Saved by the Lumberjack (Moonshine Ridge Lumberjacks #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Ivy

" S o, you believe in these things then?"

The pretty woman across the table from me hands back my tablet after looking through the images I showed her.

I like Phoenix. She's a couple years younger than I am, about my size, but with that gorgeous combination of black hair and blue eyes that makes me feel like the epitome of a plain Jane.

Phoenix owns the bakery up here, sharing space with the local coffee shop

A few months ago, she went viral when she posted to an internet forum dedicated to small town folklore.

The story of her sighting of a suspiciously wolf-like creature that was over six feet tall and standing on two legs as it watched her from the shadows of the forest she was hiking spread like wildfire.

Of course, Moonshine Ridge was already well-known in my circles-- and to the cryptozoology community-- as being a hotbed for Sasquatch activity.

Phoenix tells me that's why she was on the site to begin with, looking for posts about the area and thinking of ways to use the town's Bigfoot reputation for marketing.

She's done a great job from what I see. Instead of bear claws, there's a tray of absolutely enormous "Squatch claws" in one of the display cases.

Iced sugar cookies bearing the classic Bigfoot silhouette are stacked on another tray and a basket of "Bigfoot bones" sits on the counter near the register, free for visiting four-legged friends.

But it wasn't Bigfoot that brought me up here.

I shake my head, feeling a little apologetic.

"I'm a folklorist." I tell her. "It doesn't matter if I believe in them or not, it's not my job to prove or disprove they exist. I'm more interested in the universal quality of the mythos and trying to put together how it's all related."

"I'd never heard of dogmen before I saw that post. I didn't know they were a thing. I thought I saw a...." Phoenix shakes her head and laughs. "I knew it was ridiculous, even when I took off running. But--"

She shrugs, a blush creeping into her fair skin that spreads along with the smile across her lips.

"That's how I met Adam; my husband, so I guess it turned out okay."

The bell on the door behind me dings as someone walks in.

"Hi Jake!" She greets the new customer.

"I'll be right back," she tells me, leaving the table to rush back to the kitchen.

A man walks straight to the counter. More like saunters . Maybe struts . Whatever the right word for his slow, confident gait is, he walks with long strides and moves with purpose and a grace that I haven't noticed in the other men wandering around town.

He stands at the counter with his back to me.

I take advantage of the opportunity to admire the way his worn jeans sit low on his waist, hug a well-sculpted set of glutes and continue on down thickly muscled legs, ending in bunched denim over scuffed work boots.

Phoenix emerges from the kitchen and hands the man half a dozen large boxes across the counter.

"Thanks, Phee, the guys love you." Jake handles the tower of pastry boxes easily, his deep voice melodious the way I imagine a tiger's purr sounds like.

He's all dark grey t-shirt stretched across a broad back, a pair of sporty sunglasses hanging from the collar in back.

When he turns around to head back out, he catches me staring. For half a second, our eyes meet and there's a smile in the olive hue staring back at me that was probably already there-- but it feels like it's just for me.

"So you're going up there?" Phoenix is right back where we left off as she slides back into her chair across the table from me.

Jake keeps walking, and I turn my attention back to Phoenix.

"Later today," I confirm. "I'm just going up for a couple of days. I'd love to talk again before I leave."

Phoenix shudders.

"Maybe there's no such thing as dogmen, but they do think they found wolves up there. Just be careful."

"If you don't hear from me by Tuesday, call out the cavalry."

Jake

I 'd been looking forward to time off, but not like this.

"We're shuttin' down, boys!"

Calvin Murdock's voice sounds across the worksite. A few minutes later the buzz of chainsaws is silent and the men on my summer crew have gathered around to find out why one of the big bosses is on site.

"They've got a missing girl in the woods and there's gonna be a search and rescue team combing these parts until they find her.

" Cal explains the situation with a matter-of-fact tone that gives away his military training.

"We can't keep track of every searcher's locations and we don't want to add any further danger to the operation, so we're gonna take a break and stop cutting till they find her. "

"Before you pack up, Ash here's gonna fill you in on the situation. Anyone who wants to head home for a few days is welcome to do so, but if you want to join the search effort, Murdock Timber will keep you on the clock. Your choice."

