Page 33 of The Rancher's Heart

They were family, and because of his inability to keep it together, they’d lost sixteen long years. Jonas didn’t want that to happen to Sloane and Clara. They deserved to be stars in each other’s lives. Whatever he had to do, he would. Especially with CDHS hovering over their shoulders.

As he’d expected, with her heart as big as the moon, she was making room in her life for Clara, a kid who hadn’t had the benefit of growing up in a stable home. Sloane had her dad. And if nothing else, until his parents passed, he and his brothers had a family and a home that wrapped them in comfort and love. Sloane wanted that for her sister. So did he.

Nathan called from the front door. “Sloane’s here. And she has a kid with her.”

“Her sister,” Jonas said, joining his brother on the porch.

He hadn’t had time to tell Nathan and Blake about Clara. It was movie night at the guesthouse where Izzy was staying. And with Izzy’s new job keeping her very busy, Nathan spent most of the free time he had with his fiancée. Blake was working on his latestTimmy, the Superherobook. Malorie had been at work at the hospital.

In any case, Clara was Sloane’s news to share. Unreasonably, a small part of Jonas was envious. Kind of like building a forever home, Blake and Nathan were making forever families. It was ridiculous to be bothered that he wasn’t riding the same horse since he had a different plan he was following. It didn’t count that he was about to toss that plan aside. Sloane and Clara needed him and that was more important than any idea he had of putting off settling down until he was good and ready to take that step.

“There’s a story there,” Nathan said as they watched Sloane and Clara get out of the Ford.

“Yup,” Jonas agreed. He headed down the steps. Nathan followed. Sloane and Clara met them halfway. “Hi, ladies. Are you ready to take a tour of the ranch?”

“Yes.” Clara nodded, then asked, “Can we see the horses when we get back?”

“We can see them right now. Duke and his girls would like that.” Jonas led the way to the pasture, where the horses were enjoying the sun.

Clara brightened. “Who’s Duke?”

“He’s Nathan’s horse.” Jonas clapped his brother’s shoulder. “Clara, this scruffy guy here is my brother, Nathan.”

“I’m not scruffy, am I?” Nathan asked Clara and held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

She hesitated but then shook her head and took the hand he offered. “How many horses do you have?”

“All together?” Nathan scratched his chin, pretending for a moment to be thinking about it. “Five. Duke and four mares. Bella is pregnant, so, counting the foal, we’ll have at least six next year.”

There would be more if Duke’s DNA sample came back with the information Jonas was looking for.

While Nathan gave Clara the lowdown on the horses, Jonas went to the garage and got the Mule. By the time he parked the utility vehicle alongside the barn, his brother already had the girls helping him lead the horses out to the pasture.

“We have a hundred acres,” Nathan was answering a question from Clara.

The sight of his prickly brother taking to Sloane’s sister without his usual bluster was a bit surprising. Jonas was impressed at how easy Nathan seemed to be with the kids. He’d changed since he’d fallen for Izzy Payton, a woman who had no trouble keeping up with his brother and would make a good father.

Jonas leaned on the fence and bumped Sloane’s shoulder, saying softly so only she could hear, “Nathan and Clara are getting along pretty well.”

He knew how difficult it was to lose one’s mother. Even though it was a long time ago, he still missed his mom, remembering the times they spent together in her garden, planting vegetables, and canning the results with her.

“Nathan has always been easy to talk to,” she whispered back, shading her eyes as she watched Clara, who was on the other side of Bella from his brother.

Jonas faced Sloane. “You’re kidding, right? Of the three of us, he’s always been the angriest.”

“You think so? I never noticed that.” She smirked, a twinkle in her eye that usually only showed up when she was giving him a hard time. It meant that he still had a chance to change her mind about breaking up their friendship. “Perhaps you’re right, but he’s always been good to me.”

Briefly, he wondered if somewhere along the way he’d missed a spark between his BFF and brother. Silently, Jonas chided himself for being a bonehead. He would have known. And now, his brother’s heart was completely captured by Izzy.

He went to the barn to grab a grooming kit. Back at the pasture, he asked Clara, “Do you want to help me groom Duke?”

The stallion was in his paddock, leaning over the fence that separated him from the mares.

“Can I?” Clara looked at Sloane, the most excited he’d seen the teen since finding her hiding in his office.

Sloane nodded. “Go for it. Just be careful. He’s a big animal.”

“I will,” Clara agreed. “Which one is Duke?”

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