Page 79 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

"Why?" he asked.

And it was Cash's turn to sigh. "Because like I said, I care about you. Amelia's special, and I've always known it would take someone special to catch your eye – to come to mean something to you. And she does, doesn't she?"

Ford didn't see any point in denying it. "She does."

"Then when she gets back there, tell her the truth. I reckon the two of you can overcome anything if you keep being honest with each other."

"Thanks, Cash."

"And take her to the bakery tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Because you said you would, and because when she was all confused today, she asked if she could come to San Francisco with me this weekend."

Ford frowned.

"She doesn't want to go. It was just her way of avoiding having to face you."

"But if she wants to avoid me because she thinks I'm pushing her for too much..."

"Jesus, Ford. She doesn't think you're pushing for too much. She wants what you offered. But she's worried that you didn't really mean it and that you freaked out when you thought she might want it."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. And she should be back any minute, so I'll leave you to it. And I'll even apologize for sticking my oar in, but..."

"No apology needed." Ford cleared his throat. "I appreciate it."

"And I appreciate you hearing me out. It comes from a place of love, you know."

Ford had to clear his throat again before he said, "I know. And it's a two-way street."

Cash chuckled. "Okay, well, I'm going to go now before you make me cry."

Ford laughed with him. "You know, no one would ever believe we had this conversation."

"I don't know," said Cash. "In the past, they never would have, but I'm hoping that in the future, it might come to seem like nothing out of the ordinary."

Ford nodded, even though his brother couldn't see it. "I'd like that," he said quietly.

"Yeah, me too," said Cash. "Have a good weekend. You've got yourself a fine woman there. Don't screw it up. And if it looks like you might, just let me know. I've got your back, okay?"

Ford nodded, not trusting his voice to speak again.

"See ya later,” said Cash.

That made him smile "Yeah, see ya later."

~ ~ ~

Amelia's heart leaped into her throat when she parked her car and spotted Ford standing on the back deck. With his hands on his hips and a frown on his face, he looked quite the foreboding figure. She was tempted to turn the car around and drive away again. Just because Cash had sounded so confident in his interpretation of Ford's actions this morning, that didn't mean he was right. Cash was confident about everything – then again, he was also right about pretty much everything. Still...

She reached for her bag in the passenger seat, keeping an eye on Ford. He hadn't spotted her yet. He looked to be lost in thought – scowling away to himself as he stared out at the mountains. He looked every bit the dark and broody one right now.

When she couldn't delay it any longer, she climbed out of the car. She might as well go on and face him. Maybe she was making too big of a deal out of it all anyway. All he'd said was that he'd be happy to share his family with her – that could be just a throwaway comment. She should probably let it go, not even give it another thought, let alone mention it again...

Her heart stuttered to a halt when he turned toward her and smiled as he met her gaze. She smiled back and picked up her pace, Cash's words echoing in her head as he started down the steps to come and meet her. She somehow knew in her heart that whatever misunderstanding they'd had, they were going to get past it.