Claiming His Forever: Folklore, #3

By Shaw Hart

He's claiming what's his...

I'm desperate. 
My mom just kicked me out and I've been bouncing from town to town and job to job, trying to find where I belong. 
I'm trying to stay positive but I have no money, no home, and no real options. 
I need a job, and fast. 
That's why I apply to work at the lumberyard even though I have no real qualifications. 
Instead of the job, I get Heath. 
He's big and grumbly but I can tell that he has a good heart. 
That's why I accept the job as his housekeeper even though living with a complete stranger should freak me out. 
But my feelings for him are starting to get in the way. 
I want to be more than roommates with him. 
What's a girl gotta do to get a hot lumberjack to claim her? 

*Warning: This lumberjack alpha is growly and head over heels in love with his feisty girl. Are you looking for a short, sweet, instalove story? Then hit that button cause this book is for you!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shaw Hart
• Release date: May 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223415107

Book preview

1

Heath

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I dust my jeans off, trying to brush off all of the sawdust as I make my way up to the front office. We’re in the height of our cutting season here at Stratton Lumber and I just had two guys up and quit. I put a flyer up and an ad in the local paper and I’m supposed to be interviewing someone any minute now. My shoulders tense at that. I hate meeting new people.

Everyone always gets the same look on their faces when they first see me. I’m a giant, a freak some people say. At 7’3" I’m well over average height. I’m also built like a brick house with muscles on top of muscles, most of which I got from chopping down trees every day for the last fifteen years. I’ve heard all of the names over the years but ever since I opened Stratton Lumber and built my cabin in the woods, the one name that’s stuck is Sasquatch. I roll my eyes just thinking about it.

I know that I am tall and my shaggy hair and beard probably don’t help me put a stop to the nickname but I stopped caring about appearances a long time ago. There wasn’t anything that I could do about my height and I think that I let my hair grow out longer so that I could hide behind it. Now, I’m used to it. Besides, I don’t have time right now for a haircut.

My parents and I lived in a small town just west of here in Washington state when I was a kid. They were good parents, loving and patient. I learned how to cut down trees from my dad and we would do it every year to stock up on wood for the fireplace in the winter. They were killed in a car accident when I was twenty and I’ve been on my own ever since.

I started Stratton Lumber when I was twenty-two. Back then, it was just me chopping wood by myself, but over time I grew it into one of the biggest lumber yards in the pacific northwest.

I round the corner, nodding at a few of my workers as they head back out to the forest after their lunch break. The sun is in my eyes as I take the stairs up to the tiny office. That’s the only excuse I have for missing the girl standing next to the front door.

I almost run right into her and she shifts, smiling up at me as she tucks a stray lock of pale blonde hair back behind her ear. Her dark navy-blue eyes twinkle up at me as she raises her chin and sticks her hand out to me.

Hi, I’m here to interview for a position with Stratton Lumber.

The idea of this girl cutting down a tree is laughable. She’s tiny, so tiny, and I doubt that her feet would even reach the pedals if I asked her to just operate one of the machines. Still, my hand reaches out and wraps around hers, shaking once before I force myself to let her go. I open the door of the office and wave her in ahead of me, wondering what the hell I’m doing. I’m too busy for this. I should just tell her no and get back to work but there’s something about her that has me hesitating.

She has a backpack swung over one shoulder and she’s wearing blue jeans that have seen better days, a thin almost threadbare shirt under her jacket, a jacket that I notice is too thin for her to be out in this chilly weather for too long. She shifts and I see that her shoes are worn, holes forming in the thin canvas on the sides. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail and I don’t think she’s wearing makeup. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose