But as he’s turning, his dark eyes land on me and he stops glaring. He doesn’t look as mean as he’s acting toward his dad. He seems to hesitate, looking on with what I think is longing in his eyes. Hedoeswant to come play with us, I just know it.
I smile a big smile at him and he almost smiles back. Right in that moment, I know he’s not mean. He needs a friend, and I can be that friend.
“Do you want to change your mind?” his dad asks.
The soft look disappears and Dante stomps up the stairs.
“That boy, I swear,” Knox’s dad mumbles and shakes his head, then looks back at us.
“Don’t worry, Keith. I’m sure he’ll come around one day.” Mrs. Kendall smiles.
“I hope so, Betty. Knox, go play outside and please stay where I can see you.”
