Page 143 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

Ford stood there watching as Cash made the rounds, saying goodbye to everyone before he left.

Tanner came to stand beside him. "It's good to see you guys getting along so well."

"It is," Ford agreed.

After Cash climbed into his Suburban, Ford turned to Tanner and said, "Listen, I feel bad that with everything that's been going on, I haven't had Ashton over for dinner."

Tanner laughed. "Don't worry about it. He's worked his way around you."

"What do you mean?"

Tanner jerked his chin toward where Amelia was talking to Everly and Harper. "Since Ash wasn't getting his way by asking me to ask you, he asked Hunter to ask Amelia."

Ford had to laugh. "That kid..."

Tanner looked more serious as he said, "I hope he's not going to be a bad influence on Hunter. Hunter seems quieter, less … outgoing."

"I don't think it'll be a problem," said Ford. "You're right, Hunter's a different kind of kid. But he's his own person."

"Will you do me a favor and come and reassure Everly about that then? She's feeling bad."

When they reached the girls, Ford went to Amelia and wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You doing okay?" he asked.

She nodded happily. "I'm enjoying this. Oh, and I've invited Ashton over and volunteered you for making spaghetti."

Everly let out a short laugh. "The truth is that Ashton invited himself over. Sorry about that."

"I'm not," said Ford. "It'll be fun."

"Maybe so," said Everly, "but I don't think Nat will thank me for it."

Harper smiled. "Well, if she doesn't want to hang out with the little guys, I'd be happy to entertain her for an evening." She chuckled. "Since she’s deemed that I’m not a ‘cow person’, she might go for that."

"Thanks," said Amelia. "I think she might. She seems to have taken a shine to you."

Harper smiled. "It's mutual. She reminds me of myself when I was her age."

Ford raised his eyebrows, and Harper nodded. "I might be a glamorous lady from New York City these days, but you might be shocked if you knew my roots."

Amelia smiled. "You should come over and hang out with us sometime. I'd enjoy that."

"So would I. Thanks," said Harper. "For now, though, I should get going. I only came to drop Tanya off." She smiled at them. "Nat has my number. I'll let you guys decide how you want to play it." With that, she turned and walked away.

Tanner gave Ford a puzzled smile. "Do you know what the deal with her is? I thought that she and Emmett were... you know. But Emmett just pulled up." He pointed to Emmett's truck. "And Harper hightailed it out of here like her ass was on fire."

Ford shrugged. "No idea what's going on, but I thought she was avoiding him at the bakery when we were all in there, too. Maybe she's changed her mind about him."

"Oh, I hope not," said Everly. "I thought they'd be good together."

Ford shrugged. He had no clue, and it really wasn't any of their business. He watched Emmett greet the family as he made his way over to them.

"Thanks for letting Tanya come and hang out with you," Emmett said.

"You know she's welcome anytime," said Ford. "And so are you. It's not a case of letting her hang out. You're both welcome, and Alana, too, to any of these Sunday lunches."

Emmett nodded. "Thanks." He looked over to where Tanya was sitting with Laney and Nat atop the fence. He chuckled. "Looks like we might all be in trouble if Laney starts training them."

"Training them?" Amelia asked. "What do you mean?"