Free A Timely Vision by Joyce and Jim Lavene

sword fighting over a captive Kevin. For some reason, that reminded me of the piece of metal I’d picked up on the street. I told her I’d be out in a minute and took it out of my pocket.
    It was old, an award of some kind. I could barely make out the name . . . Amanda. The shield shape was clear. It had a date on it, 1964. It seemed to be made of gold. It looked like the lapel pins people wear on blazers, but there was no pin on the back.
    A knock on the front door interrupted my examination of the pin. I put the medal back in my pocket, left the two slices of pie on the kitchen table and went to answer it. It wasn’t unusual for Duck residents to come up to the house when there were problems. I hoped whatever it was would be easily resolved. But the man at the door was a stranger. “Can I help you?”
    “I saw your house, and I was wondering if you’d ever thought about selling.” He smiled broadly, showing big, even white teeth. His brown hair was carefully tousled, and his handsome face shone with a sprayed-on tan. Definitely not a resident .
    “No. Thanks anyway. We like it here.”
    “I could offer you some good money for it. Land is scarce out here, as I’m sure you know. It goes for a premium. I have some wealthy buyers looking for places all the time. I could get you at least two million for this house and land. Just imagine what you could do with that kind of cash!”
    “Buy another house because I’d be living in the street?” I started to move back from the doorway. “I’m not interested. Thanks anyway.”
    “Wait!” He put one large, pudgy hand on mine. “Let’s not be hasty! I have some information here about my real estate firm. Let me leave it with you along with my business card, which includes my 24/7 cell phone number. You can call me day or night if you change your mind.”
    The contact from his restraining hand felt odd, but the vision it brought was very clear. I had something that belonged to him. He’d been thinking about it enough that it was in the forefront of his mind even as he tried to get me to sell the house. “You can’t have my house”—I glanced at his card—“Mr. Sparks, but I do have something that belongs to you. Please come inside.”

Chapter 5

    A grin spread across Sparks’s face. “I’d love to, ma’am. Please call me Chuck.”
    “Okay, Chuck. I’m Dae O’Donnell.” His obvious eagerness made me uncomfortable. “I meant what I said. You can’t have the house. But I found something I think you’ve been looking for. Would you like some iced tea with your pie?”
    By that time, the new voice had brought everyone in from the back porch. Chuck shook hands with all of them and passed out business cards. “Are one of you gentlemen the owner of this property? I think you’ll find the offer of two million dollars I made Dae to be a real incentive. Do you mind if I take a look around?”
    He didn’t wait for actual permission but took our silence as a go-ahead. He investigated the living room first, smiling and nodding when he saw the stone fireplace.
    “Who is this man, Dae?” Gramps asked.
    “Did he really offer you two million for your house?” Shayla demanded.
    “He’s a real estate person,” I explained. “And yes, he offered me that much. Not in writing, but as a throw-out number to get the ball rolling. You know how real estate people are.”
    “Why is he in the house instead of in the street?” Gramps wondered.
    “I picked something up tonight. It belongs to him. I’m trying to get around to telling him that I know it’s his.”
    “Nice half bath down here.” Chuck came out of the hall. “Any closets?”
    “Dae,” Gramps warned. “Get a move on telling him.”
    “Let’s all sit down for a minute.” I smiled at Chuck. “Tea? Pie?”
    He joined us at the table, smiles all around at each of us, as he dug into his pie and slurped his tea. “This place is great! I might be able to go as high as two and a half. What do you think