Page 41 of The Cattleman’s Unforgettable Love: Ford and Amelia (MacFarland Ranch #11)

She'd been quite happy working on her laptop at the big farmhouse table in the kitchen and could have spent the whole day there.

But he'd come back just after three and asked if she wanted her first riding lesson.

She hadn't been sure at first, but he'd told her that most of the hands had the afternoon off and had gone into town, and the ones who were still on the ranch would be chilling out in the bunkhouse or out riding fences.

She hadn't even needed to explain that her hesitation wasn't about learning to ride so much as feeling out of her element learning something new in front of strangers.

She glanced over at him now as she and Delta walked the perimeter of the round pen.

Tanner had come over to talk to him, and she was rather proud of herself that he'd trusted her to stay on Delta while he talked to his brother.

Granted, he kept glancing back over his shoulder, checking to make sure that she was doing okay – and she was.

She stroked Delta's neck and murmured, "Thanks for being so kind to me.

I know I'm not good at this yet, but I hope I'm not doing anything too wrong. "

Of course the horse didn't answer, but she chose to believe that he was listening and that if he did have a problem with her, he'd let her know somehow.

"What do you think of him, Amelia?" called Tanner.

"Do you mean Delta or Ford?" she asked with a grin.

Tanner grinned back at her. "Whichever one you want to tell me about."

She decided to be brave and point Delta toward them, hoping that he'd go where she wanted him to and not keep plodding around in the opposite direction. She silently promised him a carrot later when he turned and headed toward them, making her look far more competent than she really was.

"Well," she said as she got closer, "I can tell you that this guy" – she stroked Delta's mane – "is incredibly sweet and considerate and is doing a very good job of looking after me, even though I'm in his world now and not mine, and I'm feeling kind of clueless.

" She met Ford's gaze and smiled as she said, "And I'll let you decide which guy I'm talking about. "

Tanner laughed. "I like it – in fact, no, I love it.

You two are good together." He met Amelia's gaze.

"You're going to stick around, right? I heard thatMav andBlane are going to be moving back here.

I hope that doesn't mean you're going to move down toMav'splace when the rest of the team arrives. "

Her heart thudded to a halt. She hadn't even thought about that.

She'd be more than happy staying here at the ranch with Ford, and it was the kind of practical detail that hadn't really crossed her mind.

Since she'd been working with Cash and Mav, she'd been living in an apartment at the compound that they called home base.

It was like so many places she'd lived – just a place to lay her head.

If she were honest, she'd been seeing the ranch that way when she first arrived.

She stole a glance at Ford when it occurred to her that perhaps he'd already wondered about her living arrangements.

Perhaps she'd been invading his space too much.

She didn't know what to say. He didn't look as though he had anything to offer on the subject.

He certainly didn't look happy. She swallowed, but she wasn't going to go jumping to any conclusions.

She'd already messed things up once by doing that.

Tanner gave them an apologetic smile. "Did I just go and put my foot in it? I'm sorry, guys."

Amelia shrugged. Both she and Ford were normally honest to a fault; this didn't seem like the time to back off from that.

"I'm not sure you put your foot in it, but I think you did name the elephant that I wasn't even aware was in the room.

" She smiled at Ford. "I know I kind of landed in your space out of the blue and I made myself right at home.

Once the guys set up their operation down at Mav's ranch, I'll be working down there, and I imagine that they'll also provide accommodation for me there– if I want it.

" She held his gaze as she added, "But if it's up to me and okay with you, I'd rather stay here. "

The lines around his eyes crinkled as he smiled. He didn't say anything; he just nodded.

And Tanner laughed. "This is awesome, guys," he exclaimed.

"I knew the two of you kind of fit, but I couldn't have told you why.

Now I get it. You," he told Amelia, "are just like him; you don't seem all that approachable from the outside, but once you're comfortable, you're happy to say it like it is. "

Ford was still smiling at her. "I don't know that I'd say you weren't approachable," he said.

"Maybe that's just because I didn't stop to think about it before I knew I wanted to approach you.

