Page 19 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

The smile that he’d been wearing since he spotted her car faded when he thought about her working with Cash. He cut the engine and checked the clock on the dash. It was a minute before six.

He’d said in the note that he’d be back by six, and here he was.

He wasn’t going to think about Amelia working with Cash. He shouldn’t have a problem with it. He didn’t really. If anything, he should be grateful to his brother. If it weren’t for Cash, Ford didn’t know if he would ever have seen Amelia again.

After the ordeal that she and Sierra went through, he could admit to himself if no one else that it bothered him that Cash had been the one to help her afterward.

Ford himself had been right on the scene. He’d helped her to her feet, helped stop the bleeding from the wound on her neck, and stayed in her hospital room the first night, keeping watch over her. But the next day, when she was able to leave, Cash had been the one to offer his jet to take her anywhere she wanted to go. Cash had been the one to arrange and pay for the cosmetic surgery – both for her broken nose and the scar on her neck.

While Ford had remained here at the ranch, taking care of business as usual.

He reached for the door handle and jumped down from his truck. There was no point thinking about any of that.

What he had to focus on was that Amelia was here now. And thankfully, Cash wasn’t. He was staying in the valley somewhere – but not here on the ranch.

He let himself in through the kitchen door and was disappointed not to find Amelia there.

“Oh, hey. I’m coming,” she called from the great room.

“No need.”

He went and leaned in the doorway – and had to smile at the sight of her sitting in his place with one of the cushions on her knee.

“I haven’t just been lazing around, I promise,” she told him. “I put the oven on to preheat a few minutes ago.”

He smiled. “You’re fine. You get to sit around – you’re a guest, remember?”

Her smile vanished, and he knew he’d said the wrong thing.

“Can I take that back and try again?” he asked quickly.

She shook her head. “There’s no need to. You’re right. I am just a guest.”

He blew out a sigh. “No, I’m wrong. I was wrong. You’re not just a guest – you’re a friend.”

Even that wasn’t enough to express what he meant.

“More than a friend.” He held his breath when he realized how that sounded.

It brought a smile back to her face, so it couldn’t be that bad.

“Ford MacFarland?” she asked in a teasing tone. “Are you saying that you’d like for us to be more than friends?”

He was caught off guard for a moment but recovered quickly. She wasn’t trying to goad him into saying something that he’d regret later. She was asking a genuine question – and so he gave a genuine answer.

“That wasn’t my original intent, but since you brought it up – yes, I’ll say that.” He smiled. “I mean, we’re going on a date tomorrow, right? I think the point of dating is to become more than friends, isn’t it?”

He was relieved when she smiled back at him.

“I believe you’re right – and I’m very happy to hear it.”

The sound of the oven beeping pierced the moment, and he gave her a rueful smile.

“Hold that thought. I’ll be right back. I’ll just go and—”

She pushed to her feet. “How about we go and get things set up for dinner? I can set the table, or fix you a drink, or…” She shrugged. “I should probably confess at this point that I’m not the most domestic woman you’ve ever met.”

For some reason, he found that confession reassuring.

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