Page 2 of Wrong Number, Right Lumberjack
Instead, I'm here grinning at my phone like a complete idiot and hanging on her every word. I can't help myself. Our conversation unfolds, and the world disappears around me. We cover every subject as the minutes tick by.
Missy tells me that the sugar cookies are essential. They’re shaped like footballs and jerseys. I tell her that being a lumberjack was never my dream, but I’m grateful for the way it’s given me a life. I can’t believe the way I let her into my world. It isn’t like me. But there's something about Missy that's got me hooked. For the first time in longer than I can remember, I want to know what happens next.
CHAPTER 2
MISSY
Five. Four. Three. Two… Right on cue.
The newest wave of Southern Knights recruits steps inside. These guys are the practice squad… but that doesn't mean they welcome changes. The clipboard in my hands says professional. So do the heels, the name badge, and the bright Southern Knights Football Family smile I've worn for ten seasons running.
Whatisnew is the way my heart flutters as I search for Jace.
We may have hung up after our first phone call just a few weeks ago, but the conversation between us never stopped. What started as a wrong number has extended into an open and never-ending text exchange.
Now the big moment is here, and everything is going to change. I've caught myself scrolling our exchange too many times today. My thumb is hovering over a message. My heart skips every time his name lights up my screen. It's completely out of character. I don't doflirty. And I definitely don't date players, especially the kind still breaking in their cleats.
But somehow, Jace has become the best part of my day. He’s part flirty pen pal and part a figment of my imagination. What Idon’t know about him, which is most things, my brain makes up. It’s a fill-in-the-blank.
Not sure what he looks like. My brain enters the chat with,very hot.Not sure if he’s sincere. My brain enters the chat with,hell yes.Can he really be as good as he seems?Absolutely.
I know that all of that changes today. In just a minute, Jace will step out of my phone and my imagination and turn into a real life, living, breathing person. There’s no way anyone can live up to the kind of lore I’ve built up around him. It’s too bad, too. I don’t have time for a real relationship, and I’ve grown quite partial to hearing from him every day.
But still… here we are.
The recruits file in one by one. Each is more broad-shouldered and bicep-heavy than the last. I keep my posture straight and my smile fixed. This isn't my first rodeo. In fact, it all started back when I was barely keeping my head above water. I was single, scared, and pregnant, coordinating teams' youth summer camp while wondering what my next paycheck would cover.
I’ve come a long damn way since then. That little baby? He’s seven now, going on twenty-five.
In a full-circle moment, my Ethan will be here for camp in just a few weeks. Watching him learn football in the same place that helped me find my footing means more than I can ever explain. This team isn’t just a job for me, it’s family.
After eight seasons, countless recruits, and dozens of events. I've built something I'm proud of. So I don’t know why I can’t slow my heart rate down. I know how this goes. Smile, clipboard, introductions. Move them through. Keep it clean, keep it tight until cocktails. Then anything goes.
But then… I see him.
All the way in the back of the group. There’s a tall, dark-haired man with shoulders that stretch the sleeves of his t-shirt. He’s got a face that looks carved out of trouble and confidence. My stomach flips.
There are thirty guys here. There's absolutely no reason I should know which one is him. And yet… I do. It's Jace. Has to be.
My gaze snags on him and refuses to let go. He's stunning. It's ridiculous, really, how fast my brain forgets protocol and my pulse forgets to slow down.
Get it together, Missy. Look away. Blink. Breathe. You don't even know if it's him.But something deep in my gut says I do. And that scares me more than a hundred misdialed phone calls ever could.
My assistant's hand on my shoulder jolts me back into the present, and it’s go time. I take the microphone and kick off the ceremony with the usual buzz. The champagne flows, and trays of appetizers circle the room. The recruits are inundated with paperwork and more team merch than anyone knows what to do with.
An hour passes before jerseys are draped over chairs, and the owner is giving a welcome toast. Ever since his daughters Priya and Zara left South Carolina for Kingridge Ranch in Texas, the old man has been even more hands-on.
While he speaks, I move through the crowd like I always do. I smile, shake hands, answer questions, and check off boxes on my internal list. I never make it to Jace. A part of me worries that my brain is hard at work and filling in more details of what he looks like.It’s ridiculous, me singling out the sexiest man here and deciding he’s Jace.
But either way, there’s only a few minutes left before cocktail hour starts and I can finally exhale.
Buzz. Buzz.
I glance down at my phone.
Jace:I made it. You didn’t tell me I was chatting with a smoke show.
A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth before I can stop it. My face flushes with heat.
