Page 22 of The Prodigal Brother Returns

Timmy leaned on the armrest next to Blake. His dark brows were drawn together. “Like what?”

“There are some rules to go by. For instance, don’t stand behind a horse. You don’t want to get kicked.” Blake patted the bench beside him, inviting the twins to sit. It warmed Malorie’s heart, which wasn’t fair. “And you shouldn’t make any sudden movements around a horse. I think, before you learn to ride, you should know how to groom your horse. Things like that.”

“But that’s a lot,” Timmy moaned.

Blake looked over the twins’ heads at Nathan. White around the lips, Nathan nodded. “Blake is right. It’ll be like going to school.”

“We’ll help you, Timmy,” Andee said, making Malorie proud. “Won’t we, Reece?”

Reece nodded.

Malorie touched Nathan’s shoulder. “Let’s get you back to bed. Blake will watch over this crew. Won’t you?” She raised a brow at Blake.

He sent her a smile that reached his eyes. “Of course.”

The man was happy. It was a shocking turnabout from the angry man she’d walked in on when she first arrived.

Shaking her head in surprised disbelief, she swiveled Nathan’s wheelchair. With a wince, he looked over his shoulder. “You kids listen to Blake. He knows what he’s talking about.” That was a good beginning, but then, as she pushed him into the house, he muttered, “Some of the time. We don’t need any more accidents around here.”

Malorie’s thoughts exactly—the part about accidents. She parked the chair by the bed and locked the wheels. “Here we go.”

Lips pressed together, Nathan was determined to do most of the work of getting back into bed on his own. She let him.

When he was finally settled, he closed his eyes, his jaw clenched. “Damn it.”

“Maybe you’ll let me help a little more the next time,” she suggested softly.

He opened his eyes, and with more than a little pain and contrition pulling at the corners of his mouth, agreed, “Maybe.”

“You’re kind of stubborn, aren’t you?” she told the suffering man.

“He got that from Dad,” Blake said, startling Malorie.

She hadn’t noticed him lounging in the opening into Nathan’s cubicle. She couldn’t stop herself from asking, “And what did you get from your dad?”

“My good looks,” he said, as serious as a dollar bill, before amusement filled his green eyes.

Shaking herself loose from the attraction she didn’t dare give into, she allowed good looks was a pretty apt description. She changed the subject. “Where are the kids?”

After seeing him with Timmy and how involved he was with Andee and Reece, letting them help with the simple stuff in the barn, she wondered, could she trust Blake? Her gut said yes, but was he a man who would stay to wipe runny noses and give out hugs when the kids were cranky? Would he clean up when juice got spilled on the carpets? And would he stay when Malorie was so tired, she was afraid she didn’t have what it took to parent all alone?

Possibly. Possibly not.

“They’re checking out Jonas’s car. He drives a souped-up Mustang he’s pretty proud of.” Blake came to stand on the opposite side of Nathan’s bed. “If it’s okay with you, we’re going to have a grooming lesson this afternoon. I promise to keep them safe.”

How he knew that would be her first question she couldn’t fathom, but he was starting to know her well, if he’d guessed, as a doting mom, the twins’ safety would always come first. Probably not all that hard to guess. Especially for a man who had a child of his own to watch over.

She put the ear tips of her stethoscope in her ears. “It’s okay with me.”

Malorie could feel both brothers’ eyes on her, but she didn’t let it distract her. She had a job to do and that would require all her spare focus.

“We’ll be in the barn,” Blake said, humor lingering in the words, and left.

Nathan leaned back. “Don’t trust him,” he muttered.

“Why?” she asked softly, but Nathan was already half-asleep, his eyes closed.

She would try to keep her promise to Jonas, but she wasn’t here to learn to trust a handsome, appealing man. She was here to help his brother heal.

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