Lumberjack BOSS

by Tabatha Kiss

His eyes clenched closed. “Hazel…”

  “I’m not moving until you talk to me.”

  The truck lurches, making my heart leap as he shifts into park and throws the door open.

  “What?” he asks, hopping out and walking toward me. “What do you want now?”

  I stare up into his blue eyes, possibly the only soft feature on his stiff face. “Thank you,” I say.

  Leo pauses as a little warmth relaxes the lines on his eyes. “You’re welcome.”

  “I can’t believe you actually did that.”

  He shrugs with his hands in his pockets. “It was nothing.”

  “No, I really appreciate it.” I bite my lip. “You’re not as much of a cold-hearted jackass as you claim to be.”

  “Maybe not.” He nods, turning slightly. “I should get going…”

  My chest aches, tugging hard in his direction. “You were right,” I mutter.

  He stops and his lips twitch. “Say that again.”

  “You were right,” I repeat, tasting bile. “I did use sex to try and get what I wanted out of you and I’m sorry. That was wrong. It wasn’t fair.”

  Leo shifts back over. “It’s okay. I did the same thing.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, I thought I could seduce you out of your whole crusade.”

  “Wow...” I look him up and down. “You really are cocky.”

  “It comes with the beard,” he jokes. “Obviously, it didn’t work. It just... made me really like you. A lot.”

  I smile. “It made me really like you, too.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well, the beard has charmed me a little…”

  “Two days in Whitefish and you’re already rolling like a local.”

  I shrug. “It’s that Montana mountain magic, I guess.”

  He grins. “I really am sorry, Hazel. You have to understand that I grew up in a world where people were either obstacles or stepping stones. You gotta give me a break here.”

  “And I will.”

  His eyes flick up. “You will?”

  “Well, I grew up in a world of compassion and second chances, so...”

  He exhales with relief. “Sounds nice.”

  “I think you’d like it.”

  “I think I’d like any world with you in it.”

  “You can kiss me now.” I chuckle. “You don’t have to keep talking.”

  He steps closer. “Oh, how the tables have turned.”

  I tilt my head up and he leans in, eyes slowly closing until our lips touch. He wraps his arms around me and lifts me up. I dangle an inch off the ground, locked happily in his arms as we kiss again.

  “Oh, don’t mind me, dear,” my grandmother shouts from the porch. “I’m just minding my own business over here...”

  Leo releases our kiss and his eyes flick over at her. “So, that’s your grandma?”

  “Yep.” I nod.

  “Got it.”

  He sets me down and I turn to wave at her.

  “I’ll be right inside, Nana... Just give me a minute...”

  “Well, you be sure to let me know if another handsome man wanders onto the porch. I got dibs.”

  My cheeks flair up while Leo holds in a laugh. “Okay. Will do...”

  She wanders inside and closes the door, but I catch her little eyes peeking through the blinds.

  A ringing sound echoes from Leo’s pocket. He reaches into his jeans and pulls out his phone, instantly wincing as he reads the display.

  “Who’s that?” I ask.

  “It’s Bobby,” he answers. “I’m supposed to be in Whitefish right now overseeing the loggers.”

  I step back. “Then, you should go, right?”

  “Maybe.”

  The phone goes silent and Leo moves to drop it back into his pocket but it starts ringing again before it slips from his hand.

  He sighs with amusement. “Hang on…” He brings it to his ear. “Hey, Bobby. … No, I won’t be coming in today. I’m going to have to use a sick day. … Yeah, a sick day. … Because I’m sick. … Yes, really.”

  I cover my mouth to keep my chuckle quiet.

  “Okay,” Leo continues. “I’ll see you tomorr… Actually, you know what, I’m really coming down with something here. Make that Thursday, just in case. … I’ll do that. Thanks. Later, Bob.”

  I let my laugh free as he hangs up. “Did he buy it?”

  “Oh, yeah,” he nods. “He even recommended some tea to help with my fever.”

  “What kind of tea?”

  “Hazelnut.”

