Page 36 of The Prodigal Brother Returns

She kept her attention on the twins, and Timmy, of course, who was eating in his usual silence. It was disturbing how difficult it was to keep her eyes off Blake when he sat across from her. His deep voice as he responded to a question from Andee about Bella caused a tingle of excitement to flush over her skin.

Reece finished eating and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Can Timmy and I go outside? We want to look for worms.”

“You don’t want to go out too?” Malorie asked Andee as she gathered the dishes from the table, knowing her daughter didn’t get as excited about worms as her brother did.

“Reece wants to show Timmy his magic formula for finding the worms. I’ve seen that a hundred times.” Andee rolled her eyes as she got up to help clear the table. Malorie sighed when the real reason came out. “Anyhow, I’d rather read for a while.”

“Me too.” She hugged Andee’s shoulders.

“Stay in the backyard where I can see you,” she told the boys. She had a good view of the small garden from the window over the sink.

Reece and Timmy stomped into their boots and practically flew out the door. “We will, Mom.”

Andee disappeared upstairs.

“I’ll help you clean up.” Blake grabbed a dishcloth and proceeded to wipe down the table.

Malorie didn’t want to encourage him or the sudden anticipation bouncing in her chest at having some adult time with Blake Lohmen. “I’m sure you have better things to do, like working on your next book.”

“I’m outlining the nextTimmybook after Timmy goes to sleep.” His smile invited her to enjoy that progress with him.

“I don’t suppose you’ll give me a hint of what the story’s about.”

His smile grew, lighting up his eyes. “Sorry. I’m still working it out.” He glanced out the kitchen window at Timmy, then wiped down the counter.

“I’ll bet you want to get back to the horses or your dad’s truck,” she half-teased, giving him a way out. Mark never helped her with the cleanup.

He picked up the skillet she put in the drying rack. “Thanks for including Timmy with the twins. It means a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this comfortable with people he’s just met.”

She could kiss the guy.

“He’s a great kid.” Carefully, she considered her next question. “When did you suspect Timmy was on the spectrum?”

While she put the dishes in the dishwasher, he wiped down the counters. “He was diagnosed at four. Before that, we thought he was just sad because he’d recently lost both parents.”

“That couldn’t have been easy for you and Tina. Or him.” Malorie started the dishwasher and stayed where she could see the boys.

“I wouldn’t change anything about Timmy. He’s perfect the way he is. He’ll grow up, have a life, and do fine.” Blake was unwavering. Malorie fell in love a little bit more, right then.

Mark had never accepted what he called Andee’s and Reece’s “shortcomings.” He was a genius computer guy, excelling in computer languages, mostly, but he did not understand Andee’s penchant for burying herself in the books she got from the library every week, or Reece’s geeky interest in worms, bats, and spiders. The older the twins got, the less he wanted to spend time with them. By the time they divorced, Malorie was starting to think all guys were like her ex.

But Blake Lohmen was nothing like Mark. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. The man casually copying her lean against the sink seemed too good to be real.

She folded her arms over her waist. “I heard Jonas and Nathan talking about your ideas for the ranch.”

“Is Nathan still putting his foot down?”

That was putting it mildly. She had to laugh. “He had some objections.”

“I’m sure he did.” Blake frowned, but it disappeared quickly. “What do you think? I’m sure you’ve noticed the ranch needs to start bringing in money. There are other things we can do, too, but we have to start somewhere.”

Blake asking her opinion unexpectedly wormed its way into Malorie’s heart. “I don’t know anything about horse ranching, or ranching in general, but I did wonder, as I was listening to your brothers—Can you rent out the pasture or part of it? Or build cabins to rent out. That might be too much to begin with, but this is such a beautiful place. People would pay to come and take a break from their busy lives. I have a friend who specializes in bringing struggling businesses back to life. I can give you her name if you’d like to talk to her.”

“Hold your horses, Missy.” Blake laughed, the tension in his shoulders appearing to evaporate. “Nathan has trouble enough with the small changes I’m suggesting. Having a stranger come in with a plan that isn’t his to begin with is not something he would approve of. In any case, I have some other ideas I may be able to talk him into considering.”

So, he wasn’t giving up. Another point in his favor, dang it, encouraging her growing feelings for Blake to balloon. She needed more time to figure out what she wanted for the future. Was it Colorado? Moving to Strawberry Ridge like Andee wanted her to consider was not a simple matter.

Being a travel nurse was fine for the summertime, but once the twins started back to school, she had to settle into a more routine nursing position. She suspected that could be in Strawberry Ridge—if there was a hospital—as well as Ashland, but moving lock, stock, and barrel? And Blake Lohmen could not figure into her plans, except there was a small, mutinous part inside her that suddenly wished he could.

---