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Chapter One

Morgan

Take the ive it to charity or stick it in a bank account, Morgan Spend it on sos you happiness Use it to leave like you always planned I just wish I were going with you

Okay So maybe I was in over my head

As if the octagon-shaped house agreed withshutters on the third floor gave up its battle with the ocean breeze and came loose with a loud creak

All three of us leaned to the right, following the slow slide of the doomed shutter until it snapped free, sla it loose, and finally fell thirty feet to the sand below

“Let lasses down her nose to peer over the frao—I noned “Will left you five hundred thousand dollars, and you bought this”

“Not exactly,” I drawled They both turned their heads slowly toward mine “Will left me a secondary life insurance policy worth five hundred thousand His attorney invested it until I was ready to do so, and it ended up a little over six hundred”

“And you bought this,” Sareen eyes ith disbelief

“Yep” Sure it kind of reseht

“To tear down?” she asked

“I’er than my certainty That had been one of the conditions of the purchase

The house groaned, and we tilted our heads to the left as the previously assaulted shutter subled exterior, landing next to its partner like a tombstone in the sand

“Even the exterior is ju her arms across her chest As our only Outer Banks native, her appraisal gave me pause If anyone knew beach houses, it was Mia She was rown up an hour north of here and was currently studying architecture at UNC

“It survived the last hurricane,” I argued on behalf of the house

“On life support,” Miaforward to examine the stilts

Hence why it had been so cheap

“It’s not that bad” My voice pitched a little high Maybe it eathered, rather ugly, odd-shaped, and appeared to be falling apart, but I’d been assured that the bones were good

I received two doses of side-eye froirlfriends