Page 25 of Her Grumpy Lumberjack

My heart somersaults, sadness forgotten, every inch of me buzzing with happiness. “I love you too.”

We hold each other tight, laughing as Moose jumps up to try and join our embrace, howling triumphantly as though he understands what’s happening.

“I’m sorry I said you didn’t belong here, Sienna,” Chase says, still holding onto me, his mouth against my ear. “I know how bad that sounds, and it’s not what I meant. You do belong here. You belong right here with me.”

He plants a kiss on the top of my head and I sigh blissfully, melting against him.

There’s only one thing still bothering me.

“I need to go back to Denver for a few days,” I mutter. “I need to see my sister and explain everything.”

Chase pulls back to look at me. “I’ll come with you.”

I shake my head, smiling at him weakly. “I need to do this by myself. Give me a week to get everything sorted out, okay?”

Chase scowls, looking like he’s about to argue.

“I’ll be back before you know it. I promise.”

He grunts, resting his forehead against mine. “You better be. Or you best believe I’ll be driving straight to Denver to bring you home.”

I wrap my arms around his neck. “Trust me. I’ll come back to you, Chase.”

He kisses me then, firm and passionate, a kiss so full of love that it takes my breath away. I soften against his mouth, losing myself in him, our hearts beating as one.

Only one more week. Then I can start a new life with my gorgeous lumberjack: just me, him, and Moose. No more hectic city life. No more trying to follow my sister’s dreams.

Just me and my man.

And I can’t freakin’ wait.

“This is a nice surprise!” my sister says as I walk into her office. “I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.”

It took Chase and me a long time to say goodbye, but I finally drove back to Denver, straight to the headquarters of Luminary Press. I was overflowing with happiness on the drive here, thinking about Chase and our future together, but now that I’m face-to-face with my sister, I’m nervous as heck.

I give her a quick hug. “Hi.”

Megan looks at me appraisingly, pulling a leaf out of my hair. “How come you left early?” she asks. “Did you get bored out there?”

“Uh, not exactly.”

My sister watches me expectantly, waiting for my explanation. I don’t know where to begin, so I decide to tell her all at once. Hopefully, it will be quicker that way, like ripping off a Band-Aid.

“I met someone,” I say, my voice coming out in a rush. “In the woods, I met a man. A lumberjack.”

“Right…” Megan says, drawing out the sound with a frown.

I struggle to find the words to continue, my eyes darting all over the place, anywhere but my sister.

“I…I’ve decided to move to Aunt Carol’s cabin.”

Megan stares at me. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t want to work here anymore.” I swallow hard, my heart pounding. “I’m really grateful that you got me this job, but I don’t want to do it anymore. I’m quitting and moving to Cherry Hollow.”

My sister looks like her brain is short-circuiting.

“So, you want to quit your job and move to the woods,” she repeats slowly, looking at me like I’ve got a third arm growing out of my forehead.

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