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She’s the sunshine kindergarten teacher. He’s the grumpy ex-Army lumberjack no one in town dares look in the eye. And the little girl holding her hand has HIS eyes. Sawyer Cole is six-foot-four of battle-scarred, broad-shouldered, don’t-touch-me fury. He runs the sawmill. He doesn’t smile. He drinks his coffee black, builds furniture in his cabin at midnight, and the last man who crossed him left town with a broken jaw and a lesson. Chloe Matthews is the only woman who ever made him soft. Seven years ago she slipped out of his bed and disappeared. Now she’s back — broke, divorced, and hiding a five-year-old daughter with green eyes that stop Sawyer’s heart cold. He does the math. His fists clench. His voice drops to a growl that makes her knees buckle. Then this terrifying mountain man stocks his cabin with crayons. Makes dinosaur pancakes. Reads bedtime stories in a voice like gravel and warm honey. Looks at Chloe across the kitchen table with a hunger seven years hasn’t dulled. “You kept her from me. I should hate you for that.” He steps closer. “I don’t. And that’s the problem.” There’s just one more problem. The violent man Chloe ran from just figured out where she’s hiding. And he’s coming. He has no idea what a grumpy lumberjack who’s finally found something worth killing for is capable of. Welcome to Pinewood Ridge. Population: 900. Where the grumpy ones fall the hardest. Reader’s Note: A grumpy, tortured ex-Army lumberjack hero who only softens for one woman and one little girl. Perfect for anyone who believes the grumpiest ones fall the hardest. One-click now and come home to Pinewood Ridge.