Rosewood Ridge Mavericks Complete Collection

Chapter 1

1

ASHLYNN

I spent my childhood on this property. My grandparents’ cabin, now in major disrepair, was visible in the distance, as were three smaller cabins. Those had long ago become rental property after my grandparents bought out the previous owners.

And now, it was all mine. Every building, every acre of land, every rock, every tree. As the only daughter of a single mom who’d died in her twenties, I was the last immediate family member who could inherit it all.

“Ready?” the mayor, a middle-aged guy with an obvious toupee, asked.

I sucked in a deep breath and smiled at the photographer from the local newspaper. He took a couple of pictures of me posing with the shovel and a few of me pushing it into the ground. The whole time, I was doing my best to act like the type of businesswoman who did this stuff every day rather than a twenty-three-year-old who’d been handed this land just a few months after graduating from college.

“Trouble,” the mayor suddenly said.

Huh? The photographer followed the mayor’s stare off into the distance. I couldn’t see a darn thing. I rose on tiptoe and squinted. Wait…was that a figure walking toward us?

As he neared, I had to blink to make sure what I was seeing wasn’t my imagination. The person approaching us had a body that was straight out of an action movie.

My post-college mind automatically assumed the guy was a gym rat with those bulging muscles that strained the T-shirt he wore. But I knew better. This was one of the men who lived in the many log cabins scattered throughout the upper ranges of this mountain town.

I knew from coming here to visit my grandparents as a kid that those guys didn’t usually mingle with the townspeople. They traveled to the small town at the bottom of the mountain for groceries and hardware and tools, ignoring the restaurants, shops, and public buildings the rest of the town visited every day.

“That’s Zack Gray,” the mayor said, leaning slightly toward me. “He’s been coming to our city council meetings. He’s very anti-development, especially this far up the mountain.”

I looked over at the mayor, speechless. Wasn’t this something he could have mentioned earlier? He’d told me the council would push through this development even without me showing up to plead my case. I’d just assumed things were fine.

When I turned back to face front, Zack Gray had made considerable progress toward us. He was only feet away at this point. That gave me a better look at him. He wore sunglasses, but I could make out the firm set of his jaw and clenched fists. He was here to fight.

And he was hot as hell.

“Zack,” the mayor said.

“Kirk,” the gorgeous guy said.

Zack reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. As he unfolded it, he took steps toward the mayor.

I should be worried about whatever he was handing over, but all I could do was stare. How was it possible someone could be that good-looking?

“Cease and desist,” Zack said.

The mayor didn’t look at the letter he was now holding. He just stared at Zack. I probably should be worried about all this, but I couldn’t stop wondering what it would be like to kiss this hunk.

“You retained a lawyer?” the mayor asked.

Surprise filled the mayor’s tone. Zack would have every right to take offense. Was the mayor trying to say he didn’t expect Zack to be smart enough to call on the services of an attorney? Or maybe he didn’t think he had the money to do something like that.

“Acting on behalf of Rosewood Ridge’s concerned citizens,” Zack said. “A group of us are against this…spa.”

“Retreat center,” I corrected.

For the first time since arriving, Zack’s face shifted in my direction. I had to fight the urge to take a step back. I couldn’t even see his eyes and I was going weak in the knees just knowing he was looking at me.

“It’s not a spa,” I said. “I’m building a place where people can come to relax in the mountains. We’ll have hiking, yoga, massage…all with a focus on health.”

Now he wasn’t the only one staring at me. The mayor and photographer had eyes on me too. I had a feeling they were waiting to see how this would play out. Would the two of us go to war in front of them?

“You’re Clark McKellar’s granddaughter,” Zack commented.

The statement felt a little like an accusation. It was clear he didn’t care for Grandpa Clark. No surprise.

“Yes.” I straightened, standing a little taller. “I spent summers here as a kid. In that very house.” I pointed toward my grandparents’ cabin. My goal was to make it clear I wasn’t a newcomer. I was hanging around this town way before he moved here.

“Zack grew up here too,” the mayor said.

“Born and raised,” Zack said, his voice filled with pride. “I remember when we only had one traffic light.”

“And nowhere to get a stack of pancakes,” I said with a smile.

No one else smiled. It was a big complaint in my grandparents’ house. A few years ago, a diner had opened on the square. Nana Mary and I had shed a few tears over how happy Grandpa would have been to finally get his pancakes.

“Mary and Clark were good people,” the mayor said. “This town isn’t the same with them gone.”

Zack said nothing. He’d finally looked away from me. He was staring off into the distance, maybe at my grandparents’ house.

“The letter speaks for me,” Zack said. “I’ll see you at the city council meeting tomorrow at ten a.m. You might want to bring your lawyer.”

He turned and walked off then, leaving me staring speechless after him. It wasn’t just his gorgeous backside that had my jaw gaping. That lawyer comment had been directed at me. I didn’t have one of those. I didn’t even know where to get one.

“We have a good lawyer on the square,” the mayor said. “She can help you.”