Author's Note: Written for 'Lumberjack Day' (26 September). AU.
Sam made her way down the stairs of her father's house and towards the kitchen. The place was in silence which she thought was strange, considering her dad was also an early riser and they'd planned to have breakfast together in town.
She made her way around the kitchen island and, spotting a piece of paper, resisted the urge to sigh. She knew it was going to be another postponed father-daughter outing; she just wondered what the excuse was going to be this time. She reached out and turned the note around.
Sam, I'm sorry but I need to cancel our plans for this morning. Something's come up at work – emergency.
"It always is," she murmured.
A small line of text at the bottom then caught her eye.
P.S. There's a lumberjack calling out today to look at the old oak tree in the backyard. I'll now need you to wait for him.
"Thanks, dad."
She scrunched the paper up into a ball and threw it into the bin before she switched on the coffee machine and made herself breakfast.
It wasn't that she shouldn't have expected her father to change their plans. His job as a General in the Air Force meant secrecy was the norm and changed schedules were to be expected, but she had taken this week off work specifically so she could fly down to Colorado Springs and spend some time with him – at his request.
Sam had been surprised to receive his call a few weeks ago and he had explained how he had been assigned to Cheyenne Mountain and that it was to be a quick and easy assignment on his way to retiring. He'd also made a point of telling her that the role provided him with a slightly more 'normal' routine, so he was able to go home in the evenings. So, why this situation had suddenly changed and an emergency declared, she had no idea.
All she did know was that she would now be spending the first full day of her vacation on her own and stuck in her father's house for who knew how long because her dad had also – conveniently – not given her a time as to when the lumberjack was due to arrive.
It was a warm September afternoon for which Sam was thankful so she decided to sit outdoors for a while and enjoy the weather. She wasn't used to sitting around with nothing to do, but her job as a scientist meant she was based in a lab for most of the time so she craved for fresh air and sunshine whenever possible.
She had only been sitting on the wooden bench on her father's front porch for a few minutes when a black pick-up truck pulled onto the driveway. From her location, she could read the text on the side of the vehicle so she quickly realized it was the lumberjack.
The man jumped out of the truck and slammed the door behind him but as Sam got to her feet, she hesitated. She wasn't expecting him to look so… handsome. She quickly took in his rugged, relaxed look of jeans and a white tee-shirt underneath an open, plaid shirt but aside from his brown hair she wasn't able to see his eyes as they were – quite unfortunately, she thought – hidden behind his shades.
He made his way towards the house and Sam descended the few porch steps to wait. She knew the moment he caught sight of her when he paused, then pulled his shades down and let them hang from their string around his neck. Sam inhaled sharply as their eyes met; warm brown clashing with bright blue and she couldn't help but notice a flicker of appreciation show in his gaze before his brow puckered.
"Am I at the right place?" he asked. "I could have sworn my appointment was with Jacob."
"Jacob Carter?"
The man nodded and Sam offered him what she hoped was a friendly, if apologetic, smile.
"Jacob's my father," she explained. She saw his eyebrows rise before he gave her a quick once over, so she continued, "but something's come up with his work."
He didn't immediately answer, so Sam felt the need to continue.
"If you need him here, I can try to reach him, otherwise I'm happy to show you the problem."
He observed her for a few moments longer before his expression cleared.
"Jacob said it was an old oak tree."
Sam nodded. "It's in the backyard."
He pressed his lips together, then shrugged. "I'm here; I might as well take a look."
"Right," she said under her breath as she forced another smile. "I'm Sam, by the way."
He seemed genuinely taken aback that she had introduced herself but he accepted her outstretched hand.
"I'm Jack."
She paused, and then glanced around him to his truck, and raised a brow in surprise as she re-read the branding.
Lumber-Jack.
'Limbering up to solve all your wood problems.'
He smirked when she met his eye.
"It's a bit on-the-nose, don't you think?" she asked, letting her hand fall from his.
"Which part?"
"The name," she stressed, although she tried to hide her smile.
"I've yet to hear anyone complain," he quipped. "So, you wanna show me this tree of yours?"
"Sure," she nodded, gesturing towards the side of the house.
They made their way to the backyard when both of their cell phones rang simultaneously.
"Hi dad."
"O'Neill."
"What?"
"What?"
"Are you serious?" Sam challenged. "What do you want –"
"–me to do? I'm retired. It's not my –"
"–job? My work is theoretical, dad. I –"
"Cheyenne Mountain."
"Cheyenne Mountain."
They both froze as their gazes clashed and Sam wondered just how the hell their calls seemed to be related.
"Okay," she finally said, not looking away from Jack. "I'll –"
"– be there as soon as I can."
They ended their calls and let the silence stretch between them.
"I'm not even going to ask," he eventually offered.
"Well, that's good," Sam fired back, "because I have no idea what just happened."
"Raincheck on the tree?"
"Yes, of course," she nodded. "I need to –" She trailed off as she gestured to the house.
"Right," he said. "Do you need a lift?"
Her brows rose. "Excuse me?"
"Well, from what I heard of your call, if we're both needed at the Mountain, it makes sense for only one of us to drive."
"It does?"
His lips twisted into an enigmatic smile. "I've been there before; trust me. One vehicle will be best – even if it's only to get through the security checkpoints quicker."
She studied him for a moment and then remembered she didn't have time to waste. Her father had made it clear that her presence was required ASAP.
"Sure," she agreed. "Just let me lock up."
"I'll wait in the truck."
She watched Jack walk away for a few seconds before she pulled herself together and locked the house. As she made her way around to the front, he'd the engine running and the driver's window had been rolled down. One tanned arm was casually resting on the ledge, his shades were back on, and Sam felt the butterflies in her stomach.
She took a deep breath as she headed for the passenger side.
"You can do this," she muttered to herself. "What's the worst that could happen?"
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I just want to thank you again for the kudos, comments and messages over the past couple of weeks. They've been such an encouragement and kept me going through some difficult times. I also want to apologise for not responding to you all personally; I haven't been receiving notifications from FFN and so only came across the newest comments earlier.
Elsewhere, I've received quite a few comments asking if I can continue some of the stories within this series - and the answer is yes, absolutely! The plan is to finish this eries and then my other WIPs before I start to work on various stories from within Bizarre Holidays. While I have a few stories I would like to continue, I'd also like to know if there are any particular stories you want me to pick up again. If there are lots of suggestions, I can maybe run a poll in the future as to where to begin!