Around me, a mix of groans and mumbles emerge from my crewmen.

Most of the guys are young. They don't have families to go home to, but spending a few days out of the rigging is always welcome.

On the other hand, days off without pay don't sound as good so I expect most of the guys to take the offer to join the search.

Cal steps aside and Ash McAllister moves forward. He's decked out in his rescue crew gear, holding a stack of flyers in one hand and looking grim.

"Her name is Ivy Polsen. Five foot, four inches tall..." Ash rattles off the woman's stats as he hands printed photos of a curvy woman with blonde curls cut in a bob just above her shoulders.

I don't like the stir of familiarity in my gut as I catch glimpses of the flyers coming my way.

"She was expected back in Moonshine Ridge two days ago. We found what we believe to be her campsite this morning. Abandoned, with signs of animal attack. No blood, though, so we think the chance of finding her alive is good if we can do it fast."

A flyer lands in my hands and my blood runs cold as I look at the angel's face I've been looking forward to finding again when I got back to town in a couple of days.

The woman I saw down at Mountain Mocha, talking with my buddy's wife, Phoenix, when I went in to pick up the Squatch claws for the crew on my way back up here last Friday.

"We don't know how long she's been out there, or what kind of gear she has with her." Ash goes on, explaining the seriousness of the situation, but my heart is beating a frantic cadence in my ears.

"Anyone who wants to join the search, you can head up to the hot springs. Deputy Hawkins has a base set up at the Diaz resort and they'll fill you in on the finer points and set you up with a team."

"You heard the man," Calvin shouts as Ash brings his speech to a close. "Meet up at the Diaz resort to check in with base, sooner your boots are on the ground, the sooner we get this lady home safe, sooner we get back to work."

My men start packing up the equipment that can't stay in camp, along with personal things they don't trust to leave behind.

We're working the stretch of forest known locally as the Weeping Wilderness-- supposedly haunted. Most people avoid it since the road across the pass to Paradise Point was relocated a century ago. Too many women went missing while traveling through the rugged mountain pass.

The fact that Ivy could be the next woman that falls victim to these woods isn't lost on me.

"Where's her camp?" I rush to catch up to Ash before he can reach the trail that leads back down to the parking lot.

"You know her?" Ash McAllister's worried eyes search mine, like he sees something in them that he understands.

"No, not exactly." It hurts to admit it. I want to tell him I know exactly who she is. That's she mine. That she's always been mine and if he or anyone else tries to keep me from finding her they'll come up missing themselves.

"She was in town. At the cafe, when I went in to pick up bakery stuff for the crew. She was talking to Phoenix."

Ash nods.

"Yeah, it was Phoenix that called her in when she didn't hear from her as expected."

"Don't make me go all the way up to Serenity Springs. If they're shutting down our operation for the safety of the searchers, her camp's close by."

I'm fighting to keep the desperate edge out of my voice but the adrenaline rushing my system has me ready to punch something. I'm hoping Ash McAllister doesn't give me a reason to make that something his face.

"You know time is working against us. Especially if she's out there without water or a jacket. Let's not waste time we don't have by making me go on a two hour long side quest to check some bureaucratic bullshit off a list.

"Here." Ash hands me a handheld GPS unit with a topographical map open on the screen.

"Rapid Jones and Glen Diaz found the camp this morning on a preliminary scout, they have a camp set up on the outskirts of the forest, someone will be there twenty-four seven.

Phoenix said Ivy was out here doing field research on the recent. .. dog man sightings."

Ash rolls his eyes and adds a heavy sigh.

The ridge has always been famous for its Bigfoot sightings-- recently, we've become the west coast capital for werewolves too.

"She's a folklorist," Ash explains. "Apparently she doesn't actually believe in the things."

The map on the GPS shows a blue arrow where we're standing. A red X marks the map northeast of here.

"That's her camp," Ash says, his finger pointing toward the X. "About a mile into the forest from here. Woods are pretty thick in that area. Channel eleven, and you've got satellite texting. I expect you to be checking in."

By the time everyone else has cleared out, I've got my gear packed.

No one notices me heading out of camp in the wrong direction-- deeper into the woods.