Chapter One
Maxwell
“River is threatening to evict me?” I growled.
I stared at the “Three-day notice to pay rent or quit” document until my eyes began to cross. Confusion and anger flooded me. How did River think he could get away with something so outrageous? Why did he continually tell me he wanted to be myfriendwhen every time I turned around, I caught him doing something sneaky?
I trembled with resentment, trying to make sense of what was happening. If the notice was legit, that meant he’d gone behind my back and purchased the land where I was rebuilding my clinic. Why?How? As far as I knew, the land hadn’t even been for sale. He’d have had to go out of his way to pursue the purchase. Why would he do that? Why did he continually screw with me? Did he think I’d just throw my hands in the air and quit?
Wouldn’t I have done that only a month ago?
Regardless of what I might have done before, I wasn’t letting that snake chase me out of Rainy Dale. I’d promised Royce I was staying, and that was exactly what I was going to do. If I had to examine patients in the trunk of my new car, then I would.
“Maxwell Thornton won’t be bullied,” I hissed, crumpling the offensive paper in my hand.
Looking puzzled, Grumpy followed me as I strode into the kitchen, trying to think of what I should do first. I was buzzing with anger and tempted to march over to River’s clinic and call him out to his face. But I needed to be logical about this. It was probably best to go in like a ninja rather than a wrecking ball.
I glanced down at Grumpy. “I need to find my lease.”
Grumpy wagged his tail in agreement.
Many of my important papers had burned in the fire that had ravaged my clinic. Fortunately, Mr. Rothberg of Harrison, Larson, and Rothberg had been kind enough to send me a copy of my lease and all important paperwork from when I’d first purchased the business. I kept those important papers in Royce’s study. I hadn’t trusted River enough to keep any of my documents at his clinic, and now I was glad I’d listened to my gut.
I went into Royce’s study and over to his desk. Opening the top drawer, I pulled out a large packet that contained the papers I needed. I sat in the cushy leather chair and tugged out the documents. I shuffled through them until I found what I was looking for. Pulling on my reading glasses, I perused the papers.
I didn’t own the land where my clinic had been built. I had what was called a ground lease. A ground lease was an agreement in which the tenant developed the property during the lease period, and at the end of the business’s lease, the property returned to the landowner. Improvements and all.
When I’d purchased the clinic and the building, I’d had no intention of staying in Rainy Dale. I’d only come to the small town to escape the shame of losing a patient on the operating table. My plan had been to hide out and regroup. I’d estimated doing that perhaps for a year and then planned on selling the building. Hopefully, for a profit. There were fifteen years left on the ground lease, so selling had seemed doable. I’d never imagined I’d meet someone and fall in love. It had never crossed my mind I might actuallystayin Rainy Dale.
I leaned back in the chair, mulling the situation. Things would’ve been simpler if I hadn’t fallen for Royce. I’d faced many obstacles since arriving in town, and it was no secret Royce was the reason I stayed. Royce was someone who brought out the best in others. Against all odds, his charm had even worked on me. I could honestly say I trusted Royce, and trust didn’t come easily to me.
With a sigh, I shook off my thoughts of Royce. I couldn’t simply ignore the letter I’d received. I needed to figure out my next step. I’d been paying rent on the ground lease since the fire. If River Martin LLC hadn’t received the money, where had it gone? I’d assumed the rent checks had been cashed because I hadn’t had any reason to believe otherwise. I’d need to be sure that money had been returned to my account and not lost along the way. If by somemiraclethis really was all just a misunderstanding, and I’d eat my stethoscope if that were true, I’d need to hand that rent money over to River Martin LLC, ASAP.
I found it interesting that the pay-or-quit letter had come to me just fine, but the letter alerting me to the change in ownership of the land hadn’t. There was no way River could play innocent with this. I leased a spaceinsidehis clinic. He’d had more than enough opportunity to inform me he’d purchased the land my clinic was on. Had he purposely stayed mute, knowing that every payment I sent would be to the wrong address?
A growl rumbled deep in my throat, and I wanted to strangle River. He truly was devious. I couldn’t understand why I was his target. Why did he smile to my face and offer his friendship while simultaneously trying to destroy me? What did that jerk have against me? What had I ever done to him to earn his animosity?
When the front door opened suddenly and I heard Royce talking to Grumpy, relief flooded me. Royce was exactly the person I needed to talk to right now. I practically scampered into the other room and found Royce knelt down, petting a very excited Grumpy. He grinned as the pup licked his face but stood when he heard me approaching.
“What are you doing home?” I asked.
He held up a bag of food. “I thought we could have an early lunch together.”
“Oh,” I said breathlessly, slipping my arms around his waist. “I… I’m so glad you’re home.”
Giving a surprised laugh, he said, “Well, this is an unexpectedly enthusiastic greeting.”
I didn’t respond; I just hugged him tighter.
He asked softly, “Is something wrong?”
“Wrong? What could be wrong?” I stalled, enjoying the comforting warmth of his body. “Maybe I’m just happy to see you.”
“Maaaax?”
I sighed. “All right, yes, something is most definitely wrong.”
“What is it? Tell me.”
