By the time the men joined them ten minutes later, Claire and Maria had become fast friends. Claire and Daniel sat on one couch, while Ephraim and Maria sat on the other. Ephraim looked at Maria. “Did any new questions come to your mind tonight? I’d be happy to answer any of them?”

Maria tilted her head to one side. “What happens when both of you marry? Who stays with the boys? I have a feeling that you two won’t keep sharing a room with your wives…”

Daniel and Ephraim exchanged a look. “For now, I think we’re going to stay in Claire’s apartment and leave Ephraim here with the boys. If he marries…well one of us could stay with our wife, or we could even switch out every week, which I like the idea of,” Daniel said. “I don’t like the idea of not being here with the boys.”

Ephraim nodded. “I’m with you. I would get a house with my beautiful, blushing bride, and I would want to swap every other week with Daniel. I feel like we both have so much to offer the boys that we should take turns being with them. I wouldn’t want to do it daily though, because that would be a lot of moving back and forth.” He was sure there were still a couple of empty cabins there on the ranch, and if not, he could kick Adam out of his. Adam didn’t need to live on the ranch.

Maria looked at Claire. “How do you feel about it?”

Claire smiled. “I was a foster child myself. I’ll do what I can to help. I never really believed that love could change the world, but the McClains convinced me otherwise.” She rested her head on Daniel’s shoulder. “Especially this one.”

Daniel kissed the top of her head, his arm going around her. “I’m glad you see the truth finally.”

They stayed for a while longer, Maria not sitting quite close enough to touch Ephraim, but she felt his presence the whole while.

Somewhere in the middle of the talk about the future of the ranch, Ephraim got up and hurried to the kitchen, bringing back a glass of orange juice. She took it and frowned at Jasper. “You’re supposed to tell me!”

Daniel laughed. “I was starting to sense it, but he was already out of the room.”

“I’m never going to have to worry about blood sugars again with you two around.” She drank the glass down quickly and set the glass on a coaster. “Thank you.”

Ephraim nodded. “Jasper is good at sensing your sugars. I’m really amazed at how well he does. How long have you had him?”

“I got him just before my parents died. We were talking about me going to college, and my doctor said he didn’t trust me to go without a service dog. My sugars are just too crazy high and low.” Maria bit her lip. “He’s not sure how I’d do with having children either. One might be possible, but I doubt if I could have more.”

“That’s okay. Gideon will have enough for us to love on. Besides, I work at a boys’ ranch. We’ll never miss having children around us.” Ephraim knew he was talking like they were getting married, but he felt like they would. At least he hoped they would. His main worry was when it would work to ask her to marry him. She seemed a bit gun shy, but after the talk with the other women, she’d changed a bit.

“How long have you been diabetic?” Claire asked from across the room.

“Since I was two. I’ve never really known any other way of life, so this is normal for me. I think that’s why I went into nutrition, because I already had done so much research on it for myself.”

“Makes sense.” Daniel looked at her. “Do you want to come back tomorrow to meet with Hunter? We could get started early? I know it’s Christmas weekend, but I want him feeling better as soon as possible. This whole thing bugs me, because I can’t just heal him.”

Maria nodded. “I can do that. What time do y’all go to cut down the tree? I can do it before or after.”

“We’ll go in the morning, so that should give you time to do your research. Do you want us to bring him to you? Or do you want to come here?”

“I’m going to need some quiet for our discussion. Can you provide that here?”

Ephraim laughed. “Do you have an office now? I think you said you would.”

“Yeah, I do. It’s all set up, and I’m ready to open Tuesday. Not the best time for a new business, but after the first of the year, I think it will be. Everyone starts diets January first!” Maria hoped the diet craze would kick her new business into high gear.

“Why don’t I bring him and Michael to you tomorrow around two? That will give the boys time to get the tree up, and then they can take a quick break.”

