The beautiful virgin that came to the resort and drew me into her embrace was intoxicating.  I didn’t want to let her go.  She managed to calm my rage like nobody had ever done before.  Even when I felt the emotion I associated with love, I didn’t let it consume me.  When the time came to leave Blue Ridge, I left it without feeling more than a slight twinge of guilt.  My relationship in the city was too toxic for love.  It was lust, mixed with chaos.  I woke up the next morning, kissed her forehead and started making breakfast.  By the time she joined me, everything was on the table and ready to eat.

“I haven’t slept that long since I was a teenager.”  She yawned and took a seat across from me.

“I guess you got a good workout.”  I smirked and poured a cup of coffee.

“Yeah, I definitely did.”  She grinned and started moving food to her plate.

We avoided the subject that was clearly on both of our minds.  I had to meet with the lawyer, and there was a good chance I wouldn’t like what I heard.  She hadn’t promised me more than the previous night.  I wanted her to stay, but at the same time, I didn’t want her to be around if things went to shit.  I didn’t know what I would do after I heard the truth about my father’s impending lawsuit against Blue Ridge.  If someone in the town did something to him, I was ready to go to war.

“I’m coming with you.”  She walked into the living room, already dressed for the day.

“Did you even shower?”  I raised my eyebrows in surprise.  “You really don’t have to go with me.”

“We’re in the mountains.”  She walked up and took my hand.  “I think we’re allowed to be a little grimy.”

“I think you’re just wanting to go with me to make sure I don’t do anything stupid.”  I pulled her close.  “I promise I’ll try to control my temper.”

“I’ll be there to make sure of it.”  She hugged me and we stayed in our embrace for several minutes before we started walking towards my truck.

***

“AH, MR. ADAMS.”  A thin blonde lawyer with a lot of makeup on her face motioned for me to follow her.  “My name is Abigail Sawyer.  Please join me in the conference room.”

“Thank you.”  I nodded and trailed after her.

“And you are?”  She held the door and stared at Mandy.

“She’s a friend.”  I walked into the conference room and took a seat.

“Normally, we wouldn’t discuss these matters with anyone other than our client, but since you are the beneficiary of your father’s will, I believe you have a right to know.”  She took a seat across from me and opened her briefcase.

“From what we were able to discern from the emails, it looks like you were working on some sort of lawsuit that would challenge the incorporation?”  Mandy leaned against the table.  “The one that made Blue Ridge Mountain part of the town?”

“Yes, that is correct.”  Abigail pulled a map out of her briefcase and unfolded it.  “It wasn’t going to be an easy lawsuit, but your father was determined.  The incorporation helped the town.  Prior to it, none of the tax dollars from Blue Ridge Mountain went to the town.  It all went to the federal and state government.”

“Then why did he want to challenge it?”  Mandy tilted her head and stared at the map.

“The permits.”  I felt my face tense up as I spoke.  “The town got jurisdiction over Blue Ridge Mountain, which allowed them to stop anyone from building.”

“That was the basis for our case.”  Abigail nodded.  “Your father wasn’t the only one affected.  The Thatcher family used to own all of the land on the south side of the mountain.  The incorporation put them out of business.”

“They were direct competitors to the Remington family.”  I let out a long sigh.  “They had a lot of cabins on the south side.”

“Yep, I outlined all of them.”  Abigail traced the map with her finger.  “The incorporation stopped them from doing anything, and like your father, their permits were denied.”

“Why didn’t they file a lawsuit?”  Mandy continued to stare at the map.  “They should have been able to build a case.”

“I don’t know.”  Abigail shrugged.  “We tried to get in touch with them, but we were never able to reach the heirs.  I guess they just didn’t have the will to fight.”

“But my father did?”  I raised my eyebrows.

“Your father was a smart man.”  Abigail smiled and nodded.  “See, normally when something like this happens, there is a vote.  He found a clause in the town charter that technically made the incorporation illegal without a vote, and he wanted to push to have it dissolved until the town could vote on it.”

“Yeah, but they would vote it in, right?”  Mandy twisted her lip as if she was trying to figure out what she was hearing.

“Yes, but this is something that would have to go to a general election.  It wouldn’t hit the ballot for a couple of years.”  Abigail leaned back in her chair.  “I believe that would have given him plenty of time to fix up the resort.  Even if they did vote to incorporate again, it would be difficult to justify denying permits for a business that brought in that kind of revenue—which of course meant more tax dollars for the town.”

“That’s true.”  I nodded and looked over to Mandy.  “When the resort was thriving, it made a lot of money.  We pulled a lot of business away from the cabin rentals.“

“Your email mentioned something about a family matter?”  Mandy tilted her head.  “Did that have anything to do with the lawsuit?”

“Honestly?”  Abigail shrugged.  “I’m not sure.  We were already in discussions with your father about the lawsuit against the town when it came up.  He never got a chance to elaborate.”

“This is fucked up.”  I exhaled sharply.  “I’m going to talk to the mayor.”

“Do you think that is a good idea?”  Mandy reached over and put her hand on my arm.  “Perhaps we should let them start working on the lawsuit again and just settle things in the courtroom.”

“Nah.”  I pushed my chair back and stood up.  “That ain’t my way.”

