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“Really. They always brag about you and your studies. How you see the potential in the world and people, and how hard you work to help the planet.”

“Wow.” Her voice was soft and a little watery.

He glanced at her. “You’re an amazing woman, Jolie. You were probably an amazing kid, too. None of your brothers ever implied you were anything but awesome.”

She rolled her lips together. “Thank you. That fills me up. A lot.”

He smiled. “What are you thinking about the duck squad?”

She laughed again. “I love Kimi’s suggestions. Are you sure you’re up for helping me build them? I don’t want to steal too much of your time.”

She could steal anything of his that she wanted. He was pretty sure she was well on her way to stealing his heart. “I’m looking forward to it. I love studying plans and choosing which one fits best. It’s going to be fun to build the coops.”

“Thanks. I’m not super talented at woodworking, but I’m more than capable of handling a drill and following instructions.”

He grinned. “Good to know.” Working with her on the plans and the builds sounded fantastic.

He knew he was pretty much blowing off his plans to keep his mind and his hands off her, but her pull was too strong. A few days of working together would tell him how she felt. He’d see how things went between them and if pursuing his feelings was worth the risk of making a mess of things.

They drove for a few miles in comfortable silence. He liked that they didn’t feel the need to fill it with nonsense conversation. He wasn’t great at small talk and didn’t mind silence at all.

Once they were home, they unpacked the groceries and filled the freezer with ready-to-go meals. It was his turn to cook, so he put a lasagna into the fridge. He’d cook it up later and add the garlic bread and ready-made salad he’d chosen.

For now, he wanted to learn more about duck coops. “I’m going to grab my laptop and check out plans for the coops. Do you want to do that with me or do you have other plans?”

She grinned at him. “I could use the canoe to check out the pond, but it’s going to rain, so checking out the coop plans gives me a good excuse to put it off.”

He laughed. “Sounds good. I’ll grab it and be back down.”

When he returned, he found Jolie had put on the kettle and was making them both some chai tea. She smiled at him. “Why don’t we set up in the living space Jay used? It’ll be more comfortable than the kitchen chairs.”

And it would mean sitting together on the couch so they could both see the screen. “Perfect.”

She opened a drawer and pulled out a notebook and pen. “I’ll bring these in case we need to sketch anything out.”

They pored through plans while a storm broke in earnest outside. The rain battered against the windows while they sat on the couch, where it was warm and dry.

In the end, they decided to build a mobile coop first, giving Ford time to get the materials for the larger one. “I’m sure we can find what we need in my barn for the smaller one. There’s a bit of everything in there. It’s going to take months to go through it all and organize what’s there.”

Jolie smiled. “And you’re looking forward to it.”

It wasn’t a question, but he answered it anyway. “I am. I love having my space organized. And I’m looking forward to digging through the stuff the previous owners kept. See what they figured might be useful one day.”

“It’ll be intriguing. Do you think we have enough supplies to build the mobile coop?”

He nodded, knowing she wanted to have a home ready for the ducks in case Kimi found her a flock quickly. “I don’t know for sure, but I’m betting there’s enough in that barn that’s available to use or repurpose. There are dozens of crates and barrels full of things. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen wheels in one of them. And there’s a ton of plywood. Why don’t I put the lasagna in the oven and we can go check it out now? Fiona said to cook it for an hour, so we’ll have time to get an idea of what’s there.”

And he would get another hour getting to know Jolie better.

He was digging himself a hole. One he didn’t want to climb out of.

The next morning, heavy rain continued to pour. Jolie had never minded the rain. With her schooling and jobs, she’d worked through all the weather the Carolinas had offered. It had never slowed her down.

Today, the rain gave her the excuse she wanted. Instead of exploring the pond, she could spend the day with Ford without guilt while they worked on the duck coops.

She grinned at her rationalizations. There was no need to feel guilty about her choices. She was an adult and in charge of her own job. There was no boss or supervisor above her.

If she wanted to spend the day building duck coops, she most certainly could. And would.