able pregnant girlfriend. I discussed baby names with Karen, listened to Kevin's endless m

for coffee, away

my decaf. "They actually believe I'm going to

their weakness, Ash. We just

wer was weeks away. We needed to plant

, cluttered house. Karen was "helpfully" going through b

Chloe's contact name to

I said, "this mig

hallway, leaving th

full of forced excitement. "Wha

way! That much? On the outskirts? B

iously? Wow, property values are going to explode there.

re my voi

k into the living room,

staring at me, thei

" Karen asked, her voic

tate. Apparently, there's this crazy rumor about a massive new tech development going

Milligan? That p

are supposed to skyrocket. My dad actually mentioned something similar a while back. He heard a w

so excited about the baby. They're putting together that nest egg for us

. Karen leaned forwa

thousand?" Karen breath

," I said, smiling sw

id, his voice suddenly keen.

h was being a bit cagey. You know how those real estate people are.

Kevin, your cousin Earl used to live near there!

of those cheap fixer-uppers now. With that $150,000, it could cover

ach other. The same greedy

his voice smooth and persuasive. "About tho

ing a show of hesitation. "But Dad said

just taken, it wa

ertainty, that their downfal