Free She's My Kind of Girl by Jennifer Dawson Page A

was embarrassed, but because her blog was fun, tongue in cheek and a bit snarky. She wanted those “real” articles to be taken with the credibility they deserved. In her head, she justified her actions because the people who mattered to her knew about her alter ego, and had never thought much about it. How was it any different than what he did?
    She supposed, in the end, the semantics of what they hid and revealed was merely a convenient thing to fight about instead of confronting the truth about what really bothered them. That not much had changed since they were eighteen. Age, success, circumstances didn’t change the fact that they had no future.
    So she was right to pull away. Only she couldn’t stop being so miserable without him.
    She’d filled her time. She’d talked to lawyers, researched and tried to figure out if there was a way to save her mom’s house.
    So far she hadn’t been able to find one.
    She’d thought about staging a protest, but the town was on Griffin’s side. They all wanted this project. Thought it would be good for the community.
    Only Darcy’s mom seemed to want to hold on to the past and be a stubborn obstacle to the future and the path to prosperity. But more and more, Darcy had a hard time getting behind her wishes. Darcy had also looked through the public records and council meetings. She’d read the plans for the town square development that Griffin had appeared to be working on since he’d taken the office of mayor.
    She couldn’t deny it was spectacular. Couldn’t deny what he was trying to do for the community. She also understood it.
    Because she knew him and his past, knew the project was a way to exorcise those demons. He was taking a place that was an embarrassment and turning it into the town showpiece. All he wanted was to make their side of the tracks something to be proud of.
    Did she really want to deny him that accomplishment?
    As a last-ditch effort she’d asked Gracie Roberts to join her for lunch. Maybe without everyone there she could discover something that would allow Darcy to continue her fight in good conscience. Give her something to fight for. It was a long shot, she knew, but her mom was worth the shot.
    And Darcy had nothing left to lose.

Chapter Fourteen
    An hour later Darcy sat across from Gracie in Earl’s Diner. The blonde was dressed in a pair of jeans and a yellow top that hugged her curves and brought out the pink in her complexion.
    Gracie smiled and took a sip of her Diet Dr Pepper. “How’s it being back in Revival? Must be strange after all these years.”
    Darcy looked out the window at the Main Street that hadn’t changed much since she’d been a kid. It was still like Mayberry. She shrugged. “Yes and no. It’s like a very vivid dream. It’s so different from my life in New York, but it kind of feels like home. You know?”
    Darcy was surprised the words came out of her mouth, but as soon as she said them she knew they were true. Even though she hadn’t realized it. Revival did feel like home, like a comfortable old blanket, or crawling into sweats after a long day in a dress and heels.
    Gracie nodded. “I do know. James and I travel back and forth all the time between Revival and Chicago, trying to make a go of this dual residency thing. Sometimes with the bakery in Chicago and school being in session we spend way more time in Chicago and Revival starts to feel like something I can give up.” She smiled again, and waved a hand back toward the window and the people walking down Main Street. “But then I come home—and that’s how it feels. Like something I didn’t even know I was missing.” She sighed. “We’re going to have to make some changes, because the truth is Chicago life is more demanding, but this will always be home.”
    Darcy thought of her life in New York. She’d been here over a week and