Page 59 of The Cattleman’s Unforgettable Love: Ford and Amelia (MacFarland Ranch #11)

When they arrived at the bakery on Tuesday afternoon, Ford was relieved to see that the parking lot was mostly empty. Nat made a face at him from the passenger seat. "Do we really have to do this?"

"Not if you don't want to, no."

"But I want to," Hunter said from the back.

Ford raised his eyebrows at Nat, and she rolled her eyes at him before saying in a cheery voice, "Then we will."

As they walked across the parking lot, Hunter grabbed hold of Ford's hand and stuck close to his side.

Nat wore a surly expression, but Ford had already come to understand that when she looked like that, it was mostly because she felt the same way Hunter did – she was scared.

But she'd never had the luxury of being able to show it.

He took a risk and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

She gave him a small smile. "Yeah, it'll be fine. I'm going to have to face the cow kids sometime, aren't I?"

Ford chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you are. And at least we sprung you from Alcatraz for a while."

She wrapped her arm around his waist. "I didn't mean it when I said that, you know. It was just... it's a lot of change. This place is so different."

"I know, but I hope you're discovering that it's not as bad as you first thought?"

Rather than smiling, a worried look crossed her face. "That's the trouble. It feels like now that we're getting the hang of being here, something's probably going to go wrong." She shrugged. "I mean, that's the way it works for us."

Ford squeezed Hunter's hand and hugged her a little closer for a moment. It broke his heart to think what the two of them had been through in their short lives, but he was determined to put all of that behind them now.

"That's the way it used to work," he told her. "Not anymore. You have Amelia and me now."

"Yeah, but nothing's sorted in Florida, is it? They could order that we have to go back, couldn't they?"

Ford frowned. "No. That's not going to happen. We won't let it."

She met his gaze. "Can you stop them if that's what they decide?"

He nodded slowly. "I don't make promises I can't keep, honey. And I promise you that no one is going to take you guys away from us now – not unless you want to go."

She leaned closer and Hunter wrapped his arms around Ford's leg, shaking his head rapidly.

"We don't want to go," said Nat. "So..." She stepped away from him and started walking toward the entrance. "We should probably go figure these cow kids out, right?"

Ford chuckled as he and Hunter followed her. When they reached the door and the familiar warmth and tempting smells greeted them, he wondered if he should let go of Hunter's hand, but when he tried, Hunter only clung tighter to him.

Tanner and Wade weren't here yet. Ford had deliberately arrived a little earlier than they'd arranged.

The rest of them were coming after school, and Ford felt like Nat and Hunter would be better off if they were here first. Maybe it was just his way of looking at things, but he felt like the three of them already being settled in a booth when the others arrived would be easier.

Nat and Hunter were walking into a whole new life here.

If the only solid ground he could give them was a booth to sit in where the others came to them, then he'd do it.

He was relieved to see that the bakery was mostly empty.

There was a table of tourists in the middle of the room, two older couples sitting by the window, and he lifted a hand in greeting when he spotted Monique Remington sitting with Jean Davenport – two of the matriarchs of the valley.

They smiled and waved, and the older couples turned to study him and the kids.

They were locals, and Ford knew that news of this visit would be all around the valley before dinner time.

It didn't matter. In fact, it was probably a good thing.

"Hey, Ford," Spider called from behind the counter. He smiled at the kids. "And you must be Nat and Hunter, right?"

Hunter nodded, and Nat glanced up at Ford. "How does he know? Did you tell him we were coming?"

"I did. I figured Spider and ..." He jerked his chin when Rocket appeared next to Spider behind the counter "… Rocket there might be people you’d want to have a chat with."

"Why?" Nat asked, looking suspicious.

Hunter surprised Ford when he let go of his hand and went over to the counter saying, "Because they're cool. Look at those tattoos."

Spider grinned and Rocket gave Ford a chin lift.

Ford had spoken to him yesterday about bringing the kids in.

Not only did he want to avoid too many questions when they first arrived, but he believed that Nat and Hunter might get something out of talking to him and Spider.

The two of them had grown up in foster care.

They'd had it tough, from what Ford knew.

