Girl Crush (Redwoods Book 1) Read online

  “A girl crush?”

  “Yeah, it’s a song by Little Big Town, it’s about a girl who basically wants to be the other woman because she has the man, hell I don’t know you’ll have to listen to it yourself.”

  “Well Lucia and I parted ways last night. It should’ve ended the moment Kerrigan stepped foot in town, but since she didn’t know who I was I let it continue. Now, though it’s done. Lucia is moving to San Fran next week she’s taking a new position with her employer there.” I tell him.

  “It’s for the best man. Well I guess I better get back to the bar and make sure those two aren’t in trouble yet.” He laughs causing me to laugh with him.

  “Yeah, you better. I’m heading that way too.” I tell him as he opens the door to my truck.

  My phone begins ringing before he steps out. Picking it up I see Lucia’s name on the screen and I grab Bryce’s arm stopping him as I answer the phone.

  “Hello” I answer and Lucia’s words make my heart stop. “What do you mean she’s gone!” I yell in the phone, “Stay put Lucia we’re on our way!”

  Bryce slams his door and I squeal tires out of his parking lot heading to the bar as fast as I can. I fill Bryce in on the way and as soon as we enter the parking lot I slam my car in park right in front of the entrance and jump out of my car not bothering to turn off the engine or shut the door.

  Bryce and I enter the bar and head straight for the bartender after scanning the room and not spotting Lucia anywhere. He sees us approaching and motions toward the hallway that leads to the bathrooms and the office. I turn to make sure Bryce saw him and head in that direction, pushing through bodies as we go trying to get there as fast as possible.

  As soon as I enter the office I find Lucia pacing the floor. Taking hold of her arms, “What did you do?” I grit out.

  “Noth…nothing.” She sobs.

  “Calm down Damon, we’ll find her. Lucia sit down and tell us what happened.” Bryce says.

  She does as he says and begins telling us what went on from the time Bryce left so far nothing seems out of the ordinary until she tells us about Kerrigan asking about the wall and then about Anna Marie and Vince.

  “What did you tell her?” I ask as calmly as I can my body is vibrating with anger and fear. I have to find her.

  “Just that they used to live here a long time ago and then she asked if that’s all I knew about them. I’m sorry Damon it didn’t even click until I saw her face.”

  “What did you tell her?” I demand.

  Tears trek down Lucia’s face, “I told her they had a daughter and that neither of you had been the same since she was taken away.”

  Kerrigan has no idea why she’s here or why she was never told she lived here at one time. She has to be so confused and she’s out there somewhere alone.

  “It’s okay Lucia, we’ll find her, where did she go?” Bryce asks softly as he tries to console Lucia.

  “She took off out the back door and I followed her into the woods, but I lost her. I couldn’t run after her in these damn shoes. I called Damon as soon as I got out of the woods and had a signal again.”

  Bryce and I lock eyes, “You know where she is Damon go after her.” He says.

  I try to remember where she could be but it’s been years since I’ve been in that part of the forest.

  “Come with me, it’s been forever.” I could use my senses to find her but right now I’m too worked up to focus.

  “Let’s go.” He says as he stands up and heads for the back door.

  We exit the building and begin running toward the woods. As soon as we enter the woods my instincts take over and instantly I know exactly where she is and I take the lead running as fast as I can.

  When we get close to her favorite childhood spot I yell her name, but receive no answer. We enter the clearing and my eyes land on her still form curled up in a ball on the floor of the forest. Leaning down I scoop her up in my arms and hold her tight to my body.

  “DJ” I hear her mutter softly.

  “Yeah Buttercup, it’s me, I’ve got you. It’s always been me.” Relief courses through my body as I carry my fated mate through the forest.

  Kerrigan and Damon’s story continues in Girl Exposed coming soon!

  Acknowledgments

  Kaydee Maverick

  First and foremost I need to thank my family. To my wonderful husband Keith, thank you so much for sticking by me and encouraging me to keep on writing. Babe with you by my side we can do anything!

