Chapter Twelve

T hat night, the kids were too quiet. They didn’t eat much of the dinner hash she made, didn’t want any strawberry ice cream, their favorite dessert, and went to bed early after shrugging their shoulders when she asked what was bothering them. No matter how many attempts she made, she couldn’t get them to talk about what had happened in the shed between the brothers.

It hit her suddenly that here she was back at square one, and she was mad at Mark all over again for breaking up their family. The feeling only lasted a moment. It took two people to make or break a marriage. She’d had some part in it too. Not that she was shouldering most of the blame, but she regretted not being able to leave her pain in the past.

She could wring Nathan’s neck for upsetting Andee and Reece. They had nothing to do with his conflict with Blake. Thank goodness Jonas had come along and solved the problem so handily. It was as if he’d been waiting for a blowup between his brothers.

Later, by the time she got Nathan settled for the night—he wasn’t talking either—and she returned to the guesthouse, the twins were already in bed. She didn’t want to wake them and make matters worse by trying to explain to them that Nathan wasn’t mad at them. He was mad at himself. That was her theory, anyway. But he had to figure that out for himself.

With her mind running around in circles, she didn’t get to sleep until after two in the morning, which meant she overslept. She made batter for waffles and poured the first one into the waffle maker, then she glanced at the clock on the mantle as she went to wake up the kids. It was unusual for them to sleep in past seven.

Andee wasn’t in her room. Her bed was made. The shared bathroom was empty. Frowning, Malorie opened Reece’s door. He was also gone. Had they tiptoed out so they wouldn’t wake her to help Blake?

Throwing her robe on over her pajamas, she hurried to the barn. Even before she got there, she could hear the horses nicker and the sound of a stall door softly closing. What she didn’t hear were her children’s animated voices.

“Andee? Reece?” She hurried through the open doors and almost ran into Blake. Quickly searching central space, she demanded, “Have you seen the twins?”

“They’re not here. I figured, after the argument last night, you decided to keep them home today.” He leaned a rake against the nearest stall. “I’m so sorry the kids got caught between—”

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him, that the twins weren’t in the barn, but maybe they had a secret hiding place. In their house in Ashland, the place they went to when they were unhappy was the half-finished attic at the top of the house.

She quickly searched the empty stalls, her anxiety growing with every second that she couldn’t find the twins. “I appreciate that, and I get that you have this bad history with your brother, but for heaven’s sake, fighting in front of the kids wasn’t great.”

Blake’s brows pinched together as he started to search with Malorie. “I didn’t realize how angry Nathan still is. I thought fixing the truck would make everything right. I guess I was wrong.”

“Wait a minute.” With nowhere else to look, she stopped in her tracks. “Where’s Timmy?”

“Sleeping, I think. Every once in a while, he’s slow to get up and around, so I let him be on his own rhythm.” Blake hurried up the stairs to the apartment. He wasn’t gone long. “He’s not here.”

Forgetting about Nathan and Blake’s unresolved issues, panic twisted like a tornado in her belly. “Where would they go?”

“All the horses are here. And Timmy’s favorite backpack is still in his room, so not far.”

How could she let this happen? If something bad happened—“Maybe they’re with Jonas.”

But not Nathan. She couldn’t see the kids going to him after his display yesterday. When he was not happy, Mark hadn’t bothered to hide his annoyance from the kids. He didn’t yell exactly, but he would scold them harshly while looking disappointed in them. She would never forgive him for that. Trying to give them space to get over that was one of the reasons they’d ended up on the Triple L.

Blake was on the move. “I’ll check with him real quick while you get dressed. When we took care of the horses yesterday morning, they were talking about camping at the pond. We’ll start our search there.”

“I’ll meet you at the house.” Swinging around, she raced for the guesthouse and practically jumped into her clothes and boots, all the while wondering if Strawberry Ridge wasn’t the answer she was looking for after all.

Jonas and Blake were coming down the porch steps when she got there. The concern on Blake’s face made her heart drop. “Jonas will look after Nathan.”

