“Jesus, Dudley. Could you be any more cryptic?”I pondered the note. What the hell was this man talking about? I was supposed to run his business…while living in this house…which I don’t actually own yet? This day has officially gotten stranger.“Have you had a chance to read it, Miss Washington?” Dudley’s lawyer emerged from the hallway which must house the bathroom.“Yes, um but I don’t entirely understand. So Dudley hasn’t given me the house yet? Or the inheritance? Not to sound greedy, but I thought that was the reason I came here.”“It is! It is! As the note states, you will receive it all. Just once you’ve completed Dudley’s requests. It’s all in escrow for now, so now one else can touch it, but I have binding orders to not pass over the deed until you provide proof to me that you’ve completed the business tasks.”“Okay, so where is this journal with my instructions?”“That I do not know, Miss Washington. He wasn’t a very trusting man. He was always on edge and it appears he did

EDWARDSI slumped into my leather couch, cursing my new neighbor. Kristen. Who the hell did she think she was, just waltzing in with heels and a bad attitude? If she decided to keep Dudley’s property, there was no way I’d get access to that tree. I usually get what I want and those who get in my way regret it.Although, they are rarely as hot as this one. I couldn’t take my eyes off her curves in the form-fitting dress. Her flaming red hair could be seen a mile away and her bright pink outfit complimented it well. Freckles dotted her porcelain skin across her face and down to her shoulders. Her nail polish matched her dress perfectly in color. Women like that didn’t last long up here. Maybe I could convince her to sell me the property after she tired of pretending to rough it up here in the hills.I dialed the phone number of my lawyer and best friend, Charlie, to see if he could contact Dudley’s attorney ASAP. Hopefully, we could work out a deal.“Hey, Edwards! I was just about to c

Next, I went to Dudley’s all-too-small closet that currently housed a few of my dresses. My clothes were practically bursting from the dresser drawers already and I had been extremely disappointed to find that Dudley only had a sum total of 6 hangers. I picked out a yellow sundress with a white flower print and went back to the bathroom to complete the look.I walked to the only full length mirror in the house, in an upstairs bedroom, and smiled at my reflection. I looked good. Even though the rude mountain man, who I’d guessed hadn’t trimmed his beard in at least two months, probably wouldn’t even notice, I liked getting dressed up for myself. Plus, the man was probably too self-absorbed to notice me; the good looking ones usually are.I spent my remaining hour cleaning up some of the rooms I’d be spending most of my two weeks in. Dudley had a home office where I set up my remote work supplies and I did a sweep of the kitchen so that it would be fresh for me to bake in as I wished. I

“Um, something like that. There’s a few things I need to take care of first. Things to settle up for Dudley and what not.” Her face turned bright red again. She blushed often, a characteristic she probably inherited with her red hair and freckles. I didn’t altogether mind it, finding the red hues quite captivating.“Do you have a buyer in mind?” I grew bolder.“No,” she responded, sipping her wine. “Why? Are you interested?”“Actually, yes.” I watched as her eyes widened and her mouth fell open just slightly, her lip gloss shimmering under the moonlight.“Really? And why is that?”“Well, as you’ve probably noticed, Dudley’s property is right in the middle of my acreage. I’d love to use the land for more harvests. I have so many seeds ready to be planted with no space to plant them.” I hesitated to bring up the apple tree in her backyard, not wanting her to realize its potential out of fear she might change her mind about selling.“I see. That was something I meant to ask you about act

EDWARDS“EWWW!!”I shot up, my legs flailing beneath the satin sheets. “What? Shit. What happened?”I rubbed my eyes and looked over, tracing the freckles up Kristen’s body. My gaze found her red hair tousled from a good night’s sleep and her face scrunched in a disgusted expression. Samson was up on his hind legs, leaning over Kristen’s side of the bed to greet her with generous licks and slobbers to the face. I normally let him sleep with me, but Kristen had taken his spot last evening and I could tell he was itching for attention.“Ugh, stop it!” Kristen groaned.“Samson! Here boy!” Samson’s face shot up at my call and before I knew it, he was up on the bed, bounding over Kristen to my side of the mattress.“OH MY GOD!!” Kristen continued to yell.“Shhhh!” I planted my palms over my ears, which were still ringing from the piercing scream that first woke me.I could feel Kristen’s labored breathing beside me as she tried to catch herself. What was with her and this dog? Sure, being