  Riley Rhea…what can I possibly say about you. Without you, Girl Crush wouldn’t be what it is. I’m so honored that we were able to get together and collaborate on this one. I can’t wait to see what we do for the rest of Kerrigan and Damon’s story.

  Heather Dahlgreen… Thank you for always being so supportive and checking in with me to see how things are going. Also, thank you for writing amazing books that I just had to have my character read during Girl Crush <3

  Jen Zorko… Girl you’ve been by Riley and mine’s side since day one. Thank you isn’t enough for what you’ve done for us. All the time you’ve put into making sure not only this story but all our others are perfect, we wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.

  Karen and Mandy, thank you for always being encouraging and excited when I’ve completed a story. Your encouragement means the world to me.

  Riley Rhea

  To my husband, Ryan, thank you for being you. I feel like I can accomplish anything with you by my side. Even though Kaydee and I started writing this book right after our wedding, you never complained about the time it took from us. You’re pretty neato, I like you more than a little lot, but most importantly I love you more with every breath I take.

  Kaydee Mavericks… It’s been a long crazy road between the two of us and I’m over whelmed with all that we have accomplished together. We are definitely soul sisters and I cherish our friendship. Just think had you not of text me that day and said listen to this song this book would’ve never been written. I look forward to working on the rest of this series with you. <3

  Jen Zorko… Like Kaydee said you’ve been there from the go with us and we couldn’t have done this without you. Love ya girl and I appreciate every single thing you do for me on every single book I work on.

  Kaydee and Riley

  We would both like to that Melissa Gill from MGBookCovers. We gave you an idea and you gave us exactly what we were looking for. You’re incredible and we know we can always count on you to cover our books with the perfect cover!

  About the Authors

  Kaydee is married to her high school sweetheart and the mother of two beautiful children. She’s always been in the book world but it wasn’t until recently that she decided to take the plunge into the author world and write her first novel.

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Kaydee-Mavericks

  TSU: https://www.tsu.co/authorkaydeemaverick

  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7891620.Kaydee_Mavericks

  What to tell you about Riley Rhea?

  Riley didn’t always want to be a writer, but then one day out of nowhere a story popped in her head and refused to leave. After receiving some advice from a friend, who is an amazing author, she sat down at her computer and wrote. After a few chapters there was no stopping. She found a new passion and wanted to share it with the world. Born and raised in the Bluegrass Riley loves to keep her stories close to home.

  She has a wonderfully supportive and encouraging husband who wants her to follow her new passion of writing. She’s the mother to three awesome children who have many talents that they share with the world as well.

  If she’s not reading, writing, blogging, or snuggling you can be find her on the golf course, exploring nature at Mammoth Cave National Park, or at a ballgame.

  You can find out more about Riley by following her on any of the links below.

  Riley Rhea’s Stalker Links:

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com
/RileyRheaAuthor

  Blog: www.rileyrhea.com

  Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/rileyrhea

  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7213472.Riley_Rhea

  Twitter: www.twitter.com/RileyRheaAuthor

  Pinterest: www.pinterst.com/RileyRhea1

  TSU: https://www.tsu.co/RileyRheaAuthor

  Coming Soon from Kaydee Mavericks

  Searching for Me

  People looking at my life would think ‘wow she’s so lucky’ but I’m far from it. Yes on the outside my life looks amazing, I have a nice townhouse I share with my best friend, and my family has more money than I ever knew possible. But when you dig in deep you see the true life that I live. I live everyday remembering my parents being murdered. Everyday reliving that day and everyday just trying to get by. Seeing your parents murdered isn’t something any child should have to witness, but having to stay quiet while it occurs is even worse. When it happened I knew if I wanted to survive that night I would have to stay quiet and not move a muscle. Even after the killers had left I didn’t move for so long that my body ached all over. I thank God every day that my brother Max was staying at a friend’s house that night. After what seemed like forever I left the house and went to my best friend’s not knowing what to do. I called my uncle and told him what happened all he did was tell me to stay put and not say anything. I was only sixteen when they were killed but I still knew that the men responsible weren’t good people.

