Jessica Peterson: Cash

 read 2025 Lucky River Ranch book 1

Mollie (our FMC) returns to the small town of Hartsville Texas for one reason she wants to collect her inheritance and sell the ranch her father owned.  While she's sad about her father passing away she hadn't had a good relationship with him she barely knew him he continued to support her financially but she would have liked his presence in her life more than anything else there was a certain point in her life where she gave up the hope that he would actually show up for her... but she is now living with the regrets she has of the thoughts she always had that they had time to mend their broken relationship... now he's gone and she will never get that opportunity to mend that bridge.

Mollie shows up at her father's lawyer's office to discuss the terms only to find that she is being seated with the infuriating foreman for the ranch and former childhood neighbor Cash Rivers... she's just going to avoid noticing how handsome he is it won't do any good for this meeting to go sideways like that.  Cash shows up to the reading of the will expecting to hear that he has been given the ranch like Garrett (Mollie's dad) promised him, thing is he never changed his will it all goes to Mollie his daughter a true city girl... judging from her shiny outfit he doubts she's done a hard day labor a day in her life how is she going to last a week... even a day under the requirements of the will in order to receive her full inheritance she must actively live on the ranch and manage it for a year she might as well head back to Dallas now.

Mollie is beside herself she had been really hoping for that money to come through when she needed it the most she has been working to build up her designer boot company with her bestie and they need funds to pay the vendors for the materials needed to launch their new line if they don't get the money soon they might just have to give up on their dreams... but there is one good thing she will get a monthly allowance starting when she moves onto the Ranch property... she can do this she needs to keep her dreams alive.  Meanwhile her mom (who always has trash talked her dad to her) is getting her lawyers to find a way out of the clause to have to live there for a year... hopefully they come through for her now.  

Cash is grumpy he doesn't want Mollie on the ranch and makes it well known that she isn't welcome there... at first, everyone else including all of his brothers are welcoming and make her feel like part of a big family... she should fire Cash now that would teach him a lesson... except she quickly realizes how vital he is to the running of her new ranch and until she learns what she's doing that would be the worst possible business move ever... she can tolerate him for a bit right?  

The more time Mollie and Cash spend together the more that line between love and hate fades... was it ever truly hate?  maybe it was mild dislike.  Either way tension is high until it snaps and  Cash begins teaching Mollie all kinds of lessons of ranch life... all over the property.  

What everyone is wondering what will happen if the lawyers find a way for her to get out of the clause tying her to the Ranch?  she is beginning to like Ranch living and love all the people on it... including the grumpy, handsome foreman.  Could she sell the place and risk all of these wonderful people losing their jobs?  Her life is in Dallas... but her heart is now split between two places.  

*Enemies --> more  *Cowboy MMC  *City FMC  *daddy issues  *spice  *Grumpy/Sunshine

*small town romance  *Ranch life  *line dancing  *banter *forced proximity *dual POV

*Grief (loss of parent(s)  

Thoughts on the book may contain spoilers: 

It took me a bit to warm up to Mollie she came off at the beginning as kind of spoiled I get that she needed funding for her work project but I was kind of upset with her business partner too that she was pressuring her about the money... like what are you doing to get more income for the line?  was Wheeler doing anything to get money for the new line or was she just waiting for Mollie's inheritance to come through?  

I understand that she had a poor relationship with her father but felt she took the clause poorly, that is part of his will and I think that it was a good plan to have his heir learn how to run the ranch for a year... how is she going to make proper decisions for the ranch if she doesn't know anything about it?  

Mollie's mom was pretty toxic she was talking badly about Mollie's dad to her even after he passed away and she also was food/fat shaming her when they went to eat... just because you only want to eat 2 pieces of lettuce and a cucumber slice lady doesn't mean that Mollie shouldn't be able to eat the burger she wants. Mollie's mom also didn't invite anyone that her ex-husband would have wanted to be there to his own funeral (his ranch family were not invited) but she told Mollie that she invited people they just didn't show up.  Because of her bad relationship with Mollie's father her mom has since sworn off cowboys as they are all bad news.    

Mollie had some kind of nausea/stomach upset issue but it never really was resolved what is going on there?  she said she was feeling better on the ranch eating whatever was it to do with the pressure of eating with her mom?  

Cash has some irritating things as well he was automatically judging Mollie as being a spoiled rich girl without even getting to know her... throughout the book Mollie shows up and helps around the ranch working hard to learn day to day jobs on the Ranch and she's nice to everyone but he still spent the beginning part of the story thinking of her as stuck up and being surprised that she was working so hard.

Felt the pacing was a bit weird at times like they spent over half of the book being kind of frenemies and Mollie even invites her friend with benefits to the ranch.  Then all of a sudden Cash gets jealous decides to stake his claim on Mollie and then is all over Mollie like before they even leave the bar he ends up spicing it up with her in the ladies bathroom... then they have unprotected sex 9000 times and are in love in a matter of a month or two.  

I did like the hallmark movie like qualities--> Big City girl with dreams of being a fashion boot designer has to go to her home town in the middle of nowhere told she has to stay there for the foreseeable future (at least a year) and her hot cowboy nemesis shows her that ranch life isn't that bad... and just maybe she is more of a country girl than she originally thought especially now that she has one or more reasons to stay.  But will her mom ever be ok with her loving ranch life and a cowboy?