Page 11 of The Prodigal Brother Returns

“It’s more than okay, but I’m hoping you can help me with something. I need to clean up the apartment upstairs before I move in. I don’t suppose—”

Reece eagerly came closer to Blake. “I want to help.”

“Me too,” Andee said. “We’re good helpers.”

“That’s great. Let’s get some cleaning supplies from the house.” The kids’ enthusiasm was priceless. They ran ahead of him, but Blake caught them at the front door, finger against his lips. “Shh. Your mom won’t be happy if we disturb her patient.”

“Can we tell her we’re helping you?” Andee whispered.

Nodding, he ushered them into the house. “Let me check to make sure Nathan’s ready for a quick visit.”

Malorie was putting away her stethoscope. Nathan’s hair was slicked back. He wore a blue-and-black plaid shirt and looked like he was in a better mood than when Blake had talked to him earlier. He hung back so Nathan couldn’t see him and get all riled up again. He waved Andee and Reece forward.

“Mom,” Andee whispered. And when her mother glanced over, “Is it okay if Reece and I go with B.J. to the barn? There’s an apartment there. He asked us if we wanted to help clean it up. Can we, please?”

Blake wished he could see Nathan’s face, but Malorie stood between him and his brother. Nathan didn’t say anything.

Malorie caught his eye. Blake nodded. “Okay. I’ll come check on you later.”

Andee and Reece sent him excited smiles. He led the way to the pantry and loaded up with cleaning supplies. “Off we go. Just be careful when you get to the stairs. Let me go up ahead of you.”

An hour later, he had to agree with Andee. Theyweregood helpers.

Malorie stopped in. “How’s everything going?”

“The kids are awesome,” Blake bragged. Spending the morning with them made him desperate to see Timmy. “I couldn’t have gotten this much done without them.”

“They always do a great job.” Andee and Reece stood taller at their mother’s praise. “I have some things to do, but come back to the guesthouse when you’re done, guys, okay?”

“Okay, Mom,” Reece said, going back to scrubbing the small kitchen’s butcher block countertop.

Hopefully, her “things” didn’t include looking for a new job.

By the time they had the apartment spic-and-span, it was getting close to late afternoon, and Blake had come up with a plan. He’d enjoyed his day with the twins immensely, which only made his idea more viable. He only hoped Timmy would be on board.

Andee and Reece joined him at the door to take in their handiwork. “What do you think? Good job, right? It’s livable?”

“I like our bedrooms in the other house better, but this is good.” Andee sounded just like her mother. Honest and practical.

“Thanks for your help. I think it looks good too.” He steered the kids down the stairs to the main part of the barn. “You’d better head back to your mom now.”

“Do we have to?” Reece scuffed his foot on the concrete floor littered with bits of hay and debris.

Blake smiled at the kid. “She’s waiting for you.”

The next minute, his smile turned into a frown. When was the last time the barn had seen a good cleaning? Starting a mental list, cleaning up the barn landed at the top, right behind shoring up the stairs leading to his temporary home. They didn’t need another accident on the Triple L.

“Off you go.”

Andee and Reece waved at him as they left the barn. He shook his head at their exuberance. Returning the cleaning supplies to the pantry where he’d gotten them, Blake checked on Nathan. His brother moved restlessly as he dozed. Jonas was still gone, but Malorie must have been there recently because a full bottle of water sat on the bedside table within easy reach.

Jonas hadn’t been lying. The ranch needed him. There was a lot more work to be done on the ranch than he’d expected. Nathan was not going to get rid of him until he finished what Jonas had brought him to the ranch to accomplish.

Chapter Four

After making sureNathan was settled for the morning, Malorie headed toward the barn to see what Blake had given Andee and Reece to do. Yesterday, it was cleaning up the apartment over the barn. Today, barely finishing breakfast, the twins had rushed out of the house, they said, to help with the horses. She didn’t know what Andee meant by that, but she didn’t want them riding the big animals she’d seen in the pasture without first having a few lessons. Not that she thought Blake would put them in harm’s way. It was that... well—She was a mom, and from the day they were born, they were two of the most important people in her life.

Which was probably why, eleven years into this mom thing, she was now divorced.

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