  Don’t get me wrong, I have my uncle and aunt who took me and my brother in when we lost our parents, but the more I’m here the more I realize that maybe my family including my parents aren’t what they seem. And maybe the family business isn’t all that legal.

  My name is Gabriella Ashford and this is my story.

  Chapter One

  Today is my twenty-first birthday and my Uncle Stephen has decided that he needed to throw me an extravagant birthday party. Not once even asking me if this was something I wanted. Did I? Hell no, I wanted to go to a club and hang out with my friends. But I would never tell my uncle no. He’s like a father to me and I respect him too much to disappoint him in any way.

  My Uncle Stephen and Aunt Lori took my younger brother Max and me in when our parents died five years ago and they’ve been our rock.

  My brother is three years younger than me and started his freshman year at the University of Southern California. The progra

  m he is in has him being abroad for the first semester. I love that he decided to go to the same college as I did. I’m a senior going for a business degree.

  My uncle’s always talked about me working for him at Ashford Finance and I thought that is what I wanted. Only now that I’m starting to see more and remember more and more I think that AF is just a front. A front to a much deeper business that I’m not even sure I want to be a part of.

  Just as I slip on my dress my bedroom door slams open and in walks my best friend Kaci. Kaci and I have been close since before I can remember. We met in kindergarten and have been best friends ever since.

  “Hey doll, you look hot!” She says to me as I’m trying to balance and put my heels on.

  “You don’t look half bad yourself chick. I love that color on you.” Kaci is wearing a deep emerald green strapless dress that clings to every gorgeous part of her body. Kaci has the body every girl wishes she could have. The funny part is she doesn’t even care; she eats whatever she wants and never gains a pound. I, on the other hand, have to work like hell to keep my body in shape. Don’t get me wrong, I have a banging body, I just have to work harder than she does.

  The dress I’m wearing is probably a little shorter than my uncle would approve, but hell, I only turn twenty-one once, why not live it up. It’s a deep purple dress that wraps around me with flowing material. So it’s tight on me, but doesn’t look too tight. I’ve always been told that purple is my color. With my dark hair and my unusual grey eyes everyone says that the color makes everything pop.

  “Are you almost ready to go make your debut birthday girl?” Kaci asks in her crazy girl voice. She knows I want just about anything for my birthday besides this party. Hell I would’ve been completely happy with sitting in our house watching movies all night, but no, when my Uncle Stephen decides he is doing something everyone has to drop everything to make sure he’s happy.

  “Yeah, let’s get the party started!” I tell her and we go arm and arm out the bedroom door.

  We walk into the ballroom, yes my uncle’s place has a ballroom, I don’t know of too many people who still have them, but he does. We are trying to stay unnoticed as long as possible. Yes, I know this party is for me, but I really don’t want all these people I don’t know touching and talking to me.

  We are standing back in the shadows so to speak when my uncle notices me. He walks over and pulls me into a hug. “Happy birthday Gabs, I can’t believe you’re already twenty-one.”

  Hugging him back, “Thanks Uncle and thanks for the big birthday bash.” I say to him, trying to make my voice sound like I love this.

  He says that I’m welcome and moves on to hug Kaci. “Make sure she mingles with all her guests Kaci.” He says with a wink and is off to talk with his best friend John Morgan.

  “Mingle my ass, can we leave yet Kac?”

  Laughing and pulling me along, “No doll, we need to mingle.”

  At least there is good food at this party. That is one thing I can always count on with Uncle’s parties is the food. After Kaci and I fill our plates we make it over to the table where my aunt is sitting.

