It Started with a Crack by Piper James

I thought I had it all figured out. I had a great plan. A great job. A great life… Yeah. That didn’t work out so well…

Dakota:
I thought quitting my job as a bartender to focus on my new job as a realtor was a good choice. And for a few months, it was. But the success I was enjoying disappeared, and now I was broke and late on my rent…for the third month in a row.
When I tried to get an extension on my rent payment, my sleazebag building manager tried to give me his extension instead. Gross.
Luckily, my friends came to my rescue—I’d stay at the empty ranch they owned until it sold, and I earned the commission that would help me get back on my feet. I didn’t want charity, but I also knew when to accept the help I so desperately needed.
It was only for a few weeks, then I’d get my life back under control. Right?

Noah:
With my brothers moving out and starting to put down roots in Red River, I felt like I was floundering. Living alone in this rental house was making me squirrelly, like I needed to make a change to get my life back on solid ground.
Just when I’d decided to stay where I was until I found the perfect home, the floor fell out from beneath me—my lease was up and would not be renewed. I had to move out.
The ranch home I owned with my brothers was the perfect solution—newly renovated, lots of space, and best of all, empty.
At least, it was supposed to be.
Imagine my surprise when a squatter cracked me over the head the minute I walked in. A beautiful, feisty squatter with whom I had some unfinished business…
This was going to be so much fun.