Page 55 of The Cattleman’s Unforgettable Love: Ford and Amelia (MacFarland Ranch #11)

When he reached Wade's office, he took a breath before letting himself in.

He and Wade always used to meet up every week to discuss ranch business and lodge business and whatever else they needed to get into.

Since Tanner had returned home, he'd joined them since he ran the stud.

Ty used to be here as well when he was running the kitchen at the lodge, but he had his own restaurant now.

His brothers smiled at him in greeting. "How's it going?" Wade asked.

Ford chuckled as he borrowed the word Anita had given him and said, "Complicated."

Tanner laughed with him. "I'll bet it is. It was complicated enough for me figuring things out with Everly and Ash when they first moved here. You have a whole lot more to contend with than we did."

"You can say that again," said Ford.

Wade gave him a worried look. "I take it Natalie's still not happy to be here. Sierra said she talked to Amelia yesterday, and it sounds like she's struggling."

Ford blew out a sigh. "Nat's giving her a hard time, and it's understandable when you see it from her point of view. Amelia’s doing her best, but it's tough on her." Ford felt bad for Amelia. Nat had maybe thawed a little toward her, but she was still carrying her own guilt.

"Maybe you should give her a bit of a break," Wade suggested. "We can get all the kids together if you want, and Sierra and Amelia can go have some girl time."

"Thanks," said Ford. "I'll suggest that to her. She could do with it. But she feels like she has to be there with them the whole time, as though, if she just works hard enough, it'll all work itself out."

Tanner gave him a wry smile. "It doesn't work like that."

"I know," said Ford. "Amelia does, too, but she feels so damn guilty."

"It's not her fault," said Wade.

Ford let out a short laugh. "I know that, too. Thanks, guys. I appreciate you wanting to help, but it's just going to take time." He looked at Wade. "Maybe you should tell Sierra to give her a call and suggest that the two of them get out for a while."

Tanner smiled. "I'd suggest that you should do it the other way around."

"What do you mean?" Ford asked.

"It's just something that I've learned from Everly. If I say she should do something for herself, she won't, because she wants to take care of me and Ash. If I take him out of the way for a while, she has no choice but to do something for herself."

Wade grinned. "It's true. Sierra’s the same way. So how about I bring Mateo and Maya, and you grab Hunter and Nat, and we'll all go do something."

Ford pursed his lips. "It's a good idea, and if it were just Hunter, it'd be no problem. But I don't know how Nat will feel about being bundled along with a bunch of little kids."

"Well, until you said that, I was going to suggest that I can bring Ash, too." Tanner looked a little disappointed.

"Then you should. It'll do Hunter good to make friends with them. He's a bit reserved." He pursed his lips. "But that's even more little kids for Nat to deal with."

Wade raised his eyebrows. "You could ask Emmett if Tanya wants to come – she's the same age, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is. I've been thinking about getting them together, but Tanya's kind of... I don't know, easygoing. And Nat's... cynical, to say the least. And besides, at this rate, we're going to have a whole herd of kids. Where would we even take them?"

"We could hang out at the barn with them," Tanner suggested. "Get your two used to the horses."

Warmth bloomed in Ford's chest at the description of Hunter and Nat as his two .

They weren't, but still... He shook his head slowly.

"I think that might make things worse instead of better.

Hunter and Nat aren't used to the ranch yet.

They don't know the first thing about horses or anything else. I think it’d make them feel even more like outsiders. "

"We could go over to Bozeman," Wade suggested. "Mateo and Maya love the Museum of the Rockies."

Ford could just imagine Nat's face if he suggested going to a museum with a bunch of little kids.

He was glad he didn't have to explain that one, since Tanner said, "I'm going to have to veto that.

Ash and museums don't go. That kid would probably knock over a dinosaur skeleton or break some thousand-year-old priceless piece of something or other. "

Ford and Wade both laughed; Tanner had a point.

Ford wracked his brain.

"Go on," said Wade. "You're having an idea, I can tell."

Tanner chuckled. "It's either that or he's about to fart."

He reached out and slapped the back of Tanner's head.

"I was thinking about the bakery. I know it's not exactly a big outing, but that wasn't the point, was it?