  “Ah, it’s the birthday girl.” My aunt shouts loudly, “Happy birthday sweetie. I know this isn’t what you wanted and thank you for putting up with your uncle. You know he loves his parties, he just never understands how not everyone is like him.”

  This is why I love my Aunt Lori so much. She gets me and reminds me so much of my mom. She is my mom’s younger sister. When she married Uncle Stephen she not only married him but his business as well. It was actually because of her that my uncle and dad worked together. They wanted to keep everything in the family and with her and my mom being so close they thought it was an awesome idea. The more I think about it the more I think that whatever my dad and uncle were into is what led to my parents’ death. I would never voice my opinion out loud, every time I learn something new I grow more distrustful of what’s really going on. I’m sure my aunt doesn’t know everything that goes on, but she has to know that not everything is legal.

  “I know Aunt Lori, uncle loves his parties. I just wish I didn’t have to come to them all.” I say to her with a dramatic sigh.

  “Sit and eat, then maybe dance a little and we can see about getting you out of here so you and Kaci can go do whatever you had planned to do before this party.”

  “Thanks Aunt Lori, I love you.”

  “Love you to girly. Just know your parents would be so proud of you.” She says hugging me tight.

  Saying thanks, I go back to eating the food, not wanting to talk about my parents any longer. The night didn’t seem to drag as much as I thought it would. My brother Max and my cousin Dane have stayed with us most of the night. I keep looking over at Kaci and my cousin and I swear that there is something going on with them. Maybe it’s just the drinks that I’ve had making me see things that aren’t actually there.

  As the night continues to go on, I feel eyes on me. I know is sounds stupid because this party is for me, but the feeling I have isn’t someone just looking at the birthday girl. No this feeling is something completely different. Looking around again for the billionth time thinking it was going to be like all the other times I’ve looked for the looker and never saw anyone. My eyes land on the hottest man I’ve ever seen.

  He’s standing with my uncle and John. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man look that good in a suit. The black and white suit makes him look even darker and more mysterious than anyone I’ve noticed tonight. He has his hands in his pockets and he’s leaning up against
the wall just staring. I watch him for a few minutes not wanting to break our eye contact. His deep stare is starting to make my body feel hot. At the same time as my uncle says something to him, Kaci grabs my arm and asks if I’m ready to head out, breaking the spell between me and Mr. Mysterious.

  “Yeah, let’s go say goodbye to my uncle and aunt then we can go.”

  We walk over to my aunt and tell her we’re leaving. She hugs me and tells us if we need a ride to call her. Now it’s time to go say goodbye to my uncle. I don’t know why I’m hesitant, maybe it’s because he’s still standing there but I suck it up and head over.

  Kaci stops me in my tracks, “Wow, do you see that hottie standing with your uncle? Damn he is fine.”

  I laugh at her because yes I see him he’s kind of hard to miss, especially now that he’s looking right at me again. I pull Kaci along and interrupt my uncle’s conversation.

  “Uncle, John.”

  “Hey Gabs, are you having fun?” My uncle says and John just nods his head in greeting.

  “Yes it was a blast, but Kaci and I are heading out. I just wanted to come and say bye and thank you.”

  “Well alright then have fun you two and call if you need a ride. Oh wait, I don’t think you’ve met John’s son. Gabriella this is Kaleb, Kaleb this is my niece Gabby.”

  He comes a little closer and extends his hand. Knowing the correct etiquette I put mine out to shake his.

  “It’s nice to meet you Kaleb.” The minute our hands touch my entire body feels like flames are roaming throughout it.

  “Pleasures mine Gabby, and happy birthday.” He leans down and kisses the top of my hand then slowly releases it.

  After Kaci is introduced I grab her arm trying to tell her I need to leave, like right now. I walk to my uncle and give him a big hug thanking him one more time and grab Kaci’s arm and hightail it out of there. I chance one last look behind me and see Kaleb smirking at me. Does he know what that encounter did to me?