Chapter Ten

“W hat’s your plan for today?” Malorie asked Andee and Reece. They’d gotten up early, were already dressed in their “work” clothes and the boots she’d picked up two days previously on their outing with Blake and were wolfing down their pancakes like they were late for their first day of school.

“It’s a secret,” Reece said, his mouth full of breakfast. He swallowed so hard, she was afraid he would choke, but he ended up with no serious injury.

Malorie hid a smile. “I thought we didn’t keep secrets from each other.”

“Just this once, Mom,” Andee said as she put her plate in the sink. “B.J. says we can tell you when we’re all done.”

Reece followed his sister to the sink. “Andee. Don’t tell!”

“I’m not!” his sister said, just as sharply.

“Okay, you guys, stop fighting.” Malorie grabbed her stethoscope and moved the twins toward the door. “Maybe I should have a talk with Blake about encouraging kids to keep secrets from their mothers.”

Andee stopped abruptly, forcing Reece to step around her or trip over his feet. “Mo-o-m! No.”

“Off with you now,” Malorie said with a smirk. It was good to keep the twins on their toes. At eleven, they could occasionally be a handful. At fourteen or fifteen, she was going to have to be the one on her toes. If she wasn’t, she’d be in deep trouble. They were good kids, but teenagers—She remembered what mischief she’d gotten into at that age. Taking a deep breath, she tossed over her shoulder as she turned toward the main house, “I’ll see you for lunch.”

When she heard their frantic whispers, she chuckled. Score one for Mom.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t on Blake’s side. She’d thought his ideas for the ranch were good, since it was obvious the Triple L had suffered a decline in the last years and could use a push in a healthier direction.

Yesterday, she’d heard Nathan (against) and Jonas (for) arguing over riding lessons versus organized trail rides versus making a bicycle trail around the property. Andee would like that one. Since she’d been here, of the three brothers, it did seem like Blake had demonstrated skills that would come in handy in the ranch’s revitalization. The only question was... could any of the activities proposed by Blake solve the brothers’ financial problems?

When she got to the ranch house, Nathan was sitting on the side of his hospital bed attempting a get-out-of-jail-free maneuver as he reached for crutches that were too far away, having been left at the end of the bed, probably by one of his brothers.

Before he fell on his face, she rushed over. “What are you doing?”

“Jonas had to go to town to look at commercial space, and Blake is... I don’t know what he’s doing. I want to get up,” he grumbled at the end.

Malorie tried to keep her tone level, but all she could think was, come on, dude . “You couldn’t wait until I got here?”

“You sound a lot like my mother when Blake and I got in trouble as kids.” With a grimace, he eased back onto the bed.

“I’m not surprised. All I’m saying is, at the moment, it’s not safe to get out of bed without someone standing by. At least for another week or two.” Malorie was glad to see he’d lost some of his grumpiness. She checked his vitals before adding, “We’ll practice walking with the crutches today. The doctor recommends you not put any weight on your pelvis for about six weeks, depending on how well you’re healing.” She glanced at his cell on the bedside table. “That means, if I’m not here and no one else is around, text me when you want to get out of bed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” For the first time since she’d come to take care of him, Nathan smiled. It was a small movement, as if his smiling muscles were rusty, but she caught sight of it, anyway.

“You know how to use these, right?” Though she was beginning to understand why, all the Lohmen boys were too serious for their own good. She handed him the crutches and with a hand around his arm, she stood to the side to let him have room.

He nodded. “When I was a kid, I broke my leg falling off a ledge near a cave in the mountains behind the ranch.”

“So, being clumsy is nothing new,” she teased.

Nathan snorted. “You could say that.” He steadied himself on the crutches. “I haven’t seen the kids this morning.”

“They’re helping Blake with a special project.” She should check on them, but a secret was a secret. Blake wouldn’t let anything bad happen to them.

She hovered as Nathan made it to the table and sat down with a wince. “What special project?”

“I don’t know. It’s a secret.” Malorie was disappointed to see Nathan’s good humor disappear. “Do you want coffee?”

