Page 120 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

She kissed the tip of his nose. "You're such a wonderful man, Ford MacFarland. I've never doubted for a moment how much you love me. How could I, with the way you've landed yourself in the middle of all my mess?"

He gave her a stern look. "It's our mess. Don't try to take it away from me."

She chuckled. "Thank you. I hope you never get to thinking that this is about me needing you – about the kids needing you – even though it's obvious that I do, and they do. But I need you to know that I love you for so much more, not just for standing by my side through all of this. Although... no, that's wrong. You're not just standing by my side. That makes it sound as though I'm the one doing it when really you are."

He ran his hand over her hair. "It's okay, Lil’ Bit. I know what you mean. We're in it together. And I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

She held his gaze. "Tell me honestly. Do you wish that we'd never found out about them?"

His eyebrows drew together as he shook his head. "No, I don't. Would I love more time with you, just the two of us? Sure. Do I find myself out of my depth and wondering if this stage will ever end sometimes? Hell yeah. Would I change it – any of it? No way. It's all going to be okay. One day – and I hope that day isn’t too far away – we'll feel like a family. And we'll look back at our rocky beginning and laugh."

Amelia curled her arm around his waist. "I hope you're right. At the moment, it doesn't feel like I'll ever laugh about any of this."

"I know. But time's a great healer, I can tell you that much." He turned his head away and let out a big yawn. "Sorry, darlin'. That wasn't too romantic, was it?"

"No, but it was completely understandable. And I never really understood romance anyway. You should get to sleep. You've been working so hard between taking care of all your usual ranch stuff and the herd and now all of... this."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "So should you. You've been here with them a lot more than I have. And I think that's far more tiring than anything I do."

She gave him a rueful smile. "I'm not going to argue. There are days when I think I'd rather face a raging bull than have to deal with Nat's attitude again."

"You don't think she's getting any better?" he asked.

"To be fair, yes. She seems to be softening a little, maybe." She let out a sigh. "I thought we'd had a breakthrough after I emailed all the photos of Danny to her. She cried. She even let me hold her. She told me little bits about him and her mom. But then I think she realized that she'd let her guard down, and she put it back up even higher and more impenetrable than ever."

Ford sighed. "I guess it’ll be a case of one step forward, two steps back for a while, huh?"

She gave him a rueful smile. "It feels like one step forward, seventeen steps back. But we'll get there eventually. I have to believe that. But go on, you should sleep."

"Does that mean you're not going to?"

"I will. I'm just a bit wired still. I'm going to read."

"Okay, Lil’ Bit. I promise you that the days of me carrying you upstairs and showing you a good time aren't over."

She chuckled. "I never thought they were. It's just a case of figuring out this life that we're going to be living." She cupped his cheek in her hand and pressed a kiss to his lips. " And if you remember, it was more than just a good time. I told you – best sex of my life! I love you, Ford."

She loved the way his eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Mine too, but I’m still going to aim to improve on it as soon as we get the chance. I love you more, Lil’ Bit. Good night."

Amelia checked the time on her e-reader and was surprised to see that an hour had gone by already. She should really switch it off and go to sleep. But she still didn't feel like she could. It wasn't as if she wasn't tired – she was exhausted. But she was wired. And although her body needed sleep, her mind didn't feel as though it wanted to shut down.

She lifted her head when she heard a strange noise, and then waited, listening to silence until it came again. It was a whimper. She slipped out of bed and pushed her feet into her slippers before opening the bedroom door and stepping out into the hallway to listen.

After their first night here, Nat had chosen the bedroom at the very end of the hallway – it used to be Laney's room, apparently. Amelia started toward it but stopped as she approached Hunter's room. The sound was coming from in there.

She pushed his door open and asked quietly, "Hunter, are you okay?"

He didn't reply, but the whimper came a little louder this time. She stepped inside the room and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. As she stood there, she almost jumped out of her skin when Hunter let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Hunter," she called. "It's okay." But he didn't hear her. He kept on screaming, thrashing in his bed as if he were fighting someone off.

"Hunter, sweetie," she said louder. "Hunter, wake up." She sat down on the bed and attempted to gather him into her arms, but he fought her as if she were the attacker in his dream. He was yelling "No!" and screaming so loudly it broke her heart.

"Hunter, it's Auntie Amelia. Wake up, sweetie."

His eyes popped open, wide and panicked. But her heart felt like it filled up and overflowed when they filled with relief when he spotted her.

"Auntie Amelia!"

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