How (Not) to Fall in Love(45)

The whispers grew louder.

“Darcy, you shouldn’t have come here.” J.J.’s voice was low and closer than I expected.

I turned toward him. “Why not, J.J.? You wouldn’t listen to us. What else could I do?” I turned to the woman who’d spoken, since she looked like she was in charge. “You’re taking everything from us. We don’t have any money. Now we’re losing our home. Selling everything. Don’t you people have any heart?” I looked around the table. No one spoke.

“My dad built this place!” I flung out my arms. “If it weren’t for him, Harvest wouldn’t exist. None of you would be on this board. Don’t you owe us some compassion?”

“We don’t owe you anything, Darcy.” J.J.’s voice was soft but dangerous.

Suddenly everyone was talking and yelling, gesturing and pointing.

“Silence!” The woman banged her hand on the table. Everyone turned to look at her. “Is this true, J.J.? Mrs. Covington asked for more time to move?”

J.J. blanched but said nothing.

I glared at him, furious, then turned back to the woman. “Yes,” I said. “It’s true. But J.J. told my mom he couldn’t do anything about that. He said it was a board decision.” I took another breath. “That’s why I’m here. To ask you to…to…please reconsider.”

The woman lowered her glasses on her nose, looking at me, then at J.J. “Based on everything else we’ve heard from you today, J.J., I’m inclined to believe this young lady.”

The whispering started again, but the woman held up her hand to silence it. “It seems the least we can do is give them more time to move.” Her eyes pierced mine. “God knows they’ve suffered enough already.” Her gaze swept the table. “I move to amend the eviction notice to allow the Covington family an additional month to vacate the house.”

An extra month? My knees threatened to buckle with relief, but I forced myself to stand straighter.

“I second the motion,” a voice called from the far end of the table.

My imperious savior scanned the board members, her eyes narrow behind her glasses. “All in favor?” A chorus of ayes filled the room but J.J. stayed silent.

“Very well, Miss Covington. The attorneys will amend the paperwork and messenger it to your mother.”

I nodded, swallowing tears. “Thank you,” I mumbled, not trusting myself to say more.

Her eyes fixed on mine. “I wish we could do more. But we have stockholders to answer to.” She gestured to the door. “We need to resume our meeting now.”

As I backed toward the door, I forced a grateful smile to those sitting closest to me. A few smiled in return, but most sat as still as statues. As I turned the doorknob, the woman’s voice stopped me. “Miss Covington.”

I met her eyes.

“Your father would be proud of you.” She paused. “Very proud.” She pushed her glasses up her nose. “That’s all.” She nodded and returned her attention to the stack of papers in front of her.

I left the room, closing the door behind me, and floated down the hallway, feeling disembodied. Mrs. Hamilton waited at her desk, her hands twisting nervously. “Darcy, what happened?”

I gave her a thumbs-up as I continued floating toward the elevators.

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means I got what I came for.”

The elevator door swooshed open and I stepped inside. Maybe I’d inherited some of Tri Ty’s DNA, after all.



Mom and I ate tacos while watching American Idol. I was usually working when it was on, so I recorded it to watch late at night. It was a perfect distraction from our family’s disaster, watching other people bomb on national TV. The tacos were pretty good, too. I’d even splurged on a couple of out-of-season avocados and made us guacamole to celebrate. I hadn’t told Mom the good news yet. I was waiting to see how much she’d drink. So far she’d only had one glass of wine, so I decided now was as good a time as any.

“So,” I said casually, “I got the Harvest board to agree to an extra month. We have until the end of December to move out. You’ll get new paperwork from the attorneys. So this means we can have the estate sale, then we’ll have plenty of time to sort through what’s left. We can move what we want to keep. The rest can go to charity.” I took a bite of taco. “It will give us more time to find a new place to live, too.”

Mom gaped at me. “You what? How in the world?” She still looked like hell. Rumpled. Wrinkled. Exhausted.

“I went to the office today and sort of crashed a board meeting.” I grinned. “I didn’t have an appointment, but they didn’t turn me away.”

Mom’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my God. Darcy. You shouldn’t have done that.”

I stiffened. “Why not? Were you going to ask them?”

Mom lowered her eyes. “No, I wasn’t. But you shouldn’t have gone down there. J.J. is so angry at your father. Everyone at Harvest is.”

I thought of Don the security guard, and Mrs. Hamilton. And the lady with glasses who’d given us the extra time. “Not everyone is,” I said.

She fell back against the couch cushions. “I’m amazed they agreed to that.” She looked at me. “What about J.J.? When I call to ask if he’s heard from your dad, he’s always so difficult over the phone.”