Page 14 of Lumberjack DADDY (Yes, Daddy #55)

ELI

One Year Later

I nail down the last of the shingles and look around at my handiwork.

“Perfect,” I say and nod to myself.

I climb down from the roof and am just moving the ladder around to the front when Emery pulls in, a trailer attached to the back end of her car.

My heart stutters at the sight of her as she gets out.

The sunlight slanting down through the trees glints off her auburn hair, setting it ablaze while it warms her pale, creamy skin, making it glow. She’s breathtaking. Ethereal.

Over the past year, we’ve grown closer—which is a feat given how much time we’ve spent apart.

She did eventually have to go back to the city.

She had to finish her classes, settle her affairs, and get herself organized.

We had been taking turns with her coming here and me going there for a few months before we decided we couldn’t bear to be apart.

So, we decided that when she finished school, we would live together.

And much to my surprise, Emery wanted to come here.

She told me that she had never felt the sort of peace in her heart that she’d felt over the weeks she stayed here with me.

She said she’d grown to love being out amongst nature and that it had rekindled the fire inside of her for her art.

She said she had never felt more inspired than when she was out walking among the trees.

And she really worked on and refined her craft.

I’m not an art critic, but the shots she captured were breathtaking.

And I’m not the only one to think so. At the encouragement of one of her professors, she set up a small online store selling her prints, and she quickly became sought after.

Galleries were contacting her, offering her showcases of her own, which only heightened her profile even more.

The success she was having overwhelmed her, which was another reason Emery wanted to come here—the tranquility recharged her and gave her time and space to breathe.

Knowing she was coming here, I immediately began building onto my cabin.

It was fine when it was just me, but knowing Emery would be living with me, I knew we needed space.

So, I added on and made it a home rather than just a cabin in the woods built for a misanthrope.

Because of Emery, I no longer feel like that guy.

In ways I can’t even begin to explain, she resurrected parts of me I thought were long dead.

In ways I never thought possible, she’s made me happy.

She’s given me her input on the house and what she’d like, and I’ve done my best to accommodate it all.

I think we have a really nice home now. Three bedrooms, an expanded kitchen, a great room, a loft, and room to expand even more if we want to.

And over the last few months, she’s been slowly moving her things up here, bringing a load every time she comes up.

The house in the woods has slowly become a home. Our home.

But there’s one project I built in secret, with no input from her. It’s a surprise gift, and honestly, I can’t wait to see her face.

“Hey,” I say. “How was the drive up?”

“Long,” she replies. “But this is it. This is the last of my things.”

“Why don’t you go relax, and I’ll get it unloaded?”

“I can help.”

I give her a quick kiss and pull her into a warm embrace. “Go relax. Open a bottle of wine,” I tell her. “I’ll move these things in.”

“Are you sure?”

“More than sure.”

“Thank you,” she says.

I kiss her again, then swat her backside. “You’re welcome.”

When she goes inside, I go to the trailer, open it up, and start hauling everything inside.

Most of the boxes are light, and it doesn’t take me long to finish.

When I have the last of the boxes stacked inside the cabin, I close the trailer and lock it up, then walk back inside and find that she’s already poured me a glass of wine and is sitting on the sofa waiting for me.

Emery gets to her feet and comes over, giving me a long, slow kiss.

It’s been a couple of weeks since I felt her lips on mine, and it sends a white-hot tendril of desire coursing through me.

My cock thickens, and I gaze at her soft, nubile body, trembling with need.

Part of me wants to take her to the bedroom and have my way with her right now.

I sigh and take a step back. “Before we do that, there’s something I want to show you.”

“What is it?”

I grin. “Come and see.”

Taking her by the hand, I lead her outside and behind the house.

“Close your eyes,” I say.

She laughs. “What is it?”

“Close your eyes or you won’t get your surprise.”

“Well then, you won’t get to see the surprise I’ve got for you under this sundress.”

“Fine. Keep your eyes open.”

She laughs, and I lead her down the stone path I built, which leads from the house to her surprise. And as we come around the corner, she gasps in wonder. The sunlight spearing through the canopy casts the building in a spotlight. It couldn’t have been more perfect for the reveal.

“What is this?” she asks.

“This is your new studio,” I reply.

“My what?”

I take her hand and lead her inside. The sunlight streams in through the skylights as she wanders around the large, open space.

The walls are practically all windows, giving her an unobstructed view of the woods that surround us, but I made sure to leave plenty of space for her to hang her favorite prints.

“This is your new studio,” I tell her. “With your business taking off, I thought you might need a space to work. So, I built this.”

She clamps her hands over her mouth. “You really built this? For me?”

I laugh. “I told you I could build anything.”

“Eli, this is amazing.”

“We’ll get all your things moved in here and get you set up. I wasn’t sure how you’d want it or I’d have done it already, but?—”

She cuts me off by throwing herself at me. I wrap my arms around her, and we laugh together as I pick her up and spin her around. I set her back down on her feet, and she cups my face in her hands, a light of warmth, love, and gratitude shining brightly in her eyes.

“This is the most wonderful, thoughtful, and amazing thing anybody has ever done for me.”

“You deserve it,” I say. “Plus, it’s handy because when you get on my nerves, I can just banish you to your studio.”

Her laughter rings in my ears like music, and she playfully smacks my chest. “Seriously, though,” she says. “Thank you for this. I’m… I’m speechless, really. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

My nerves flutter because this isn’t the only reason I brought her out here. There’s something else I have for her. What she’s going to think of it, though, I don’t know. And I’m nervous. Clearing my throat, I hold her gaze and smile.

“There’s something else,” I say.

“More?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

She cocks her head. “What is it?”

I pull the small box out of my pocket and lower myself to a knee. Her eyes grow wide, and she clamps her hands over her mouth again. The sunlight coming through the skylights glints off the diamond in the box and sparkles in the tears in her eyes.

“Emery Pierce,” I say. “I love you. Would you do me the honor?—”

“Yes! Yes!” she cries.

She throws herself into me, tackling me to the floor of the studio. We roll around, laughing with each other in a tangle of limbs. We finally end up with her sitting on top of me, a hand on either side of my head, her face mere inches from mine. The air between us grows thick.

“I never expected to find somebody like you,” I tell her. “And now that I have you, I never want to let you go.”

“And I never want you to let me go. I belong to you,” she says. “And you belong to me.”

“Happily. I’ll belong to you for as long as you want me.”

“That could be a very, very long time.”

“Then I’ll be a happy man for a very, very long time.”

I pull the ring out of the box and slip it onto her finger. Emery holds it up to the light, admiring the way it sparkles in the golden shafts of sunlight with a look of sheer awe on her face. But then she turns her light brown eyes to me, an impish grin on her face.

“I think it’s time we christen the studio,” she says, her voice sultry.

I laugh. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“I love you, Eli Proctor.”

“And I love you, Emery Pierce,” I respond. “And I always will.”

The End

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