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He was laughing when he rose to grab one of the cooler bags he’d set up by the logs. Then he grabbed two sticks. “How do feel about s’mores?”

Jolie clapped her hands. “I love s’mores.”

He handed her a stick and pulled out all the ingredients. It had been years since she’d made a s’more and she’d forgotten how delicious they were.

When she was licking the last of the gooey marshmallow and melty chocolate off her fingers, Ford growled low in his throat. “I think we need a few less layers of clothing for the next round. Seeing you lick your fingers like that has given me thoughts.”

Shivers covered her skin at his words. “You have the best ideas.”

And he did.

Three weeks later…

Ford drilled in the final board with satisfaction. He hadn’t been sure he’d have enough time to finish before Jolie returned. She and Thea had ventured into Phail for groceries and to exchange the compost buckets.

He’d been building the pieces in quiet moments, but the structure had been too unwieldy to build inside the barn. They could have taken it out through the big doors, but it was smarter and easier to put the pieces together here at the pond.

They’d decided on a simple design for the winter coop and it fit nicely at the edge of the pond’s clearing near the trees. If they had to fence in the ducks during the winter, they had plenty of room.

Even if Jolie added geese, there was room for another coop without affecting the huge clearing itself. The birds would apparently get along sharing a yard, but the species required their own coops for night time and extremely cold days.

He couldn’t yet imagine the birds playing in the snow, but he was looking forward to seeing them in action.

His phone rang with a call. His sister Mara on video chat. Perfect timing. He’d introduced her and Jolie a while back and the two women got on well.

They’d also piqued Mara’s interest in the farm. He was hoping she’d visit one day, but she said the bakery where she worked was too busy for her to take time off.

“Hey, Mara. All done baking your magic for the day?”

She grinned at him. “All finished. Thought I’d see how you’re doing with your—” She broke off, eyes wide. “Are you alone?”

He laughed. “I am. And I’m finished. Jolie should be back soon, so you can have the first peek. What do you think?”

He flipped the screen so that Mara could see the winter duck coop. “I love it. The ducks are going to live like royalty.”

“That’s the plan. I think we’re going to call it Duckington Palace.”

Mara’s delighted laugh had him grinning. That was the exact reaction he was hoping for from Jolie, too. He chatted with his sister for a few minutes before Hemsworth stood and woofed happily at the orchard. “Gotta go, Sis. Jolie’s on the way.”

“Have fun. She’s going to love it. I’ll work on learning some duck songs. I wonder if there're any musicals featuring ducks.”

With a laugh, he signed off and walked with Hemsworth to greet Jolie. He spotted her pink shirt through the trees and hurried forward when he realized she carried a large box.

Her face lit up when she spotted him, and he hoped that never changed. Jolie Malssum was a special woman, and he’d work his ass off to ensure she always felt that way.

He leaned down to kiss her and took the box from her hands as he did. She laughed. “How did you know it’s for you?”

His eyebrows shot up. “For me?”

She grinned. “Yep. I wanted to get you something to thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

That made him frown. “We’re a team, Jolie. You don’t have to buy me things to thank me. I love working on projects with you.”

She leaned up to kiss his cheek. “I know, but I wanted to get you a surprise. It’s fun. Open it.”

Her eyes sparkled with mischief. Curious, he took out his jackknife and sliced open the box. He pried it open, and a laugh cracked out of him at the sight. And at the serendipity of the moment.

He set the box down on the ground and pulled out a pair of rubber boots. Black. No duckies, but there were tools all over them. Hammers, saws, wrenches, drills.