Page 36 of The Cattleman’s Unforgettable Love: Ford and Amelia (MacFarland Ranch #11)

Brody choked on his sandwich before setting it down and taking a gulp of soda. "Jesus, Ford. I didn't think you'd be following in your brothers' footsteps quite this fast."

"Why not?"

Brody stared at him for a few moments before he smiled. "Because I didn't think you had it in you. But now I'm guessing that Amelia brings it out of you. Am I right?"

Ford smiled slowly. "Yeah. I mean, I only said that about sharing my family like you'd say it about anything.

Someone's not got something, and you've got more than enough, you'd be happy to share with them, right?

It's just the decent thing to do. But as soon as the words were out, I realized how it sounded. "

"And you're telling me she didn't lap that up? I thought women like that kind of thing."

Ford blew out a sigh. "I think some women would, but Amelia looked.

.." He closed his eyes briefly, remembering the look on her face.

"It's weird – she didn't look freaked out, like I was trying to impose something on her that she didn't want.

It was more that she looked..." He sighed again. "Disappointed."

"Disappointed? Are you sure? That seems like a weird reaction."

Ford shrugged. "Maybe I'm wrong. Like you said, what do I know about women?"

"Doesn't matter what you know about women, bud.

If this is important to you as it seems it is, then the only woman you need to know about is Amelia.

You need to talk to her. Explain what you meant and ask her how she feels.

If you wanting to share your family with her in the biblical sense is enough to put her off, and it's something that you might want, then you guys should probably figure that out now rather than set yourselves up for disappointment down the road. "

"I guess."

"You guess, but what?" asked Brody.

"But I don't want to bring things to a head too soon. I mean, if she's horrified at the thought of... you know, becoming part of my family, I don't think I want to hear that yet."

Brody smiled. "And you're thinking that even if she's not into the idea right now, if you can keep her around for a while, the idea might grow on her?"

"Yeah, I guess I am," said Ford. "I guess I am."

~ ~ ~

"Amelia, darlin', did you run that trace for me?"

Amelia turned to look up at Cash, feeling guilty. She hadn't been able to focus today at all, and that wasn't like her. Unfortunately, the look of concern on Cash's face told her that he'd noticed.

"What's going on? Something's wrong."

She waved a hand at him. "Nothing. I'm fine. Sorry. I'm just not on the ball today – we all have off days, you know. Even me."

"Maybe so, but... Want to tell me...?"

She shook her head rapidly. "There's nothing to tell. Honestly, I'm fine." She needed someone to talk to, but as much as she loved Cash, he was not the first person she would consult about Ford. Yes, he was his brother, but also ... he was his brother!

He narrowed his eyes at her. "What's going on?"

"Would you stop? I told you, I'm fine. Oh, and does the offer to go to San Francisco this weekend still stand? I..."

She knew she'd blown it when Cash leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest. When he narrowed his eyes, she knew she wouldn't be getting out of here until she'd confessed everything. She blew out a sigh and waited.

"No," was all he said at first.

She leaned back in her own chair. "No? Just no? Well, I think that's mean of you, Cash."

He chuckled. "Yeah, nice try. I'm not being mean, Amelia, darlin'.

I'm doing this for your own good. When I asked you if you wanted to come with me, you said you were going to the bakery with Ford on Friday afternoon.

" His eyebrows drew together. "You've been off your game all day today, and now you want to come with me? What did he do?" he asked with a scowl.

"Oh, no. Don't you dare go getting mad at him. He didn't do anything wrong, and the last thing I need is for you to start interfering. Promise me you won't."

His jaw set.

"Cash! You have to promise me. Otherwise, this whole thing is just..."

"What whole thing?" he asked. "What did he do?"

She blew out a sigh. "He didn't do anything. Stop it."

Cash glowered at her for a long few moments before saying, "Okay, I'll let it drop for now, because if I don't, I might just have to go and kick his ass for him."

"No! You can't do that. You mustn't do that – ever. Even if he had done something, I wouldn't want you to do that. And my whole point right now is that he hasn't done anything wrong at all, okay?"

"Okay, but no, you can't come to San Francisco with me."

"But why not?"

"Because you're mad at him about something, or you're trying to avoid him, which is why you want to come. And he obviously hasn't done anything too bad, because you're still trying to protect him from me."

She shook her head at him. "I'll always try to protect him from you, because no matter what he does, whatever happens between us, it shouldn't affect his relationship with you."

She didn't understand Cash's low laugh. "What?" she asked. "What was that supposed to mean?"

"I think you might have that last bit ass backwards, honey. I'm hoping that what happens between the two of you will affect his relationship with me – in a good way, in the best way."