It was just to get the kids out of the way so that Amelia and Sierra can hang out.

" He looked at Tanner. "Do you think Everly would go with them? "

Tanner nodded eagerly. "I think she'd love that.

She's been wanting to come over and see you guys since the kids arrived.

She feels bad that she wasn't the most welcoming toward Amelia at first, but that was only because she didn't know her motives toward you.

Now that she knows that you guys are all in and you have kids to deal with, she wants to do whatever she can to help. "

Ford turned back to Wade with a smile. "I'm not going to get in the middle of that one – it's totally outside my wheelhouse.

But if you want to talk to Sierra about it, ask her if she wants to invite Everly along with them.

.." He shrugged. "They can figure that part out for themselves.

What I was going to say is that I think the bakery could be a good idea.

All the kids will be happy to get cookies or donuts or whatever.

Nat might be a bit happier because it's not somewhere that's kid focused.

And..." He hesitated, wondering if he should mention the main reason he'd thought of the bakery or if it was even a good idea.

Wade smiled at him. "And maybe she'll be open to having a chat with Rocket and Spider."

Ford nodded. "Exactly."

Tanner gave them a puzzled look. "Why..." he began. "Oh..."

Wade nodded. "When Mateo and Maya first arrived, they immediately took to Rocket and Spider."

"Yeah. I don't know if Nat will take to them in the same way, but I reckon she might feel more able to relate to them." He gave his brothers a rueful smile. "She keeps calling the kids around here cow kids."

Tanner laughed. "And she thinks that's an insult?"

Ford shrugged. "It is in her mind. I'm just hoping that with time, she'll find her feet."

"Did you guys decide about them going to school?" Wade asked. "I think that would be better for them."

"We're still trying to figure it out. Hunter doesn't want to go, but you're right – I think it would be the best thing for him.

I think Nat would like to go to school, just not that one – at least not a school in Montana full of cow kids.

But she's prepared to go for Hunter's sake.

The thing is, she's in middle school, and he should still be in grade school, going by his age.

But she reckons, and I tend to agree with her, that if they let him test in, he'd probably end up just one grade below her and be right there in middle school with her where she can keep an eye on him. "

Wade frowned. "She may well be right about his abilities, at least in the classroom. But there’s more to it than that – there’s the social side. From what I've seen of the little guy, I think sending him into middle school would be a disaster."

"Yep," said Ford. "That's what I told her. It's just one more of the battles we're having. There's no easy solution."

Tanner chuckled. "Speaking from experience, I can tell you that with kids there rarely is."

"We're not going to solve all of it today," said Wade. "It really does come down to just giving it time and seeing how things shake out. But one thing we can do is set up this bakery visit."

"When do we want to go?"

"Definitely not on a Friday," said Ford.

"I think Tuesdays are usually quietest," said Tanner. "If you bring Nat and Hunter over, and we bring Ash and Mateo and Maya straight after school, we might be the only people in there."

"Okay," said Ford. "Let's do that."

"Are you going to talk to Emmett about Tanya coming?" Wade asked.

"Yeah, I think I will," said Ford.

"And are we skipping the lunch this Sunday?" Tanner asked.

Ford blew out a sigh. "Yeah, if you guys don't mind. I know we'll have to get them used to it at some point, but for the time being, we're still figuring out how to be the four of us. There's enough issues to deal with there before we start trying to interact with everyone else."

"It makes sense to me," said Wade.

"And me," said Tanner, "although I can't promise that I'll be able to stop Ash from coming over to see you guys."

Ford smiled. "That might even be a good thing. Maybe he and Hunter can get to know each other a little. Hunter was scared to death the other day when the three of you stopped by, but maybe if Ash just sneaks by, they'll figure something out between themselves."

Tanner nodded. "Okay. I'm sure if I just tell him not to come, he'll figure out a way to do it."

"Okay then.” Wade tapped at his keyboard and his computer screen lit up. "Now that we've sorted out our kid business, are we ready to move on to lodge and ranch business?"

Ford nodded happily. He was glad to move on to matters where he was on more familiar footing.

But he was even happier that the first order of business for their meeting had been family business, and he was looking forward to that being normal from now on.

His smile faded. He just hoped that as time passed, the problems that his new little family faced would become less.