Page 13 of The Prodigal Brother Returns

Heading for the guesthouse to make the twins’ lunch, she made a detour to the garden to collect a fistful of the blooming plants to take inside. Malorie took a deep breath of the summer scent, practically burying her nose in the colorful flowers before she put them in the vase she’d found in the cupboard over the refrigerator. After arranging them to her liking, he set the overflowing vase in the middle of the island table.

Sun trickled through the skylight and corner windows, streaking across white cabinets and the counter. Malorie stood back, taking in her handiwork. So far, the Triple L was everything she wanted it to be. A picture of Blake, in his jeans and cowboy boots, flashed through her mind before she could stop the thought that he was an attractive sight as he introduced her kids to ranch life.

Pushing his image to the far side of her mind, she started cheese sandwiches on the griddle. By the time Andee and Reece came in, lunch was ready.

Catching them before they got too far, she told them, “Take off your shoes, guys.” There was a bench with baskets underneath in the small mudroom. Squelching the regret that Blake wasn’t with them, even knowing he had something else to attend to, she asked, “Did you finish your chores?”

“Yes,” Andee said. After she removed her shoes, she skipped to Malorie’s side. “I had so much fun. After dinner, B.J. said we can help put the horses back in their stalls.”

Malorie plated the sandwiches and handed one to each of the kids as they took seats at the table. Getting their drinks, she joined them.

“I need to talk to you guys.” How did she put this? Ever since their father had abruptly taken off, Malorie had tried to be transparent and honest with Andee and Reece. After everything the eleven-year-olds had been through, they deserved that much.

They both looked at her, their expressions suddenly wary. Andee was the first to speak, which was typical, since she was generally the spokesperson for the two. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Malorie fidgeted in her seat. “Exactly.” Why was this so hard? It shouldn’t be. She straightened. “I told Jonas that we’ll be leaving as soon as he can find a replacement nurse for Nathan.”

“Why?” Andee asked, her mouth tightening into a straight line.

Reece jumped up from his chair at the same time. “No way! I don’t want to leave!”

Malorie nudged her plate aside. It was better to just explain straight out. “When we got here, the brothers were having a big fight. I don’t think that’s good for us to be around.”

“Reece and I fight.” Andee left her seat to stand next to Reece. “A lot.”

Reece nodded, then insisted, “They’re not fighting now. Maybe we should ask them what they were fighting about and make them talk it out like you do with us.”

“We don’t want to leave, Mom.” Andee stepped closer and placed her hand in Malorie’s. “Please? We love it here.” She turned to her brother. “Don’t we, Reece?”

He nodded emphatically. Not to be outdone by his sister, he leaned against Malorie’s other shoulder. “Please? Can we stay?”

Oh dear.Malorie sighed heavily. She rubbed her forehead, trying to find the right words. The best she could do was, “We came here for some peace and quiet.”

“But it’s so nice. And peaceful,” Andee said. “And there’s horses. And the garden. Don’t you like how pretty the garden is?” Andee had that look on her face that she got when she was leaps ahead of Malorie, which happened more often than Mal wanted to admit. “We’ll be okay, Mom.”

“Yeah,” Reece joined in. “We should stay. We’rehappyhere.”

Malorie had to agree. She hadn’t seen the twins as happy as they were while mucking out stalls in a long time. But would they continue to be happy? “I’ll think about it. Right now, Jonas can’t find a substitute nurse. But if he does—We’ll talk again about leaving.”

It was Reece who pointed out the obvious. “But where would we go?”

That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? Back to Ashland, she guessed, which would defeat the purpose of her taking the job on the Triple L for the summer to begin with. She’d quickly searched the online job boards that morning, but there was nothing like the Triple L, where she didn’t have to put the kids in daycare during the odd hours when she took care of her patient.

“Promise you’ll think about staying,” Andee said, her light-brown eyes pleading. Which meant, especially with her hands clasped in front of her chest,please change your mind.

Crumbs.How could she say no? “Let’s finish lunch, then we can put the puzzle together.” She’d put the box on the coffee table while waiting for the grilled cheeses to cook. “If Jonas doesn’t find a replacement for me and we stay all summer, when this job is over, we’ll be going back home, anyway.”

“We know, Mom,” Andee said, her shoulders slumping.

The twins were too quiet while they finished their lunch. Malorie couldn’t help that. She was the mom and had to do what was best for them, even if they didn’t like hearing what she had to say.

The puzzle she’d packed had horses running across a grass field. She hadn’t thought much about it at the store when she was picking out the one that would be most challenging for the twins. Now she realized the beautiful scene was another subtle hint that they should stay on the Triple L.

With the image of Blake helping the twins replace used hay in the stalls stuck in her head, Malorie distracted Andee and Reece by having them look for the corner pieces while she cleaned up the kitchen. Later, she left them absorbed in putting the puzzle together as she stepped outside to call her best friend, Izzy.

Izzy picked up on the second ring. “Hi, I was just about to call you. How’s the new job going so far?”

“Not so good.” Frowning, Malorie followed the path into the garden and sat on the stone bench calling her name.

---