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t do more than he should,” Jonas said. “You and Blake go find those kids.”

She tied her hair in a ponytail with a hair tie. “Thank you, Jonas.”

Their hike to the pond was fast and silent. And a relief when they got there. All three kids were sitting on big rocks in the reeds that surrounded the water. Looking forlorn, their shoulders were slumped. Timmy had a book clutched to his stomach.

Malorie flattened her hand on her chest and fought waterworks until she was sure she had them under control. “Hey, guys. What are you doing out here?”

Blake went straight to Timmy. He knelt in front of the boy. “Hi, kiddo. Did you come out here to read?”

Timmy shook his head, but let Blake look at the book’s cover. It was one of the Timmy books. The first one, Timmy is a Superhero . His eyes swam with sadness. So did Andee’s and Reece’s.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were coming out here?” She sat on the rock nearest to them.

A tear slid down Timmy’s cheek, breaking Malorie’s heart. “Uncle Nathan doesn’t want us here,” he said, looking at Blake.

Reece jumped to his feet, his fists pushed down at his sides. “If Timmy can’t be here, we don’t want to be here either!”

Malorie didn’t have to ask Andee. She knew the answer. The twins were rarely not on the same page.

Andee’s chin rose. Those sweet brown eyes that matched Malorie’s sparked with anger. “If Timmy can’t be here, staying won’t be any fun.”

“Come here, you guys.” Blake sat near them and pulled Timmy onto his lap. He opened his arms, inviting Andee and Reece to come too. When they settled close, he asked. “Can I tell you what I think?”

All three nodded. With this confirmation that Blake Lohmen was the farthest human from her ex, Malorie waited almost breathlessly for him to begin.

“Okay. Here’s the thing,” he began. She could see why he was a best-selling author. “A long time ago, I was really mad because my dad and mom died. It didn’t seem fair. And so I did some stupid things. What I didn’t realize was that Uncle Jonas, and especially Uncle Nathan, were just as mad at losing our parents. We had a big fight, and they told me to never come back. So, I didn’t until Uncle Nathan got hurt. That wasn’t good, was it?”

The kids shook their heads. Malorie found herself shaking her head with them. When Blake glanced her way, she lost her breath. There was so much more to this man than he allowed people to see.

He tightened his arms around the kids. “I had a lot of growing up to do. And then Uncle Jonas asked me to help with the ranch until Uncle Nathan is done healing. I want to help. But you know what? I still get mad at Uncle Nathan, and he gets mad at me. I don’t think that means we should leave because he wants us to. Running isn’t the answer, is it? That’s what I learned.”

“No!” Again, it was Reece who responded with so much conviction that it brought the sting of tears back to her eyes. He fought for the underdog. Always had. Even as a little guy starting school for the first time.

Andee and Timmy shook their heads emphatically. Their sadness disappeared. Andee straightened her shoulders. “I would be mad, too, if I lost my mom,”

“I suppose that means we shouldn’t be mad at Uncle Nathan, doesn’t it?” Two lines pulled Blake’s brows together as if giving his brother a break wasn’t as easy as he was making it sound.

Was he remembering his parents and missing them like crazy, like she’d missed having a family before she married Mark and had the twins?

“Maybe you shouldn’t leave then,” she said, mostly to Timmy, but caught Blake casting a brief look her way. “You should be where you want to be, wherever that is.”

Leaving his frown behind, Blake stood. “Let’s head back to the barn. I’ll make breakfast and then we can do our chores, and your mom can go to work.”

Not so sad now, thanks to the man making inroads where Malorie had thought she didn’t want him, she watched the kids climb down from the rock. Timmy walked backward for a few steps and asked, “Can we work on the truck after our chores?”

“You bet we can,” Blake agreed firmly.

Malorie smiled. She’d believed him when he told Jonas he wasn’t giving into Nathan’s demand to leave. He’d gotten the high card, after all, and according to Jonas, that meant he could stay and bring the vintage vehicle back to life.

