Free The Reunion: Ashley's Mountain Retreat (Starting Over Series) by Angelina Rose Page A

Candice was prone to switching shifts around with everyone.
     
    “No… Actually, I have a lead for you…”
     
    “A lead? For what? A man?”
     
    “No, goofy. Get your head out of the gutter. Remember when you told me that you wanted to buy a vacation cabin in the Georgia mountains?”
     
    “Oh, yeah…” Ashley stammered wishing that she could take back her man comment.
     
    “Well, my cousin just put his cabin up for sale because he’s being transferred to Colorado. Are you interested?”
     
    “Sure. I can’t afford a lot, but I was planning to use my inheritance from my grandmother to buy something for cash. Have you seen the place?” Ashley asked as she stirred her coffee and sat down at the tiled breakfast table in her kitchen.
     
    “Yes. We spent Thanksgiving there a couple of years ago. It’s a log cabin and has three bedrooms, a wrap around front porch and a beautiful mountain view. I can email you some pictures and his Realtor’s contact info, if you want,” Candice said.
     
    “Yes, please email me. This is exciting!” Ashley said with renewed enthusiasm. Maybe a cabin in the woods would give her time to think and create her “man plan”.
     
    About thirty minutes later, Ashley was looking at the pictures online. The place was perfect, but she had to see it in person before making a decision. She picked up her cell phone and dialed the number for the Realtor, Parker Crenshaw.
     
    “Hello. Parker Crenshaw,” the voice said on the other end of the phone. He had a deep Southern drawl that made her toes curl a little. Ashley was a sucker for a Southern accent. Although she had attended college in Georgia, she was originally from Maine. Hearing a man with an authentic Southern accent was really attractive to her.
     
    “Um… Hi. My name is Ashley. I wanted to get some information on the mountain cottage you just listed on Weaver Road…” she stammered.
     
    “Great. What can I tell you about it?” he asked.
     
    “Well, I would actually like to fly in and see it, if that’s okay. The seller is the cousin of a good friend of mine.”
     
    “Fantastic. When will you be coming in?” he asked.
     
    “I am going to book a flight for this weekend arriving on Friday. According to the Internet, I can get a flight that will arrive around two o’clock Friday afternoon. Could we meet at the cabin around five? It will take me that long to get a rental car and drive from the airport…” Ashley said as she multi-tasked by looking at the Internet reservation site.
     
    “Sounds good to me. I will meet you at the cabin on Friday then,” he said.
     
    As they hung up, Ashley sat back in her chair. Looking around her small apartment, she knew that owning a little getaway would be a good idea for her. She had some sick time and vacation days all saved up, so she might just take an extended vacation to the mountains while she came up with her plan to find the perfect man.
     
     

Chapter 2
     
    As Ashley drove her rental car up the steep mountain road, she wondered what she had got herself into. The tiny town of  Mountainview was beautiful and idyllic in many respects, but the terrain was a bit tough on her timid rental car. Still, it barreled up the mountainside to the gravel driveway of the log cabin.
     
    When she saw it, she knew it was her picture perfect getaway home. Surrounded by huge pine and oak trees, the log cabin featured a wrap around porch with rocking chairs, dormer windows and a tin roof. She remembered sleeping over at her grandmother’s cabin in Maine when she was a child and hearing the raindrops ping off of the tin roof. It was so relaxing and peaceful.
     
    Ashley could see a large black pickup truck sitting to the side of the house. When she got out of her car, she saw him jump down out of the tall vehicle. He wasn’t what she expected when she thought of a real estate agent. Instead of a boring suit and tie, he had on a pair of brown cowboy boots, rugged form-fitting