Page 101 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

Ford smiled. "And I think you know that my wheelhouse is being the steady one – the one who’ll make home somewhere safe."

Cash cleared his throat. "Yeah. I think we're finally figuring out how to be a team, huh?"

"We are. I just wish it hadn't taken all these years and a situation like this before we did."

Cash shrugged. "It's like I said before, there's no point rehashing the past. Just be in the present. And right now, you should probably get your ass back to Amelia. I can handle the logistics; you're the one she needs by her side."

~ ~ ~

Amelia kept staring at the two birth certificates on her phone. She was grateful that Cash and Mav had agreed to her request a few months back to equip the plane with inflight Wi-Fi. It meant she'd been able to access all the details she could find about Danny and Crystal. It hadn't taken much for her to find the records of Hunter and Natalie's births.

As Cash drove them away from the airport, she found it hard to focus on anything but the awful truth – the fact that her beloved brother had hidden his children from her for five years until he died. Of course, she hated that for herself, but she hated it even more for Danny. That he'd felt he couldn't share them with her. She hated it more still for Crystal. That poor woman had been left alone with two small children when Danny died. And that she'd been so afraid that Amelia might try to take them away from her.

And now she hated it most of all for Hunter and Natalie. She didn't know what kind of life they'd had with Danny and later with Crystal when it was just the three of them. She hoped that at least they'd known love in their family. But now – since May 26 last year – they'd been in foster care.

She squeezed her eyes tight shut. Those poor kids. She hoped that at least in the group home, they'd been together. She couldn't understand why they'd been separated. Why place Hunter with a family and leave Natalie behind? But then she didn't know the first thing about the foster care system. Maybe it worked that way. She had no clue. But as the SUV sped down the highway, headed for the suburbs, she vowed to herself that neither of them would spend another night in the system.

She inhaled sharply when she remembered that Natalie was already outside the system. And who knew where she was spending her nights?

Ford tightened his arm around her shoulders. He didn't speak. He didn't need to. She didn't know if she'd be able to hold it together like this if he weren't here with her. He was just this strong, steady presence. The only thing still solid in a world that felt like it had fallen apart.

"According to the GPS, we'll be there in under ten minutes," said Cash.

Ty turned to look back at them from the passenger seat. "Trip just texted to let me know that he and Travis are on their way to meet Mrs. Sanchez. He's going to keep us updated on what she tells them."

"Tell him thanks," said Amelia.

This wasn't an entirely new situation for her. She'd accompanied Cash and Mav and the team on plenty of ops before now. Although, of course, nothing this personal. But the guys who'd come with them today weren't even on the team. They didn't work for Cash. They were his friends – Ford's friends and family.

Wade, who was sitting on her other side, pressed his shoulder against her and gave her an encouraging smile. "It's going to be okay," he said. "You'll see. Before you know it, your niece and nephew will be running around the ranch with Mateo, Maya, and Ashton at our Sunday lunches."

She froze. It was all well and good for him to say that. He was trying to be kind to her. But… she glanced at Ford. Their relationship was still so new. How could she expect him to take in two kids she didn't even know when the two of them had only been together for such a short time?

He met her gaze and held it as if he could read her mind.

"He's right, you know. Hunter's the same age as Ashton. And Natalie's right there with Emmett's girls. She's the same age as Tanya, and Alana's not much older."

She nodded slowly. This wasn't the time to start figuring out what would happen. Cash was right. She had to stay in the here and now. First, they had to get Hunter. Then find Natalie.

"Have you heard anything from Ace and Emmett?" she asked Ty.

"Not yet."

Cash met her gaze in the rearview mirror. "Ace tends to go dark until he's got something worthwhile to report. Don't let that worry you. It's how he works."

A few minutes later, he pulled off the highway, saying, "It won't be long now."

Amelia looked out, watching the palm trees and ponds as they passed. It was such a different landscape from what she'd grown used to in Montana. Even the sky was different. As evening fell, it turned orange and hazy – looking nothing like the crisp crimson and gold sunsets in Montana and the big sky she'd already grown to love.

She could feel the tension building in the SUV as Cash navigated his way through a rundown subdivision. Her assessment when she'd first seen this place on the map – had that really only been this morning? It already felt like a lifetime ago – had been right. This was a long way from the kind of place she'd want to live. And she hated that Hunter was here. But then, for all she knew, it could be a million times better than what he'd known in the past.

Cash turned onto a small street and stopped at the end of it. "Before we go in there, does everyone know what they're doing?" he asked.

Ford looked at her, and she nodded. "We're going to the front door to say we want to see him," he said.

"And I'll be right there behind you," said Cash.

"I'm going around the back," said Ty. "Just in case."

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