Page 43 of The Cowboy Fix

A strained silence filled the kitchen, broken by Izzy, who wiped the worry from her expression. “I don’t mind fixing breakfast if you guys have business to discuss.”

“That’s okay. It’s my turn to make bacon and eggs,” Jonas said stoically, moving to the refrigerator to pull out what he needed.

Blake turned on the stove and said tightly, “I’ll help.”

Nathan swore under his breath. Losing the ranch when they’d tried everything to save it was one thing. Losing it because of a stupid bank mistake was not the way to make his relationship with his brothers any better.

“Did Nathan tell you we passed the flyers for The Wedding Cottage around town yesterday?” She paused briefly, bumping up his pulse when her encouraging gaze settled on him. “The owner of the Rose Tea Emporium even wants to cater the weddings.”

“That’s good news.” Blake’s edge of anger was cooling by the time he faced Nathan, holding out a stack of four plates. “I’ll text Malorie and tell her I’m going to the bank with you.”

Nathan was glad his brothers were going. Not that he couldn’t have gotten the mess straightened out on his own. He nodded. It was just nice to have his brothers circling the wagons after all the times he’d had to carry on alone.

The only important thing was saving the ranch. They’d hired Izzy, an outsider, in the first place to help them get through this disaster. But for the first time in longer than Nathan could remember, he, Jonas, and Blake were in this together. And before they went into town, he had to confess his biggest mistake.

Since Izzy was here too, she may as well hear about the worst thing he’d ever done straight from the horse’s mouth. When his confession was done, he expected she wouldn’t wait to complete her obligation to Triple L before she left.

He took the plates from Blake and took a big breath before blurting, “It’s my fault we’re in this mess.”

“What do you mean?” Jonas put a pan of bacon in the oven, then turned to face Nathan.

How did he put it into words? He’d kept the secret for so long. Finally, he mumbled, “It’s my fault dad died.”

Izzy dropped into one of the chairs at the table, her expression confused.

Jonas and Blake stared at him, boots flat on the floor, their arms crossed over their chests. Jonas was the one who broke the thick silence. “Explain.”

Confessing to his brothers was worse than all the nightmares he’d had over the years. Squaring his shoulders, he angled his chin up. “I fought with Dad the morning he died.”

“About what?” Blake asked his tone dangerously soft.

He wouldn’t make excuses. He’d changed their lives with his childish demand. Now that he looked back, it meant nothing compared to losing his dad and then the rest of his family two years later. “I asked him about my birth mother. If he knew where she was, and could I meet her? I just wanted to find out why she gave me away. He said he would talk to Mom about it, but I could tell he didn’t want to.”

“You think that gave Dad a heart attack?” Jonas took a long step toward Nathan. If Jonas punched him in the face, he would deserve it.

“I know he was under a lot of stress,” Nathan said with a huff of breath. “He’d just sold half the ranch. Then he sold his stud. When he didn’t want to talk about it, I should have just left well enough alone.”

“But you couldn’t,” Blake said quietly.

Nathan stared at his boots. He wasn’t even able to look at Izzy to see how she was taking his confession. “No.”

“Nathan!” Jonas said sharply as he closed the distance between them. He kept his back stiff, waiting for Blake to throw the first punch. Then his brothers were on each side of him. No punches. “It’s not your fault Dad died. I talked to his doctor before the funeral, and he said Dad was one of the unlucky ones. He got a large clot in his heart. It killed him instantly. Your discussion with him had nothing to do with that.”

Nathan was confused.

Blake clapped him on the shoulder. “I wish you’d told Jonas sooner how you felt.”

“Yeah,” Nathan had a hard time getting the words past the lump in his throat. “You were already gone.”

“Because you kicked me off the ranch. I don’t hold that against you guys anymore. Life happens. If I hadn’t left the Triple L, I wouldn’t have met Tina and Timmy. And I wouldn’t have gotten to come back and get a second chance at love with Malorie or to be able to fix Dad’s truck. It’s all good, brother.”

Izzy jumped up. “I’ll scramble eggs.”

Nathen watched her pull the egg carton toward her on the counter. He wished he could share breakfast with Izzy every morning.

He dragged his attention back to his brothers. They all wanted the same thing, didn’t they? Family and the ranch safe and sound. It was time he stopped being a horse’s ass. So far all he’d done wasthinkabout making amends, then shrug as if he would get around to it sometime in the future. It wasn’t his brothers’ fault that they’d made lives when he didn’t dare to. That had to change.

Nathan went into the office and grabbed the accounts book from where he, and Blake while he was laid up, kept it on the shelf behind the desk. He flipped to July’s accounting page as he went back to the dining room. “See, here’s July”—he flipped the page—“and here’s August. I make the payments on the second of every month. It’s due on the fifth. Here’s the loan number on the same payment lines.”

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