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Chapter One

TENN

"Tennessee Sawyer! Don't you dare walk away from me!"

Fuck I knew that voice I'd been dodging her for weeks Couldn't arun in peace? Apparently not

I caraveled path that ran from the back of et up this early My brother Royal was the early riser, which worked out great for s and I rolled into the office at a reasonable hour, staying later to cover part of the evening shift Better for the Inn and better for my sanity

I didn't want to wake up this early every day I was only up now because Royal had a roirl and I'd offered to cover But there was soht ardens were dreauests still in bed Peaceful and quiet

At least, it had been before Vanessa tracked me down

I came to a stop in front of ether so close to sunrise Her ink-black hair ept back from her exquisite face with a narrow leather headband that perfectly matched her red lips and equally narrow red belt The little black dress was too fors to perfection

Vanessa knew exactly how gorgeous she was I wondered if she knew the strain of the last h her polish Jail could do that to a person New lines fanned frorooves that cut between her arched brows and beside her full lips

Until recently, Vanessa had been a thorn in , at times mildly painful, but otherwise, no more than an inconvenience

My older brother Ford had divorced her years ago, getting out of the ill-fated e unscathed except for the hefty alimony check he wrote every month Vanessa had been happy to leave it at that, more interested in Ford's name and money than the man himself

That is, she'd been happy enough until Ford was arrested for my father's murder No income meant no alimony

Since the day those hefty checks had dried up, Vanessa had been on the warpath

I scanned the garden, hoping to see an early rising guest or a mehty pounds on Vanessa, but that didn't erous