One Love (Celebrating One Love #1)

Chapter 1

RAELYNN

If there’s anything sexier than a bunch of burly, tattooed, muscled, bearded lumberjacks swinging an axe, I haven’t seen it in this lifetime.

Thank you, Mom…

If she hadn’t suggested I take a break from helping pack up the house to come check out the International Lumberjack Festival, I’d still be cooped up in there with her and Dad and a lifetime of memories going into boxes.

It’s not like there is much else I could be doing in Hayes Creek to break up the monotony of wrapping knickknacks in old newspaper. In the decade I’ve been gone, very little has changed—except this, apparently.

The festival has ballooned since it began five years ago, and even I can admit how impressive it is.

Hundreds of cars and trucks parked on the dirt lot, massive tents and food stands, and more spectators than I ever thought possible.

The entire population of Hayes Creek must quadruple during these few days in July.

And I’m finally getting to see it all for the first time.

The hot summer sun beats down on the contestants in the chopping tournament, each of them swinging their axes meticulously, driving them hard into the large stumps, trying to make it deepest in the time allotted.

Sweat gleams on chiseled backs and sculpted arms.

I haven’t seen this many Adonis-like men and this much plaid in my entire life.

It is fun to watch—I’ll give them that.

Especially the guy on the far left, who appears to be blowing away the rest of the competition. Wood splinters fly around him, and each time his axe connects, the sheer force reverberates in my chest.

His thick, dark hair flops partially over his face as he takes another swing, but it doesn’t seem to slow him down or impact his ability to see exactly what he’s doing.

Every muscle flexes and moves easily, accentuating his broad shoulders, bulging biceps, and tight ass in the jeans that fit him perfectly.

He slams his tool into the wood with the kind of power that sends a shiver through me despite the heat and humidity, and I fan my face to try to get myself to cool down a little bit before I pass out or jump the poor man.

“It’s warm out here, huh?”

“What?” I turn toward the voice and find another woman standing next to me with a grin.

She lowers her head to peer at me over her sunglasses, then leans in with a conspiratorial smirk. The blonde inclines her head toward the competitors. “I said, ‘It’s hot out here, huh?’”

I chuckle at being caught. “It is definitely hot out here.”

She grins and points to a guy on the far right. “That one’s my husband.”

“Oh!” I turn to watch him as he plows through his log, carving out massive chunks of wood, splinters filling the air all around him. “He’s good.”

A little sigh falls from her lips. “You have no idea. That man can split me any day.”

Laughing, I return my attention to the dark-haired lumberjack on the left, imagining him using all that power in the bedroom instead of on the unsuspecting stump. “Lucky woman.”

“Thank you.” She continues to watch the rugged mountain men as the count clocks down. “What about you?”

I lean against the wooden fence surrounding the competition area and shake my head. “Not married. Not even remotely close to it.”

“Are you from Hayes Creek?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I mean, I was, but I don’t live here anymore. I grew up here, but I moved to Milwaukee for college and stayed. I’m only in town to help my parents pack up their house. They just sold it.”

Her blond brows rise above her sunglasses. “They’re leaving town?”

I nod. “They’re going to be Florida residents soon.”

“Florida,” she scoffs.

“Dad says he’s sick of having to shovel and snowblow, and they want to spend their retirement somewhere they can enjoy a beach.”

My new friend laughs. “Lake Michigan has lots of nice beaches.”

I chuckle. “I know that, and they know that, but we all understand it’s different, right? The freezing-cold Lake Michigan water doesn’t hold a candle to the nice, warm tropical option down there.”

She elbows me playfully. “But you might need that cool water after watching this, right?”

I bark out a laugh that draws the attention of a few people around us and then slap my hand over my mouth. “Shit. Sorry.”

Here I am making a fool of myself my first time out of Mom and Dad’s house in days…

The clock finally hits zero, and a buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the chopping competition. All six lumberjacks stop swinging their axes as the judges examine what they’ve done to determine a winner.

My gaze drifts back over to the man on the far left, who I haven’t been able to take my eyes off since I got here. There’s just something about him. The way he carries himself. The confidence. The raw sexual appeal he radiates.

Good Lord, it has been far too long if I’m sizing up this stranger…

My new friend nudges me. “I’m going to go talk to my husband. It was nice meeting you. I’m Annie, by the way.”

“Oh, yeah, you, too. I’m Raelynn.”

And I could really use a drink to cool off.

She gives me a little wave before darting off toward her personal lumberjack, and I make my way around the edge of the competition ring toward one of the tents set up with beer and food. The line moves up, and I order a pint and watch them pour it from the keg into a plastic Solo cup.

Classy.

I smirk as I take it and turn around to find somewhere shady to enjoy my drink and the people-watching, but my foot catches on something and I start to tumble forward.

My beer splashes from my cup and onto the exposed, naked chest of a very big man already covered in sweat.

His large, strong arms wrap around me and prevent me from falling face-first into the ground.

The scent of freshly chopped wood, fresh pine, and something wholly masculine fills my lungs as I struggle to catch my breath and offer an apology. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry.”

He helps get me upright before I look up into his face and freeze.

Shit.

The guy from the competition—and this close, my heart flutters…

Because this man is no stranger.

A slow grin spreads across his face as he leans in. “Next time, watch where you’re going instead of ogling me.”

My jaw drops at both his audacity at calling me out and also at being caught.

How the hell did he know I was watching him while he was competing?

“I, I…”

He leans in slightly. “You don’t have to lie, Raelynn. I caught you fair and square.”

And for the second time in a decade, I am ready to turn tail and run from Jax Benton rather than die of sheer embarrassment.

His blue eyes inspect the area around us—the people milling about, chatting and eating and drinking, waiting for the next competition to start up. “The last time you were on this property, you kissed me, right over there.”

I follow his pointed finger toward a wooded area to the far left of the competition rings, and dozens of memories come flooding back, threatening to drown me in a complicated mix of happiness and regret.

“Hi, Jax…”

He grins and crosses his arms over his barrel chest, making his massive biceps and pecs bulge and shimmer under the sun, covered with a sheen of sweat and my beer.

“Is this…” I scan around again, trying to place where we are after being gone for so long. “Is this your grandfather’s property?”

“It’s the backside. You always came up the main driveway near the house.

When we started hosting the Lumberjack Festival, we decided to put it out on the back acreage, created the new turn-in and parking area.

Though, I’m surprised you didn’t realize where you were going.

You did spend a lot of time out here. But I guess a lot has changed… ”

My mind spins as I stare at the first boy I ever kissed—a very long time ago.

And time has certainly changed him.

“Well, you certainly have”—I gulp as I allow my eyes to take in his thick mop of dark hair that he used to wear cut short to his head, chiseled powerful jawline, perfect chest and arms, and down over those jeans that fit just as perfectly in the front as they do in the back—“grown up.”

Jax leans in and brushes his lips against my ear, sending a little shiver through me. “I could say the same for you, Raelynn. I heard you were back in town. Hoped we might run into each other.”

“Oh, yeah?” I try to hide the way my body trembles at his proximity, but with his chest pressed almost against mine, he no doubt feels it. “Why is that?”

“Because you and I have unfinished business.”