Page 9 of The Prodigal Brother Returns

“How about their father?”

Blake didn’t blame her when Malorie stiffened and squared her shoulders. Sparks flew between them, but not the good kind.

She stared him down. “He’s not in the picture.”

“So, you’re leaving.” Blake turned toward the kitchen. “Have you had breakfast?” he asked over his shoulder as he led the way.

“Jonas has been busy,” she said with a not-so-amused twist of lips. She perched at the island. “And no, I haven’t eaten. I’ll have breakfast with Andee and Reece.”

“It’s the lawyer in Jonas. He hates loose ends.”

Why did it take him so long to call, then? Lohmen pride, most likely. Jonas played his role of big brother a little too well. He demanded too much. Making Blake responsible for keeping Malorie Harper at Nathan’s bedside was typical.

What argument could he give to change Malorie’s mind? What he needed to be doing instead was checking out the ranch and making an assessment to find out what was going on, and why the Triple L wasn’t paying for itself.

In any case, Tina had been so much better at the softer stuff than he was. As a contribution to a truce between them, he held up a carton of orange juice. When she waved away his peace offering, Blake tried an explanation. “My brothers and I have some old issues to work out. I’m sorry you had to walk into the middle of that,” he said, holding up a mug. “Coffee?”

“No thanks.” She got up to leave the kitchen, but then abruptly turned back. For the first time, she wasn’t looking at him like he needed a good scolding. She was a pretty lady. Especially when compassion darkened her eyes from cinnamon to light chocolate. “Thanks for the offer, but I brought enough breakfast supplies to last until I can get to the grocery. Andee and Reece like to eat as soon as they get up.”

Kids were the best equalizers.

She started for the door, then spun back again. “Andee and Reece are some of your best fans.”

“Have you read the books?” He’d made a promise the day he’d looked in the mirror and seen a stranger way older than he should be. Then and there, he decided he would never take another drink. And he would never lie to himself or anyone else again.

When she hesitated, he said, “You can be honest.”

“All right.” She met his gaze head-on. Blake forced himself to sit still and listen, just like he’d seen Tina do so many times. “I like the books.”

“But?”

“It just seems like your superhero—”

“Timmy.”

“Timmy. He just seems to bungle his way through the story. In the last two books, his actions don’t feel...” she paused, “Intentional. He just kind of floats around in whatever problem he has as if he—”

“Doesn’t know who the real scoundrel is? That it might be him?”

“Exactly!” Malorie stepped closer. “He has no plan. And half the time, he’s angry. Nothing can be solved when a person is angry.” From the frustrated look that pulled at the corners of her lips, she seemed to be talking from experience. He had come to the same conclusion when he’d looked back at his past.

He’d been afraid that was the problem. It was also why he was having such a hard time coming up with the next story idea. Some of Timmy’s disconnect had been intentional on his part. He’d been angry for a lot of years... at the world... at Jonas and Nathan... and at himself. From the time he started turning his life around, he’d tried to corral all those pent-up feelings and write with more deliberation and action. Obviously, he hadn’t been successful.

Putting a gentler version of those emotions into his stories had been a kind of therapy on his part. But then lately, he’d been feeling that Timmy, the superhero, was just a two-dimensional representation of his own failures, rather than a fully rounded boy-turned-hero. A kid who was a living, breathing character with fearsandhopes. Like Timmy, who so badly wanted to be a real superhero.

“I appreciate your candor. It’s very helpful,” Blake forced out.And, as he knew it would be, hard to take.

Her brows shot up.

“Honestly.” Blake crossed his heart and stood to take bacon out of the fridge.

He had a lot of work to do if he wanted to leave his mistakes behind and make a new, less contentious relationship with his brothers. But first, there was getting Malorie Harper to agree to stay. And maybe not just because Jonas had given him that assignment.

She smiled at him, a genuine smile. He watched her leave before cracking eggs into a pan to finish Nathan’s breakfast. Malorie reminded him a lot of his mom. She was caring, calm, and had an unshakable idea about how a person should behave. Tina had been the same, capturing his heart because she viewed life as an adventure that had to be conquered and not played on the sidelines.

When the bacon and eggs were done, he added toast and carried the plate to the converted dining room. His brother was just stirring. When he saw Blake, he growled. “You shouldn’t have come back.”

“Breakfast.” Blake put the plate and silverware on the rolling table that fit over the bed. Better to have this out now rather than later. “Jonas didn’t give me a choice.”

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