But I'm glad you're as upfront as I am." And even though this guy is standing right here" – he slapped the back of Tanner's head – "I'm not going to wait until later to tell you that I hope you won't move down to Mav's place. I want you to stay here…"

His words had her smiling, and when he added " with me ," her heart felt like it filled up and overflowed.

Tanner chuckled. "Aw, you guys! I never thought I'd see the day, but I love it, and I'm not going to ruin it. I'm out of here. See you soon." He tipped his hat toward Amelia and slapped Ford's back before turning to walk away.

When he'd gone, Ford came and caught hold of Delta's reins. He rested his hand on her thigh as he smiled up at her. "Did we just take a big step forward without having to make a big deal out of it?" he asked.

She nodded happily. "I believe we did. Although, if you want to take some time to think about it, and if you want to change your..."

He shook his head adamantly. "I don't and I won't. Want to get back to your riding lesson?"

"I do. I think I might be doing all right. What do you say?"

He nodded happily. "You're doing great. I think you'll pick it up in no time."

She laughed when Delta rested his head on Ford's shoulder and then turned to brush his lips over his cheek.

"Aw, he loves you, too, look." She bit down on her bottom lip when she realized what she'd said. If Delta loved him too , did that mean that she...?

Ford met her gaze and held it, and her heart pounded. But he didn't call her out on it. If anything, she thought she saw the ghost of a smile on his lips. She wasn't horrified by the idea that she might be falling in love with him – perhaps he wasn't either.

~ ~ ~

Later that evening, Ford stood on the back deck, staring out at the mountains, lost in thought.

It had been a good day. Things were usually quiet on Saturdays, and he was glad that he'd decided to call it quits early so that he could give Amelia her first riding lesson.

He was proud of her – it was obvious that she was nervous in the beginning, but she'd done well, and Delta had taken care of her.

He could see the two of them becoming a good team if she wanted to get serious about riding.

He'd been kind of cranky with Tanner when he showed up, even though he knew it was unreasonable of him.

He might have warned the hands to stay the hell away from the round pen and out of sight while Amelia had her lesson, but he hadn't warned his brothers to stay away.

And in the end, Tanner stopping by had turned out to be a good thing.

His mention of Mav and Blane coming home had brought up the subject of where Amelia was going to stay.

He smiled when he remembered what she'd said – and if she wanted to stay here, he'd be more than happy to have her.

For good, if things worked out that way.

He had to wonder just how she'd come to mean so much to him so quickly.

It was true that it had been a couple of years since they'd first met, but they hadn't seen much of each other in the meantime.

He'd never forgotten her, though. He'd known that she was the kind of woman he could go for; he just hadn't thought he'd ever get the chance.

His frown deepened as he watched a pickup truck coming up the driveway.

It wasn't one of the hands. He made a face when he realized it was Emmett.

Maybe he was coming to see Tanner, but he doubted that.

And Emmett proved him right when he parked his truck on the end of the line of vehicles out back and greeted him with a wave.

"Hey, Ford. Sorry to drop by on a Saturday evening like this. I won't keep you long."

"That's okay. What can I do for you?"

Emmett smiled. "As a matter of fact, it's not you I'm after. It's Amelia."

"Why? What do you want with her?"

"Don't look at me like that. I heard that the two of you are an item now.

I'm not trying to steal her away from you.

I wanted to talk to her about the girls.

If you remember, they're both interested in hanging out with her, if she has the time and the interest at some point.

Since Ty invited us over for lunch with you all tomorrow, I wanted to have a word with Amelia by herself first. If she doesn't want to do it, I'd rather give her the chance to tell me that now.”

"Right," said Ford. "Sorry, I forgot about that.

She's taking a shower right now, but I can ask her for you.

I'll either ask her to give you a call or I'll let you know what she says.

" He didn't want to tell Emmett, but if she'd rather not do it, he figured he could make the call to let Emmett know.

He had a feeling that as straightforward as she liked to be in most ways, she wouldn't feel comfortable turning him down.