Returning to Pine Ridge by Ana Ashley

Unemployed. Blacklisted. Drowning in debt.

I’m the saddest case of a man who had it all and then lost it.
Back in Pine Ridge, I smile and lie.

But in a hot minute, I confess everything into a recording microphone, and I meet Kai.
His kindness terrifies me. I’m completely and unexpectedly drawn to him.

As we fight a predatory corporation threatening to exploit our small town, something shifts. Kai sees me and suddenly I’m not pretending anymore.

In this small town I once couldn’t wait to escape, I’m discovering what I’ve been searching for all along.

Home isn’t a place. It’s a person.
And maybe—just maybe—I’m brave enough to stay.