Page 37 of The Prodigal Brother Returns

“Is it okay if I borrow Andee and Reece this afternoon? I need their help with something.” He took a last look out the window before moving with a confident stride toward the door.

“Does it have something to do with your secret?” Malorie asked as she slowly followed. She laughed. “Don’t worry, they didn’t tell me.”

The twitch of a smile on his handsome face as he turned at the door almost changed her plans right then. Was there room in her life for Blake? “It does, but I don’t want my brothers to know about it yet. The kids are giving me a hand.”

“And me? I can keep a secret.” She was ridiculously hopeful he might trust her.

Blake’s only response was to wink and then leave, closing the door quietly behind him.

Okay. Well. So, he didn’t trust her. Or maybe his secret project was just between him and the kids. Like a good mom, sooner or later, she would find out.

*

Five days later,Malorie hadn’t seen much of Andee and Reece, or Blake, for that matter, except for meals. Half the time, he and Timmy ate with them, but nothing was said of their secret project. Which was just as well. She didn’t want to know what the man was up to, did she?

“Guess what, Miss Malorie?” Timmy asked.

Malorie couldn’t help the leap of interest. Maybe this was it. Time to learn the secret. She started clearing the remains of lunch. “What?”

“Bella’s going to have a baby horse!” Timmy watched her as if he was tallying points on how excited she became.

Andee added, just as excited, “If it’s a girl, we’re going to name her Princess. If it’s a boy, we’ll name him King.”

“Remember, we have to run the names by Nathan before you get set on them,” Blake told the kids as they headed for the door. “Wait for me in the barn, okay?”

“All right,” Timmy and Reece said together as they went out, with Andee close behind them.

Blake faced her, his hands pushed into his back pockets. Malorie’s heartbeat picked up. He quickly wiped down the table before folding the towel and leaving it in the dish rack. She could so get used to having him in her kitchen. “We have two new mares coming this afternoon. If it’s okay, the kids want to be there when they arrive. I’ll make sure they’re out of the way. According to Jonas, they both have very sweet natures and won’t be any trouble at all.”

So, not his secret, but good news, anyway. Because she’d been too curious, she’d called her friend Izzy, just to ask some questions about ways the brothers could make an income for the ranch. Izzy, in her usual enthusiasm, right off the bat, had multiple ideas. They hadn’t talked about growing the horse herd organically, but clearly, Jonas had given that some thought.

“Jonas bought them?” Jonas had said he was moving permanently to the ranch. Maybe the horses were going to be his part of the deal.

Blake shrugged, as he often did when it came to discussing his brothers. “He sold his share of his law firm in Denver to his partner. He heard about these two mares from a friend and the result is they’re arriving”—he glanced at the clock on the wall—“in a few minutes. I’d better get to the barn and make sure our young welcoming committee is watching from a safe distance.”

“Is it okay if I come see them when I get a break?” She’d never thought of herself as being a horse lover, but there was a first time for everything. And she enjoyed watching the horses when they were in the pasture. They seemed so serene as they basked in the sun.

Blake stopped on his way out and took a long look at her. His gaze lingered on her face. He said softly, “I hope you do. You can even feed them some carrots.”

Before she could recover from the gentle invitation, he was gone.

Beneath his focused sense of purpose, Blake Lohmen was turning out to be everything a woman could want him to be. At least this woman, anyway.

Chapter Eleven

As the mares,Rosie and Grace, were being unloaded and led to the stalls Blake had ready for them, he looked up just in time to see Malorie standing beside Nathan, who had stopped his wheelchair where he could see the action. Blake glanced over his shoulder. As promised, the kids were well out of the way.

After the girls were settled with grain and fresh water—Duke was nickering hello, the big flirt—Blake went to talk to Nathan to make sure his brother was okay with the addition of the mares. The new mares had similar white blankets of spots across their hindquarters that Duke and his other mares had.

“They’re sweet-looking, don’t you think?” And every bit as gentle as Jonas promised.

Nathan’s only answer was a brief nod. “Where’s our brother?” At least he wasn’t frowning. That was progress.

“He had to take care of business in town. He said he won’t be back until late.” Blake took the packets of papers one of the delivery boys held out. “Do you want to see Rosie’s and Grace’s papers?”

Nathan carefully swiveled his chair and gave the wheels a push toward the house. “No. The horses belong to Jonas. Give them to him.”

“Uncle Nathan!” Timmy walked fast to catch up with his uncle, who had stopped as soon as Timmy had called out for him. “Aren’t they pretty?”

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