Maria Villanueva glanced over at her dog, Jasper, as she pulled onto the grounds of the McClain Boys’ Ranch. The ranch was situated outside the Texas town of Bagley, and her brother had lived there for the past four years.

When their parents had first died, she’d been determined to keep him with her and forgo her scholarship to UT Arlington, but she hadn’t been able to get custody. The social worker had considered her too young and medically frail to keep him, and he’d ended up at the boys’ ranch. He loved it there, but she always worried, because she’d heard a lot of stories about how kids were treated in foster care.

She circled around the main ranch house and followed the drive toward the “cabin” her brother lived in. A four-bedroom, four-bathroom cabin. They could call it what they wanted, she guessed.

When she pulled up in front of the house, the door was slammed open and her brother ran out to meet her, scooping her up in his arms and swinging her in a circle. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

Maria and Michael had always been very close, and the unexpected death of their parents had only served to bring them closer. Maybe they didn’t live together any longer, but they saw each other when they could, and they emailed daily, even when they had nothing to say except, “Everything is the same. Love you.”

One of the things Maria hated about visiting him on the boys’ ranch was that she wasn’t allowed to ever see him alone. She could visit with him as often as she wanted, but it was always supervised. She understood the rule for the other boys—the ones who had been removed from their homes for abuse or whatnot—but that wasn’t the case with Michael.

He linked his arm with hers, and they walked toward the house. “So did you really get a place to live in Bagley?”

“I really did. I found someone who was renting out a room in her house. It’s not great, but it’s a place to start. When you finish school and get out of this place, we’ll find a house together.”

Michael shrugged. “I keep telling you, I like it here.”

“I know. But I also know they’re listening, and they’re probably checking all of our emails.”

There was a man standing inside the house, and he immediately squatted down, taking Jasper’s face in his hands. Jasper was a Brussels Griffon, and the sweetest dog she’d ever known—and he was her lifeline.

Michael waved a hand toward the man who was interacting with her dog, and said, “That’s Ephraim. Ignore him, because he has this thing with animals. He’s a vet, but more than that, he seems to be a kind of Dr. Dolittle.”

Ephraim got to his feet. “I like your dog.” He held out his hand. “You must be Maria. I think I’m the last of the McClain brothers to meet you.”

Maria nodded. “Yes. It’s good to meet you.” She was polite, because she knew that she should be, but she was immediately on edge around him. He was handsome, sure, but he had custody of her brother, and she didn’t like that.

“You too. Do you want a glass of water?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I just want to talk to my brother.”

“Go for it. I’m sorry that I have to be in the room with you, because I know that’s a pain, but it’s ranch policy for a good reason.”

Maria frowned at him. “I can understand the policy for boys who have been abused by their families or who have been in a lot of trouble, but Michael’s not one of those boys. Why can’t the rules be bent for him?”

“Because we care about him. That’s why we don’t bend the rules.” Ephraim couldn’t believe he was having this argument when all he wanted to do was drown in her big brown eyes. Why had none of his brothers told him how amazing she was?

Maria decided not to argue any longer, so she sat down on the couch beside her brother. “How’s school? Are you playing football this year?”

Michael nodded. “Season just ended. I had some scouts come and see me play, and I think I may have some chances at a scholarship, but I won’t know til next year. I think I want to go to A&M.”

“You want to be an Aggie?” She shook her head. “My brother, an Aggie? I’m not sure I could take it!”

Ephraim came into the room with a bottle of water for all three of them. He’d stepped out for just a minute to clear his head. “Hey, don’t knock it! I got my doctor of veterinary medicine at A&M. It’s a great school.”

She sighed. “I’m not denying it’s a great school, but Dad went to UT!”

“So did my brother. It’s a lot of fun to argue about it,” Ephraim said with a grin as he took a chair across from her. He needed to be able to look at her.

Maria glared at him. “I’d appreciate it if you’d let me speak to my brother. I know you have to be in the room with us, but does that mean you have to talk?”

“Shutting up.” He didn’t mind how she spoke to him, because he truly did understand. If he’d been in her shoes, he’d probably feel the same way. Besides, if he wasn’t required to pay attention to the conversation, he could just look at her. Never in his life had he seen a woman who drew him like Maria did.

