Page 3 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

The kid laid his fork down in the middle of his spaghetti to reach for more garlic bread.

“But you’re not good. You need a lady. That’s what I mean. And you know it.”

Ford rolled his eyes. “I don’t need a lady. I’m fine.”

“Who’s Amelia?”

Ford set his fork down. “What was that?”

Ashton gave him a wicked little grin. “You heard me. Who’s Amelia?”

Ford narrowed his eyes at him. “I think you know who she is. She’s your Auntie Sierra’s friend. And she works with Uncle Cash.”

“And…?” Ashton dragged the word out into three syllables.

“And what?” Ford asked, though he was already smiling.

“And she’s been staying here at the big house with you, hasn’t she?”

“She’s been staying here, yeah.” Ford didn’t want to say, ‘with me’, because it wasn’t like that.

Amelia wasn’t here with him. She wasn’t here for him. She was here with Cash – not with Cash, but she’d come with him and the other guys for Blane’s birthday last weekend. With everything that had gone down with Jim Sheridan’s nephew, Cash had decided that he was staying in the valley. He’d asked Amelia if she wanted to stick around and work from here, too.

Ford wasn’t even mad that Cash hadn’t asked him how he felt about her staying at the big house. He was happy for her to be here – and relieved that Cash hadn’t decided it was time that he should move back in. Ford didn’t even know where he was staying.

“And you like her, right?”

His breath caught in his chest. Ashton’s question took him back to his younger self. He hadn’t known how to approach girls. Hadn’t really understood them. They seemed to find him attractive – at least in looks – but they lost interest when they got to know him. He understood why; he was one of six brothers. There were so many of them to choose from, no girl was likely to waste her time on him. Wade was friendlier and more easygoing. Tanner was the good-looking one. Kolby and Ty were younger, but they each had their appeal to girls even back then. Cash hadn’t been around much, but everyone loved him.

And Ford? He’d always felt like he was too much – and not enough at the same time.

Ashton’s question flooded his mind with memories of his brothers and his friends encouraging him to approach girls. And of course, he had. But he hadn’t connected with any of them. Not in any meaningful way. He’d slept with his fair share of girls when he was younger, dated, had a few relationships, but...

Ashton was waiting with his garlic bread raised to his mouth. “Don’t try to deny it. I know you do,” he said, apparently growing impatient. He took a big bite and watched Ford’s face as he chewed.

“I wasn’t going to deny it. Yeah, I like her. She’s an interesting person.”

Ashton’s mouth was still full, but he crossed his eyes and made a frustrated grumbling noise.

Ford laughed. “And yes, I’ll even admit that she’s an attractive woman, but—”

“But what?” Ashton tilted his head to the side. “Are you gay?”

Ford almost choked on the sip of soda he’d just taken. “Why the hell would you ask that?” He knew damn well why the kid was asking, but he didn’t want to make it seem like an automatic assumption – it really shouldn’t be.

“Because I’ve never seen you with a girl. And if you wanted to be with a guy, then maybe you wouldn’t tell anyone.”

Ford set his glass down again. “I’m not gay. But if I were, I would tell everyone. There’s no reason not to, you know.”

Ashton licked his fingers as he nodded. “Yeah, I know – I just wasn’t sure if you did. I was going to tell you that it’s okay if you’re gay. I thought maybe you were old-fashioned about it.”

“Ah, right. Well, thanks. But I’m not gay, and I wouldn’t be afraid to tell people if I were. I know that the people who matter to me wouldn’t care – they love me, that’s what matters.”

“Okay, so we got that out of the way. So, why don’t you ask Amelia out?”

Ford had to laugh. “What’s this about, kid? Why do you need to get me a date all of a sudden?”

“It’s not all of a sudden. It’s now that Amelia’s here. She’s cool – she’s kind of awesome.”