Amelia stared at him, wondering if she dared to ask.

Cash made the decision for her. "Whatever it is, spit it out, darlin'."

"Okay, what exactly do you mean when you say that?"

"You know what I mean, don't you?" he asked.

"I think so, but I think I need you to spell it out for me."

Cash heaved out an exaggerated sigh. "Okay, then, so I'll admit it.

The end goal of my plotting and scheming is for the two of you to end up together – you know, to get married – I don't know about having babies.

Neither of you strike me as the kid-friendly type, but.

.." He nodded. "I'll tell you because you know your own mind and won't let my meddling affect you either way.

That's my hope. I'd love to see the two of you end up together – get married if that's what works for you, but, you know, be together permanently. "

"What?" he asked eventually, when he realized that she was staring at him intently.

"Want to unravel it with me? If we just pretend that I'm someone else," he asked.

She gave him a small smile. "Do you think that's possible?"

"Sure it is," he said with a smile. "We're both professionals. We can talk this over as if we were assessing the motivations of clients or targets."

"Okay, then," she said eventually.

Cash grinned. "So, what did he do that upset you?"

She let out a short laugh. "Maybe it'll sound stupid when I say it out loud."

"I doubt it, but I won't know until you tell me."

"Okay. So..." She only hesitated for a moment. She needed to talk to someone. Sierra and Cassidy were her two girlfriend options here, but they weren't available, and Cash was sitting right in front of her. "You have to promise you won't judge me and you won't judge him."

Cash smiled. "Professional mode engaged, remember? No judgment, only assessment."

"Thanks. So this morning, he said something, and it reminded us both that he has..." She met Cash's gaze. "He has all of you guys. You're a big family. You're a caring family. You all look out for each other. You're in each other's lives."

Cash nodded as he listened. "Oh, shit. And you have no one. Is that where this is going?"

"Kind of, but not really."

Cash was still scowling. "He wasn't an asshole about it, was he?”

“Cash, stop it. No, he wasn't. He was trying to be sweet about it. What he said was that if I wanted, he'd be happy to share his family with me."

Cash's head snapped up at that, reassuring her that he interpreted it the same way that she had.

"Well, shit. He really said that? You guys are in deeper than I thought."

She blew out a sigh. "That's the point. He said it, but I don't think he realized how it would sound until the words came out.

And when they did..." She shrugged. "I think he freaked out that I might take it that way – you know, that he sounded as though he was offering more than he really wanted to, and he was worried that I might start making demands of him. "

Cash was frowning again.

"Say something, would you?"

Cash chuckled. "Well, darlin', I can't know for sure, but I'm 90% certain that you've got nothing to worry about."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what did he do after he said that?"

"He turned right around and ran out the door."

Cash chuckled. "Sorry. I'm not laughing at you, darlin'. It's just... What did you say?"

She shrugged. "Nothing. I don't think. I don't remember."

"Were you shocked?" he asked.

"I was." She dropped her gaze before looking back at him. "But not in a bad way. But then I saw how freaked out he was, and..." She shrugged. "Are you sure I can't come to San Francisco with you this weekend?"

Cash grinned. "Nope. No way in hell. You're going to stay here and you're going to sort this out with him, because I have a feeling you'll be thanking me for that by Monday morning."

"And why is that?"

"Because I think he meant it the way it sounded.

He just didn't realize that he did until the words came out his mouth, and then he didn't know how you'd react.

There's one thing I will tell you about Ford, and it's that he's very wary of imposing anything on anyone.

" She couldn't read his sad smile as he added, "Not anymore, anyway.

He used to push for what he wanted – trying to take care of people – but it backfired on him in a big way.

Now, if he has a flaw, it's that he won't push for what he wants – especially if he thinks you might not want the same thing.

My guess is that him running out the door like that was more about giving you space than backpedaling from a commitment he didn't want to make. "

She cocked her head. "You really think that?" she asked.

"I do. But you know what I'm going to say next, don't you?"

She made a face at him. "Of course I do – it doesn't matter what you think. The only way for me to find out is to talk to him about it."

"Always knew you were a smart lady, Amelia," he said with a grin. "So, are we done for the day?"

She nodded. "It's looking that way, isn't it?”

“Yep."

"I don't know that I'll be able to get him running back up to the house for you again today," said Cash. "You might need to be brave and go out looking for him – if you want to, that is."

She sat up a little straighter in her chair. "You know what? I think I do."

Cash grinned and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Don't worry. I'm not going to try to get him back up to the house for you, but I reckon I can maybe narrow down where he is."

"Thanks, Cash."

"My pleasure, darlin'. You get on your way. I'll shoot you a text when I find out where he is."