  I smile. “Such a helpful assistant you have there.”

  “He knows his shit. I’ll give him that.”

  “Well…” I gesture toward the house, “would you like to come in and have breakfast? I’m sure my grandmother would love to know why I was making out with the weird guy banging on our door so early in the morning.”

  He chuckles and takes my hand. “I would love to.”

  We take a few steps toward the porch but then he slows down and gives my hand a tug.

  “What do we tell her exactly?” he asks.

  “Uhh...” I pause to think. “On second thought, maybe we should go out for breakfast.”

  He plants a kiss on my knuckles. “Or we can just tell the truth. It’d be a nice change of pace for us.”

  I raise a brow. “You want to tell my ninety-year-old grandmother that I spent a night on your lawn and then we had sex for two days?”

  “We played chess, too,” he jokes. I laugh, shaking my head. “Okay, how about this? We’ll say that we met on Lover’s Trail. It’s not too far from the truth, right?”

  “Right.”

  “We don’t have to say a word about you getting arrested or how you stalked me—”

  “I didn’t stalk you.”

  “You waited for me to leave work and then followed me home,” he argues. “Somewhere in there is the legal definition of stalking. I guarantee it.”

  “Hmm…” I squint. “Maybe we should ask your company’s lawyers what the legal definition of hitting someone with your car is.”

  He sighs. “Know any nice diners around here?”

  “I can think of one or two…” I nod.

  “Good. I’ll wait in the truck.”

  He kisses my cheek and lets go of my hand. I take great pleasure in watching him walk away, my eyes dropping to his rear and I bite my lip to keep my smile from taking over.

  “Psst!”

  I spin around to the door. It’s slightly ajar with my grandmother’s face poking out.

  “Nana…” I scold, stepping up onto the porch. “What are you doing?”

  She slips my jacket through the crack. “Don’t get cold, honey.”

  I take it from her and smile. “I won’t be gone long.”

  “Oh, no…” She flashes a wink and slowly starts closing the door. “You take your time.”

  I blush. “Nana…”

  The door latches closed. I turn around to leave but the tree trunk catches my eye.

  Carter + Olivia.

  I kneel to get a closer look. It’s strange how one small disturbance of nature can last so long but my father was right in the end. The forest never did forget the time they spent together on Lover’s Trail.

  I hesitate to even touch it but when I do, it’s warm and strong. I run my fingertips along the letters, replaying my mother’s diary in my head as I do. They met and the rest is history…

  I wipe the tear off my cheek before I look across the lawn at Leo sitting in his truck, waiting for me. My heart beats a little faster, tumbling toward a whole new world. Suddenly, I see my future ahead of me. A simple life with a loving — and challenging, to put it politely — man and his dog.

  Am I crazy? Is it too soon to think like this? All of this sounds so utterly insane but my thoughts have never seemed so clear and focused before.

  My mother went through the same thing, had the same thoughts, the same everything — but she took the risk. Maybe I sh
ould, too. She said she never truly knew who she was until she walked down Lover’s Trail. I fought to experience the same but, then again, I spent so much time trying to save it that maybe I didn’t even realize that it already led me toward everything I’ve always wanted.

  “Thanks, Mom and Dad. I miss you,” I say, kissing my palm and touches their names again.

  Here we go…

  I stand up, slip my jacket on, and start walking.

  Epilogue

  Hazel

  I’ve been forcing this smile for so long tonight I can’t feel my face but the night isn’t over yet.

  I cling to Leo’s arm as we walk across the golden hotel lobby between his parents and his sister, Claudia. Colorful strings of lights hang down from everywhere, making the entire room shine but the nervous pit growing in my stomach barely lets me enjoy the holiday cheer. It’s a nice place, like nothing I’ve ever seen before in my life. I feel strange and under-dressed — though I probably look delightful standing next to Leo and his bright red flannel.

  His mother leans in and kisses Leo on the cheek. “Thanks for dinner, sweetie. It was lovely.”

  “It was my treat, Mom,” he says.

