Her Grumpy Lumberjack (Crave County: Lumberjacks Love Curves #1)

1. Sienna

1

SIENNA

“I’m not sure about this,” Megan says for the millionth time, her eyes burning into me like lasers from across the kitchen. My sister is a pro at intimidation, but I won’t back down this time.

“You don’t have to be sure,” I tell her, slathering peanut butter onto two slices of bread. “I’m sure enough for the both of us.”

“Sienna, have you stopped to think about your job?” Megan asks, scowling at me as I slap the slices of bread together with a little more force than necessary. “You’ve only been working at Luminary for a few months. People will think you’re unreliable.”

“I’m only taking four days off! Just because you haven’t taken a day off for six years?—”

“Seven,” she corrects.

I sigh, knowing it’s impossible to argue with my sister. Megan is ten years older than me and ten times smarter too. At thirty-three, she’s the youngest ever editor-in-chief at Luminary Press. I recently landed an entry-level position at the same company, but I’m sure Megan pulled some strings to get me hired.

People at work are always shocked to find out we’re related. My sister is tall and slender with a closet full of made-to-measure pantsuits. Then there’s me: short and curvy with chubby cheeks and cotton-candy pink hair. We couldn’t be more different, and while I’m grateful that Megan got me a job at Luminary Press, the cutthroat world of publishing is her dream, not mine. My real ambition is to be an author. I don’t want to promote other people’s manuscripts; I want to write my own.

That’s why I need to get away for a few days. I need a place to clear my head and figure out my future. And now, thanks to Aunt Carol, I know exactly where to go.

“I don’t get you sometimes,” Megan continues, crossing her arms as I pack the sandwich and the last of my things. “Why are you wasting four paid vacation days just to visit Aunt Carol’s old cabin?”

“She left it to me.” I shrug. “The least I can do is check it out.”

When I received a copy of my aunt’s will last month, it was a total surprise. I only met Carol a few times, but without any kids of her own, she decided to split her inheritance between Megan and me. My sister got most of the money, but I got the cabin.

“It probably doesn’t even have running water.” Megan wrinkles her nose. “I doubt anybody’s been out there for years.”

“I bet it’s gorgeous,” I say stubbornly.

Megan snorts. “You’re forgetting that I’ve been there.”

I stop packing and blink at her, surprised. “You have?”

“Yep.” She inspects me over her glasses, arching a perfect eyebrow. “Dad took me when I was seven or eight. It’s a shack in the middle of the woods.”

I laugh. “You think everything that isn’t a downtown penthouse is a shack in the woods.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m just saying you shouldn’t get your hopes up. I know you, Sienna. You’re probably imagining some pretty little cottage where you can dance around with the birds and rabbits like a Disney princess…”

“I’m not imagining that!” I protest.

I totally am.

“Listen, I’m not trying to crap on your parade,” Megan says, her eyes softening. “But if you insist on going, I don’t want you to be disappointed when you see the place.” She bites her lip. “I don’t like the thought of you being alone out there.”

That’s the thing about Megan: she’s bossy, domineering, intimidating…and she cares. A lot. She tries to manage my life because she wants the best for me. That’s why she’s here, standing in my kitchen at six in the morning to tell me that I shouldn’t leave. She’s a pain in the ass, but I love her anyway.

“You’re not going to change my mind,” I tell her as I sling my duffle bag over my shoulder. Then, before she can protest, I hug her. “I’ll be back in a few days.”

I pull away with a smile. Megan doesn’t smile back. Her features are pinched with worry.

“Be careful, okay?” she says. “Don’t get eaten by a bear. And don’t get lost in the woods. The cabin is right in the middle of nowhere, so make sure you take enough food. And a first-aid kit. And plenty of bottled water just in case.”

“Okay—”

“And try not to die,” she adds quickly. “I’ll be so mad at you if you die.”

“Okay, okay, I won’t die,” I say, chuckling. “Don’t be so pessimistic.”

“I’m not, I’m being realistic.”

I roll my eyes, but I smile as Megan helps me carry my luggage out of the apartment and into my car.

“Text me when you get there, okay?” she says, looking a little frantic as I clamber into the driver’s seat. “And remember what I said about getting enough supplies!”

“Yep, I remember. Eat food, drink water, don’t get eaten, don’t die.” I grin at her. “Simple.”

Megan groans. “You’re sure I can’t convince you to stay?” She throws her hands up in frustration. “Who needs the woods anyway? In the city we have…we have DoorDash! And Dunkin’ Donuts. Screw it, just forget the whole thing and let’s go get some donuts, okay? I’ll drive.”

I give her a teasing smile. “Are you done? Because I’m going now.”

My sister sighs, and after a few more anxious instructions and several promises to be careful, I finally wave goodbye and drive away, watching her disappear in my rearview mirror.

It doesn’t take long for the scenery outside my car to change. Excitement thrums through me as the mountains loom closer, the strip malls and concrete of the city giving way to jagged peaks and wild forests as I enter Crave County. It’s the most beautiful county in Colorado, full of quaint mountain towns and breathtaking landscapes. According to the map, Aunt Carol’s cabin is nestled right in the heart of the county, just outside the small town of Cherry Hollow.

After four hours on the road, I finally pass an old wooden sign:

Welcome to Cherry Hollow

The Heart of Crave County

Established: 1886

Population: 1974

“Wow,” I gasp as I drive down the historic main street, gawking at the cozy storefronts. I’ve never seen such a pretty town. It looks like something out of a movie, and I gaze around eagerly, trying to take it all in. Part of me wants to get out and explore, but the cabin is calling, so I drive into the woods that surround the town, following several winding dirt paths until my car is engulfed by trees. My cellphone can’t help me now; I’m relying on handwritten instructions and an old map. But it’s fun. It feels like an adventure.

My heart starts to flutter the closer I get. I can already picture it: a fairy tale log cabin, rustic and adorable and all mine.

Nearly there…

Just a little farther…

Then I see it.

I slam on the brakes and stare. My mouth falls open and my heart sinks to the ground.

“Oh boy.” I suck in a breath. “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.”

I hate to say it, but Megan was right.

It’s not a cabin. It’s a shack in the woods.

A falling-down, holey-roofed shack in the woods. It looks totally abandoned. Vines are crawling up the log walls, throttling the cabin as if the forest is trying to reclaim it. The windows are coated in grime, so dirty they look almost black. One of them is jagged and broken, jutting like a sharp tooth.

It looks more ‘Blair Witch’ than Disney.

Maybe it looks better on the inside?

Half-heartedly, I get out of the car, breathing in the scent of pine and earth as I walk toward the cabin. The front door creaks open and I wince at the noise, stepping inside. The main room is bare, aside from a pile of leaves that have blown in through the cracked window. There’s a tiny bathroom with a toilet and sink, but no water, and a rickety ladder leading to the attic. I don’t dare to climb it. Instead, I head back out of the cabin and circle it from the outside, chewing on my lip.

Maybe if I stare at it long enough, it will somehow get…better?

“HEY!”

I nearly jump out of my skin as a rumbling voice pierces the silence of the forest. My heart pounds as I whirl around, adrenaline flooding my body.

“THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY!” the voice calls again, deep and commanding. I squint through the dense branches surrounding me, looking for the speaker, my mouth dry.

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.