“Ah, Grace—I need to speak with you before you leave,” Liddy told her.
“Grace, my car’s parked right out front.” Gretchen headed out. “Liddy, get back to me as soon as you talk to Jim.”
Liddy nodded, then took Grace by the arm.
“Listen, Grace. For heaven’s sake, don’t prattle on about all your plans to make the house fabulous. The value of the house will go sky-high. Just remember, potential has no monetary value.”
“Please. Ace negotiator here. Not my first real estate gig. I know when to keep my mouth shut. I hadn’t planned on going in with her and the appraiser. I’ll wait outside until they’re done.”
“I forgot who I was dealing with. Carry on, Gracie.” Liddy gestured to the door.
Grace picked up the tote bag she’d brought in with her that morning. “If you don’t need me later, I think after we’re done at the house, I’ll go right to the library to look for old maps.”
“We’ve been slow all day. Go open up the house for Gretchen, then do your thing. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Liddy forced a smile at a customer who’d just entered the shop. Her fingers itched to grab her phone and call her ex. She looked around for Evelyn, and found her a few shelves down, helping another customer. She sighed and maintained the smile. “Can I help you find something?”
“The new romance by Cindy Bickley?” the woman asked.
“On the display to your right. You’re in luck. I think there may be two copies left.”
The customer picked up a copy and carried it directly to the counter. “I’ve been waiting for this. Cindy Bickley is my favorite author,” she said.
“Oh, you might want to join our romance book club. We’re reading The Lady’s Choice this month. Actually, it’s our first month, and our first selection.” Liddy held up the sign-up sheet for the book clubs. “We’ll be meeting on Thursday at seven.”
“I’m in.” The woman reached for the clipboard and signed her name: Deborah A. Allen. She paid for the book, and Liddy slid the paperback into the bag bearing a sketch of the store’s facade and handed it over. “I’ll see you then.”
The minute the door closed behind her, Liddy waved Evelyn over. “Can you take over here for me? I need to make a call.”
Liddy took her phone from her pocket and hustled to her office, dialing Jim’s cell phone on the way. By the time she closed the office door, she’d worked up a string of expletives a mile long. Jim’s phone rang six times, then finally he answered.
“Liddy! This is an unexpected pleasure. How are you?” The familiar voice struck a forgotten chord. She ignored it.
“I’m seeing red, that’s how. I’m so mad at you I could . . .”
“Whoa, whoa. What’s going on?”
“You told me you’d signed everything we owned over to me.” Liddy forced herself to not sound as hysterical as she felt.
“I did. Everything we jointly owned,” Jim said calmly.
“Well, you neglected one thing.”
“And that would be . . . ?”
“The little house. Your name is still on the deed, Jim.”
“You mean my old office? Well, yeah, my name probably is still on the deed.”
“Why?”
“Because it wasn’t jointly owned and never was. What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that I want to sell it. I have a buyer and she’s . . .”
“Slow down, Liddy. Why would you want to sell it, if you owned it?” He added under his breath, “Which you don’t.”
“I have no use of it or the land it sits on, and someone else does.”
“It isn’t yours to sell. It belongs to me, and I don’t want to sell it. It’s part of the parcel my great-grandfather bought at the turn of the last century. It’s Bryant land, and it’s going to stay Bryant land.”
“For what purpose, Jim? There’s no one to leave it to, no one who’ll care it belonged to your family. Your sister has no children, and neither do you.”
Jim went silent.
“That’s what I thought you’d say.” Liddy waited for his comeback.
Finally, he said, “Why now?”
“Because there’s someone who wants to buy it, and I want her to have it.”
“How much?” he asked.
“To be determined. I’m having it appraised now. Today.”
“I have to think about this.”
“What’s there to think about?” Liddy scoffed. “You planning on moving your office back in?”
“Oh, hell no. My business has tripled since I opened an office on the highway.”
“So what’s the point in holding on to it?” Liddy persisted.
“Because I don’t see any particular reason to sell it.”
“Well, I do, and I already promised Grace she could buy it.”
“Who’s Grace?”
“Grace Flynn.”
“Grace Flynn.” He paused for a long moment. “Jessie’s old friend? That Grace Flynn?”
“Yes. She moved here with Maggie last year. I’m sure you’ve heard through the grapevine Maggie bought her family home last spring.”
“I did. I’m sure you’re happy to have her back, as close as you two were. But what’s this got to do with Grace?”
“She needs a place of her own. I showed her the little house, believing it was mine, and mine to sell. She’s totally in love with it and the idea of renovating it. She’s already had a contractor look at it, and she has all these plans drawn up. I can’t disappoint her.” Liddy sighed. “Work with me on this, will you?”
“I remember Grace. She and Jess were joined at the hip during the summers when they were kids. They were best friends for a while.” It was his turn to sigh. “What is it you want me to do?”
“I want you to sign the deed over to me so I can sell it to Grace.”
“I’m surprised you’re not giving it to her,” he muttered.
“Believe me, I tried. She’s insisting on paying market price, hence the appraisal today. I don’t think the building is worth all that much—it could be a nice place for one person, maybe a couple at the most.”
“True, but the land is probably worth a bundle. It’s almost three acres.”
“It is?” Why didn’t she know that?
“It goes back into the woods and borders on the farthest point of the Harrison estate.”
“I had no idea.”
“Still want to sell it for the price of the building only? I mean, what’s to prevent Grace from selling off the ground and making a huge profit for herself?”
“She wouldn’t do that.”
“You never know what people will do when there’s a lot of money at stake, Lydia.”
She hated when he called her Lydia.
“So put a clause in the deed that the parcel of land can never be split up or sold off, or however you want to word it.”
“I guess I could talk to my lawyer about that.” She could hear him wavering.
“Jessie would have wanted Grace to have that house, Jim.” Liddy knew that was her ace. She couldn’t remember a time when Jim had denied Jessie anything she really wanted.