Page 3 of The Cattleman’s Unforgettable Love: Ford and Amelia (MacFarland Ranch #11)

“Are you lonely, Uncle Ford?”

Ford stopped stirring the spaghetti and turned to look over his shoulder at Ashton, who was standing in the doorway from the hall.

“What kind of question is that, little buddy? Did you wash your hands?”

Ashton nodded as he came into the kitchen and climbed onto one of the stools at the island.

“It’s a real question. And a serious one.” He nodded solemnly to prove his point.

Ford turned back to the pan on the stove and waited; there was rarely any need to ask Ashton to elaborate.

“Mom worries about you.”

Ford shot a quizzical smile over his shoulder. “Your mom? Why?”

“Because she feels like she took Dad away from you.”

Ford shook his head. “Then I need to have a word with her and set her straight. She needs to know that instead of me being upset about it, I’m happy. Happy for all three of you. You three are your own family, and you need to be in your own place.”

His smile faded. “Does your mom like the apartment above the barn?”

“She does. She loves it. We all do. It’s an awesome place to live.”

Ashton looked around, taking in the size of the kitchen they were standing in. It was fitting for the size of the house — the ranch house had been built with a large family in mind.

Now, Ford lived here alone.

“You guys all used to live here, didn’t you?” Ashton asked.

“We did.”

“And there are eight of you guys — and your mom and dad. That’s ten people. That’s how many people are supposed to live in a house this size, right?”

Ford smiled to himself as he turned back to the stove. “I don’t mind having the place all to myself. I enjoy it. Are you ready to eat, kid?”

Ashton slid down from the stool. “Nearly. I didn’t set the table yet.”

“You’d better get that taken care of, then, hadn’t you?”

Ford dished up two plates of spaghetti bolognese, smiling to himself as he remembered the first time Ashton and his mom, Everly, had come to visit.

He’d taken the kid on a tour of the house to give Everly and Tanner some time alone.

Ashton had helped him set the table for dinner, and ever since then, it had become his job.

When the table was ready, Ford carried the plates over.

“Did you make any of your garlic bread?” Ashton asked.

“I sure did.”

“Please, may I—”

“What’s the deal?” Ford asked with a grin.

“Where is it?”

“Same place it always is, bud. Hanging in the mudroom. Go get it.”

Ford took his seat at the head of the table while Ashton trotted off to the mudroom. When he came back, he was wearing one of Ford’s old shirts over his own.

These spaghetti dinners had become a thing between them — a regular, easy ritual. Ford loved spending time with the little guy, and he knew that Tanner and Everly appreciated the occasional evening to themselves.

The spare shirt had been part of the deal ever since the first time Ford fed Ashton spaghetti and the kid ended up wearing more of it than he ate. Everly hadn’t been impressed by the state of his clothes when he got home.

Ashton climbed onto his seat and fastened the top snap of the shirt with a grin.

“It’s not my fault. I’m not normally a messy eater,” he said. “It’s just that your spaghetti’s so good.”

“I’m glad you enjoy it. Dig in, but fasten a couple more snaps first.”

He slid the plate closer so Ashton could reach the garlic bread.

“You never answered my question.”

“What question was that again?” Ford asked.

“Are you lonely?”

Ford paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. He gave the question serious consideration, then shook his head slowly.

“No. I’m good. But thank you.”

“I have so many uncles and aunties now. And I have my new best friend, Mateo. And little Maya’s cool too, even though she’s a girl. I love it here.”

“I’m glad,” said Ford. “I do, too.”

“But…” Ashton looked at him carefully. “You don’t have anyone to love.”

Ford had to smile as Ashton wiped his sleeve across his mouth, smearing spaghetti sauce everywhere.

“You’re kidding me, right? You think I don’t have anyone to love?” He poked the kid’s shoulder. “You don’t think I love you?”

“I know you do. I don’t mean like that.”

Ford shrugged. “All those aunties and uncles of yours? They’re my brothers and sisters and their partners. You think I don’t love them? You know I love your dad. And your mom.”

Ashton nodded slowly. “Do you mind that I call him Dad, even though we both know he’s not really?”

“Mind? I love it. If he wasn’t your dad, I wouldn’t be your uncle, would I?”

Ashton nodded again. “Yeah, but… you know what I mean.”

“I do. But why do you ask? Has someone said something about it?”

Ashton shook his head quickly. “No. It’s just that me and Mateo were talking about it.”

“Talking about what?” Ford asked.

“You know, how he calls his mom and dad ‘Mom and Dad’? But they’re not really his parents.”

Ashton’s eyebrows drew together. “But that’s not right either, because they are his parents. They’re just not his original parents, right?”

