Rough Around the Edges, page 1
Rough Around the Edges
K.R. Reese
Also by K.R. Reese
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
About the Author
Connect with K.R. Reese
Copyright © 2019 K.R. Reese
All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise – without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at rrpublishing@zoho.com.
Visit their website for more information: https://www.rr-publish.com
Cover Design: Destiny Productions
Formatting: R & R Publishing
Also by K.R. Reese
WILSON CREEK SERIES
Come Back to Me
Fall for Me
Marry Me
Rescue Me
Stay With Me
CHAOS SERIES
Tune My Heart
Sing to My Heart*
J&M SECURITY
Sheltering Dean*
STANDALONE
Rough Around the Edges
Chapter One
Madison wakes with a start. The wind outside was whipping the shutters to her bedroom windows, and she throws the blanket off to close them. The weather hadn’t been this bad in a long while. Normally, she enjoyed it, but not today. Today, she was supposed to meet the heir to Mrs. McCulley’s ranch a few miles outside of town.
Mrs. McCulley had left the entire property to her nephew. A nephew who hadn’t bothered to attend his aunt’s funeral. Madison pushes the thought away, blindly hoping she could keep them to herself later. It wouldn’t do her any good to speak the truth to a man she didn’t know. Even when it bothered her as much as it had when no family had shown a few weeks earlier.
Knowing she wasn’t going to get any more sleep, she goes to the kitchen to make some coffee before jumping in the shower. Madison hadn’t lived on her own long. Staying at the family farm until she had some savings seemed like the logical choice. But, living at the home she grew up in brought back too many memories. Memories she couldn’t face. Her parents didn’t like her extracurricular activities or the idea that she wasn’t going to continue running the farm once they retired. That had always been Lacey’s dream.
Thinking of her sister causes her chest to coil tight. It hadn’t even been a year since the accident, and Madison wasn’t over it. In truth, no one was, but they hadn’t been as close to her sister as she had been. That’s why Madison moved out of the bedroom she shared with Lacey as soon as possible, getting an apartment in town.
Memories of their childhoods crept in all too often without the visual reminder that Lacey wasn’t there anymore. The side of the room that still sat untouched.
After Lacey’s accident eight months ago, she’d wanted to box up all her belongings and ignore the emptiness. She stayed on the farm unless she had to go to work.
Maybe she should’ve moved away after Lacey’s death. Maybe it would be easier if she weren’t in their hometown. They’d grown up in Westerfield, they’d made memories that she had to relive everywhere she went. But they’d made a promise to each other when they were younger to keep the farm in the family at all costs.
It was a challenging task since Madison could barely step foot onto the property without being crushed with guilt. Her parents didn’t understand why she didn’t want to stay at home.
Madison closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She needed to be out at Mrs. McCulley’s ranch in less than an hour to meet this nephew. Shayne Maxwell. The name rang loud and clear in her head from processing all the paperwork. He was Mrs. McCulley’s late sister’s son. Some high-end business owner from Atlanta. She wasn’t one to judge, but even his name screamed money. And money meant he’d probably be horrified of the daily workings of any ranch. He wouldn’t want to get his loafers dirty.
When she had spoken to his lawyer on the phone, he hadn’t wanted to sell. Instead, they’d arranged today’s meeting. He wanted to come out and look at the property. Madison wasn’t sure what to expect, and it had her on edge.
Throwing on some old clothes and her boots, Madison takes off out the door, travel mug in hand. Mrs. McCulley’s property was nothing but dirt with a few patches of grass scattered around. The fields and house hadn’t been maintained in years after Mr. McCulley passed, and she knew this nephew wasn’t going to like what he saw.
The drive through town was short, and it didn’t take long before Madison was on the outskirts only a few minutes from the driveway. It was marked with the old sign she remembered when they were kids from coming to the hayrides with Blake, Lacey, and their parents. Damn it. Her mind kept bringing up thoughts of her sister today, and she knew where she’d end up by the end of the evening.
Taking the turn, she hears the gravel crunch underneath her tires. She pulls behind a very nice, very expensive rental car. Stepping out, a smile pulls at the corner of her mouth. Shayne Maxwell didn’t fit in around here and the reminder only seemed to brighten her mood.
Chapter Two
Shayne had been at his aunt’s property for less than five minutes when another car parked behind his rental. He knew it must be the woman his lawyer had spoken to on the phone, but he hadn’t caught her name. Coming to the ranch was something he had wanted to do for years but had never made the time. Though he talked to his Aunt Linda on a weekly basis, he never got any indication that something had been wrong, that her health was declining, or he’d have come sooner. Now it was too late, and he had the ranch that served as a reminder that there wasn’t anyone left in his family.