And even besides that, they'd come to the valley as outsiders.

They'd grown up in LA, and with all their tattoos, Spider's mohawk, and Rocket's massive size, and the way they dressed, there was no mistaking them for cowboys.

Hunter had already reached the counter, and Rocket was grinning at him. "What can I get you, little man?"

Hunter just stared at him for a few moments, and Nat hurried to join him with Ford in tow. Spider greeted her with a smile. "Hi. It's nice to meet you."

She nodded at him but didn't speak. Rocket grinned at her. "I'm Rocket, and this is Spider. Welcome. And I'm guessing from the look on your face, you feel about the same way I did when I first arrived here."

Nat frowned at him and Rocket laughed. "I'm from LA. Grew up in the system." He jerked his head toward Spider. "We both did. This place is a lot to take in at first, isn't it?"

Nat still didn't speak but Hunter piped up, "I like it. I like the mountains. And the air’s not so wet here."

Spider chuckled. "You came from Florida, right?"

Hunter nodded. "The air’s always soggy, even when it's not raining. But here..." He looked up at Ford. "The air’s silky here."

Ford rested his hand on the kid's shoulder. "You've got a point there. I like this silky air much better than that humidity." He turned to Nat. "Do you?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"What can we get you, then?" Spider asked. "Do you want to choose now, or do you want to grab a booth in the back and take a look at the menu?"

Ford cocked an eyebrow at Nat, and she said, "Let's go sit in the back."

Hunter surprised him when he shook his head. "I want to stay here."

Nat sighed.

Rocket came around the counter and said, "Want me to help you choose, little man?"

Hunter nodded eagerly and stood on his tiptoes, trying to peer into the display case to see the pastries. Ford knew it had been the right call to bring them here when Rocket looked at Nat questioningly before he asked Hunter, "Want me to pick you up so you can see better?"

Nat gave him a slight nod when Hunter said, "Yes, please."

Spider smiled at Ford as he and Nat went to sit in a booth while Hunter and Rocket chatted happily about which cookies were the best. Ford's heart sank as he listened.

Rocket was saying that white chocolate chip and macadamia were his favorite – Hunter had never heard of them.

It seemed that everything Rocket pointed out was something new and unfamiliar to the kid.

"Mom never had money to spare for things like cookies," said Nat.

Ford pressed his lips together.

"When you look all pissed like that, it's because you're angry, isn't it?" she asked.

"No... well, not always... sometimes I'm mad, like right now. I'm mad at life for the way it's treated you guys. I'm mad at whatever mistakes were made that after your mom passed, no one tracked Amelia down. I'm mad that Hunter has never had a cookie."

Nat gave him a small smile. "He has. It's not like he's never had any . It's just that Mom could never take us to places like this where they have fancy flavors."

"Yeah, sorry," said Ford. He pushed a menu toward her. "Do you know what you want?"

She shrugged, and Ford decided that before they left, he was going to ask the guys to make him a bag with a couple of every flavor of cookies they made.

"Do you think you're going to be okay here?" he asked.

A rush of warmth filled his chest when Nat met his gaze and said, "You really need to ask that? I think we already are."

~ ~ ~

As they drove back over the pass from Bozeman, Amelia knew exactly what Sierra was thinking about when she shuddered.

"It was just up here where Jared ran us off the road."

Sierra nodded. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that with me."

Amelia shot her a quick smile. "I'm not. I'm glad I was there with you." She chuckled. "It meant you didn't have to go through it alone. And..." She touched the tip of her nose. "...I got a nose job out of it."

Sierra laughed. "I've always loved that about you – the way you can find a bright side in even the most horrible situation."

"I always try, but I don't always succeed."

"Tell me what's on your mind then," said Sierra. "I know there's something you're not telling me. You've told me all about Nat and Hunter and how wonderful things are with Ford and everything else. But what is it that you're not sharing?"

Amelia shrugged. "It's nothing. At least nothing that I can do anything about.

I just can't find a bright side to Nat and Hunter having gone through so much.

It breaks my heart that Danny never told me about them.

But that's just me being selfish. I know that.

What's more important is that no one found me after Crystal died. "