Page 33 of Wed By the Lumberjack

But then her soft lips fall on mine and she kisses me so passionately that the medic asks us to settle down after I go to pull her onto my lap.

“I love love as much as the next person but you’re going to hurt your leg. Thankfully it’s not a more serious wound,” the medic says, helping me out of the back of the van. “Are you sure you can get to the clinic on your own?”

“I’ll drive him,” Dixie says, her face flaming.

“You know,” I say as Dixie drapes my arm over her shoulder and clings to my waist. She thinks she’s helping me to the truck but if I put my weight against her she’d fold like an accordion. “I heard the police saying that Douglas is still on parole. Not only did he stab me, which you got the video of, but you said he had liquor bottles all over the house and tons of pills. He’s supposed to stay sober.”

“Do you think that means he’ll be locked up again for a long time?”

“I do.”

Dixie sighs in relief but it’s short-lived as we climb into the truck and she eyes the burnt cabin again.

“We’ll look into the inheritance laws,” I say as she starts the truck. “We’ll figure out how to make sure you’re the legal and sole owner of the cabin. It’s what your Gran would want. The boys and I are going to rebuild it exactly as your Gran left it. Right down to the wood paneling if you want.

“That’s so sweet. Too sweet. I think you’ve already done enough for me, including taking a stabbing,” she says, her eyes shining. “Plus I still owe you, remember? Pearl.”

“There's no ‘owing’ between us, Dixie. We’re a partnership. Right?” I add. I’m pretty sure that kiss was my answer to us exploring a relationship, but a vocalization wouldn’t hurt.

“Partnership? You mean marriage.”

I gaze at her in shock as she turns the truck around and heads for the main road.

“I mean, you’re still looking for a wife to secure your portion of Forester Ranch, right?”

“I am, but I’d never marry you just for land. If you’re willing to be my wife, you have to do it for real, because once I marry you there won’t be any fakeness about it.”

Dixie’s smile sets my heart racing. “Who says I want it to be fake? I’ve never felt safer and more loved, adored, and cared for than when I was your friend all those years ago and again when I was your fake wife for the past couple of days, Heath. You’ve shown me time and again how much you love me... And I love you.”

The vulnerability in her eyes makes me reach for her thigh and squeeze reassuringly as we bank a corner.

“And I love you, peanut. Always have. Always will.”

Chapter Ten

Three weeks later, Dixie Rose

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