“I can have them reserved for the second week of next month,” Nathan said.

“Make it the third week,” I said, my hand tightening around the phone. “The house will be completely empty.”

The line went quiet for a moment.

“Are you sure about this, Alexandra?” Nathan asked.

“My father gave me this land,” I said. “He didn’t give it to Richard.”

I hung up and opened my laptop, pulling up the shared family calendar.

The wedding dates in Maui were highlighted in bright blue.

Richard, Valerie, Dylan, and Chloe would be gone for exactly twelve days.

I clicked on my email inbox and saw a new message notification light up.

It was an automated alert from the county permit office.

I clicked on the email from the Travis County Permit Department.

The status of Permit #4092-B had changed to “Approved.”

It was the authorization for utility termination and oversized load transport on public roads.

My father had registered this land under a private trust, but the modular structure itself was technically personal property.

Because of the way Arthur Miller had structured the deed, Richard owned the house, but I owned the dirt beneath it.