  She looks at me and smiles. “And it was a pleasure to finally meet you, Hazel.”

  “The pleasure was all mine, Mrs. Jackman,” I say, fighting the urge to curtsy. I never curtsied before in my entire life and yet, tonight, I can’t seem to shake it off.

  They’re just so fancy.

  “I was Mrs. Jackman before dinner,” she says, nudging my shoulder. “Now, you can call me Gale.”

  “I’ll try and reprogram my brain for that.” I laugh.

  His dad puffs out his chest. “And you can call me Cupid!”

  Leo squints. “Yeah. Okay, Dad.”

  “I introduced you, didn’t I?”

  “You really didn’t.”

  His father shrugs his wide shoulders. “Well, that’s how I’m choosing to remember it.”

  Gale playfully slaps his arm. “Laurence, leave them alone.”

  “All right, all right…” He reaches into his pocket to retrieve a cigar. “Leonard, you wanna share a Christmas Eve cigar with your old man?”

  “I’ll share one with you tomorrow,” he says. “It’s a little late tonight.”

  “Suit yourself.” He gestures at Claudia. “How ‘bout you?”

  Claudia’s nose curls upward. “No, thank you. I prefer not to smell like an old hobo.”

  Laurence balances the cigar in his teeth. “Such ungrateful children…”

  He walks off toward the patio exit across the lobby alone.

  Gale shakes her head. “Well, I’m heading to bed.” She takes a step toward the open elevator. “Don’t stay up too late or Santa won’t come.”

  “Goodnight, Mom,” Leo and Claudia say.

  I flash a quick wave as she boards the car and the doors close.

  Claudia exhales and runs her hands through her brown pixie cut hair. “I need a drink,” she says. “You two wanna hang out at the bar? I’m buying.”

  Leo scoffs. “Since when do you buy?”

  She pinches a credit card between two fingers and holds it up. “Since I swiped your card off the table at the restaurant.” Leo juts forward and snatches it from her hand. “Hey—”

  “Not cool, Claud.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Fine, you can buy. I’ll pick up the tab next year.”

  “You said that last year.”

  “I did?”

  Leo casts a subtle glance at me and searches my eyes for my silent, screaming answer. “We’ll pass, Claudia,” he says. “Maybe tomorrow.”

  “Fair enough.” She looks at me. “Nice to meet you, Hazel.”

  “Thanks,” I nod. “You, too.”

  “You’re way better than that girl he brought last year,” she says, gripping her clutch beneath her arm. “And the year before that… and the year before that…”

  Claudia strides away toward the hotel bar and I glance over at Leo’s puckered face. He slaps the elevator call button, avoiding my eyes while I stare at him.

  Finally, he forces a laugh. “She was just kidding.”

  “Uh-huh.” I nod.

  The elevator arrives and we step on. I maintain my posture and smiling face, fearing a sudden appearance by any one of them.

  The doors slide closed and Leo smiles at me.

  “And exhale.”

  I force the air from my lungs. “O— kay…”

  He chuckles. “You did great. Relax.”

  “I just had dinner with your parents. And your sister.”

  “And you did great.”

  I lay a cautious hand on my stomach. “Did they like me?” I ask, breathing through nausea.

  “They loved you.”

  “How do you know? Did they say something to you? What did they say?”

  “They didn’t have to. I could tell.”

  “Did I talk too much?”

  “Well,” his head tilts, “you usually do, but…”

  I cup my face. “Oh, god. What did I say?”

  Leo turns to me and lays his hands on my shoulders. “Haze… relax.”

  I try my best, inhaling a deep and slow breath until my body starts to reject it. “O… kay.”

  He smiles wider. “I could tell. They liked you.”

  “But did I—”

  “You didn’t say anything stupid,” he says over me.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. You were pleasant and wonderful the entire time. I promise.” Leo kisses my forehead and I exhale again, clinging to his forearms to hold myself up. “So, relax. It’s just you and me now in a quiet room to ourselves.”

