Page 42 of The Rancher's Heart

Jonas was ready to assist in case Blake needed help, but his brother had the kids well in hand as usual, only letting two of them circle the arena at a time. “The rodeo is coming up fast.”

“Will we have Duke’s results by then?” Nathan smoothed out his close-cut mustache and beard.

“It’s going to be close,” he admitted.

In the meantime, all he could think about was Sloane wrapped in his arms as worry tore her apart. Now he understood how his brothers had fallen in love. It was a given that raising a teenager wasn’t always easy, but he didn’t want to see her go through that alone again.

He glanced at his watch. Sloane hadn’t wanted to go to work, but Dean needed her help. From where he sat, he could see the last stretch of the drive leading to the Triple L that ended in the parking area in front of the barn.

“I don’t suppose you know anything about my profile ending up on the same dating app that Sloane uses?” he asked Nathan.

“Yup.” Nathan didn’t bother to hide his grin. “Look at Timmy go. He’s getting better every time he rides, don’t you think?”

He’d known it had to be his brothers. Jonas pressed his lips together. “What are you and Blake up to?”

Nathan turned toward him, one arm stretched across the top rail of the fence. “It’s your turn, big brother. Don’t think that we didn’t notice how you played matchmaker with us. You weren’t that subtle.” Before he could admit the accusation was true, Nathan stopped him. “Don’t get me wrong. We wouldn’t change a thing, but what comes around goes around, dude, and you are not headed in the right direction.”

“What are you talking about?” Jonas drew his brows together, half afraid he had an idea where this conversation was heading.

Sloane’s truck was barreling down the road. Nathan saw it too. He gestured toward the Ford. “I don’t understand why, but that woman loves you.”

“No, she doesn’t.” Jonas straightened. Nathan didn’t know she was on the fence about being friends. “We’re just friends.”

Her reliance on him that morning made his chest swell and was a good indication that she might have changed her mind. Unknowingly, she’d shown him what he’d been missing all these years while he was pursuing a law career that had taken him away from Strawberry Ridge.

“I didn’t know you were that blind, Jonas. Before you talk yourself into believingyou’re only friends, maybe you should take Sloane on a real date, with candlelight and all the trimmings that go along with it. End with a kiss when you drop her off at the end of the night. You’ll be surprised to find out how you really feel about yourfriend.” The conviction in his brother’s voice surprised Jonas.

Nathan should know. Until he met Izzy, he’d been a loner who preferred his own company.

Duke stopped beside him in the middle of Nathan’s speech. He looked up to find Blake leaning toward them with his arm on the saddle horn. “I couldn’t have said it better.”

“So, you boys colluded and set up a profile for me?”

“It wasn’t hard,” Blake admitted. Nathan nodded.

He was too old to be brawling with his brothers. Suddenly curious, he asked, “What do you suggest I say to Sloane?”

“How about,will you go out with me.” Blake proposed with a grin that said Jonas was well and truly caught.

The slam of the truck’s door stopped him from telling his brothers what they could do with their interference. Sloane finding his profile on her dating app would probably not be good.

She joined them, a little breathless, as though she’d been in a hurry. Her gaze latched onto Clara. She took a deep breath. “Hey, guys. How’s the riding lessons going?”

“Great,” Blake said with a smirk at Jonas, then pulling the reins to the side, guided Duke back to his students.

Jonas got down from his perch on the fence and asked quietly, “You doing okay?”

“I’m fine.” She struggled to smile but got there finally.

He nudged her arm, distracting her from watching Clara on Angel. “How about we get the barbeque started?”

“Okay.” She waved at her sister, who waved back before returning her attention to Blake and the instructions he was giving.

Clara was used to being the parent to her mother’s needs. It would take a while for her to become the kid in her and Sloane’s relationship. If he could, he wanted to help with that transition.

They walked toward the back of the house in silence, with his arm draped over her shoulder, until Jonas couldn’t stay quiet any longer. “Everything at work okay?”

“Busy,” she said, her mind clearly somewhere else.

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