Page 72 of Prodigal Son

“Yes. And the barns. See that house there? That’s my brother’s home. He recently built it for his mate, Anna.”

“Mate?”

“Wife,” he corrected.

“Is that the brother you mentioned last night?”

He cleared his throat. “That house to the far left with the smaller porch, that is my grandparents’ home. My Uncle Fisher also lives there.”

Understanding that he preferred not to speak of his brother’s marriage, she accepted the change of subject. “Do men usually live with their parents past adulthood?” She had lived with her parents and probably still would if they hadn’t returned to Portugal.

“Only until they are mate—married. Females as well. It’s just easier that way.”

She nodded. “Practical.” Her family’s old-world views shared some similarities with the Amish culture. “It’s that way for my family too.”

“Is it?” He appeared surprised that they might not be so different. “What else?”

She thought for a moment. “Well, the men in my family are completely spoiled by the women. They never have to cook or clean and wouldn’t know the first thing about doing laundry.”

He glanced at her, the side of his mouth hooking into a smirk. “You don’t agree with that?”

“I think it’s fine if a woman wants to take care of her man—same as if a man wants to take care of his woman—but basing expectations on gender roles alone isn’t fair. My brother didn’t have to do half the crap I did growing up simply because he was a guy.”

He pulled her arm, turning her so her back pressed into a stone wall. He crowded her with his body. “A male needs to feel powerful. It’s his duty to protect the females under his care.”

And just like that, her feminism melted in a gush of heat as he looked into her eyes and pressed his powerful body against hers. She swallowed and looked up at him, hungry for his touch and strangely appreciating the way he made her feel delicate and small. Safe inside his arms.

“A good woman protects her man just as much as he protects her,” she finally said, mouth dry and her lungs full.

He tucked a curl behind her ear and smiled. “And how would you protect me, I wonder, if I were that man? What would that look like?”

She swallowed. Were they really doing this? It felt like emotional role playing, so she let him have the full fantasy. “I’d love him in word and deed. I’d take care of his needs and make myself available to him. I’d honor him as he honors me, with a loving home that is always warm and welcoming. We would laugh like friends, lust like lovers, and share like partners.”

“And what if he wanted you home so your focus could be on the family?”

He really was describing a fantasy. “Well, then he better have a good job.”

“That’s all it would take? Money?”

“Not money. Security. Women throughout history have suffered due to a lack of opportunity. For us to go backwards and stay at home, it has to look different than it did a hundred years ago. A woman at home doesn’t justify a man’s absence.”

“You mean a partnership.”

“Right. An emotional and physical one. Never servitude. Always present.”

“And if a man was emotionally and physically present, loved you in word and deed, took care of your needs, made himself available to you, honored you, laughed with you, loved you, and shared everything with you…?”

Her heart skipped a beat at the unlikely possibility. “Then I’d give him everything I could offer.”

“All of you?”

She couldn’t imagine anything so perfect, so there was no harm in setting the terms. “All of me.”

He stared into her eyes as if trying to read a hidden agenda, but there wasn’t one. She supposed, when it came down to it, her tastes were more old-fashioned than she let on. In her mind, women had changed, becoming more self-reliant, but mostly because men stopped trying as hard.

The sort of dependability she fantasized about no longer existed. Independence was a power play for single women, a byproduct of circumstance and a lack of options. Deep down, Destiny truly wished she had someone deserving of her love, someone she could trust with her heart.

His hand curved around her hip, his arousal pressing noticeably into her stomach. “You paint a pretty picture. Such an offer makes a male want to try harder.”

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