When they got back to the ranch house, Jonas and Nathan were waiting on the porch. Timmy slowed down and leaned into Blake’s arm.

Jonas stayed back as Nathan rolled his wheelchair closer to the steps. “I want to apologize. I shouldn’t have yelled like I did yesterday.” He looked sharply at Blake, but then faced the kids, his apology sincere. “I wasn’t mad at you—”

Still clutching his book, Timmy edged away from Blake. “You were mad because your mom and dad died.”

“How’d you get so smart?” Nathan asked, leaning onto his elbows he placed on his knees.

“Dad told us.” Timmy pointed at Blake. “We don’t want to leave, Uncle Nathan.”

“I didn’t mean what I said. I don’t want you to leave. I hope you’ll forgive my bad temper and stay.” Nathan stared at Blake for a long minute before jerking his gaze back to the kids. Andee and Reece had taken up positions on both sides of Timmy. “You’ll do me a big favor if you decide you still want to hang around.”

With a quick nod, Timmy walked closer to Nathan and held out his Timmy book. “Do you want to read my book? This one is my favorite. Dad is writing a new one and maybe that one will be my new favorite.”

She felt rather than saw the tension leave Blake’s shoulders. He was a good dad, even though Timmy was not his biological kid. Where family came from didn’t matter. What mattered was how well parents took care of those sweet gifts.

Look at Mark. He was the twins’ natural father, but an impatient dad. Blake, on the other hand, was so patient and all in, heart and soul.

Her own heart beat a little faster.

“I would love to read it.” Though she wasn’t sure he would, this time Nathan’s focus was all on Timmy as he took the book. “Thanks.”

Hands in his pockets, Jonas joined the conversation. “I have bacon and scrambled eggs waiting on the stove to be eaten. Who’s hungry?”

“We are!” Andee and Reece ran up the stairs, barely missing bumping into Nathan. Timmy hung back with Blake.

Malorie was confused by the warmth spreading from her toes to her cheekbones. It was silly to have made a vow to keep dateable men off her menu. She wasn’t ready to dip her toe into that particular pool. Was she? Blake was a good man and maybe not a bad candidate.

Following her kids and Timmy as he cautiously left Blake’s side, and Nathan, who’d pivoted his chair to go inside with the children, and with Blake bringing up the rear, she banished the longing building inside. The thing was, she might be ready. But why? Because her feelings for the rancher were taking on a life of their own?

There was no reason to change course just because Blake Lohmen had caught her by surprise. Been there, done that. The last time was how she’d ended up in Ashland. She’d had a good job at a children’s hospital in Portland and a lovely apartment in downtown, along the river. Then she met Mark. Thinking he was The One, within six months, she’d dropped everything, including her Master’s degree classes, married him, and moved to Southern Oregon.

Look how that had turned out. There was no way she wanted to repeat that experience. Not that she had those same head-over-heels feelings for the man following behind her.

Inside the house, after he put Timmy, the Superhero on the end of his bed, she helped Nathan into a chair at the table. Leaving his crutches close enough for him to reach, she was too aware that Blake put the wheelchair away.

This is what she was here for. To take care of her patient. Nothing more. That they were all working together was an added bonus.

After the food was put on the table, she caught up with Jonas in the kitchen. Blake sat with Timmy. She shouldn’t be noticing. Not if she wanted to keep her heart intact. Conversation picked up. They wouldn’t hear her now.

“Did you play big brother and tell Nathan to apologize?”

While the smell of bacon cooking made Malorie’s stomach growl, he handed her a pitcher of orange juice and picked up the glasses on the counter. “I didn’t tell him to do anything, but we did have a little get-over-yourself talk.”

“Looks like it worked.” She watched as Blake handed the plate of scrambled eggs to Nathan. They both smiled, not at each other, but at something Timmy said.

She shook her head. Oh, man! Not fair.

Blake Lohmen ticked a lot of the right boxes but she didn’t have to fall for him. Not if she didn’t want to.