Page 18 of The Prodigal Brother Returns

“Hi, I’m Heather Dean, Timmy’s counselor.” She held her hand out to Blake. “We’re sorry that Timmy’s leaving before summer camp is over. He’s been a joy to have with us.”

Heather couldn’t have been more than in her early twenties. One of the reasons Blake had chosen Camp Elwood was because they had college interns to help with the kids.

“I’ve got a new summer job, on a ranch, and I think Timmy will enjoy being there with me.”

“If he wants to come back, he can. We would be glad to have him.”

“Thank you, Heather. We’ll keep that in mind.” Blake grabbed Timmy’s bag. “We’d better hit the road, kid.”

The drive back to the Triple L sped by. Timmy wanted to know everything. Blake told him about his summers on the ranch when he was younger, the horses, Timmy’s uncles, and the young family staying at the ranch, all of which inspired more questions.

Jonas and Nathan didn’t know about Timmy. Blake just hoped his brothers would be welcoming, as Timmy was curious to discover that his adopted dad had brothers. Parking in front of the main house, he faced Timmy. “Are you ready to meet your uncles?”

“I think so.” Timmy balled his hands into nervous fists. “Will they like me?”

“Of course they will.” His breath bottled up in Blake’s chest for a second before he could continue speaking. “After you meet them, I’ll show you the horses. And you can meet Andee and Reece.”

That seemed to reassure his boy. Timmy unraveled his hands. “I hope they do.”

“Who wouldn’t like you?” He gently rubbed the boy’s shoulder.

In the main house, Blake followed the sound of his brother’s voices. Jonas stood at Nathan’s bedside. Malorie had already been there. Nathan was groomed, his stubble no longer visible. He had changed into a clean tee shirt, this one with a Tardis logo. As a kid, Nathan had been a huge fan ofDr. Who. Apparently, that hadn’t changed.

Blake gently urged Timmy forward. Nathan saw Blake at the same moment and frowned. “I thought you left.”

He stared his cranky brother down, shooting a warning look at both men. “I went to pick up my son. This is Timmy. He’s been at summer camp.”

“Your son?” Jonas’s brows pulled together, matching Nathan’s frown.

“Hi.” Timmy hesitated, tucking his hands behind his back as he tried to move out of sight behind Blake.

There was a short silence before Nathan’s scowl disappeared, but it was Jonas who stepped forward, hand outstretched. A rare smile stretched across his brother’s face, luring Timmy into the open. “It’s nice to meet you, Timmy. My name is Jonas.”

Timmy looked at Jonas’s hand, then looked at Blake. Blake nodded encouragingly.

“Um... nice to meet you too.” Timmy shook Jonas’s hand with a hard up-and-down motion, then quickly let go, rubbing his hand down his pant leg as he switched his gaze to Nathan. “Are you my Uncle Nathan? My dad said you fell off your horse and broke your bone.”

“I did.” Nathan looked at Blake before switching his gaze back to Timmy. Blake took a step forward, intending to protect the kid if his brother’s temper got out of hand. “But it was my fault.”

“Why?” Timmy followed Blake to the end of the bed, repeatedly rubbing one finger back and forth on the footboard. Blake was surprised, but glad he seemed excited to meet his uncles.

Nathan studied Timmy’s face. He wouldn’t find a resemblance. Not all families were made up of only the people born into them. Nathan should know that.

“It turns out Duke had a rock wedged in the bottom of his foot. I was in a hurry and didn’t check his feet before I tried to ride him.”

“Will you teach me to ride?”

A flash of humor lightened Nathan’s reserve. He pushed on his hands to sit straighter and flinched. “I’m not supposed to ride horses for a couple of months, but if you’re still here, and your dad”—he glanced at Blake—“hasn’t already taught you, I’d be glad to.”

Blake arched a brow at his hard brother. He gently tugged Timmy away from the bed. “Let’s let Uncle Nathan rest and go find Andee and Reece.”

“I’ll come back later,” Jonas said to Nathan, then walked out with Blake and Timmy. “Malorie said they were going to take a walk to the pond.” While Timmy went out to the porch, Jonas pulled Blake aside. “Looks like you have a story to tell.”

Jonas didn’t mean a middle-grade superhero story. But when it came to Timmy’s well-being, Blake didn’t trust anyone. “Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, you have a story to tell too.”

Leaving Jonas behind, Blake followed the path to the pond, with Timmy exclaiming at all the things Blake had taken for granted before being given the boot.

Malorie and her kidswereat the pond. Reece saw them first and waved. Malorie walked toward them, more relaxed than Blake had seen her since she walked in on a Lohmen brothers’ fight on the verge of turning ugly.

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