Page 10 of The Prodigal Brother Returns

“Well, Jonas doesn’t live here, and I don’t want you on the Triple L.” Nathan crossed his arms over his chest, winced, and dropped his arms, but stayed defiant.

What had happened to them? When they were kids, he and Nathan were as close as two brothers could be. So close their parents had often said they were like twins. Jonas was five when Adam and Zelda adopted three-month-old Nathan, then found out they were pregnant. Blake was born eight months later.

All of his childhood memories, up until the day their father died of a heart attack while he was on a tractor baling hay in the far field, included Nathan. The two of them climbing trees, learning to ride horses, cleaning out the barn, wrestling in the mud together to see who was the strongest. The day Nathan stopped talking to him was almost the worst day of his life. It was the day after their dad’s funeral, and Blake came home drunk for the first time.

Blake regretted it wasn’t the last time, but he was done apologizing for his mistakes.

“I’m here, so deal with it.” He leaned against the wall; hands stuffed in his front pockets. “Jonas says the Triple L’s in financial trouble.”

“That’s none of your business,” Nathan said, his anger escalating as he pushed the table and his plate away.

“Jonas made it my business the day he demanded I come back and run the ranch while you’re laid up.”

Glaring at him, Nathan pressed his lips into a thin line.

Accepting his part in chasing Malorie off, Blake straightened. Since she would be returning to take care of her patient as soon as she had breakfast with Andee and Reece, he wasn’t going to let this conversation turn into another shouting match.

Imagining her cooking at the guesthouse stove, making breakfast for the kids, filling their plates with steaming food, sitting down with them to eat while they talked about the coming day—

It brought back too many of his best memories.

Malorie isn’t Tina.

No, she wasn’t.

“I’m staying in the apartment over the barn.” It had once been used as overflow living quarters for the hands that came and went. There was plenty of room. He tried an olive branch. “Look, I’m not here to take over, Nathan. I’m just here to help until you get back on your feet. I won’t remain a day longer than you want me to after that.”

He suspected questioning Nathan about why the ranch looked so worn, why he didn’t have ranch hands to help with the daily chores, and having an even deeper discussion about what needed to be done while he was here... well, now wasn’t the time to get his brother’s dander up more than it already was.

The storm cloud didn’t leave his brother’s face, but the sharp jerk of his chin, dark with black stubble, was a victory, even if a small one. At least Nathan didn’t order him off the property again. Not that Blake would have complied, but he would take the win whenever he could.

Regardless of how he’d left, being back on the Triple L somehow soothed the ache that had dug a permanent hole in Blake’s chest. Coming homewaswhat he needed to let go of the last of the anger and grief that had driven him from his family.

Turning to head out, he gave Nathan a two-fingered salute, a leftover from when they used to compete in track during their high school freshman year. “See you later, brother.”

Nathan didn’t return the salute, but Blake had the satisfaction of seeing his dark gaze narrow. If Nathan was focused on his beef with Blake, maybe he would cut Malorie some slack and do as he was told. The sooner he could get out of that bed, the better. For both of them.

Grabbing his gear from the upstairs guest room, Blake headed for the horse barn. He’d get the rest of his things from the Jeep after he got the lay of the land and his questions answered. At least in his own mind.

Why was the Triple L losing money? That shouldn’t be happening; not the ranch as he remembered it before they’d lost their parents. Adam and Zelda Lohmen had taken great pride in their home and three boys. If the place was failing financially, that was on Blake and his brothers. He sighed heavily. Sixteen years was a long time to hang on to the shattering grief that stood between the brothers and putting their family pieces together again.

After feeding the horses and letting them into the pasture, he climbed the derelict, creaking stairs to the apartment. The four-room living space was dusty and the windows dingy. It had an abandoned air, looking a little worse for wear. Just like the main house and the outbuildings.

To make the two-bedroom apartment habitable again was going to take some time and serious elbow grease. For the moment at least, he could put in the sweat equity. Then he was having a long talk with Jonas.

He opened the windows to let in fresh air. Movement below caught his eye.

“Can we look around, Mom?” That was Andee, who seemed to take the lead for the twins.

“Okay, but don’t go near the horses. And don’t touch anything that’s not yours.”

“Mom!” Reece said. Not to be outdone by his sister, he hung onto the vowel as long as he could.

Blake grinned. That brought back memories. But Malorie was firm. “This is the first time we’ve been on a ranch. We’ll need to check with Mr. Lohmen to see what we can and can’t do.”

Putting off apartment cleaning, Blake went down to the ranch yard,accidentallycoming out of the barn just as Malorie went into the main house. “Hi, guys. What are you up to?”

“We’re kind of looking around.” Andee glanced at the house, clearly thinking about what her mother had told her. “Is that okay?”

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