5. Sienna
5
SIENNA
My nerves are buzzing as I follow Chase through the forest, stumbling slightly as I go, my legs like Jell-O after what just happened.
Was Chase about to kiss me?
He got so close that I could feel his beard brushing against my chin, his nose nudging mine. It was so intense: the world melted away until all I could see was him, his eyes blazing with need. But after Moose’s interruption, Chase is walking along like nothing happened, carrying my luggage as we wend our way through the trees.
I’m so lost in thought that I don’t realize we’ve arrived until I hear the sound of a key sliding into a lock. I look up and my jaw drops.
“Woah.”
Chase’s cabin is everything I dreamed my aunt’s would be. It’s big and sturdy, made from honey-colored logs, with a hole-free shingle roof and a wooden front porch. The land around the cabin is covered in spongy green moss and colorful forest flowers, and the whole clearing looks like something out of a painting. There’s a fire pit out front, as well as a winding stone path that leads up to the porch steps.
“Now this is a cabin,” I say as I follow Chase through the front door.
The interior is just as pretty: plush warm-colored rugs, overstuffed armchairs, and hand-hewn furniture made from the same honey-colored wood as the cabin itself. A giant stone fireplace dominates the living room, and Chase immediately sets about lighting it. Once the flames are crackling, Moose curls up in front of it in what I assume is his usual spot.
“This place is gorgeous.”
“Glad you like it,” Chase grunts, leaning down to pet Moose before turning to me. “You hungry?”
“Starving.” I haven’t eaten today except for the peanut butter sandwich I made this morning, and my stomach is starting to growl impatiently. “I can cook something if you want? To say thank you for letting me stay.”
Chase waves off my suggestion. “You don’t need to do that. I’ll go pick us up a pizza and grab a few groceries for tomorrow. I need to stock up.” I try to argue, but he’s already heading for the front door. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes tops. Make yourself at home.”
I watch him leave, his hulking frame vanishing into the trees as he heads for his truck, which is still parked next to my cabin where he left it this afternoon. Once I hear the distant growl of an engine as Chase drives away, I clap my hands together and shoot Moose a sly grin.
“I’m going to be a little bit nosy, okay? Promise you won’t tell your dad?”
Moose stares at me with his bright blue eyes, and he makes a small sound which I decide to interpret as agreement.
I leave Moose in the living room and start to explore the cabin, drinking in Chase’s familiar woody scent as I go. I catch sight of a rustic bathroom with a giant tub, a kitchen with wooden cabinets and a big dining table, and a tiny bedroom which I assume is the guestroom. But there’s one room I’m far more interested in.
It’s behind the fourth door I try.
Chase’s bedroom.
It smells so strongly of him that I immediately whip around to make sure he’s not secretly standing right behind me. Then I sneak into the room. My heart is fluttering as I take in his enormous wooden bed.
Everything in this cabin looks like it was made for a giant…which I guess it was.
I circle the bed, trembling slightly, feeling like Chase could burst in on me at any moment. But that doesn’t stop me from climbing on top of the sheets and lying back, breathing in that manly, musky scent. A shiver runs between my thighs as I imagine Chase lying in this bed every night.
I wonder if he sleeps naked?
I groan at the thought, desire pumping through my body as I stare up at the ceiling. I’m acting like a crazy stalker, but I can’t help it. This grumpy lumberjack has taken over all my thoughts, especially after what just happened.
I wanted him to kiss me.
I wanted it so badly.
Suddenly, a loud sound bursts through my thoughts, and I yelp with surprise, tumbling out of Chase’s bed. I whip around, looking at the door, but there’s nobody there. The sound is coming from me…the pocket of my dress…
It’s my cellphone.
Breathing hard, I answer it.
“Hello?”
“Sienna!” my sister’s voice echoes. “I’ve been waiting all day for you to text me.”
“Crap, sorry.” I flatten Chase’s sheets and hurry out of his bedroom, closing the door behind me. “I totally forgot.”
Megan sighs. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Are you at the cabin?”
“Uh…yeah.”
“What’s it like?”
“It’s great!” I lie. “It needs a paint job but otherwise it’s perfect.”
“Huh. Well, that’s good news. I guess Aunt Carol must have fixed it up since I last saw it.”
“Yep, guess so.”
I’m not sure why I’m lying to Megan. Maybe it’s because I don’t want to admit I was wrong about the cabin.
Or because I don’t want to tell her about Chase.
Something tells me my sister wouldn’t approve if she knew I was staying in a stranger’s cabin in the middle of the woods.
“Well, I’m glad I was wrong and that you weren’t disappointed,” Megan says.
I frown, guilt rising in my chest. “Yeah...”
“Have fun, and make sure you get back in time for work on Monday. And remember to text me sometimes so I know you haven’t been eaten by anything, okay? Don’t forget!”
“Got it. I promise I’ll text you tomorrow.”
We say our goodbyes and I end the call, my heart sinking slightly.
I’ve been so caught up in working on the cabin with Chase that it was easy to forget about the life waiting for me back in Denver. Being here with him is temporary, and falling for him is a bad idea. I need to stop acting like a weirdo and focus on fixing up the cabin. Then maybe I can come and visit Cherry Hollow again sometime, whenever I’m next allowed vacation. But this place was only ever meant to be a quick getaway—a place to escape my demanding job.
It’s not forever. It can’t be.