“You’re going to explain what you’re doing to my dog?” Maria looked over at Michael, who seemed to be taking everything in stride. Did the McClains often say things like that?
“Yes. I’m good with animals.” He didn’t wait for her permission, instead crouching down to be at Jasper’s eye-level. Ephraim took the dog’s face in his hands and locked gazes with him, explaining with his thoughts exactly what would happen.
Jasper sent back understanding, so Ephraim stood up. “He’ll be fine.”
Maria thought he was crazy, but who was she to say? “All right.”
After that, Ephraim started barking orders at the boys, who had obviously been part of this before. “Get me the first cat!” He looked at Hunter who hurried away to do what he was told.
Michael was in the surgery with him, automatically setting out instruments. Maria had never seen her brother so focused on anything. She couldn’t deny that she was very impressed.
By noon, they’d finished both operations successfully, and the cats were sleeping in cages. “Time for lunch,” Ephraim announced. He looked at Hunter, concern in his eyes. “Are you all right? Do you need to stay with Mom this afternoon?”
Hunter nodded. “I’m probably okay to keep going, but a Lillian day sounds really nice.”
“Then that’s what you’ll get.” Ephraim looked at Maria. “My mother is making us all a quick lunch, and then three of us will come back here to continue working.”
“These boys are putting in men’s hours.” Maria wasn’t sure if she was impressed or a little worried about what was expected of her brother.
“Yes, on their days off of school, they do. It not only keeps them out of mischief, but it gives them incredible on-the-job training that they couldn’t get anywhere else. Michael has put in enough hours and gotten enough experience to be a veterinary technician. He knows whether or not a job in the veterinary field would be something he wants. He also knows how he feels about ranch work of all sorts. He could go off and be a farmer tomorrow, because he’s learned enough to do so.” Ephraim shrugged. “He’s a bright boy who is ready for life. Life won’t happen to him, because he will be writing his own destiny.”
Maria was shocked into silence for a bit as they walked, Jasper close to her side. “And if he wants none of those things? What if he wants to be a doctor?”
“He’s gotten great experience with the medical field as well. Trust me. We’re preparing him for his future, and he’s going to be the best man he can possibly be after five and a half years here at the ranch.” He got to the big house and walked right in, calling, “Mom! We’re here!”
His mother hurried out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron as she came. Her focus was clearly on Hunter, and she ran to him, hugging him close. “How are you feeling?”
Hunter smiled. “I’m all right, but Ephraim says I can have a Lillian day if I want.”
Lillian laughed. “You may have a Lillian day. You deserve it after being brave through that biopsy yesterday.”
“Good. I want to help get ready for the barbecue tonight.”
“Why are you having a barbecue tonight?” Maria asked. “An early Christmas celebration?” Christmas was only three days away, so that made sense to her.
“You must be Michael’s sister, Maria. I feel like you’re already a member of our family, because we have so much love for Michael.” Lillian hugged her. “We do a barbecue every Friday night.”
“Why?”
Lillian smiled. “We do it as a thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to keep this ranch going. We do it as a celebration of life.”
Maria couldn’t help but like the woman in front of her. “Ephraim invited me to come tonight. Will that be all right?”
“Absolutely. We’ll love having you here. For now, all of you sit. Lunch is ready.” Lillian hurried out of the room, and Ephraim led Maria into the dining room.
“Mom’s always like that. Don’t worry about it.”
“I think I like her.”
Ephraim grinned. “It’s impossible not to like Mom. We’re lucky to have someone like her in our lives.”
Michael plopped down in one of the chairs, and Maria could see he’d been there many times before. “How often do the boys get to eat here?” Maria asked.
“Oh, pretty often. I think most are here at least once a month. Michael, when was the last time you ate here in the big house?”
Michael shrugged. “Thanksgiving? No, I was here for Thanksgiving, and then I got to eat here after Caleb got married. There was one night when we all kind of got dumped on Lillian and Peter, and we spent the night. It was a lot of fun.”
Hunter nodded. “Yup. I remember that night. It was great. Lillian made chocolate cream pie for dessert, and we had the best enchiladas ever!”
Maria frowned. “I’m sure not better than our mom’s, right, Michael? Mom was raised in the Valley,” she said, referring to the Brownsville area of Texas. “Everyone loved her enchiladas.”
Michael bit his lip. “I think Lillian’s might just be better.”
“No way!” Maria was shocked he could even think that. Their mom had been the best cook ever!
Lillian walked in then with a huge pan of enchiladas, followed by refried beans, rice, queso, and chips. Everything Maria would have wanted for a feast was right there in front of her. “This smells delicious,” she said politely, still determined that her mother’s enchiladas had to be better than this woman’s. She didn’t look like she had even a speck of Mexican blood.
“Wait ‘til you taste it,” Ephraim told her.
An older man who had eyes identical to all of the McClain brothers walked in then. “You made enchiladas!” he said happily, catching Lillian by the waist and kissing her in front of everyone.
Lillian swatted his hand with a bit of a blush. “We have a guest!”
