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She lifted her head and smiled. Then she turned to the dog. “Good morning, Hemsworth. I hope we didn’t bother you last night.” She grinned at Ford. “I forgot he was even here.”

Ford loved that. “Me too. Didn’t seem to bother him, though. Which is great because I think we should plan on repeating last night every single night in the future.”

She laughed. “An excellent plan. But for now, we need to get up. The ducks have been cooped up for long enough.”

He groaned and thumped back onto the pillow. “Real life. Damn it.”

After they let out the dog, they grabbed some fruit. They’d come back for something more substantial later, but the ducks needed tending. And he wanted to check over the area by the pond. Just in case.

They let Hemsworth take the lead, and it didn’t surprise Ford in the least when the dog aimed straight for the pond and his ducks. “Smart dog.”

Jolie smiled. “He sure is. I think we should have him round up the ducks tonight and get them to snack on some snails.”

He laughed. “I’m going to make sure my stomach isn’t full when we do that.” He said it to hear her laugh, but it was true. Watching ducks gobble snails would probably be disgusting.

At the pond, they let the birds out of the Quack Mobile, with Hemsworth watching the action and waiting for a command. Jolie frowned. “Do you think he’ll be bored with only having to herd them a few times? There’s only six of them.”

Ford chuckled. “Are you angling to increase your flock?”

She grinned. “Maybe. But I don’t want to get out of control. We’ll see how effective six ducks are at controlling the snails. My preliminary research says the farm can handle a much larger flock, but I’d like to see for myself.”

He nodded. “The entire farm won’t be in use for a while, so maybe we don’t need too many yet.”

“There you go, being logical again. I don’t think controlling the snails in all areas would be a bad thing, but we’ll see. I’m mostly worried about Hemsworth being bored.”

It was a good point, but so far, the dog appeared happy with the farm and his level of activity. “We’ll keep an eye on him to see how he feels. I’m sure we’ll be able to notice if he’s bored. If he starts chewing on our shoes, it’ll be an easy clue.”

Nothing appeared to be touched at the pond, but they walked around the space to be sure.

Jolie frowned at the woods behind the pond. “Are the game cameras still in place? Is someone still watching us?”

Ford wasn’t sure. The previous day had been a flurry of activity. “I can’t remember if Marcus said anything about him or a deputy removing them. Let me send him a text.”

Marcus responded with a call. “I’m on my way to the farm to do just that. Only about ten minutes out. Leave them until I get there. I want to record them in place for more evidence. Then I’ll hand them over to the techs to see what they can find. I’m going to bet they’re covered in fingerprints.”

“You think we’ll need more evidence?”

The police chief laughed. “I’m a cop. I always want more evidence. We have enough to convict the group, as is, but proof of them watching you? Exactly what a judge will want to keep them behind bars longer.”

After he hung up, Ford relayed the information to Jolie. She shivered, and he pulled her in for a hug. He’d never tire of doing exactly that. “They’re behind bars. They’re not getting out. And if they were, they’d be heading the hell away from here. They got their asses kicked yesterday.”

She chuckled into his chest. “It almost seems like a movie scene when I think back on it. I was so scared.”

He kissed her head. “I’m sorry.”

She tightened her arms around him. “No need. None of it was your fault. When I heard shots in the house and didn’t know if you were safe, I nearly collapsed.”

Damn, there went his heart again. “I know exactly how you felt. Not knowing where you were had my training nearly flying out the window. And we trained for years to avoid that happening. I wanted to kill those bastards.”

He hadn’t, because that wasn’t the way they’d been trained. Depending on the situation, they aimed to neutralize if possible. Kill only when necessary.

Jolie looked up with serious eyes. “I’m glad you didn’t kill them. I wouldn’t want you to live with that.”

He kissed her forehead with a mental shrug. “I would kill to keep you safe, Jolie. But I’m glad we didn’t have to go that far.”

She reached up and cupped his cheek with her hand. “I don’t think I actually thanked you for saving my life, so thank you. Knowing you were going to intervene helped me stay calm.”

That sent a shudder through him. “I’m going to see that asshole holding a gun to your forehead in my nightmares for decades to come.”