He sighed heavily. “That would be great.”

What could she say that would bring him around to giving Blake’s ideas a chance? She couldn’t see the barn from the kitchen window, but she had a sneaking suspicion whatever the kids and Nathan’s brother were up to, it had something to do with that old truck in the outbuilding.

“Blake’s been getting the kids accustomed to being around the horses. They’re having a lot of fun.” She started there, hoping it would get Nathan to loosen up on the frown.

He only grunted and took a gulp of his coffee before he slowly admitted, “He was always a good rider and good with other kids. I admired that about my brother,” he admitted in a low voice. “The children will do well with him giving them riding lessons.”

“You don’t think his idea for giving riding lessons to the public will bring in income?” She brought her coffee, souped up with oat milk, to the table and joined him. He spared her a quick glance. Malorie shrugged. Nathan didn’t scare her. She’d taken care of crankier patients. “I heard you and Jonas talking.”

“Maybe it could bring in some money, but not enough, so it doesn’t make any sense to waste the time and effort in getting it started,” he said flatly.

If he wasn’t the crankiest, he certainly hit the top of her list for the most stubborn patient she’d ever had.

She asked softly, thinking Blake needed all the help he could get to turn his brother’s opinion around. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to try, could it?”

“Perhaps, but Blake won’t be around long enough to follow through or make it pay. As soon as I’m up and around, he’s out of here.” Pushing his cup away and grabbing his crutches, Nathan struggled to his feet. “I think I’ll go sit on the porch.”

Okay, if that’s how he wanted to play this, but it wouldn’t stop Malorie from supporting Blake’s ideas. “Do you want to play a game of checkers?”

He settled onto the bench with a little effort, but Malorie was glad to see him manage it without too much difficulty. He was making progress. “Just because I move like an old man doesn’t mean I want to play an old man’s game.”

“Don’t be silly. Andee and Reece and I play all the time.” Not giving him any more excuses to retreat into his own world, she set up the board and teased, “Are you afraid a girl will beat you?”

Nathan snorted, but she’d done it. His lips twitched at her sassiness.

By lunchtime, they’d played several games. And she made sure not to bother him with unnecessary chatter or an attempt to change his mind about Blake’s recommendations.

After she walked him back inside and got him comfortable in bed, Malorie made his lunch. “Here’s your ham sandwich. I’ll check on you after your nap.”

“Thanks.” At least he sounded less grumpy. He was already half asleep, worn out from his excursion to the front porch. “Maybe I can walk to the barn tomorrow.”

She didn’t think so, but—“We’ll see.”

All three kids and Blake were in the guesthouse when Malorie got there. Their boots, covered in bits of hay, were in the shoe rack by the door.

They had her favorite lunch waiting—a peanut butter and sliced banana sandwich. It scared her a little that she liked the idea of the man chatting so comfortably with her kids and knowing one of her favorite vices. Mark had never caught on to how often she took a banana to dunk into peanut butter to work with her when she was pregnant with the twins.

“Mom, sit here between Andee and me,” Reece said, patting the nearest chair.

Blake watched her from the kitchen, his hands parked on lean hips. A grin added a charming twinkle to the forest green of his eyes.

Hell’s bells, he was something to look at. If she hadn’t made a vow after Mark served her with divorce papers that she would take time off men before she noticed there were other frogs in the pond, she would sparkle right back at the man.

She kept her attention on the twins, and Timmy, of course, who was eating in his usual silence. It was disturbing how difficult it was to keep her eyes off Blake when he sat across from her. His deep voice as he responded to a question from Andee about Bella caused a tingle of excitement to flush over her skin.

Reece finished eating and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Can Timmy and I go outside? We want to look for worms.”

“You don’t want to go out too?” Malorie asked Andee as she gathered the dishes from the table, knowing her daughter didn’t get as excited about worms as her brother did.

“Reece wants to show Timmy his magic formula for finding the worms. I’ve seen that a hundred times.” Andee rolled her eyes as she got up to help clear the table. Malorie sighed when the real reason came out. “Anyhow, I’d rather read for a while.”