He looked at her and smiled. “You must be Michael’s sister, Maria. We’ve heard wonderful things about you. I’m Peter McClain.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. McClain.” Maria was surprised she was the only one he considered a guest. The boys didn’t live in their home, but they were obviously very welcome in it.
“Peter. There are too many McClains around here to stand on formalities.” He sat down at the head of the table, and while she watched, every head at the table bowed their heads for a prayer.
Maria bowed her head as well, pleased at the faith this family displayed so openly. As soon as the prayer was over, she looked over at her brother, who was happily filling his plate. He had good manners, a positive attitude, and he always had a smile on his face. This place really was good for him, as surprising as that was to her.
After taking her first bite of enchiladas, her heart sank. This woman was able to make better enchiladas than her mother had. Michael was right. She’d have to ask Lillian to teach her. “These are the best enchiladas I’ve ever eaten. I didn’t think anyone could make them better than my mother.”
Lillian smiled. “I love to cook. When I came to the ranch thirty-five years ago, I was here to cook for the hired hands.”
Maria frowned at that. “I didn’t think the ranch had hired hands. I figured that was why you worked the boys so hard.”
Peter laughed softly. “This ranch is financially stable, I promise you that. The reason we work the boys so hard is because it gives them the ability to do hard work. We’re teaching them to be the kind of adults they will need to be.”
It was almost exactly the same thing Ephraim had told her. Either it was true, or they were all drinking the same Kool-Aid. “What if you get a boy who is disabled, and he can’t do the same kind of physical work as the others?”
“May I answer?” Michael asked. Ephraim nodded, giving him permission to respond to his sister. “There’s a boy named John who’s in another home. He’s in a wheelchair. He does most of the same work as the rest of us, but they work hard to modify what he can and can’t do. So if we’re all traipsing through a field
with bags of manure, he is the one refilling the bags with a shovel. He works hard too, just differently.”
Maria frowned at Michael. “And do you think a boy in a wheelchair should have to shovel manure?”
“I don’t think anyone should have to shovel manure, but I don’t think it hurts any of us either. And John is no different from the rest of us. He just has to work differently.”
With those words, Maria knew all of her fears had been pointless. Michael really was where he needed to be, learning the kind of values that she wanted her brother to have. She couldn’t complain even a little bit.
Chapter Four
After lunch, Maria immediately stood up and offered to help clear the table. Lillian shook her head. “No, you go and work with Ephraim and Michael. Hunter and I will take care of this, and then we’ll cook all afternoon.”
Hunter grinned, obviously feeling like the chosen one because he got to do housework instead of working outside. Maria didn’t understand it, but she sure couldn’t question it. This family worked, and there was love apparent.
Ephraim led the way out of the house, calling over his shoulder, “Thanks for feeding us, Mom! See you tonight!”
“Be careful!” Lillian called after them.
When they got outside, Michael looked over at Ephraim. “What are we doing this afternoon?”
“We have to finish cleaning up the surgery, and then we want to check on the cats. There’s a cow who has seemed sick lately that I want to check out, and there will be the usual barn-cleaning chores that come with helping me out for a day.
Michael nodded, obviously not bothered at all by his assignment. Maria remembered how he’d always complained about any chores he was assigned at home, but here he was, working hard with a grin on his face.
“It’s hard to believe he’s the same boy he was when he came here,” she said softly to Ephraim. “You guys must be some kind of miracle workers.”
“Love is the miracle. That’s all it takes to turn a juvenile delinquent into a productive member of society. Now, I’m not saying Michael was bad before he came here, because I know he wasn’t. But when he first arrived he wasn’t exactly volunteering to do work at the ranch.”
She grinned for a moment, then laughed full out. “You’re right. He wasn’t the type to do his chores without a whole lot of complaining.”
“And now, it’s what he lives for. He really has made great strides here. We’re all proud of him. I know he wants a scholarship, but he’s got that already.”
“He does? How?”
“In Texas, any child in the foster care system has a free ride to any state school. College will happen for him. At least a four-year degree will, if he wants it. We don’t always tell the boys about it, because we want them to work hard for good grades and put everything they have into the things they do. If he thinks he has to work hard for a football scholarship or an academic scholarship, then he’ll work harder at both of those things.”
“Oh, trust me, he wants it.”
Ephraim laughed. “No matter how much you want it for him, he has to want it as well.”
“I know that.” She looked over at Michael, who was walking along happily, his cheeks a bit red from the chill in the air. It was only in the fifties, which was cold for that part of Texas. “Thank you.”
Ephraim looked at her. “For what?”
“For letting me spend the day with you so I could see what the ranch is all about. I don’t think I ever would have really believed that everything was all right without being here.”
“I’m glad you came. It was nice to get to know you a little. Michael has been talking about you for years, and I really can’t believe I never met you until yesterday.”
Maria glanced over at him, following along beside him. “I’m sorry I thought you were a monster.”
He laughed, petting Jasper, who was nudging against his hand. “I’m glad you finally see that we really are here to help the boys. It means a lot.”
