Free Hell to Pay by Kimberly Dean

Chapter One
     
    It was too quiet.
    Cassidy Wilson looked up slowly from her flower garden, her ears going on the alert. A soft wind ruffled the leaves on the trees overhead, and water from the lake lapped rhythmically against her little expanse of shore. It was all very pleasant and calming…
    And way too quiet.
    “Thunder?” Turning on her haunches, she let her gaze sweep the yard. Her heart sank when her energetic black Labrador was nowhere to be found. “Thunder.”
    Worried, she tossed her gardening gloves onto the porch and pushed herself to her feet. Ever since they’d moved into her grandparents’ old cabin on Summer Lake, her dog had become much too adventuresome. In the city he’d liked to stay close, but here the birds and rabbits provided excitement that he couldn’t seem to ignore.
    Just when she needed him to stay put…
    “Thunder, come back here!” Immediately, she went on the search. As much as the move had suited them both, there was still one drawback to their new living situation that she couldn’t fix. The neighbors . If he’d ended up on Long property again…
    “Oh God.” Her steps quickened.
    The Longs and the Wilsons were like oil and water, never to be mixed. Their families’ feud ranked right up there with the Hatfields and McCoys, only without guns. Well, at least lately.
    Unfortunately, it all went back to property rights.
    “Come on, puppy love.” Swiping her palms against her shorts, she headed down to the lake. She hoped he was there beyond the tree line, where she couldn’t see him. He liked to play with his reflection in the water, even though it startled him every time he got splashed.
    “Damn,” she swore when she got to the shore. Little ripples coursed across the lake’s surface, but the only visitor other than herself was a lone mallard duck. It swam lazily under the hot summer sun as a feeling of cold dread ran down her spine. There were only two other options, neither of which she liked.
    She turned slowly. Long property surrounded her on both sides.
    Which enemy should she face first?
    Without hesitation, she turned to her left. Randy Long, or Rancid as she tended to think of him, was the lesser of two evils. As loud and obnoxious as he was, his bark was worse than his bite. He’d tried his best to drag her into the seemingly endless feud, but she’d ignored all his huffing and puffing.
    His brother, though, wasn’t a man to be put off so easily.
    Something hot and dangerous fluttered inside her chest. It mixed with the dread, creating a feeling that was more than a little unsettling.
    Yes, Rancid first. Definitely Rancid.
    She quickly navigated the winding path that trailed through the woods. On this side of her property, the tree line was nature made. The path was matted with fallen leaves and coursing vines. Still, someone had been using it. Longs crossing her property as a shortcut to one another, no doubt.
    Her lips flattened. And they’d been complaining about her dog.
    The path came to an end, opening up into Randy’s back yard, and she did a quick visual sweep. The space was three times the size of hers and ten times as ostentatious. A manicured garden, complete with a water-pouring statue of Cupid, stood at the back of the house. A pool afforded a picture-perfect view of the lake and, most importantly, a carefully manicured putting green stood between her and the pool house.
    Cassidy crossed her fingers. She prayed that her Lab hadn’t messed up that golfing green, although a devious little voice at the back of her mind thrilled at the idea.
    “Thunder!” she hissed.
    No thundering paws bounded over to greet her. Keeping as well-hidden as she could, she leaned forward to see past the tree on her right. No tails wagged and no tongues dangled out of a smiling mouth.
    Her toes curled in her flip-flops. She’d known she was hoping against hope.
    Stepping back into her hiding place, she took a moment. She’d only found her dog over here once. Every