Page 11 of Her Grumpy Lumberjack

“Uh…yeah.”

“What’s it like?”

“It’s great!” I lie. “It needs a paint job but otherwise it’s perfect.”

“Huh. Well, that’s good news. I guess Aunt Carol must have fixed it up since I last saw it.”

“Yep, guess so.”

I’m not sure why I’m lying to Megan. Maybe it’s because I don’t want to admit I was wrong about the cabin.

Or because I don’t want to tell her about Chase.

Something tells me my sister wouldn’t approve if she knew I was staying in a stranger’s cabin in the middle of the woods.

“Well, I’m glad I was wrong and that you weren’t disappointed,” Megan says.

I frown, guilt rising in my chest. “Yeah...”

“Have fun, and make sure you get back in time for work on Monday. And remember to text me sometimes so I know you haven’t been eaten by anything, okay? Don’t forget!”

“Got it. I promise I’ll text you tomorrow.”

We say our goodbyes and I end the call, my heart sinking slightly.

I’ve been so caught up in working on the cabin with Chase that it was easy to forget about the life waiting for me back in Denver. Being here with him is temporary, and falling for him is a bad idea. I need to stop acting like a weirdo and focus on fixing up the cabin. Then maybe I can come and visit Cherry Hollow again sometime, whenever I’m next allowed vacation. But this place was only ever meant to be a quick getaway—a place to escape my demanding job.

It’s not forever. It can’t be.

6

CHASE

I climb up the porch steps carrying the pizza and the groceries, catching sight of Sienna through the window. She’s sitting cross-legged in front of the fire with Moose, petting him affectionately. Something about seeing her in my cabin makes my heart squeeze with longing. When she arrived this morning, I couldn’t wait for her to leave. Now, I’m dreading the moment she’ll say she’s going back to Denver.

This is why I don’t do relationships, I think to myself bitterly. To avoid this kind of fucking heartache.

I heave a sigh as I open my front door and head inside, setting everything down on the table.

“Hey,” Sienna says.

She smiles, but it looks a little forced.

“Hey. I got one cheese, one pepperoni.”

“Perfect.”

I feed Moose before sitting at the table. Sienna joins me, and together we tuck into our pizza. The atmosphere between us is strained, like we’re both lost in our own thoughts, but eventually Sienna says, “This is delicious.” She points at a smaller box beside the two open pizza boxes. “What’s that?”

“Cherry pie.”

She looks bemused. “From a pizza place?”

I chuckle. “Anywhere that sells food in Cherry Hollow sells cherry pie. It’s a town specialty. You won’t get a better cherry pie anywhere else in the world.”

“Is that why the town is called Cherry Hollow?” Sienna asks, grinning. “I like the idea of a town being named after pie.”

“Not exactly. It’s called Cherry Hollow because they’ve been growing cherries here ever since the place was founded. We have the biggest cherry orchard in the state right outside town.”

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