Page 58 of The Cowboy's Unshakeable Love

“Notif, Mama.Now– now that you have all the money you need. It puts you in a different position in a relationship. Trav’s not the kind of guy who cares about that stuff, but you do. Itfactors into how you see yourself.” She grinned. “Maybe you can go into partnership with him – help him run his place. It’s a lot for one person – the restaurant, the cabins, the kind of therapy programs they want to set up.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“And you don’t need to, but this way – as a lady of independent means – you’re in a position to consider the possibilities.”

She smiled at her daughter. “Thank you, baby girl.”

Callie shook her head. “This is my way of thankingyou.”

Chapter Twelve

Travis leaned back in his seat and smiled as he watched Retta with the kids. Little Mateo and Maya, Wade and Sierra’s adopted kids, had brought a whole new feel to these Sunday lunches at the MacFarland Ranch.

As he’d told Retta, he usually only came to these get togethers when he was here with Cash. It was strange to be here without him, but not in a bad way. He just hoped that it wouldn’t be too long before Cash decided that he was ready to come home. Well, Travis knew that his friend was almost there. Mav was the one who didn’t want to come home to the valley, and until he did, Travis couldn’t see Cash leaving him.

“It’s good to have you back.”

He looked up when Ford came over and took the seat next to him.

“Thanks. It’s good to be here. How’s life treating you?”

Ford nodded but didn’t answer. Instead, he smiled and jerked his chin toward Retta. “Is she getting some practice in, ready to be a grandma?”

Travis laughed. “I guess so. Although from the look of it, she doesn’t need much practice, she’s a natural.”

It was true. Even in her wheelchair, she had the kids captivated. Little Mateo stood by the chair telling Retta what looked like a very involved story. She asked him a question every now and then, and the boy gave her questions careful consideration before he answered. Little Maya wasn’t capable of staying still that long. She kept running off and coming back. AsTravis watched, he figured out what she was doing – she was picking daisies and bringing them to Retta.

Retta wasn’t just fiddling with them while she listened to Mateo – when Maya came back to her with a few more, she added them to a daisy chain and held it up. The little girl smiled so big when Retta looped the chain over her neck. She ran off wearing it like a necklace and went straight to show it to Wade and Sierra.

Ford smiled when he turned back to him. “She is.”

“It seems strange to have little-uns running around here, but I like it.”

Ford smiled. “I do, too. And I’d say it’s a good thing that we enjoy it. The way things are going, I think we can expect more and more little people to join the family in the years to come.”

“What about you?” Travis asked. “Do you think you’ll ever want to settle down and have a family?”

Ford shrugged. “I dunno. I … think I might have missed my chance. I’ll have to leave it to the other guys.”

“Don’t give me that shit. You might be older than the others, but you’re not that old. Look at me – I’m a lot older than you are, and I’m hopeful about where things are going for me. And Ace and Deacon already proved that it’s never too late.”

Ford laughed. “You make it sound like you guys are in your nineties, not just your fifties. I didn’t mean that I’m too old, I just meant … Shit. Did you know he was coming?”

Travis followed his gaze and grinned when he saw Cash. He was hugging Janey, then he slapped Rocket’s back before pulling Laney in for a hug.

Mateo and Maya ran to him, and he picked them both up, sitting one on each hip. Maya kissed his cheek and Mateo looked serious as he started to explain something.

Travis laughed and turned back to Ford, but the seat beside him was now empty. Shit. He’d forgotten that Ford and Cash didn’t get along. It made no sense to him – they were each mad at the other for something they’d done to try to help.

He watched Cash set the kids down and finish saying hello to everyone. When he reached Retta, he glanced over at Travis with a grin before leaning down to whisper something to her.

Travis just laughed. He knew Cash too well – whatever he was up to, Travis wasn’t worried. Retta’s cheeks turned pink, but she was still smiling. Cash kissed her cheek and then came sauntering over toward Travis.

Tanner intercepted him, and Cash wrapped his arm around Tanner’s neck. It reminded Travis of when they were all much younger. When Tanner was a little kid, he used to worship Cash. To be fair, that was true of all the siblings – and it still was. Except maybe for Ford. But Cash had always had a soft spot for Tanner.

Maybe it wasn’t a soft spot so much as he seemed to give him a little more time and attention than the others – although he doted on all of them. It made sense to Travis. They were a big family, and all the others were paired up. Ty and Kolby were twins and they had that twin bond, a connection that was obvious. They turned to each other first – whether it was over a squabble when they were kids, or when their women’s lives were in danger as they had been recently. Janey and Laney were twins, too. They used to share the same kind of bond when they were small. It seemed to Travis like they were rebuilding it sinceLaney moved home, too. Ford and Wade were only a year apart in age, and they were close.

Tanner was the odd man out. He fell in the middle, between Ford and Wade and Laney and Janey. It wasn’t as though he needed any extra support – he was as outgoing and popular now as he had been as a kid. He was a charmer, and he knew how to use it to his advantage. Everyone seemed to love him. And he had the looks to go with it. Travis didn’t think he’d ever had a serious girlfriend, but that wasn’t for lack of offers.

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