Page 61 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

"I am happy," said Cash with a laugh. "I'm so damn happy that if you get here within a month, I'll throw you a party. How about that?"

Amelia laughed again at the look that Blane and Mav exchanged. "How about you throw a party for yourself, Cash?" she suggested. "And offer a secret hideout for these two. I think they might find that more enticing."

"See, she gets us," said Blane. "That sounds like a good idea to me."

"Nope," said Cash. "I'm going to throw the party, and you two are going to be there." He grinned. "And you'll enjoy it whether you want to or not."

"Why would we do that?" asked Mav.

"Because the pair of you have bridges to build around here, so you might as well start out on the right foot."

Amelia held her breath. She didn't think Cash would talk so openly about Mav and Libby – he had to mean something else.

The fact that neither Mav nor Blane said anything confirmed that Cash wasn't talking about Libby. Whatever he was referring to, it wasn't that.

Blane caught her eye. "It's okay, honey. Don't look so worried. It'll all work out."

Cash shot her a quick smile. "It will. It'll be fine. Especially when we get these two ugly mugs off the screen so that we can get on with our day." With that, he clicked the mouse and Mav and Blane disappeared.

"Were you expecting that?" she asked him.

"I won't lie, I was hoping that they’d see sense now that I’m staying here, but I sure as hell wasn't expecting they’d get on it so soon."

"And you think they’ll act fast?" she asked.

"I'm hopeful, but we’ve had a few false starts over the years when it comes to moving the whole operation back here to the valley. So, I'm not going to hold my breath."

"I don't blame you."

"Anyway, what about you, honey? Tell me that you're planning to stick around. I'd hate to get those two back and lose you."

She smiled. "I don't have any plans to move on just yet."

His green eyes seemed to twinkle as he met her gaze. "Is there any chance that brother of mine might be able to persuade you to stay?"

She dropped her gaze. "We only just started seeing each other, Cash."

His hand came down on her shoulder. "Yeah, sorry, darlin’. Ignore me. I'll keep my nose out."

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you or anything. I just..." She shrugged. "I like him a lot, and I'm hopeful. Let's leave it at that for now, shall we?"

"Sure thing. I didn't know if the two of you were in deep already, but since you're not, do you have any plans this weekend?"

"Why?"

"I need to fly down to San Francisco for a couple days. I'm meeting up with a contact down there. I know that's your old stomping ground, so if you want to hitch a ride, I'll be leaving Friday lunchtime. You can come with me if you want. I'll probably head back Sunday afternoon, so you'll have a couple of days to catch up with family or friends or whatever you want to do." He tilted his head to the side and seemed to study her.

"What?" she asked. "What are you looking at me like that for?"

"Just curious. I can't get a read on whether you'd be eager to get out of here or if you'd maybe rather stick around and hang out with Ford, but you don't want to tell me that."

She laughed. "I do want to stick around here and hang out with Ford, and I don't mind telling you, but..." She drew in a deep breath. "I don't know if I should go. Something came up about my brother this week, and..."

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry, honey. Why didn't you say anything? What's going on? What can I do?"

She smiled. "I didn't say anything because there's not a damn thing you can do, Cash. We both know that. I love that you want to, but..."

He nodded slowly. "I just feel for you, darlin’, that's all. So, yeah, if you want to come with, just let me know. Or if you decide at the last minute, just show up at the airport. You don't need to give me any notice."

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