What can you do when your life is in shambles? Tess McDonald has just lost everything. Her life is falling apart. She'll have to go back to Ridgeview, Tennessee-the small town in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains she'd escaped after high school. Unfortunately, her parents don't exactly welcome her with open arms. Nick Van Buren lost his dreams-of college, marriage, and family-when his relationship with Tess's sister Marissa ended in disaster, thanks to their father, Judge McDonald, and his threats and harsh actions. Except for a chance at revenge, Nick wants nothing to do with the McDonald family. But when Tess stumbles in like a hot mess, needing help, can he really turn her away? When you live in a small town, you sometimes learn that nothing is the way you thought. Hot Mess is the third book in the Ridgeview, Tennessee series. Ridgeview is based on a small town in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. As with many small towns, Ridgeview's residents depend on each other, the values of the region, and small-town traditions, to create lives where there is plenty of room for true love.