She smiles, a tremulous laugh escaping her before she nods. “I love you too, Matt. I missed you so much. I—I couldn’t stand being without you.”

“I missed you too, baby. And trust me, I’ll never make you scoop up chicken shit at my house. It’s one hundred percent chicken shit free.” I kiss her again because I can’t resist and we both release our grip on the shovel handle at the same time, grabbing hold of each other, our bodies colliding. She feels so damn good next to me, her sexy little body barely covered, looking like my every dream come to life.

Even in the crazy white rubber boots.

“Are you saying you’re my own personal savior again? Coming in to rescue me from a life of scooping chicken crap?” She blinks up at me, and I smile, nuzzle my nose against hers.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Only when you call me your savior, I gotta say, you’ve become mine too.” I lower my head and kiss her, wanting her to know how ready I am to take her out of Cactus and bring her home with me for good.

Where she belongs.