Page 3 of Her Grumpy Lumberjack

Then a giant emerges from the trees.

I gasp. I can’t help it. The biggest man I’ve ever seen is striding toward me. He’s a hulking tower of muscle, his flannel shirt barely able to contain his broad chest and tree-trunk-sized arms. A thick beard covers his chin, and his forest-green eyes root me to the spot as he glares at me. I have to bend my head back to look at him as he approaches, hardly daring to breathe as he stops a foot away from me.

There are three things I’m sure of as I look up at the giant’s rugged face.

One, he’s the hottest man I’ve ever seen.

Two, he’s pissed off as heck.

Three, I’m in way over my head.

Crap. Maybe I should have stayed in Denver and got those donuts after all.

2

CHASE

I stride through the forest, listening to the birds chirping overhead as I head for a thicket of pine trees. This is the first dry day for weeks and I need to make a start on chopping firewood for the winter. It’s only June, but it takes months for the wood to dry, so I lug my axe to the perfect tree and start to hack through the trunk until I hear the telltale snap of roots.

“TIMBER!” I shout as the tree starts to topple, landing with a crash on the forest floor.

There’s nobody around, but I always call out a warning just in case. This forest is full of men like me—ex-military guys looking for a quiet life—and we often cross paths when we’re working. Our cabins are spaced out, and my nearest neighbor, Ronan, lives a mile east. We like our privacy, but we’re always willing to help: sharing tools and fixing up each other’s cabins. Something about Cherry Hollow draws us in. This town is a safe haven for guys like us after the shit we’ve been through.

Once I’ve chopped up the fallen tree, I haul the wood into my truck and drive back home. Then I unload the logs into the woodshed, stacking them to dry before heading into my cabin to feed Moose. He bounds toward me, jumping up with excitement and whining like he hasn’t seen me for days.

“Drama queen. I was only gone an hour.”

I fill his bowl and watch him gobble his food, giving him an affectionate pat on the head. Moose is a blue-eyed husky, but I’m pretty sure he thinks he’s a wolf. He’s my best friend—stubborn, smart, and dramatic as hell. I’ve had him for seven years and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.

And he knows it, I think to myself, smirking down at him.

I’m about to start making my own lunch when something stops me in my tracks.

The sound of an engine outside.

It’s not unusual to hear pickups driving around out here; every lumberjack I know has a truck. But I can tell from the sound of the engine that this is something smaller. A car.

I scowl, peering out the window. The trees are too thick for me to see the vehicle, but I hear it squeal to a stop, a car door opening and closing a few moments later. I own a solid chunk of the land around my cabin, and judging by how close the car is, the driver is trespassing.

“Goddammit,” I mutter darkly.

I never have to deal with trespassers. My cabin is so deep in the forest that nobody comes out here except other lumberjacks, and the last thing I need is some out-of-town asshole disturbing my peace. I feel a flicker of anger as I throw open my front door and stride in the direction of the vehicle. Finally, I spot the car—a tiny tin can that no sane person would be driving around the mountains.

Definitely some dumbass tourist.

Then I hear footsteps—twigs snapping as somebody walks around nearby.

“HEY!” I shout. “THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY!”

I hear a faint squeak of surprise as I push my way around a thick fir tree and finally set eyes on the trespasser.

It’s a fucking miracle that I manage to keep walking.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn’t this pretty little angel looking up at me. My mouth goes dry as I take her in. She’s young—early twenties—with brown eyes, plump lips, and pink hair the color of cherry blossoms. Her cute summer dress does nothing to hide her thick curves, and a bolt of desire zips through me, sending blood rushing straight down to my cock.

Shit. Pull yourself together.

Despite the fire raging inside me, I keep walking until I’m standing in front of the girl, close enough to see the adorable smattering of freckles on her cheeks. I’m a big guy, but next to her, I’m a fucking giant. She must be all of five foot nothing, and her head barely reaches my chest.

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