Page 51 of The Prodigal Brother Returns

Gently, she separated her hand from Nathan’s.

Wrong brother.

“Let me think about it. I’ll need to talk to Andee and Reece, though I think they’d like to stay for the summer.” Lowering the head of his bed a little, Malorie began his exercises.

She was aware he watched her closely. Despite Blake’s disinterest, staying another month or two on the ranch was appealing. It could also give her a little more time to be around Blake. Maybe she would figure out where her heart had gone wrong.Maybethere could still be more between them—she frowned—than the... weirdness... that had cropped up.

He’d seemed so interested before—She couldn’t remember exactly when he’d stopped being interested, but she would swear there was a look in his eyes earlier that said he had kissing her on his mind. It had sure been on hers. At least he hadn’t turned away from the twins.

When they were finished with his exercises and Nathan was settled for an afternoon nap, Malorie went back to the guesthouse. Too restless to sit and read, she started cleaning. The kids were still with Blake, working on the truck, according to the note Andee had left on the counter.

When she’d scrubbed every inch of the house, she cut flowers in the garden and took her time arranging them in a vase she found in a cupboard over the refrigerator. After, she made a pepperoni pizza from scratch and put it in the oven. By the time the timer went off, indicating their dinner was done, she gave up trying to keep herself busy and her mind off a certain tall, dark, and handsome man.

She put the pizza on the counter to cool. Her cell rang.

“Hi, Izzy. How’s the theater coming along?”

“It’s great. We’re almost done with the restoration, except a water pipe broke, so that’s set us back a bit. I’m waiting for a plumber to come and fix it.”

Malorie sat on the couch and pulled a throw over her lap. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, but it’ll get fixed before I leave.” Izzy sounded distracted. Her college roommate and best friend ever since was an upbeat person. Nothing got her down.

“You’re leaving? I thought you had another project lined up when the theater was done.”

“That’s what I called about.” There was a long silence from the other side of the line. “I’ve had to back out of the second restoration. I need to go stay with my mom.”

“Is she okay?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, she has a doctor’s appointment next week and I want to be there with her to see what he says. While I’m there, Mom’s asked me to spruce up her house, so—” Izzy’s mom lived in Portland. This was important. Her friend never worried about anything.

“Of course, you have to be with her.” Malorie leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. Izzy was the sister she’d never had. She would do anything for her. “What can I do?”

“I’ll let you know, but I won’t be able to house-sit for the whole summer. I’m sorry. I know you and the kids need this time away.”

“Don’t worry about it, Izzy. I’ll work something out. If nothing else, I can ask my neighbor next door to keep an eye on the place until we get home.” Malorie leaned back and pulled one corner of the throw over her shoulder. “You would love this place. The ranch is stunning. And quiet. Andee and Reece are happy here. We could all stay forever.”

“What about the brothers? Have they stopped fighting?” In the background, Malorie could hear Izzy in the kitchen.

Izzy loved tea, and since Malorie’s divorce, pointing out that there were better men than sleazy Mark to meet and date was one of her friend’s favorite pastimes. Not that Izzy was interested in a permanent relationship herself. She was all business, which gave her a good reason to travel all the time.

“They seem to be. They still have some issues, but eventually, I think they’ll figure out how important family is.” She told Izzy about Jonas and Nathan, and briefly, that Blake was running the ranch while his brother was recovering. “The ranch needs some TLC. The Lohmens could use your gift for bringing businesses back from the brink of collapse. I forgot to tell you—Remember the B.J. Burrows’ books the twins love so much?”

“Sure.”

“Blake Lohmen is B.J. Burrows.” Malorie waited for Izzy to morph into Miss Matchmaker of the Year. Her friend did not disappoint.

“So, Blake Lohmen is a rancher who rides horses and writes middle-grade books, the handsome one—”

“I never said he was handsome,” Malorie interrupted. “But he is kind and sweet with the kids. He’s sort of adopted his young brother-in-law. Andee and Reece love him.”

“I just made the handsome part up.” There was laughter in Izzy’s voice. “Have you kissed yet?”

Malorie only wished. “Of course not. He’s been too busy with the ranch—”And repairing the truck he wrecked. And meeting a book deadline.“And I’ve been very busy taking care of his brother, which is what I’m being paid for.”

“Right. You like this guy. I can hear it in your voice.”

“Really, Izzy. Nothing is going on between Blake and me.” Did she wish there was more? Maybe, but it just wasn’t practical.

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