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When Jolie wandered off to sort through the barrel of wheels they’d found, he took his dad deep into the barn to show him the old carpenter’s tools he’d found. “Hand crafted chisels, hammers, and more.”

“Those are treasures, son. Just like that pretty lady and the entire farm. Sure looks like you’ve found your place.”

Ford blinked and decided to ignore thepretty ladypart of the comment. “I think I have. Who the hell would have thought a city boy like me would love this remote farm so much?”

His dad’s smile softened. “Doesn’t surprise me all that much, actually. You were the one your mom always said loved the old and the outdoors the most.”

“Yeah?” He didn’t have many memories of his mom and he treasured hearing another one.

“Yeah. Kerry loved taking you and Mara out to the garden. It wasn’t much, but she loved that the two of you enjoyed playing around in the dirt with her. You used to help her plant, and then work on fixing up the old birdhouses your brothers had built. You liked that better than building your own. Kerry always said you would forge your own path. She’d be so damn proud of you. And so happy to see you having a great time with that farm.”

It took Ford a moment to swallow his emotions enough to speak. “Thanks for another memory for the bank, Dad. I don’t think I say it often enough, but thanks for being a great dad.”

They were silent for a few moments while Ford turned the phone to scan the old tool chest he’d found. He swallowed hard and heard his dad blow his nose in the background.

When he was in control, he turned the phone back to him. “You need to come up and see it all one day. On a nicer day, I’ll give you a tour of the Worminator and the pond Jolie is cleaning up.”

“And the duck coops. I can’t wait to see what you come up with there. That mobile one is going to be fun.”

He nodded, and his dad grinned. “I’m going to go now. You go back to spending time with Jolie and making those coops. Make them special, so she smiles and thinks of you every time she sees them.”

With a wide grin, his dad disconnected the call before Ford could respond to that comment. Apparently, he wasn’t keeping his growing feelings about Jolie as hidden as he’d thought.

For a few moments more, he stared at the tools he’d uncovered without really seeing them. Instead, he was imagining how to make the coops fun. Jolie owned rubber boots covered in ducks. Another pair sported rainbows and umbrellas. A third pair had neon fish and whales dancing all over them.

Boring duck coops would never do. He’d see what colors of paint were in the cans he’d spotted. If there wasn’t anything bright and fun, he’d get some.

He wondered if Jolie had any skills as an artist. His were non-existent. Covering the coops with images of cartoon ducks would be fun if they could figure that out.

Finally, he turned his feet back to where he could hear Jolie muttering as she sorted the wheels. He couldn’t wait to start building. Best of all, it would give him more time with Jolie and making her happy.

Thanks, Dad.

Jolie sorted the wheels into pairs, looking for the sturdiest ones. Would they only need two for the coop, or would four be better? A few of the heavier coops they’d studied the previous day had used two sets of wheels side by side. Would that make it easier to move?

She couldn’t remember what Ford had said about the wheels, she’d been focused on the feeling of snuggling next to him on the couch.

Okay, there hadn’t been any snuggling involved. They’d sat very properly side by side. Still, every time their shoulders or thighs had brushed, shivers had chased themselves over her skin.

And if she’d leaned in closer than necessary to see the screen, who could blame her?

With a smile, she found a match to the sturdiest wheel she’d found so far. She moved them to the side and kept going. She didn’t know how Ford wanted to organize the wheels, but seeing them in pairs and groups had to make the job easier.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to leave you on your own to do all the work.”

She laughed even as those shivers returned at his rumbly voice. “No problem. It was great to meet your dad, but I wanted you to have a few minutes with him alone.”

“Appreciate that. You’ve got the entire barrel pretty much sorted. Nice.”

“I figured you’d prefer to see them organized rather than in a jumble.”

He squatted down beside her and grinned. “You’ve even got them organized by size. Which ones do you think would be best for the mobile coop?”

She pointed at the pair she’d placed at the edge. “So far, I think these, but I don’t really know anything about wheels, so feel free to tell me they’re not right for this project.”

He reached across her to pick up one of them. His arm brushed across hers and caused more shivers. “I think these will be great. Good eye.”

They left the rest of the wheels as is. Ford said he wanted to come up with a better system for storing them, but he needed to think about it.