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Jodie’s grin widened.

Oh, I am absolutely winning this dog over.

Jodie dusted off the seat of her jeans and headed back toward the camp. Mac was still in his chair, finishing his dinner. He smiled when he saw her coming, and her night got even better.

“How’d it go?” he asked as she sat down beside him.

“I touched him.”

Mac’s eyebrows went up. “Yeah?”

“I pet the top of his head. One whole second.” She grinned. “And Hank said that’s closer than he’s ever gotten.”

“Well, look at you. I’m not surprised, though.”

“It’s not much, but it’s progress.” She took her plate back.

Mac smiled at her, warm and soft. “He’ll come around.”

“You think?”

“Yeah.” He reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re easy to trust, Ranch Girl, and you know what’s best for him. He’ll figure that out.”

Her heart squeezed and she bit her lower lip.

I love you.

They hadn’t said the words yet, but it was coming. She could feel it. She wanted to be the first one to say those words, and she wanted the moment to be absolutely perfect when she told him. Tonight, surrounded by tired volunteers already dreading tomorrow’s roundup, was definitely not the right time.

But soon. Very soon. Once we get home.

She glanced back at the barn, hoping to see a pair of oversized bat ears.

Hopefully, with a new dog in tow.

By the time Jodie and Mac crawled into their tent, most of the camp had gone quiet. A few voices still drifted from somewhere near the barn, but nobody was talking loudly anymore. They had an early morning ahead of them.

Jodie sat cross-legged on top of her sleeping bag, dragging a brush through her hair while Mac pulled off his boots. A small LED lantern hung from a cord at the top of the tent.

“I still don’t like the helicopter,” she said.

Mac set one boot beside the other. “You’ve mentioned that.”

“I might mention it again.”

“I won’t be surprised.”

She smiled and pulled the brush through another tangle. “At least we’ll be able to see what’s happening now. I can’t believe they were going to shut us out. Well, no, I can.” She rolled her eyes.

“That was a good piece of work you did today.”

“We all got there.”

“You got them there.”

Jodie looked at him. “How so?”

Mac shrugged and pulled off a sock. “You gave everybody something they could live with without losing face.”