“Me too.” She hugged Andee’s shoulders.

“Stay in the backyard where I can see you,” she told the boys. She had a good view of the small garden from the window over the sink.

Reece and Timmy stomped into their boots and practically flew out the door. “We will, Mom.”

Andee disappeared upstairs.

“I’ll help you clean up.” Blake grabbed a dishcloth and proceeded to wipe down the table.

Malorie didn’t want to encourage him or the sudden anticipation bouncing in her chest at having some adult time with Blake Lohmen. “I’m sure you have better things to do, like working on your next book.”

“I’m outlining the next Timmy book after Timmy goes to sleep.” His smile invited her to enjoy that progress with him.

“I don’t suppose you’ll give me a hint of what the story’s about.”

His smile grew, lighting up his eyes. “Sorry. I’m still working it out.” He glanced out the kitchen window at Timmy, then wiped down the counter.

“I’ll bet you want to get back to the horses or your dad’s truck,” she half-teased, giving him a way out. Mark never helped her with the cleanup.

He picked up the skillet she put in the drying rack. “Thanks for including Timmy with the twins. It means a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this comfortable with people he’s just met.”

She could kiss the guy.

“He’s a great kid.” Carefully, she considered her next question. “When did you suspect Timmy was on the spectrum?”

While she put the dishes in the dishwasher, he wiped down the counters. “He was diagnosed at four. Before that, we thought he was just sad because he’d recently lost both parents.”

“That couldn’t have been easy for you and Tina. Or him.” Malorie started the dishwasher and stayed where she could see the boys.

“I wouldn’t change anything about Timmy. He’s perfect the way he is. He’ll grow up, have a life, and do fine.” Blake was unwavering. Malorie fell in love a little bit more, right then.

Mark had never accepted what he called Andee’s and Reece’s “shortcomings.” He was a genius computer guy, excelling in computer languages, mostly, but he did not understand Andee’s penchant for burying herself in the books she got from the library every week, or Reece’s geeky interest in worms, bats, and spiders. The older the twins got, the less he wanted to spend time with them. By the time they divorced, Malorie was starting to think all guys were like her ex.

But Blake Lohmen was nothing like Mark. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. The man casually copying her lean against the sink seemed too good to be real.

She folded her arms over her waist. “I heard Jonas and Nathan talking about your ideas for the ranch.”

“Is Nathan still putting his foot down?”

That was putting it mildly. She had to laugh. “He had some objections.”

“I’m sure he did.” Blake frowned, but it disappeared quickly. “What do you think? I’m sure you’ve noticed the ranch needs to start bringing in money. There are other things we can do, too, but we have to start somewhere.”

Blake asking her opinion unexpectedly wormed its way into Malorie’s heart. “I don’t know anything about horse ranching, or ranching in general, but I did wonder, as I was listening to your brothers—Can you rent out the pasture or part of it? Or build cabins to rent out. That might be too much to begin with, but this is such a beautiful place. People would pay to come and take a break from their busy lives. I have a friend who specializes in bringing struggling businesses back to life. I can give you her name if you’d like to talk to her.”

“Hold your horses, Missy.” Blake laughed, the tension in his shoulders appearing to evaporate. “Nathan has trouble enough with the small changes I’m suggesting. Having a stranger come in with a plan that isn’t his to begin with is not something he would approve of. In any case, I have some other ideas I may be able to talk him into considering.”

So, he wasn’t giving up. Another point in his favor, dang it, encouraging her growing feelings for Blake to balloon. She needed more time to figure out what she wanted for the future. Was it Colorado? Moving to Strawberry Ridge like Andee wanted her to consider was not a simple matter.

Being a travel nurse was fine for the summertime, but once the twins started back to school, she had to settle into a more routine nursing position. She suspected that could be in Strawberry Ridge—if there was a hospital—as well as Ashland, but moving lock, stock, and barrel? And Blake Lohmen could not figure into her plans, except there was a small, mutinous part inside her that suddenly wished he could.

“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.