“Are your current occupants vacating?” Melissa asked.
“They are about to,” I said. “Market price. I want it liquidated.”
“Do they know?” Melissa asked.
I looked through the bay window.
My father was casually retrieving the loafer from the crushed pretzels and handing it back to my sister with a gentle pat on her shoulder.
“No,” I said.
Melissa inhaled sharply.
“I’ll bring two wooden signs.”
“Why two?”
“Because,” Melissa purred, “I have a distinct feeling something violent is going to happen to the first one.”
Chapter 2: The Sign
Monday morning, I arrived at the house with Clare.
Melissa was already there.
She had two men from her brokerage standing beside a truck, along with the first For Sale sign.
My parents were inside.
They had no idea.
Clare stood beside me with one hand resting protectively over her stomach.
“You don’t have to do this because of me,” she said quietly.
