Page 44 of The Prodigal Brother Returns

With a quick nod, Timmy walked closer to Nathan and held out hisTimmybook. “Do you want to read my book? This one is my favorite. Dad is writing a new one and maybe that one will be my new favorite.”

She felt rather than saw the tension leave Blake’s shoulders. He was a good dad, even though Timmy was not his biological kid. Where family came from didn’t matter. What mattered was how well parents took care of those sweet gifts.

Look at Mark. He was the twins’ natural father, but an impatient dad. Blake, on the other hand, was so patient and all in, heart and soul.

Her own heart beat a little faster.

“I would love to read it.” Though she wasn’t sure he would, this time Nathan’s focus was all on Timmy as he took the book. “Thanks.”

Hands in his pockets, Jonas joined the conversation. “I have bacon and scrambled eggs waiting on the stove to be eaten. Who’s hungry?”

“We are!” Andee and Reece ran up the stairs, barely missing bumping into Nathan. Timmy hung back with Blake.

Malorie was confused by the warmth spreading from her toes to her cheekbones. It was silly to have made a vow to keep dateable men off her menu. She wasn’t ready to dip her toe into that particular pool. Was she? Blake was a good man and maybe not a bad candidate.

Following her kids and Timmy as he cautiously left Blake’s side, and Nathan, who’d pivoted his chair to go inside with the children, and with Blake bringing up the rear, she banished the longing building inside. The thing was, shemightbe ready. But why? Because her feelings for the rancher were taking on a life of their own?

There was no reason to change course just because Blake Lohmen had caught her by surprise. Been there, done that. The last time was how she’d ended up in Ashland. She’d had a good job at a children’s hospital in Portland and a lovely apartment in downtown, along the river. Then she met Mark. Thinking he was The One, within six months, she’d dropped everything, including her Master’s degree classes, married him, and moved to Southern Oregon.

Look how that had turned out. There was no way she wanted to repeat that experience. Not that she had those same head-over-heels feelings for the man following behind her.

Inside the house, after he putTimmy, the Superheroon the end of his bed, she helped Nathan into a chair at the table. Leaving his crutches close enough for him to reach, she was too aware that Blake put the wheelchair away.

This is what she was here for. To take care of her patient. Nothing more. That they were all working together was an added bonus.

After the food was put on the table, she caught up with Jonas in the kitchen. Blake sat with Timmy. She shouldn’t be noticing. Not if she wanted to keep her heart intact. Conversation picked up. They wouldn’t hear her now.

“Did you play big brother and tell Nathan to apologize?”

While the smell of bacon cooking made Malorie’s stomach growl, he handed her a pitcher of orange juice and picked up the glasses on the counter. “I didn’t tell him to do anything, but we did have a little get-over-yourself talk.”

“Looks like it worked.” She watched as Blake handed the plate of scrambled eggs to Nathan. They both smiled, not at each other, but at something Timmy said.

She shook her head. Oh, man! Not fair.

Blake Lohmen ticked a lot of the right boxes but she didn’t have to fall for him. Not if she didn’t want to.

Chapter Thirteen

After the scenein the shed two days ago, and the kids running to the pond without telling anyone, and then Nathan offering an olive branch, his brother... well, he wasn’t as friendly as when they were in middle school, but he wasn’t as antagonistic as when Blake had returned to the Triple L either.

Blake didn’t want to rock the boat, so he’d kept any talk of fixing their father’s truck on the down-low. To make sure things stayed on an even keel, he and Timmy had been having breakfast at the main house, to hopefully alleviate Nathan’s restlessness. Blake wasn’t sure it was working.

“How’s work on Dad’s truck coming along?”

Surprised at Nathan’s question, Blake halted the bite he’d been about to take midway from his plate. Before he could answer, Timmy jumped in. “It’s a secret, Uncle Nathan.”

“A secret, huh?” Nathan raised a brow at Blake.

He shrugged, not wanting to upset their fragile truce. Jonas joined them, dropping a travel bag by the couch.

“Where’s Malorie? She’s usually here by now,” Nathan asked, keeping his gaze on his plate.

“She texted me.” Jonas stuck his phone in his pocket. “Said she’d be about fifteen minutes late. She’s supervising the twins, who are cleaning their rooms.”

“Where are you going?” While Blake was determined to mend his relationship with Nathan, he wasn’t sure it could be done without Jonas acting as a buffer between them.

Grabbing a piece of toast, Jonas sat at the table. “I have some last-minute business to clear up in Denver before I can open the office in Strawberry Ridge. I’ll be gone for three or four days. Think you boys can handle that?”

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