Page 17 of Claimed By the Lumberjack

At the bottom of the trail, the town opens up like it always does—quiet, simple, a little too curious for its own good. I park outside Annie’s café, and Tessa hops off, shaking out her hair and stretching like she’s just returned from a months-long trek through the wilderness.

“You okay?” I ask.

She grins. “Just trying to remember what it feels like to wear real pants.”

Annie’s wiping down the counter when we walk in. Her eyes jump from me to Tessa to the faint red mark on Tessa’s neck that neither of us has acknowledged. She lifts a brow but says nothing.

“Tessa,” she greets. “Mountain life not scaring you off yet?”

“Still holding on,” Tessa says, sliding into a booth.

Annie glances at me. “You look less homicidal today.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

Annie brings us coffee and settles into the booth across from us, folding her arms. “Alright. Spill. You two are giving off a weird survival-bonded energy.”

I glance at Tessa. She’s the one who pulls out her phone and shows Annie the pictures. All of them. The ones taken through the trees. The ones that feel too close. Too real.

Annie’s face darkens. “These weren’t on the original account.”

Tessa nods. “Exactly. This isn’t the playful thirst-trap stuff. This is stalking.”

I add, “Posted in real time. Someone’s been close enough to the cabin to get these. And they’ve been doing it for days.”

Annie looks between us. “So, what are you thinking?”

“We need to figure out who’s running it,” Tessa says. “And how they’re getting the photos.”

Annie sighs. “The original account was done by a group of older ladies led by Dottie. It was just supposed to be innocent fun. Sadie’s the one who helped them with the original account. She’s good with tech. Maybe she can trace the posts or track the IP address or whatever it is hackers do.”

I nod. “Call her.”

Sadie shows up ten minutes later. Her phone is in her hand, and Reid Calloway follows behind her with a scowl that could kill.

“This better be good,” he mutters, sliding into the booth beside Annie.

Tessa shows her the profile, the photos, the timestamps. Sadie’s eyes narrow as she scrolls. “Okay, no. This isn’t us. We never posted anything creepy like this. We scheduled light thirst. This is full-on stalker territory.”

I arch a brow. “Scheduled light thirst?”

Annie shrugs. “Everyone loves a mountain man. We just branded it a little.”

I grumble under my breath, but I can’t argue. This? This is different.

Sadie taps and swipes, muttering to herself. “The account’s using a different email than the one we set up. We were hacked on Thursday afternoon, and since we hadn’t planned any more posts now that Tessa’s here, they were able to fly under the radar.”

Tessa leans in. “Can you get into it?”

Sadie’s already on her laptop. “Give me twenty minutes and an oat milk latte.”

Annie’s up before she finishes the sentence.

While Sadie types furiously, I take Tessa outside for some air. We lean against the railing overlooking Main Street. The air smells like rain.

“You all right?” I ask.

She doesn’t answer right away. “I keep thinking about how they must’ve been watching us. How close they had to be.”

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