As a child, he had visited the ranch a few times during the summer. Then his mom stopped talking to Aunt Linda and they stopping coming up. Shayne never did understand what happened that caused the tension between the two, and he knew better than to ask. He pushed all those thoughts aside for another time when she stepped out of the car.
Something inside him came alive. Her eyes snagged onto his instantly and he became an inferno. He couldn’t help but notice the redness of her cheeks and the way the wind rustled her hair around her face. The unruliness made her more approachable in his book and he snagged the opportunity to offer his hand.
“Hi, I’m Shayne Maxwell, Mrs. McCulley’s nephew. I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch your name when my lawyer spoke with me about the property?”
His earlier thoughts of approachable are short-lived when he watches the fire in her eyes turn cold. The zap he had felt moments ago was one-sided and he needed to behave. He had to behave.
“Madison Dobson. I’m sorry about your Aunt’s passing. She was such a lovely woman.”
Shayne watched the color return to her cheeks and she looks sideways toward the fields, avoiding eye contact. Maybe that zap wasn’t one-sided? He shook off the distraction she presented and looked around.
His aunt’s property was almost like he remembered it. The house sat in the center, surrounded by a yard that didn’t have grass anymore. Two barns were situated on either side, back toward the fields that hadn’t been tended to in a while either. It needed to be fixed before he could do anything with it.
“If you’d like to look around Mr. Maxwell, I can unlock the door for you. All your aunt’s belongings are as she left them, however, I did clean out the refrigerator and freezer.”
He hadn’t noticed he’d stepped closer until he saw her step back. “Mr. Maxwell was my father, or so I assume. Call me Shayne.” The bright red tinge to her cheeks was the result he’d wanted, and it had worked.
“Um,” she sighs. “Uh, sure, Mr. Max – Shayne. This way.”
He lets her lead the way up the stairs to the front door. The jeans she wore fit her curvy figure perfectly, and he couldn’t help but notice the sway of her ass as she walked. He needed to keep a clear head if he was going to assess the damage that would, undoubtedly, would need to be repaired.
“Is something wrong, Shayne?” He had been standing in the driveway watching her, and now the front door was open. There was a smirk playing on her lips and he tries not to let his smile slip.
“Not at all, Madison. Let’s see what we’ve got.”
Stepping inside, the memories hit him full force. His chest constricts, and he has to put his hand on the wall to remain stable. The last time he’d been here he had only been eight or nine, right before his mom got sick. Flashes of his mother’s smile and the warm embrace she never ran out of skirts through his head before he locks them away. Madison was watching him, brow furrowed, a small frown appearing on her face.
“Has the property been appraised? My lawyer didn’t mention any details since I told him I didn’t want to sell, but it’s never a terrible thing to have. Just in case.” Shayne continues through the hallway, stopping short of the kitchen when he doesn’t get a response.
Turning back toward Madison, she’d stopped halfway to him. “You’re honestly going to think about selling it?” He heard anger behind her words and could see the tick in her jaw, even if she tried to hide it.
She composes her features the best she can, but he still notices her hands tightening around the folder she held. “If you wanted to sell, why waste all this time coming out here to look at it? Your aunt would’ve loved to know you were keeping it, I might add.”
Did she know his Aunt Linda personally? Shayne knew she probably did. The ranch had been popular to the entire town when he was younger, but he hadn’t realized there were others who the property may hold sentimental value to. Madison walks back out to the porch, letting the screen door slam as she leaves.
He runs a hand over his face. Something that’s become a habit when he’s aggravated. They’d been out here less than ten minutes and he had already pissed her off. That hadn’t been Shayne’s intention, but it seemed to come naturally with strangers.
After inspecting the house, assessing the damage, and putting notes on his phone for the repairs it would need, he walks back outside to find Madison leaning against his car. Stopping in front of her, he can see the anger still simmering under the surface.
“Look, Madison, maybe we got off on the wrong foot a minute ago. I didn’t say I was selling the property. I simply asked if an appraisal had been done. The house needs a lot of work, and I’m sure if I head out to the barns, they will, too. Let’s not forget the fields that haven’t been tended to in years.”
Shayne watches her brow furrow again, contemplating his statement. She shifts and begins shuffling through the folder in her hand that she hadn’t mentioned before.
Chapter Three
Madison had completely forgotten about the folder she held in her grasp when they entered the house. Its contents were the deed and the paperwork he needed to sign for her to submit to the courts to turn over ownership to him. His question about an appraisal had caught her off guard, and she’d stormed out of the house.