Maria immediately felt guilty for the way she’d spoken to him, but she still didn’t want him to interrupt. Instead of apologizing—as she knew she should—she turned to her brother again. “I’m starting my practice as a nutritionist here in Bagley. I want to be as close to you as I can.”

“I think that’s great,” Michael said, looking back and forth between her and Ephraim. “It’ll be really nice to have you close.”

Ephraim drifted away a bit, happy to just look at her. It took Jasper three tries to get his attention. What is it, boy?

The thought that came back to his mind wasn’t a full sentence, but it never was. Animals didn’t think the same way humans did. He heard the word sick and then he got an image of a glass of juice.

Ephraim shot to his feet, hurrying to the kitchen. Why hadn’t she said the dog was an assistance animal? He carried the juice to her just as Jasper was putting his paws on her knees, crying at her.

Maria accepted the juice from him with a frown. “How did you know? Jasper was just now telling me.” She took a deep drink of the juice, knowing that Jasper’s reaction was because her blood sugar was dropping. How had Ephraim known even before the dog told her?

She waited a minute and felt the sugar rush through her system, perking her up a little and taking her out of the foul mood she’d been in. “Thank you for the help,” she said, looking Ephraim in the eye for the first time. “I’m sorry I was rude earlier. This is a situation that’s been bothering me for years, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

“Are you better?” Ephraim asked, looking at her closely. If Daniel had been there, he would have known immediately, but unfortunately, his powers weren’t the same as Daniel’s. Not that he disliked his own for any reason, because he was able to communicate with animals, which was incredibly cool. But…at that moment, he would have liked to have the power to heal humans.

“I’m doing much better. Thank you.”

Ephraim nodded, resuming his seat where he could sit and study her. How had none of his brothers told him she was the most beautiful woman on earth? He knew they had to have noticed because they were men, after all.

They were interrupted by Daniel coming into the house with Hunter, who had just had a procedure done. “We have a diagnosis,” Daniel said, his eyes meeting Ephraim’s. “We’re going to need to find a good nutritionist who doesn’t mind doing her homework, because I’ve never even heard of what he’s got going on.”

Hunter looked pale to Ephraim, and he frowned. He knew the boy had undergone some testing that morning that had included a biopsy of his stomach lining. “Whatever it takes. He’s one of ours.”

At that moment, Maria realized she’d been mistaken. These people really did care for the boys under their care. “I’m a nutritionist, and I’ll be opening a practice in Bagley on Monday morning.”

“Maria! I didn’t even notice you there,” Daniel said. “I need to not get so wrapped up in my patients.”

“I don’t mind helping if I can.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Daniel looked at Michael. “We’ll make an appointment with you for Monday, though. There’s no need for us to take up your time with your brother. You two don’t get to see each other enough as it is.” He looked at Hunter. “I want you to go lie down for a minute. I’m going to get you a heating pad for your stomach.”

Ephraim knew what that meant. He wasn’t able to completely heal whatever was wrong with Hunter, but at least he’d be able to heal him from the residual pain after the biopsy. “If you need me, holler.”

“What would we need you for?” Daniel grinned at him as he led Hunter down the hall toward his room. The two of them had just taken over this group of six boys not two weeks earlier, and Daniel had sensed something was wrong with Hunter right away, but despite his abilities, he hadn’t been able to do a single thing about it. Ephraim understood the level of frustration that caused for someone who was used to being able to help. It had to be maddening.

Ephraim wondered what the diagnosis was, but he knew he’d have the answer right after Maria left. They wouldn’t talk about one of their boys in front of anyone else—even if the person would quite possibly be the professional to help him. They had to agree on who would help him first.

When Maria got to her feet an hour later, she felt much better. She looked over at Ephraim and looked into his blue-gray eyes. How was it all the brothers in the family had identical eyes? “Thank you for helping me.” She fumbled in her purse for her new business cards. “If you call me Monday morning, I’ll be happy to see him.”

“I’ll do that.” Their fingers brushed as he took the card, and he felt a zing of electricity shoot through his system.

Maria shot him a look that told him she’d felt the same thing. She hugged her brother goodbye and left the house. “I’ll be back soon,” she promised.

“Sounds great,” Michael responded. As soon as she’d closed the door, he looked at Ephraim. “Where are the others working today?”

