Page 2 of Pining for the Lumberjack

Meet her- helping out at lumberjack games and sees Clay, she’s working at registration table, lots of flirty banter, both turned on by the other, after reg table is done she goes to work at the water table and he walks by and mutters man I really wanna fuck you and she hears it and her mind goes crazy rest of the day, daydreaming about him, tries to get in his space

Majessa Burns:

25yo freelance writer, has her own blog, lives a couple towns outside of AR, blue eyes, blonde hair, 5’6, casual style, ears/nose pierced, couple small tats, deg in communications, goodstoryteller has a way with words, loves to read, curl up with a cup of tea and her cat Ming, good opinion of self, enjoys life, close with parents, go over on the reg to see parents and her older brother Matt., She’s perfectly content with life, deep down she wants love and a family but right now she’s young and having fun, has good sense of sarcasm and can be witty, likes non commitment right now

Clay Patrick:

26yo lumberjack, just took over/bought AR logging company, hazel eyes, brown hair, 6’5- tall and beefy lumbersnack, tight jeans and tees, lots of ink, Some biz classes, good at cutting trees, can really throw an axe well, super competitive, loves the thrill of it, good biz sense, smart, detailed, great opinion of self, happy go lucky guy, Parents retired early/no siblings, doesn’t do committed relationships as he says he’s married to his business, he’s everyone’s friend kind of guy, lots of friends and acquaintances

Clay boughtthe Appleridge logging company and he’s rehauling it, hired a new crew (the guys from the AR lumberjack series. Majessa lives a couple towns over and came to help out at local lumberjack games competition cuz her brother asked if she would (he competes) so she’s working the registration table. Clay is a happy go lucky guy, everyone’s buddy, lots of friends and acquaintances, super competitive loves the thrill, only does one night stands because he doesn’t want to be tied down, tells people he’s married to his business. Majessa also thinks all the guys are hot but most likely dumb as rocks lol, surprised to learn Clay has a brain, a smart one at that. Her brother is Clay’s biggest competition, don’t want friends/family knowing. She doesn’t care to tell but he does which makes her upset

CHAPTER TWO

Forrest

I lookedat her profile for the thousandth time, and the bio drew me more than the picture.ApplesNotSweetwas the username, and her profile said she lived in Apple Falls. How had I not seen her around this small town before?

Probably because I barely left the orchard I ran with my best friend and business partner, Jack, but still. Apple Falls was a small town for a reason. Though it seemed to be growing more and more lately.

Tossing my phone down in exasperation, I finished my coffee and started cleaning up from my breakfast. I had a long day ahead of me in the orchard as we headed into our busy apple-harvesting season. The last thing I needed was a damn distraction.

“You’re a distraction enough, aren’t you, girl?” I patted my golden retriever, Bailey, and rubbed behind her ears, one of her favorite spots. She licked my hand, her slobbery, wet tongue drenching me with saliva. “Good thing you’re adorable,” I said as I walked my dishes over to the sink. I lived in a big cabin, justBailey and me, on the other side of the orchard from where Jack lived. He took over his parents’ place after they left to travel the world; their big farmhouse was situated at the opening of the orchard. Adalynn stayed in the farmhouse too, as it was easier to manage the orchard when we were all close.

I loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the sink and counter before giving Bailey a treat. It had been two days since I went on the stupid match-making website Jack had told me about. Apparently, he overheard some older women gossiping at the post office about it.

Curiosity got the best of me after a couple of days, and I found myself making a profile. Maybe it was for shits and giggles, and maybe it wasn’t. All I knew was that it was about damn time I got over my crush on my best friend’s little sister, Adalynn. Jack would wring my neck if he ever found out how Ireallyfelt for his sister.

Her beautiful image popped into my head, her wavy blond hair spilling down her back and her brown eyes so easy to get lost in. Her small nose ring added to her beauty along with a few scattered tattoos. I loved how she wasn’t afraid to express herself in both her style and personality. And her shoe collection was hard to even fathom—one of her closets was dedicated to shoes and only shoes. I’d often find her curled up in a chair, her nose buried in a book, or bingeing the latest true crime documentary on Netflix. Most of her time was spent writing her latest marketing piece on the orchard, though I knew she longed to write more.

I’d gravitated toward her since we were young, and growing up together only strengthened my feelings. Keeping it from Jack was even harder.

The fantasies I kept having of Adalynn, the moments I replayed in my head of any sort of interaction between us, were on a constant loop. Such as the one time our skin happened totouch and my whole body lit up from within, or when I got so close to kissing her, our lips were mere inches apart. It was like a merry-go-round I couldn’t get off.

All of it needed to be purged from my mind.

Adalynn would never be mine, no matter how much I wanted her to be. And there was no changing it.

So I took a gamble, went on the website, and made a profile. Maybe it’d get my mind off Adalynn. Maybe finding another girl was the distraction I needed. At least these thoughts made me feel better about making a profile.

Right away, I matched withApplesNotSweet,yet here we were two days later without a single reply. Why make a profile if you’re not going to be active on it?

Like I said, stupid website.

I stumbledinto my cabin later that night, exhausted and weary from the day. Jack and I busted our asses, tending to every tree like it was our child. You had to nurture well if you wanted to get the goods.

Yet it came with a cost of pure exhaustion. Every part of me ached, and all I wanted was to soak in the hot tub and have a few cold beers.

First, I needed to walk Bailey and feed her. As I took care of my doggie duties, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I ignored it until it buzzed two more times.

I fished it out of my pocket and saw a notification for the Mountain Mates website—2 new messages- click to read them now!

A ping of excitement zipped through me, and I quickly swiped open the notification.

ApplesNotSweet has sent you two messages. Click to open.

I double-tapped the screen, and a chat box opened.

ApplesNotSweet: Hi AppleMtnMan43, how are you today? I’m glad it’s over lol

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