“Can you talk to me a little about what’s going on with Hunter now?” she asked. “I would like to be able to research it, so I know what I’m working with when I see him.”
“He’s been having digestive issues, and Daniel noticed it. The boys always complain that he disappears into the bathroom after a meal and doesn’t help clean up, and he always says he can’t help it. So they did a biopsy of his small intestine yesterday, and he has a really strange condition called lymphangiectasia, which I thought was only in dogs.” He sighed. “It’s rare in dogs, but it’s even more rare in humans.”
“So what does it do?”
“It’s basically a pathologic dilation of lymph vessels of the intestine. Basically, his body is incapable of processing fats, so it dumps them, causing diarrhea and sometimes vomiting. So he is going to need to be put on an extremely low fat diet but a very high protein diet. The protein has to be high quality protein, and as low fat as possible. He has been told this, but I’m not sure he quite gets what it means for him. Daniel and I discussed that we probably want the whole house on the diet to begin with. It will help him adjust better until he learns to make the correct choices for his body.”
“So you really want me to work with him, but also create a diet for the entire houseful of boys?” She shrugged. “That works for me. I’ll enjoy working closer with you.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized how they sounded, and she felt the heat rising into her cheeks. “With all of you.”
Ephraim caught her slip of the tongue, but he didn’t respond to it. His dad had given him a look, confirming that she was the woman who he was destined to marry, if he married at all. It was odd, but their dad could always see the perfect person for them to marry. No one else was quite right for them. The chosen one still had the ability to say no, of course, but so far that hadn’t happened. Not long term, anyway.
The family believed that a woman had to understand exactly what she was getting into before a proposal, so they always knew about the powers apparent in their family.
“What are you doing for Christmas?” he asked softly.
“Christmas?” She shrugged. “I’ve spent it alone since my parents died. I didn’t think it was right for me to try to intrude here.”
“Spend it with us this year. We’d love to have you. Daniel is marrying Sunday evening, and he and Claire will disappear for a bit. We’d love to have you come over Christmas morning.” His parents were planning to come and help out as well. The bad thing about them marrying was that it messed up the living arrangements for them.
“Really? I wouldn’t bother anyone if I came?”
Well, you’d bother me, but not the way you mean. “No, we’d all love to have you. The boys like looking at pretty girls, and I sure like having you around.” His family had always taken dating very seriously, because there was no point in just running around getting close to people they’d never marry. He had little experience with girls as a result, and none with someone he wanted to marry. How could he?
“You think I’m pretty?” She felt like an idiot as soon as she asked. She wasn’t twelve years old anymore, and she didn’t need to be fishing for compliments.
“I think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, and if it wouldn’t be awkward for you, I’d like to take you out. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable though, so you just let me know.”
Maria felt the heat rising into her cheeks. She’d always been so focused on school that she’d done no dating at all. “Why don’t we see how tonight goes? We’ll pretend we’re there together, and if it doesn’t make either of us uncomfortable, maybe we can try a real date.”
He liked that idea a lot. “Sounds good, but I have to warn you. Around here, a date usually means a couple of boys going along as chaperones.”
She laughed. “I couldn’t imagine Michael chaperoning anyone.”
“Oh, they don’t actually chaperone. What they do is more like heckling.”
“Oh my. And you allow them
to go on dates with you anyway?”
“Well, we have this ratio thing to worry about. One of us can’t have more than four boys unless they’re all sleeping. So if I go on a date, unless Daniel has some help, I have to take at least two boys. It’s a mess, but it’s worth it if the girl is as pretty as you.”
“I’m not sure how to respond to that.” She was attracted to him—oh, boy was she attracted to him! But what would her brother think if she started dating his…what exactly what Ephraim to him anyway? A counselor? She didn’t know, but whatever it was, she needed to find out if it would bug Michael. Because if it didn’t, she had a feeling she was all in. And she wouldn’t have to have the diabetic conversation with him, because he’d already figured it out. How had he figured it out?
“Can I ask you something?” she asked, her mind going down a different path.
Ephraim looked at her, opening the barn door for her. “Sure. What’s going on?”
“How did you know my blood sugar was crashing before I did?”
He sighed. “Jasper told me. I read animals better than anyone you’ve ever met.”
“But you didn’t even know he was an assistance dog.”
Ephraim frowned. “You know, this is a conversation we need to have in private. Without Mr. Big Ears over there listening in.”
“I don’t have big ears!” Michael responded from across the way.
She frowned but nodded. “As long as you plan to tell me whatever it is that told you what was happening. I need to understand.”
“There’s a lot you need to understand if you’re going to date me. We’ll talk as soon as we can.” When that would be he had no idea. He wondered if he could sneak out after lights out that night…or maybe he could beg her to visit him there in the house. That might work. “Do you have to be home at a certain time?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m an adult. The elderly couple who I’m renting a room from really don’t seem to care when I come or go as long as I pay the rent on time. Don’t get me wrong, they’re nice people, but they’ve raised their kids.”
Ephraim (Seven Sons Book 5) Page 3
