Page 28 of Her Grumpy Lumberjack

“Oh!” she says, her eyes twinkling. “Wow, it looks so clean.”

“Wait until you see the inside.”

I lead her through the front door and she gasps. “Chase! Oh my God, it’s amazing!”

She circles the small room, inspecting the desk, the shelves, and the new windows.

“It has water and electricity,” I tell her. “Thanks to a few of my buddies.”

“It’s perfect.”

“I left it undecorated—figured we’d do that part together.”

Sienna grins at me. “Sounds fun. Wow, I can’t believe it’s the same cabin.” With another look around, she sighs with delight and throws her arms around me. “Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

I chuckle, holding her close. “You did a lot of the work yourself.”

“I never could have done it without you, though.”

Sienna pulls away from me and heads into the bathroom, inspecting it before climbing the ladder to look in the attic. “No holes!” she calls down to me. “That’s definitely an improvement.”

I smile, but I feel a flicker of nerves as she comes back down, and I swallow hard.

“Sienna, I don’t want you to live here.”

Her smile flickers. “What do you mean?”

I take a step toward her. “I want you to live with me in my cabin.”

She blinks up at me, her lips parting. “Really?”

“Yes. I want you with me, sugar. I want to be with you all the time.”

“Oh, Chase…” she beams at me. “That would be so amazing. I’d love to live with you.”

My nerves seep away, replaced by pure happiness as I hold my girl close.

“I love you, Sienna.”

“I love you too.” Her brown eyes sparkle as she looks at me. “I can’t wait to live in your cabin!”

“Our cabin now, beautiful.”

She grins. “I like the sound of that.” She stands on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek, then turns away from me to look around at the cabin once more. “I wonder what I’m going to do with this place now.”

“I’ve been thinking about that, and I have an idea.”

Sienna looks at me. “Yeah?”

“This can be your writing nook.” I point to the desk. “You can set up a computer there in front of the window. There are bookshelves for all your favorite novels, or your own novels even. You’ve got a bathroom, room for a couch or someplace to rest, the attic for storage.” I smile at her. “It’s the perfect place to start making your dream a reality.”

Sienna presses her lips together, and for a moment I’m worried she might not like the idea. Then, to my surprise, she bursts into tears. My heart clenches painfully.

“What’s wrong, beautiful? Talk to me.”

She shakes her head, hiccupping. “N-nothing’s wrong. I’m just so happy that you b-believe in me.” She smiles at me through her tears, wiping her eyes. “You’re amazing, Chase. Thank you so much for doing all this for me.”

“It’s my pleasure, beautiful. You’re worth it.” I dry the rest of her tears with my thumb before taking her hand in mine and kissing it. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

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