Page 127 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

"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."

She shook her head. "It doesn't make sense. Aren't they supposed to track down relatives? Do they just sweep kids into the foster care system rather than putting any effort into finding family they could stay with?" She shrugged. "I didn't want to talk about this this afternoon because it's been so good to catch up with you. And there's no point getting all bogged down in what can't be changed. But I can't help feeling guilty, you know?"

"Oh, Lia, I do know what you mean. I understand it, but there's no reason for you to feel guilty. I have to say that to make sure that you understand. But at the same time, just because it's true doesn't mean that you don't. I know that.

“What's happening with that whole deal now? The kids have been here for a little while with you. Is their paperwork moving through the system? I know when Mateo and Maya came to us, there was so much paperwork, I thought it might never end."

Amelia shook her head. "Cash keeps telling us that he's on the case." She let out a short laugh. "I have every faith in that man. But that doesn't stop me from looking over my shoulder sometimes, wondering if someone might be coming to arrest us for abducting them – or even worse, to take them away again."

"No," said Sierra. "There's no way. You're not the one in the wrong here. The people in Florida should have tracked you down after Crystal died. You're their closest living relative. They should have contacted you. You should have been made their legal guardian immediately."

"You would think, wouldn't you?" Amelia blew out a sigh. "I just can't wait to get all of that sorted out. I mean, we can't even register them at school."

"Oh, I didn't think of that," said Sierra. "I thought you guys had decided to homeschool them."

"I don't know what we've decided yet," Amelia said. "Like everything else, it's up in the air. Hunter's so smart that he could probably test into middle school. But I think that would be a disaster for him – socially, at least Nat thinks – and she's right – that he needs to go to school to be around kids his own age. He's kind of reserved, a bit introverted."

Sierra smiled at her. "And highly intelligent. A lot like you."

That made Amelia smile. "I guess so."

Sierra chuckled. "Wade and I were talking about this the other night. He said that from what he's seen, Hunter's just like you and Nat's like Ford."

Amelia shot her a puzzled look. "She is? In what way?"

"You know – she looks kind of angry and surly most of the time. Just like Ford does. But mostly she's focused on taking care of her little brother – just like Ford has always done with the rest of them. And when you get past the frosty exterior, they both have a wicked sense of humor."

Amelia grinned as it struck her that Sierra was right.

“And you hadn’t realized that yourself?” Sierra asked.

“No,” she said honestly. “Most of the time I’ve been too busy – trying to keep up, trying to make sure Hunter feels safe and that Nat’s not too mad about something… trying to make them feel at home.”

She shrugged. “I’m not complaining. I love them – I really do. And I think we’re starting to turn the corner. But it’s not been easy.”