  I furrow my brow. “But how do you know they liked me?”

  “My mother told you to call her Gale,” he argues. “She never does that. Dad is taking credit for you and Claudia…” he pauses, “eh, she’ll get drunk with anybody but the joke about the girls had some truth to it.”

  The elevator stops and the doors open but I’m not ready to abandon Leo’s safe, blue eyes just yet. “Okay, but…”

  “Hazel…” He guides my face forward and my jaw drops.

  “Leo…” I turn to get a better look. “When you said we’d have a room to ourselves, I didn’t think you meant an entire floor.”

  He takes my hand and pulls me with him into the suite. “You’re gonna have to get used to that.” He chuckles. “The Jackman family tends to go very large — especially on Christmas.”

  “I can see that…”

  My eyes scan the room, taking in the new, pristine surroundings. White leather couches and chairs. A kitchenette in the corner with stainless steel appliances. Our luggage has already been brought up and sits near the door to the left.

  Leo walks to the refrigerator while I stand still, far too scared to touch anything. He pulls out a bottle of wine and shakes his head at me. “That’s not relaxing, Hazel.”

  “Sorry, I’m just… wow.” I step closer to the wall of windows to take in the city skyline as snow tumbles from the clouds. “This is amazing.”

  “I thought you’d been to Seattle before.”

  “Oh, I have.” I nod. “Just… not this high up.”

  He laughs and returns with two glasses of wine. “Well, go on. Take a look around. Enjoy it.”

  My eyes wander toward his playful stare. “What’d you do?”

  “I didn’t do anything...” he says, drinking from his own glass.

  “Leo...”

  “Just take a look around, Hazel.”

  I sigh and gulp down a swig of wine. “Fine.”

  He follows me around the room, staying a half-step behind me as I drift toward the corner door. I stop in front of it and lean against the wall.

  “And what’s in here?” I ask.

  “The bedroom, I believe.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And what exactly am I about to see in there?”

  He shrugs. �
�I dunno...”

  I stand still, playfully delaying with him, but I succumb to my own excited anticipations.

  “Okay, fine—” I push open the door.

  Candles sit about the room, flickering softly from every corner. Rose petals lie scattered along the carpet and on the bedspread, just waiting for us and I smile.

  “Oh, I see.”

  Leo takes my hand again and brings it to his lips. “What else were you expecting?”

  “I don’t know.”

  We step inside and he closes the door behind him. I move over to sit on the bed and see a small box sitting in the center. For a second, my heart stops and I pretend like I didn’t see it but the look on my face gives the entire thing away.

  “It’s not what you think, Hazel,” he says.

  I twinge with disappointment. “It’s not?”

  “I doubt it, anyway.” He takes my wineglass and sets it on a nearby table with his. “Open it.”

  I pick up the box. It’s sleek, black, and no larger than my palm. I give it a quick shake and an object rattles around inside.

  “Just open the damn thing.” He chuckles and sits down on the bed beside me.

  I pause, letting the moment linger for one more torturous second before opening the box.

  There’s a small figure inside, sitting atop a piece of white felt. I pick it up, feeling the carved wood with my fingertips.

  A chess piece.

  I look closer at the finer details. It’s a girl with long hair and a short skirt. She has a duffel bag by her feet and a book in her hands—

  “Wait...” My jaw drops. “It’s me!”

  Leo chuckles. “Yeah, I finished the set last night while you were sleeping.”

  My heart throbs as I stare up at him in the dim, flickering light. “You made me the queen?”

  “Of course, I did.”

  I stare at the figure in my hand, feeling the warm tears swelling in my eyes. “This is awesome, Leo... Thank you.”

  “There’s more.”

  I pause. “Oh, yeah! There’s two, right? I wanna see the other one—”

  “No...” He gestures to my hand. “In the box.”

  I touch the felt and I pause as my finger grazes something hard hidden beneath it.

  I pull it away to find a silver key stashed inside. “What?”

  Leo reaches in and picks it up. “It’s a house key.”