Page 24 of The Prodigal Brother Returns

“I haven’t told him yet.”

That changed things. “He’ll need to know as soon as possible. If he’s waiting for a miracle to happen, he’s got a long wait. We can start with small steps, but I’m not sure Nathan is willing to get on board with even that much. I don’t have a lot of time to change his mind. I have Timmy to think about. My sole responsibility is to make sure the boy’s happy.”

“He’s a good kid. And you’re a great dad. Tell me about him,” Jonas, straightforward as always, said as his shoulders lost their stiffness.

Too surprised that Jonas wanted to know about his life after he left the Triple L, Blake spoke before he could stop himself. “He’s Tina’s brother—”

“Tina?”

Blake wished he hadn’t gotten started, but since he had—“My wife and Timmy’s sister. She died from a brain tumor two years ago.”

“I’m sorry you and Timmy had to go through that.” Jonas leaned on the edge of the desk.

Blake shrugged. That time of their lives wasn’t something he liked to talk about. “Timmy was a late-in-life baby. He was living with Tina when we got married. He’s smart and goes to school and therapy, but he has challenges with social skills and problems understanding verbal cues. When he asked if he could call me ‘Dad’—” Jonas didn’t need to know that was just a few days ago.

“You said yes. He seems to be doing pretty good here on the ranch.”

Blake stepped back. Big brother saw too much. He wasn’t planning to stay on the ranch forever. Still, he couldn’t deny what he could see with his own eyes. “He’s happy.”

Jonas straightened. “Let me talk to Nathan. I’ll present a case he can’t refuse.”

Blake didn’t doubt that for a second. “Good luck. He’s going to be a hard sell. He can’t forget I crashed Dad’s truck. I don’t blame him. It’s a hard thing to forget.”

It was all the apology Blake could offer at the moment.

“I don’t have a good excuse besides being an ass for ignoring you for sixteen years,” Jonas allowed, his brows pulling together. “I’m not proud of what I did. I’m glad you’re back.” He held out his hand.

Settling the score with Jonas wasn’t completely making amends, but it was a start. He shook his brother’s hand. Still, he didn’t let his brother completely off the hook. He snorted. “Only because you ordered me to come home.”

Was the Triple L still home? Blake wasn’t sure about that. Ever since meeting and marrying Tina, Sedona had been his home.

“Yeah, that was high-handed of me.” Jonas laughed. “I figured you wouldn’t come if I asked nicely. The ranch needs you, Blake.”

“Just the ranch?” he had to ask.

Blake’s anger at the way he’d been thrown off the Triple L banked some. Looking back, he had to admit he could understand why his brothers had booted him out. He was so buried in grief at not having a chance to say goodbye to his mom that there was no way Jonas had any sway over how out of control his younger brothers had gone.

Jonas laughed again and slung an arm around Blake’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go see what Nathan and the kids are up to.”

Taken aback by Jonas’s olive branch, Blake went along with the brother who’d been his mortal enemy for the last sixteen years. Tina had been right. It was time to take his brothers off his I’m-never-speaking-to-you-again list. Right behind that came finding a way to save the ranch his parents had put so much of their hearts and souls into.

Timmy and the twins were sitting at Nathan’s feet while he told them a story about their dad teaching his sons to ride horses.

Timmy saw Blake first and waved. “We’re going to learn to ride. Right, Dad?”

“Soon,” Blake reassured the boy. Thinking about his conversation with Jonas, and to test the waters, he caught Nathan’s eye. “While I’m here, why don’t we put a notice in the Strawberry Ridge Journal advertising that we’re starting riding lessons?”

It was one of those baby steps, anyway. And if it brought in some much-needed money, then the struggle with Nathan to get there would be worth it.

His brother’s gaze narrowed. “We don’t give riding lessons.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t start. Weren’t you just telling the kids about Dad teaching us to ride? While I’m here, I could do the same.” Now that Timmy was with him, maybe he’d be on the ranch a little longer than he’d anticipated when he’d first come back. Blake kept his expression bland and shrugged. This moment probably wasn’t the best time to do more than briefly mention their dad. He didn’t want to start a new argument, but since he was on a roll—“It’ll bring in some income. And when you’re feeling better, you can take over.”

Nathan swiveled his wheelchair. The kids jumped to their feet. “Mom and Dad didn’t give riding lessons to strangers. We don’t need to either.”

“That’s because Dad always said he was too busy,” Blake pushed back. He wasn’t ready to give up on the idea. “We have plenty of time, and our first customers can be Timmy and Malorie’s kids. We can work out the kinks with them.”

“No.” Nathan slowly maneuvered the wheelchair into the house.

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