The Roots Between Us

Kennedy Taylor is paid to win.As a senior strategist for Wilburton Capital Group, she knows how to read a room, control the narrative, and turn community hesitation into corporate opportunity. Ebondale is supposed to be just another acquisition, another revitalization plan dressed in polished language and impossible promises. Her assignment is simple: secure the land, neutralize resistance, and keep her conscience out of the paperwork.Then she meets Dominic Hudson.Dominic isn’t just protecting a farm, a produce market, or a youth program. He’s protecting a legacy. Through Rooted Collective, he has built something rare in the heart of Chicago’s South Side: a living, breathing model of community power, Black ownership, and sustainable growth. And he sees Kennedy for exactly what she is, a threat wrapped in a tailored suit and pretty words.Their clash is immediate. Their chemistry is inconvenient. And the more Kennedy digs into Ebondale, the harder it becomes to ignore what her company is really planning.When Wilburton’s polished proposal turns into a fight for ownership, memory, and survival, Kennedy is forced to choose between the career she built and the community that begins to feel like home. But standing with Ebondale could cost her everything, and falling for Dominic might be the most dangerous risk of all.In a neighborhood where every storefront holds history and every family has something to lose; love is not the only thing taking root.