Her Unexpected Hero. Cheryl Harper

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       CHAPTER ONE

      “DOES ANYONE ELSE smell that...?”

      Winter Kingfisher glanced up from her phone as Macy Gentry paused to take suspicious whiffs of the air over their corner booth at The Branch, the answer to nightlife in Sweetwater, Tennessee. It was Friday night, prime time for fun and rowdy crowds, but still so early that the first unofficial get-together of Sweetwater’s single ladies was tame. Subdued. Almost boring.

      The way first dates or professional networking opportunities can be.

      Scanning blog posts and headlines, hunting for either the Kingfisher or Callaway name had distracted Winter from the awkward silence in the booth. Not to mention any untoward odor.

      News of her part in ending an engagement with the man planning to be governor had had a longer life cycle than she’d imagined. For almost a decade, she’d worked with her fiancé, Whit Callaway, Jr., in Knoxville’s political arena to make sure all his press was favorable. Going head-to-head against the Callaways, one of the wealthiest families in Tennessee, in order to save her brother’s job as head ranger of the Smoky Valley Nature Reserve had meant she’d returned the ring and landed both Kingfishers on the front pages.

      Unfortunately, the coverage varied wildly from favorable to “literally the worst,” but it had taken a turn for the better for the Kingfishers. She was the scorned woman. The innocent one. Her brother, Ash, had rightfully become a hero again. Whit Callaway’s campaign had faltered.

      Was saving The Aerie worth the hassle of canceling a society wedding, losing her job and her plans for the future?

      Winter shifted on the hard wooden seat and tried not to focus too closely on the answer to that question.

      After two months, Winter could feel her chance to directly challenge Whit’s political campaign evaporating. Getting even was not the Kingfisher way, but what about a little payback?

      But instead of forcing her way onto his opponent’s strategy team, what was she doing? Rusticating at home and not much else.

      Well, other than reading about Governor Richard Duncan’s terrible record on education and teacher pay while she waited for this first get-together to be over. Could she help this guy win reelection? Yes.

      But should she?

      It would serve Whit right СКАЧАТЬ