it was Stacey…either way, I was with this chick and she had this girly book on her nightstand. I couldn’t sleep so I started reading it. And this was the exact thing that happened to this dude. And guess what, it all turned out right in the end. He got the girl and the most amazing sex any guy could hope for.” He held his hands wide and grinned again. “Am I a genius or what?”
“Or what.”
Anna
I rushed through my shower and swore as I stubbed my toe on the foot of my bed. I was so late. I had slept through my alarm and then my water heater had gone out and I had to take a cold shower. I was just getting ready to dry my hair when someone knocked on my door. I pulled on my sweater and rushed to the front door, wondering who the hell would be banging on my door at seven-thirty in the morning.
I flung the door open and came face to face with the sheriff. “Uh, hi, Jack. Is there something I can help you with?”
He smiled slightly and pulled out an envelope. “I’m here to give you these.”
I grabbed the envelope and slid my hand under the seal. “What is it?”
“I can’t say for sure, but I have a pretty good idea.”
I scanned the letter and my jaw dropped to the floor. “What…I don’t understand,” I said, shoving the paper at him.
He took it and sighed as he read it. “They’ve been talking about extending 394 and building a highway that would connect to I-65. I knew the plans had passed, but I didn’t know exactly where they were going to build.”
“I don’t understand what this means?”
“It means that they’re taking your property as part of the project.”
My brows furrowed. “They can do that? They can just come in and take away my property?” He nodded. “Jack, this is all I have. If they take this…”
“I’m sorry, Anna. You can fight it, but-“
“That’ll cost money I don’t have,” I sighed.
“And you most likely wouldn’t win. Not many people do.”
“Is this really legal?”
“It’s eminent domain, which means that as long as the government plans to use the property for public use, to raise tax revenues or better the community, they can legally buy your property from you.”
“How much?” I asked, chewing on my lip.
“It depends on how much land you have and the value of your house.”
I glanced back at my trailer and snorted. “That leaves the value of the land. Jack, I only have a half acre. They won’t give me much for this.”
“I know. Maybe you could talk to Robert about this.”
“He’s a divorce lawyer. What could he do?”
Jack shrugged lightly. “I don’t know. Maybe he knows someone who can help you negotiate the value of your property.”
I rubbed my hand over my forehead as my heart pounded in my chest just thinking about everything I was about to go through. Sure, I had money in savings, but that wasn’t enough to start over like I wanted. I would only be able to rent at this point, and that would waste money that I was currently saving.
“Jack, right now, I’m saving money living here because it’s paid off. If I go somewhere else, I’m going to lose all I’ve saved.”
“I know, but on the bright side, this could take a year or more to go through. I wish I could do something, but this is out of my hands. You need to talk to someone that knows how to negotiate this. Call Robert. He might be able to help.”
I nodded absently, but I had no intentions of calling Robert. I couldn’t ask him for help. I had just kicked him out of my life. Besides, I hadn’t relied on anyone for years, and I wasn’t about to start now. I would take care of this on my own.
“I have to get going. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Thanks, Jack.”
I shut the door and shook my head. I had to get to work. Sitting around here worrying about this wouldn’t help me in any way. I grabbed my bag and stuffed the paper inside, then locked my door and ran out to my car. I was late getting into work, and Eric was already waiting for me with a scowl on his face.
“Don’t start with me,” I snapped. “I’ve had a shit morning.”