Jacked Up: Lumbercats, #6

By Dixie Painter

Rowena Peterson thought she was done with Broken Rock, Washington. The memories of that creepy hellhole were behind her, except for her late mom and the boy she grew up next to. Now she's facing him once more, as work has called her to revisit the very place she swore she'd never set foot in again.

 

Jaguar-shifter Jackson Upton never forgot the beautiful girl he grew up with. And now, she was in his line of sight for the first time in years. He never understood his fascination with Rowena until he caught a whiff of her scent now that they were adults. His instincts told him what his cat already knew. She was his mate.

 

When danger strikes, can Jackson and Rowena figure out what happened while also navigating these newfound feelings for each other? And when the truth finally comes out, who will Rowena trust more? Her brain telling her to run far away? Or her heart telling her to stay?

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gossamer Wings Publishing
• Release date: Jun 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227216625

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

~ IN THE BEGINNING ~

Jack Upton pulled the sweaty ball cap off his head, wiped his face and neck with the lower part of his shirt, ran his fingers through his damp hair, then stretched and settled the cap back on his head. He was sore, tired, filthy, and he was loving every second of it.

Jack!

Jack turned to see his friend and coworker, Tyler Watson, picking his way through the fallen logs to get to Jack’s side.

What’s up, TW?

Big Boss is calling a meeting back at the office on the side of the hill.

What for?

Tyler shrugged. No idea. Just said he needed everyone there, that he needed to talk to us. Told me to get to you and the other foremen. Jack nodded, pulled his hand free of its glove, stuck two fingers in his mouth and let an ear-piercing whistle loose. Silence fell over the area, as axes stilled and machines shuttered.

He cupped his hands around his mouth. Shut it down! Big boss called us all in for a meeting!

His call was met with grumbles and moans. We’re already behind schedule, boss! What’s going on?

You know as much as I do, Pete. Jack waited for all his men to gather together at the landing area, and they climbed into the bed of the old, beat-to-hell Ford F150 while he slid in behind the wheel. Once everyone was settled, he put the truck in gear and drove back to the main office.

He could hear his men talking and laughing, but he couldn’t ignore the rock in his gut. As a cat shifter, he’d counted on his animal and his instincts over the years, and they’d never led him wrong.

He had a bad feeling about whatever was coming up. Somehow, his cat knew it would be life changing.

And Jack didn’t like that one bit.

Rowena Peterson cursed under her breath as her company-owned Jeep bottomed out again on the rutted road. She never thought she’d be back here. She never thought she’d be anywhere near here again.

But here she was, making that once-familiar drive into Broken Rock, Washington. Home of the…nothing. Home of lumberjacks and diners, vacant homes, and thick, verdant forest.

Rowena had left town the day after her diploma had landed in her hand, and she hadn’t looked back. She’d struck out for the city—any city—and had landed in Chicago, Illinois. A job at a diner had given her the opportunity for a conversation with Gary Gebrand, the owner of Gebrand Machinery.

Gary, impressed with her intelligence, had offered her a position at his company. And she thrived. He’d taken her under his wing, and within ten years, she was one of his premier mechanics and problem solvers.

When Gary had told her he needed to send her out to a logging site due to the number of complaints about his machinery breaking down, Rowena just nodded. She’d been sent all over the place by Gary in the years since she’d settled into her position. Usually, it was a few-week stint to a logging site, observing the machinery and the maintenance, and a flight home in first class after she identified the issue.

This was not going to be one of those trips, Gary had told her. It would likely require months of work on-site, because of the issues the logging company was facing with Gebrand equipment. And since she was from that area of Washington State, wouldn’t she love to go back home for an extended visit?

That would be a big no. Hell no.

There was a reason she left. Her father had left when she was a baby, and her mother was gone before she started her senior year of high school. She’d only graduated because Mrs. Cornell let her live in the apartment above her garage. The one thing that had made that year bearable was the boy who’d caught her eye; , Jackson. The boy with the beautiful smile, who was always nice to her. She wondered if he was still there.

She winced when the undercarriage of the Jeep scraped again, pulling her from her thoughts.

