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T imber drove his truck back out to his place, then parked out in front, and immediately was surrounded by dogs and greetings.

Dwight stepped out from the kitchen and asked, “You need breakfast?”

“I sure do, if you’ve got some,” he said, with a nod.

“Hungry?” Dwight asked.

“Starving,” Timber replied, knowing exactly what Dwight really meant.

Dwight gave a nod of satisfaction and said, “Damn good thing.” And, with that, he headed back inside and added, “Flapjacks are coming, and you’ve got five minutes.”

“You got coffee?”

“Of course I’ve got coffee,” he snapped. “What kind of kitchen do you think this is?”

Timber burst out laughing and said, “It’s my kitchen, so who knows on a day-to-day basis.”

“Right now, you’re not kidding,” Dwight noted. “Everybody’s been talking.… It seems the whole town is abuzz with rumors of all kind of shit. We’ve even got extra guys coming out next week now. Everybody wants to confirm you’re set up and good to go.”

“Is that because of what happened last night?” Timber asked.

“Yeah, and because it looks as if you’re sweet on the veterinarian, and everybody wants her to have a good house, so we’ve got plans for that now too.”

Timber frowned at him. “Seriously? I’ve got to have some money set aside for some of this.”

“Yeah, you’ve got some money. I know you blew a whole load on land, but that’s all good too. We can still get a shit ton of stuff done. You’ve got to give that lady friend of yours a nice place to come home to.”

“And what if she’s not too bothered?”

“It doesn’t matter if she’s bothered or not because you’ve got to make sure that whatever she’s got coming her way is nice.”

He laughed. “And you’ll see to it, right?”

“Absolutely,” Dwight declared. “We’ve decided we like her just fine, so we need her moving in.”

“Really?” Timber turned to face him. “Isn’t that a little hasty?”

“Sure, but we aren’t getting any younger.”

“Damn right,” said a man from behind him.

Timber turned and looked at Toby, with little Toby right on his heels, greeting Lucy and the other dogs. “Seriously? You’re in on it too?”

“Of course I’m in on it,” Toby declared. “And there’s nothing to be in on. The fact of the matter is, she’s perfect, she’s also got gumption, and we haven’t seen a whole lot of that kind of woman in a long time, so she’s handpicked.”

“I would like to remind you that I handpicked her.”

“Yeah, so she’s handpicked, and now we’ve got a couple weeks to get this shit together for her. Besides, when is she coming?”

“Tonight. She’s coming by for dinner.”

“Perfect,” Toby said, as he rubbed his hands together and looked over at Dwight. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s perfect,” Dwight agreed, with a nod. “Now we’ll just have to work on making sure those two don’t mess it up.”

“What do you mean, mess it up?” Timber asked.

“You’re so close,” Toby said, “but we can’t have you screwing this up now.”

“We won’t give you any pointers on it because, man oh man,” Dwight muttered, “that would probably set you off. But we want that gal here, and we want the two of you nice and safely married.”

Timber stared at him. “Aren’t you—”

“No, we’re not rushing things at all.”

Both men were grinning like old coots, rubbing their hands together with glee. “You go off and get to work. We’ve got plans to make.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Timber raised a hand. “No plans and no rushing things, guys. Do not do anything to mess this up.”

“Us? We’re not messing it up. We’re trying to figure out how to stop you from messing it up,” Dwight declared, with a big laugh. “Now go on, get out, go to work. We’ve got things to talk about.”

“What about my flapjacks? What about coffee?”

Dwight frowned. “Okay, you’ve got five minutes. Get yourself some grub, eat, and go.”

Timber stared at them and sighed. “You two are unbelievable.”

“Yep, we sure are,” Toby agreed, grinning like a fool. “As we told you, we’ve got plans, so you need to get at it.”

“I’m getting at it,” Timber said. “Just make sure she feels welcome.”

“She’ll feel welcome. Don’t you worry about it. This is our domain.”

Timber eyed them suspiciously and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Nothing.” They both looked at him innocently.

“No, stop. You’ve already done enough matchmaking.”

“Are you married yet?” Dwight asked.

“No,” Toby declared, and on they went.

“Is she living here yet?” Dwight asked.

“No,” Toby replied again.

Dwight nodded. “So, apparently we haven’t done enough yet.”

Timber groaned. “You know that I will not be happy if you two chase her away with your nonsense.”

They looked at each other, then frowned at him. “We won’t chase her away. We’re trying to stop you from chasing her away, so go, go on.”

“For two grumpy old shits, you two are sure cheerful this morning,” Timber stated.

Dwight nodded. “I agree. Now I don’t know about Toby, but, speaking for myself, my load feels considerably lighter today, and the world somehow looks brighter.”

Toby chuckled. “Yeah, and that sick rat bastard won’t be hurting anyone ever again.”

“Yeah, that too,” Dwight muttered, with a gentle smile for his old friend.

Overcome with the realization that Max’s death had relieved Dwight of a burden he’d carried for years, Timber reached out to shake his hand, and found himself pulled into an unexpected and heartfelt hug.

Warmed by the thought that Dwight could now live out his life in peace, Timber smiled as he headed outside, flapjacks in hand.