Page 22 of The Billionaire Land Baron

Not taking their house had maybe just been guilt for ditching her daddy when he needed people most.

“Sit yerself down, girl!” Bubba said. His voice had one setting and it was set for extra loud. Which meant Wanda and everyone else would be privy to anything said in this room. No wonder the whole town always knew everyone’s business. Wanda probably already had phone in hand.

“I’ll stand,” she said.

“Now Shelby. Don’t act as though I don’t know your Daddy and Mama your whole lives. I might have even changed a diaper or two.”

He winked at this, which made her furious. “Never would have known it if you hadn’t told me. Haven’t seen or heard from you in about ten years, Bubba. Other than official business.”

“Supposing not,” he said, and the smile disappeared. Time for business. He mopped his wide, shiny forehead with a bandana. He pushed a file away from him, but not quite all the way to her. “As you know, over the years, we have been very personally forgiving. With all your trials and tribulations, it was the least we could do.”

“We paid faithfully every month, just as much as we could pay.”

He continued as though she had not spoken a word. She wanted to smack that patronizing look off his face. It was the same look he gave at the Miss Lucky Pageant when announcing the runners up. A we-can’t-all-be-winners kind of look.

“But we are now in a position where we can no longer overlook what’s owed or give leniency toward your payments.”

“I’ve got a check right here for mortgage plus interest.” She put a check down on top of the folder he’d pushed her way, stabbing his finger at the desk pointedly. It wasn’t enough, but it was more than she had in her account. If they waited to clear it, her diner paycheck would bring the balance up. She could only hope. Bubba looked at it but did not touch it.

“Shelby, you have to understand. We already know what’s in your accounts. We know how much you have and how much you don’t. This has gone on long enough.”

“Take my money,” she said. “There’s more if you need it.”

There wasn’t, but she could do something. Sell her broken-down car, as it was maybe worth more than the nonexistent Lyft rides she’d been giving. She could sell maybe the back few acres where the land butted up against the Sabine, just a stone’s throw away from Louisiana.

Bubba gave a low laugh.

“I’m sorry, Shelby. It’s just too late, darlin. We would have repossessed anyway, but the town of Lucky is annexing your property.”

“What exactly does that mean? Annexing? The city can’t just take our land. That’s illegal.”

“It’s not if there is good reason. If the city needs it.”

Shelby scoffed. “Why would the city need my land? Are you drunk?”

Bubba held up his hands. “I can’t share all the details with you, but it’s legal and it’s done. Now, inside that folder, you’ll find a very generous check for the appraisal value of $178,000, give or take a few dollars. You and your Daddy should be able to find a nice house for that.”

Shelby snatched the folder off Bubba’s desk while he picked up his phone, checking messages. Sure enough, there was a check for $178, 947. Plus, some paper with legalese on it and Mayor McClure’s name. Of course that bloated toad had something to do with it. He and Bubba were buddies. Everyone knew they played golf at least once a week at the country club in Orange.

“You and your daddy have 45 days to vacate. But if you’d like to, I’ll even let you have more if you want to move that trailer a bit so they can get to work bulldozing the house—”

“You aren’t doing one thing to my house, you bulbous mass. Me and my daddy—”

“Have 45 days. I’m sorry it’s come to this, Shelby. If I could do it another way, I would. We tried, really we did.”

Bubba stood and held out a hand for shaking. The meeting was over. Desperation clawed at Shelby’s chest. She walked in thinking that things were probably bad, but she still couldn’t imagine that Bubba would take her house. Not really. Now it wasn’t just the bank she was dealing with, but the city and the mayor. Bubba made it sound like the whole thing was final.

“How can you do this? Just take someone’s land? I don’t understand.” Shelby’s voice was quiet. She hated the sound of it, because she knew it was the voice before the tears began.

Bubba, still standing, leaned across the desk like he was going to hug her. “Aw, sugar. Come here.” As Shelby watched him lean toward her, a single drop of his sweat beaded on the tip of his nose and fell on her check. The ink spelling out her name began to run.

Anger flared up, consuming her sadness. “Don’t you try to put a hand on me,” she seethed. Shelby snatched the folders up and clutched them to her chest as she threw open the door. Wanda almost fell inside as the door opened, the look on her face showing just how caught she was.

Normally Shelby would have given her an earful, but she couldn’t get her jaw to unclench. She stabbed a finger through the air, pointing in Wanda’s round face, but then stepped around her and walked through the doors of the bank without looking at anyone else inside. She figured she had about fifteen minutes before the whole town knew.

Outside the heat hit her like the warm blast from opening an oven door. She stormed down Main Street, walking right by the diner. She couldn’t go back in yet. Instead she ducked into a narrow alley between two brick buildings—the post office and a lawyer’s office. She pulled out her phone and called Gracielynn, her best friend and one of two real estate agents in town.

“Hey, I need real estate help,” Shelby said.

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