Page 86 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

Boone shrugged happily. "If the day comes when I meet a pretty little lady I want to be spending time with, then we can talk about it. How about that?"

Ford grinned. "Okay, I'll keep you to that, and I'll remind you of it when the day comes." He held up his hand. "And don't bother telling me that day will never come, because I would have said the same thing not so long ago, wouldn't I?"

Boone laughed. "I guess so. If there's hope for you, there might be hope for me yet."

Ford laughed with him. "If there's hope for me, there's hope for anyone."

As he walked back up to the big house, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and his stride faltered when he saw Amelia's name on the screen. Maybe she was calling to say she couldn't make it after all.

"Hey, Lil’ Bit," he answered.

He could hear the smile in her voice when she said, "Aw. I love the way you call me that."

"It suits you," he told her. "Is everything okay? Did you get held up?"

"No, I'm calling to say that I'm on my way back now. How are things going for you? Do you want me to meet you at the bakery?"

"No." He said it too abruptly. "I don't want to wait that long," he added to soften it. "I mean, I know it's supposed to be a big secret wherever you're working with Cash, and I'm not asking – I don't need to know. But I have noticed that when you come back from work, you come from the north – that means you'd have to pass here to get to the bakery. So..."

He was relieved when she laughed. He didn't want to sound like he was keeping tabs on her movements.

"Wow. And I thought I was the only one who observed little details like that. Well, maybe the military guys as well, but..."

"I guess it just goes with the territory around here," he said. "I'm used to keeping an eye on what's going on – and even if I wasn't, even if I didn't normally do that, I don't mind admitting that I keep a special eye out for you."

A stupid grin spread itself across his face when she said, "I really don't know why they call you dark and broody. You're the sweetest man I've ever known."

He rolled his eyes at himself as he carried on up to the house. "I'm really not, but like I've told you before, you bring out the best in me."

"Well, that's all I need to know. I don't need you to be sweet to anyone else."

She stopped abruptly, and when she didn't continue, he had to ask, "What's up? Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure I should answer that."

"Why?"

She let out a short laugh. "Because I just got all... I don't know what the word is... but not happy at the thought of you being sweet to someone else – to some other woman."

That brought the stupid grin back to his face. "Well, I'm glad you told me. You just made my day, and for what it's worth, I feel the same way about you."

She was quiet for a few moments before she said, "We've got it bad, haven't we?"

"Yeah, Lil’ Bit. I think we do, but I don't think that's a problem, do you?"

"I don't. I kind of like it. In fact, I like it an awful lot, and as long as we can keep being honest with each other like this, it's all good, isn't it? I mean, you must tell me if it wears off. I want you to be honest about that, too."

"That's one thing you don't need to worry about with me – if it's on my mind, I have to say it. I won't hide anything from you, good or bad."

"Thanks. Anyway, sorry I took us off into deep and meaningful territory. I'm almost back to the ranch now. All I need to do is drop off my gear."

"Then I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Okay. See you soon."

~ ~ ~

When they arrived at the bakery, Amelia was surprised to see how crowded the parking lot was. She'd been in here a few times, and it had been busy, but she'd never seen it this busy. Ford took her hand as they walked toward the entrance, and she smiled up at him.

---