Yeah, right, Rowena. Not like he’d remember her after fifteen years. Even if he did, he probably married some girl and knocked out four or five kids with her.

She glanced at her watch, and then her GPS, and made the turn onto the logging road.

She tried to ignore the ball of…something that manifested in her stomach.

Something told her this wasn’t going to be her usual ‘watch the equipment’ visit.

And she didn’t like that one bit.

CHAPTER TWO

~ INTO THE WOODS ~

W hat do you mean, there’s a woman coming in?

Jack groaned. Many of the loggers were old-school and superstitious, and to them, a woman in the lumber camp and on the cutting site was bad luck.

Ben Roland, owner of Logs-A-Lot, raised his hands for silence.

I know this isn’t ideal. But I spoke to Gary Gebrand. He owns the company who made all the equipment we have, and when I told him how often things are breaking down, he offered to send one of his best people out to the site. I didn’t know until today that she was a woman.

Jack narrowed his eyes. That’s not all, is it Ben?

Ben sighed and his shoulders drooped. No. That’s not all. She’s a human. So, for as long as she’s here, we all need to be careful. That means no shifting in the open, and watch yourselves. I know that we’re all used to using the strengths and agility our cats give us, but try to keep it to a minimum when she’s around.

Jack frowned. He was used to keeping his shifter side hidden when in town and around most humans. All the employees of the logging company were. They all shared their bodies with large cats. Jack’s inner beast was a massive jaguar. Some of the crew shifted into leopards, bobcats, lynx, tigers, and cougars. There was even a cheetah among them.

That’s a tall order, Ben. Jack crossed his arms and leaned back against a tree. They were all gathered in the clearing around the trailer that served as the company’s office on-site. Keeping our cats at bay and calm while at the same time doing our jobs, plus trying to not get further behind, and babysitting a woman who has no business being here on top of all that?

The good news is, we don’t have to ‘babysit’ her when it comes to the mountains and such. She’s from this area, so she’s already familiar with the landscape, and the dangers. It’s another reason Gebrand sent her.

Frowning, Jack cocked his head at the same time his jaguar perked up. He knew who he hoped it would be—who he and his cat hoped it would be. The shy girl he remembered from high school. The one who always smiled at him, back when he was nothing but a skinny, scrawny kid, before his cat took over.

He’d never forgotten her, even though it had been a decade and a half since he’d seen her. He’d crushed on her back then. Nah, he thought, there was no way it would be her coming back. That was just too insane.

Jack turned his attention back to Ben to catch a few more words of warning before a distant crunching noise caught his ear. There was a vehicle coming up the logging road. A Wrangler, from the sound of the engine. Ben nodded, letting Jack know he heard the vehicle as well.

Sounds like she’s coming, Ben called out.

As he opened his mouth to say something, the front end of a bright yellow Jeep broke through the line of trees.

Looks like she’s here, someone observed dryly.

The driver handled the rutted, uneven road with the ease of someone used to navigating such conditions. Rather than cut across the open area like Jack expected, the Jeep stayed on the graveled road, and came to a stop alongside the office-trailer. The door swung open, and legs clad in denim with high-laced steel-toed boots emerged. Jack’s jaguar began pacing inside of him, anxious and on edge, and he didn’t know why. It felt like his skin was two sizes too small.

When the woman stood up, her chocolate-colored hair in a braid down her back, Jake’s jaguar roared.

Rowena Peterson had come home.

And he just realized why he’d been so drawn to her all those years ago.

She was his.

Rowena climbed out of the Jeep, waited for her legs to realize she wasn’t sitting anymore, and stretched as inconspicuously as she could. There were dozens of pairs of eyes on her, and she could already feel their weight and judgment. Gary had told her this crew was more old-fashioned, so women weren’t welcome on the logging site.

She wanted to snort. Old-fashioned. Every damn thing about this place was old-fashioned. Even the machinery were older models. Rowena wondered how long it would take to drag the entire community into the twenty-first century.

Rowena reached over onto the passenger side floor, hefting the satchel