“That’s how I see it. Is he happy that they’re his parents?”

“He loves it. And so does Maya. It’s just that… we were wondering how everyone else feels about it. You know – you’re all real family. And we’re just, well…”

Ford laid a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “You guys are real family. As real as it gets. And don’t ever think otherwise.” He frowned. “And if anyone tries to tell you otherwise—”

Ashton laughed. “Cody and Wyatt at school did try saying that when I first came. But Dad sorted them out – we’re all friends now. Everyone knows that Mateo and Maya and me are MacFarlands. So, we’re good.”

The kid laid his fork down in the middle of his spaghetti to reach for more garlic bread.

“But you’re not good. You need a lady. That’s what I mean. And you know it.”

Ford rolled his eyes. “I don’t need a lady. I’m fine.”

“Who’s Amelia?”

Ford set his fork down. “What was that?”

Ashton gave him a wicked little grin. “You heard me. Who’s Amelia?”

Ford narrowed his eyes at him. “I think you know who she is. She’s your Auntie Sierra’s friend. And she works with Uncle Cash.”

“And…?” Ashton dragged the word out into three syllables.

“And what?” Ford asked, though he was already smiling.

“And she’s been staying here at the big house with you, hasn’t she?”

“She’s been staying here, yeah.” Ford didn’t want to say, ‘with me’, because it wasn’t like that.

Amelia wasn’t here with him. She wasn’t here for him.

She was here with Cash – not with Cash, but she’d come with him and the other guys for Blane’s birthday last weekend.

With everything that had gone down with Jim Sheridan’s nephew, Cash had decided that he was staying in the valley.

He’d asked Amelia if she wanted to stick around and work from here, too.

Ford wasn’t even mad that Cash hadn’t asked him how he felt about her staying at the big house. He was happy for her to be here – and relieved that Cash hadn’t decided it was time that he should move back in. Ford didn’t even know where he was staying.

“And you like her, right?”

His breath caught in his chest. Ashton’s question took him back to his younger self.

He hadn’t known how to approach girls. Hadn’t really understood them.

They seemed to find him attractive – at least in looks – but they lost interest when they got to know him.

He understood why; he was one of six brothers.

There were so many of them to choose from, no girl was likely to waste her time on him.

Wade was friendlier and more easygoing. Tanner was the good-looking one.

Kolby and Ty were younger, but they each had their appeal to girls even back then.

Cash hadn’t been around much, but everyone loved him.

And Ford? He’d always felt like he was too much – and not enough at the same time.

Ashton’s question flooded his mind with memories of his brothers and his friends encouraging him to approach girls.

And of course, he had. But he hadn’t connected with any of them.

Not in any meaningful way. He’d slept with his fair share of girls when he was younger, dated, had a few relationships, but. ..

Ashton was waiting with his garlic bread raised to his mouth. “Don’t try to deny it. I know you do,” he said, apparently growing impatient. He took a big bite and watched Ford’s face as he chewed.

“I wasn’t going to deny it. Yeah, I like her. She’s an interesting person.”

Ashton’s mouth was still full, but he crossed his eyes and made a frustrated grumbling noise.

Ford laughed. “And yes, I’ll even admit that she’s an attractive woman, but—”

“But what?” Ashton tilted his head to the side. “Are you gay?”

Ford almost choked on the sip of soda he’d just taken. “Why the hell would you ask that?” He knew damn well why the kid was asking, but he didn’t want to make it seem like an automatic assumption – it really shouldn’t be.

“Because I’ve never seen you with a girl. And if you wanted to be with a guy, then maybe you wouldn’t tell anyone.”

Ford set his glass down again. “I’m not gay. But if I were, I would tell everyone. There’s no reason not to, you know.”

Ashton licked his fingers as he nodded. “Yeah, I know – I just wasn’t sure if you did. I was going to tell you that it’s okay if you’re gay. I thought maybe you were old-fashioned about it.”

“Ah, right. Well, thanks. But I’m not gay, and I wouldn’t be afraid to tell people if I were. I know that the people who matter to me wouldn’t care – they love me, that’s what matters.”

“Okay, so we got that out of the way. So, why don’t you ask Amelia out?”

Ford had to laugh. “What’s this about, kid? Why do you need to get me a date all of a sudden?”

“It’s not all of a sudden. It’s now that Amelia’s here. She’s cool – she’s kind of awesome.”

Ford poked his shoulder. “So, why did you ask me who she was?”

Ashton gave him a guilty little smile. “Because I wanted to see what you’d say about her. I didn’t know if you and her were already... you know, together.”

Ford let out a breath but didn’t comment.