“Benjamin has everyone out working on fertilizing one of the fields.” Ephraim knew his brother was trying to prevent one of the mistakes he’d made recently, where he’d suctioned all the life out of a neighbor’s farm. While he didn’t want it to happen again, it had led to him meeting the love of his life and marrying her. All four of his older brothers had met the loves of their lives in the past two months, which meant he was next. And then it hit him. Maria. She’s mine. “Want me to take you out to the others?” he asked.

Michael nodded. He loved the work they did on the ranch, and Ephraim was pretty sure he’d be one of the boys who stayed on the ranch to help with the work they did. He didn’t know what he’d end up doing there, but it would be something.

“I’ll drive you out, and then I’ll come back and see what’s going on with Hunter.”

“I hope he’s going to be okay.” Michael frowned toward the room Nick shared with Hunter.

“You know Daniel’s a good doctor, and I’m sure your sister is a good nutritionist. Between them, they’ll get him sorted out.”

Ephraim started toward the door, leading Michael toward his truck. It would be faster to drop him there so he could come back and talk to Daniel. The look on Daniel’s face when he’d brought Hunter back had really worried him.

During the short drive, Ephraim tried to find the right way to pepper the boy with questions about his sister. “Has your sister always been diabetic?” he asked, realizing immediately that was a stupid question.

“She was diagnosed before I was born. She got Jasper when she started college, because the doctor was worried about how she’d do on campus. He’s an amazing dog.”

“I think so. I was pretty impressed with him.”

“How’d you know she needed juice?” Michael asked, looking at him as he stopped the truck close to the field Benjamin and the other boys were working in. It wasn’t often that they had a day where all thirty boys worked together, but this was one of them. Well, minus Michael and Hunter, but Michael was about to get right to work.

“Jasper told me,” Ephraim said with a grin. He made jokes about animals talking to him a lot, knowing no one would believe they really did.

Michael laughed. “Sometimes, I could believe that.” He jumped down and ran off to join his friends, obviously excited to get to work with the rest of them.

Ephraim turned his truck around and drove back to the cabin he and Daniel had just moved into with this group of six boys. They rotated every two months so each group would learn new skills. Normally, they’d be in the barn that day, but Benjamin had needed them all.

When he got to the cabin, he jumped down and hurried inside, finding Daniel in the living room. “What’s going on?” Ephraim asked, knowing his brother needed no other question than that.

“Looks like Hunter has something called lymphangiectasia.”

“I treated a Yorkshire Terrier for that once. I didn’t know humans could get it too!”

Daniel blinked at Ephraim. “Dogs get it?”

“Yeah, there are a few breeds who get it a lot. Low fat, high protein diet, right?”

“Yeah. What do you think of Maria? Should we trust a new nutritionist with him?” Daniel asked. They both thought of every boy on the ranch as their own, so the question was a hard one to answer.

Ephraim bit his lip, and decided he needed to just blurt out what he’d discovered by talking to her. “Probably, since she’s mine.”

“She’s yours?” Daniel looked at him blankly for a moment, and then his eyes widened. “Oh wow! I wondered when you’d find your destiny. Did Dad warn you?”

“No, he’s only confirmed when we asked. We have a right to know these things!” Ephraim stood up and paced. “And she’s a type-one diabetic.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that when I met her. How did you know?”

“Jasper told me she was crashing, so I got her some juice before he told her she was crashing. She was a little startled.”

Daniel laughed. “Of course Jasper told you. I didn’t realize he was a service dog.”

“I didn’t either until he told me!” Ephraim shook his head.

“Yeah, that would be strange. You meet her, realize you’re supposed to marry her, and you communicate better with her dog than you do with her. Only you, Ephraim.”

“Did you heal Hunter’s biopsy location?”

Daniel nodded. “I used the heating pad so he wouldn’t feel me do it, but yeah. He didn’t need to be in more pain than necessary.”

“Did you try to heal it?”

“Yeah. It’s one of those things I can’t heal. Like cancer and diabetes. I wish I could.”

Ephraim clapped his brother on the back. “You can’t do more than you can do. Concentrate on all the good you’ve done. And at least you caught it. That kid has had a messed-up stomach his entire life, and you were the first person to catch it.”

“I guess I need to think about the good stuff, huh?”