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Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-One
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Chapter Forty-Five
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Chapter Forty-Seven
  52. Chapter Forty-Eight
  53. Chapter Forty-Nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Acknowledgments
  56. Discover More
  57. About the Author

I desperately wished I could tell him to go fuck himself, but I’d walked right into it. He hadn’t done anything wrong other than take too much pleasure in my misinformation. Still, it was time to squash my crush on Finn like a bug. A city boy in a small town was still a city boy. Been there, done that. Besides, I’d come to Pleasant Hollow for career advancement, not to fall in love. That meant focusing on the main story, not a possible romantic subplot.

Kate would be devastated.

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Having gotten what I needed, if not what I wanted, from Finn, I made a swift exit from the trailer, waving goodbye to the construction staff. But my smile wasn’t nearly as genuine on the way out as it had been on the way in.

The new development sounded like a dream living arrangement. Wine and cheese happy hour? Sign me up! I was tempted to fill out an application for me and Mom. Then again, it stood to reason I’d be impressed by a luxury building at the reasonable prices Finn had quoted. In New York City, the words “reasonable” and “real estate” were rarely uttered in the same sentence.

It was Finn’s job to paint the development in the best light possible. It was my job to report both sides of the issue with an impartial perspective. Obviously, the unhappier the locals were, the more accurate the comparison to the movies and the better for my story. I’d gotten the corporate side. Now it was the town’s turn.

First up was Miller’s General Store. After grabbing a black stainless-steel to-go coffee mug from the back, I stepped over to the cash register and introduced myself as a journalist writing a story about Pleasant Hollow. “Would you be willing to answer a few questions about the town?”

“I suppose so.” The clerk was a lanky older white man with thinning dark hair and glasses, wearing a white lab coat. I guessed he doubled as a pharmacist, since the business next door was called Miller’s Pharmacy and presumably under the same ownership.

First I asked him to confirm his name (Fred), his connection to the store (owner), how long it had been open (twenty years), and if I could quote him in the story (“Why not?”). “So, Fred, are you happy here in Pleasant Hollow?”

“Happy is relative. It’s my home.”

“Makes sense,” I said with a nod. “Would you describe it as a small and tight-knit community?”

“Small, yes. Tight-knit?” His gray eyebrows furrowed in contemplation. “Not particularly.”

This surprised me, but I didn’t comment. “Are you aware a big-time real estate conglomerate is building a massive residential complex in the center of town?” Massive was an exaggeration, but it added effect.

“I am. Yes.”

“And how do you feel about it?”