Handing him the papers that need to be signed, she watches as his brows scrunch together. “Uh, I.. I’m sorry. I have no idea what you just handed me.”
She smirked. Of course, he didn’t know what they were. She put her hand out for him to hand them back. “This needs to be signed if you want to take ownership of the property. While your aunt left the house to you in her will, it’s still required for these to be submitted to the courthouse to receive a deed with your name on it.” The comical look on his face – confusion, namely – caused a burst of laughter to erupt from her.
Shayne’s eyes latched on to hers and the heat within them causes a flush to spread up her neck. Madison knew he could see it, everyone could, and she didn’t hide her emotions well. He cleared his throat and looked away.
“Can we meet at your office to sign them? I have a conference call I have to make soon.”
The smile spread wider across her face. “Absolutely. Here’s my card, the address is on there.” She starts walking toward where she parked when she turns again. “By the way, maybe you should think about exchanging your rental for something else. You aren’t going to fit in around here driving that. See ya later, city boy.”
Madison didn’t wait for him to reply, and she didn’t chance a look at him again before pulling back onto the road and heading toward town.
Now that she was alone, and it was quiet, the thoughts swarmed her head. If Shayne wanted to sell the property, Madison wanted to buy it. While she didn’t know where she would get the money for that type of purchase, she knew she had to figure something out. The impulse had nothing to do with Mrs. McCulley, either. Madison wanted to cherish and remember all the things her, Blake, and Lacey had done as children. That included that entire ranch and all the times they’d spent going on hay rides with their parents.
A heaviness envelope’s inside her chest. The guilt of Lacey’s death weighs on her anytime she allows herself to think too long about it. It was too early to head to Scotty’s, even if that’s where she wanted to be.
Madison turned down the familiar dirt road before she realized she was doing it. Coming home wasn’t something she did often, but it wasn’t something she could avoid either. Her mother was on the swing at the far end of the porch, watching intently as she pulled in and got out.
“Hey, ma, how are you today?”
Her mother’s bright blue eyes locked on hers and she scrunched up her nose. “It’s still early, dear. I haven’t done anything, yet. What’re you doing up so early?”
Madison continued to the porch, sitting on the swing beside her mother before answering. “I had to go out to Mrs. McCulley’s land and meet her nephew with the necessary paperwork. It didn’t run as long as I’d thought. So, here I am.”
“Oh, how is Shayne? You two used to play together when you were kids, you know.”
Madison’s eyebrows raise on their own accord. “No, I didn’t know. I thought he lived in Atlanta?”
Her mother watched her closely, gauging every reaction she made. Madison fought to keep herself composed under the scrutiny.
“He does, born and raised there, but his ma used to bring him out to visit Linda every year. He’s only a year older than you, so it was always nice to watch you guys get along so well.”
She looks out to the barn where some of the farmhands were cleaning out stalls. “Do you happen to have any pictures? Of me and Shayne, I mean? I don’t remember him. I didn’t even recognize his name when I got the paperwork for Mrs. McCulley’s will.”
Her mother got up from the swing swiftly, making her way inside the house. “I think we have some in the old scrapbook. Let’s look.”
Madison wasn’t sure why she wanted to know. Or why she wanted to see the little boy Shayne used to be. His statements of selling the property were still bouncing around in her head, and she couldn’t shake the look he’d given her when she’d first arrived.
“Oh, yes, here you are.” Her mother was holding up an old picture, wrinkled from being handled over the years. In it, Madison recognized her pig-tailed self, but she didn’t expect to recognize the green-eyed little boy smiling brightly beside her. There was no denying it was him. He still had the same smile, and his eyes shown brighter than the sun on a hot summer day. He still had those features.
“Thanks, ma. Do you mind if I borrow this?”
“No, hun, keep it for as long as you need.” Her mother watched her again, Madison’s hands clasping and unclasping like they always did when she was nervous. “Why don’t you come to dinner tomorrow night? I know your father and Blake would love to see you. Bring Shayne along.”
The mention of her brother’s name makes her breath get caught in her throat. “Bl.. Blake’s home?” Why hadn’t anyone told her that he was coming for a visit?
“He’ll be here later tonight. He’s bringing someone for us to meet.” The way her mom’s eyes lit up at the thought of Blake bringing home a girl made Madison roll her eyes. Their mom had been pushing for grandkids since they graduated high school and got their first real jobs. Someone needed to tell her that the times had changed, and kids didn’t get married right out of high school anymore.
