Page 45

He’d call her later on. Check in on how she was doing and talk good memories. Find out what new musical she was addicted to. Maybe talk her into coming to the farm for a visit.

Would she like it here? Would she want to fit here? Or was she happy where she was? Things to find out.

Ford grabbed another few boards from the pile he’d found in the back corner. He needed to get this place better organized so he could find what he needed more quickly. Another day.

Today, he was focused on his projects. Projects that weren’t on the red list, but he was doing them anyway because they were on Jolie’s wish list.

He grinned as he returned to his makeshift work area. Jolie was one of a kind. She was amazing, and he liked everything about her.

He set the boards to the side and pulled up the various plans on his phone. He wrote the exact specifications for each project in his notebook and then formed a plan.

Cutting the plywood and the boards first would make the most sense. Then building each of the items wouldn’t take long.

After that, he’d track down Jolie for a break.

Work first.

Time flew as he fell into the comfortable routine of measure twice, cut once. He stacked boards and plywood for each of the projects. How many would she want of each? He wanted it to be a surprise, so he didn’t text her. He’d start with two of each and then they’d see.

The rain was still pounding when the air inside the barn changed. The door to the barn had opened and chilly, wet air swept in. He couldn’t see the door from where he was working, but the sudden chill was unmistakable. As was the way his body reacted. Although his reaction had nothing to do with the weather. It was all due to the woman who’d opened the door. “Hey, Jolie. I’m in my work area in the back.”

She laughed, and his body liked that too. He’d bet she enjoyed sex. When they came together, it was going to be as fun as it was explosive.

Because theyweregoing to come together, and it was going to be soon.

Not here-in-the-barn-today soon, but soon.

He couldn’t wait.

Ford shifted his safety goggles on top of head and turned off the saw. She rounded the stack of boards that blocked in his work area with a smile.

His feet moved before he consciously commanded them to do so. The woman was a definite magnet.

He grinned as she kept walking right into him and leaned up on her toes for a kiss.

Not a simpleHi, how you doing kiss, but a real one. One that set his system to revving.

He hauled himself into control. No way was he making love to her for the first time in a dirty barn without a comfortable surface in sight. He wanted hours for their first time, not minutes.

He squeezed her in for a hug and kissed her hair. “Hi.”

She laughed. “Hi. How did you know it was me? What are you doing way back here?”

He shrugged at the first question. “I just knew.” He was tempted to tell her about what he’d been thinking, but he knew she wasn’t quite ready to jump into bed. He’d wait. Hell, he’d wait forever if that’s what she needed.

He hoped that wasn’t what she needed.

Instead of saying any of that, he gestured at his workspace. “Can you guess?”

She grinned and moved to study what he had out. Her gaze traveled over the plywood and the stacks of boards, sorted by size, then to his notebook, which only showed measurements in columns, no sketches or words to give things away.

“Well, you’re building something.”

Her sassy tone had him laughing. “Genius-level detecting.”

She grinned. “Let’s see if I can do better. You’ve got several stacks of boards cut to the same size. From the measurements, I’d say you’ve got all the sizes you need. You’ve also got two columns of measurements, so maybe you’re working on two separate projects. Unless there’s more on other pages, I’d say you’re ready to start building that something.”

He grinned. “Yep.”