Sheriff Thompson had told me not to approach Brandon Remington, the mayor of Blue Ridge, but I was tired of listening to words.  He was the one driving all of the change, and the incorporation was passed shortly after he took office.  That definitely wasn’t a coincidence.  The fact that his office killed all of my father’s permits after the incorporation passed was a direct attack on my family.  I was starting to doubt that my father passed away from natural causes, although I didn’t think Brandon had the balls to resort to murder.  If nothing else, it was the stress caused by watching the resort die around him that brought on his rather untimely passing.

“Do you really think this is a good idea?”  I was already halfway to Town Hall before I heard Mandy’s voice again.  “I really think you should do this with lawyers.  Storming in there with threats isn’t going to accomplish anything except draw more attention to what you’re trying to do.”

“I already have their attention.  I wasn’t trying to lay low when I returned to Blue Ridge, but they clearly had no idea I was working on the resort again.  None of this shit started until Charlie started running his mouth.”  I pulled away when Mandy tried to take my arm.  “They’re not going to let me do any work on it at all.  They’re just going to bury me in denials like they did to my father.”

“This isn’t going to end well.  You’re going to piss them off.”  Mandy reached for my arm again.

“Good.”  I evaded her grasp.  “They deserve to be pissed off.”

***

MY BLOOD WAS BOILING when I pushed the doors open and walked into Town Hall.  There were more people there than when I came for the permits, but I ignored them all and took the stairs that led to the mayor’s office.  Before I could get to the top, I saw a familiar face.  He appeared to be heading down the stairs, but he paused in his tracks when he saw me.  Brandon Remington had some age on his face, but he still looked like a grown-up version of the sniveling kid I remembered.  His eyes opened wide, but then his face turned to a smirk.  It was the same smirk I hated in high school.  The one that made me want to punch his head off his shoulders.

“Red...”  He took a step onto the staircase and tilted his head.  “I didn’t believe it when people said you were back.  I thought it was impossible.  You were too good for this town.”

“Yeah.”  I glared at him, feeling my rage starting to take control.  “I’m back all right.  It seems that you’ve used your family’s money to buy your way into public office.”

“I’m just a civil servant.”  He blinked and his smirk faded.  “I’ve tried to make Blue Ridge better while you’ve been gone.”

“I’ve seen what you’ve been doing.  You locked everything down so that your family was the only ones that could profit.  You’ve choked out of all of the competition.”  I took another step and resisted the urge to charge him.  “You won’t get away with this.”

“Classic Red.”  He shook his head and chuckled.  “You think this is about money?  You’re a fool.  It’s about family.”  He walked down a few steps until he was close enough for me to reach.  “My family—that is all I care about.”

“Yeah, because your family profits while everyone else suffers.”  I leaned forward.  “Just ask the Thatchers.  They were the first victims of your greed.”

“Victims—greed.”  He gave the same sarcastic smirk.  “You have no idea.”

“Red?  Brandon?”  I heard a voice behind me, one that I recognized instantly after hearing it again in the supermarket.

Susan walked towards the stairs with a look of shock and surprise on her face.  It wasn’t the first time she had arrived when I was arguing with Brandon, seconds from turning his face into an unrecognizable blood splatter.  It felt like high school again.  I was close to losing my temper and going across the line I promised her I would never cross—then she arrived to set things straight.  The difference was that I no longer bowed to her commands.  I didn’t give a shit what she had to say.  Brandon had taken things too far and I wasn’t about to let her interfere.  I looked at Mandy, who seemed to be stuck in a permanent state of bewilderment as she witnessed the exchange.

“Susan, stay out of this.”  I pointed at my childhood girlfriend and felt my blood boiling again.  “This is between me and your husband.”

“So I guess you know...”  Susan stopped and shook her head.  “I’m sorry, Red.  You left and Brandon was there for me.”

“I was a little confused to find out you married this piece of shit.”  I pointed to Brandon.  “Yeah, it stung a little bit, but that’s my fault.  I’m the one that left.  I’m the one that drove you into his arms—whatever.  I’m here to talk about what this fucking asshole did to my father.”

“Your father?”  Susan blinked in surprise.  “Your father died, Red.  That doesn’t have anything to do with Brandon.”

“Doesn’t it?”  I turned my attention back to Brandon.  “I find it rather convenient that he passed away after he filed a lawsuit to challenge the incorporation.”

“He did what?”  Susan tilted her head and then looked at Brandon.  “You never told me that, you told me it was about...”

“About what?”  I took a step down the stairs.  “What the fuck did you two do?”

“Nothing.”  Susan suddenly regained her composure.  “Brandon, we need to talk about this—at home.”

“I’m the mayor now.”  Brandon walked down the stairs and put his hand on my shoulder.  “I don’t have to cower in fear of this asshole anymore.”

I couldn’t hold back anymore.  I spun around and my fist crashed into Brandon’s jaw.  It was like a lifetime of pent up frustrations coming to life in one punch.  Everyone in Town Hall immediately started to freak out.  Brandon hit the stairs and rolled to the bottom.  Susan ran to him and quickly knelt down, pulling his head into her lap.  I stared at the scene for a moment and as more people came rushing over, the weight of what I had done started to hit me.  I was motionless for a moment and then I felt someone tugging on my arm.  I looked over to see Mandy.  Her face instantly snapped me back to reality and I started moving towards the exit.  We were in my truck with the ignition cranked before Sheriff Thompson’s car rolled up with the lights on.

“Fuck!”  I snarled and slammed the truck into drive.

“I told you this was a bad idea.”  Mandy pulled her seatbelt across her chest as we peeled out of the parking lot.