She nodded, picking up her purse and pulling out one of the cards she’d had made with her address and phone number. “Sounds really good to me. I will research all morning and see what I can come up with to help him.” She frowned. “Will Michael want to leave the day before Christmas Eve?”

Ephraim sighed. “Good point. He’s too happy here to want to go so close to Christmas. Let me grab Nick instead. That boy is still fighting to find his place. I wish we had answers for him.” He exchanged a look with Daniel, and his brother frowned. They both spent a lot of time worried about their youngest charge.

“I think that’s smart.” Maria got to her feet. “It’s really late, and I think I should probably head out. I have lots of research to do tomorrow morning.”

Ephraim stood up too, and he noted that Jasper was right at her side as he should be. “I’ll walk you out.” He wasn’t going to let her go without kissing her goodnight. They’d only shared one kiss, and it was one she’d initiated. It was his turn.

She smiled at him. “Thanks.” When they got to her car, she turned to him. “Thank you for letting me follow you around today. It was very enlightening.”

He laughed. “In a lot of ways, I think.” He reached out and caught her waist, pulling her to him. “You kissed me during the barbecue, so it’s my turn.”

She looped her arms around his neck, smiling at him by the light of the full moon. “So glad it’s not a quarter moon tonight…”

“Yeah, I guess you’re safe…” He brought his lips down to hers and kissed her softly, pulling her even closer. The electricity that jumped through his system from that kiss told him everything he needed to know. She was definitely the woman that was meant for him. Never before had he felt anything like this. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She took in huge gulping breaths, feeling as if she’d just run a mile. “I think I’m starting to like you, Ephraim McClain.”

He grinned as she got into her car, buckled Jasper’s seatbelt, and drove away. He watched her go until her taillights faded from view. He had it bad for her, and he didn’t even mind.

When he walked back into the house, Daniel and Claire jumped apart. “Carry on. I’m just going to go to bed.”

Daniel laughed. “Goodnight.”

Ephraim raised a hand in a wave and then he went into the room he shared with his brother. A long hot shower was in order, and he was happy to be able to get it. There wasn’t always a lot of hot water in a house with eight people.

* * *

Maria woke early as was her habit, and she immediately went to her laptop. She had to research lymphangiectasia and see if she could find a way to help Hunter. Within a couple of hours of doing her research, she had a plan in place. She’d ask a few questions and see what she could make happen. She was determined to fix that boy by getting him a diet that would work for him.

After lunch, she took her laptop to her office, and she pulled out a questionnaire for Ephraim and another for Hunter. She’d been taught that teens tended to lie about their real eating habits when a nutritionist questioned them.

She did a bit more arranging of her office before Ephraim arrived with the boys, but it was more nervous energy than anything else. She had it set up the way she wanted it, and had since Thursday.

She heard the bell that alerted her to their arrival at the front door, and she hurried out into the waiting area. With Hunter being her first patient, it felt strange to even have a waiting area, but she did.

She carried two clip boards, each with a pen attached. She handed one to Hunter, and one to Ephraim. “These are surveys about what he currently eats. I would like you each to fill one out, please.”

Nick looked around her office gloomily. “There’s nothing to do here.”

“I have some nutrition magazines!” she said enthusiastically, getting the exact response she’d expected when Nick scowled at her. “I also have a few books in the back. Do you like to read?”

Nick shrugged. No teenage boy in his right mind would admit to enjoying reading.

“I have Harry Potter and the Hunger Games Trilogy. Would you enjoy either of those?”

Nick sighed, as if he was being mortally tormented with only a choice of reading to fill his time. “I’ve read Harry Potter. I’ll try Hunger Games.”

She hurried to her office and brought the first book in the series back. “I hope you like it.” She’d actually preferred the movies, but she didn’t tell him that. There was something about trying to read in first person present tense that made her head spin.

Ephraim had finished his questionnaire and handed it to her. “I have some ideas after my research that are actually a little bit against what most doctors recommend. I’ll do what they recommend, but I’m going to add something else in that I think will help. I can’t promise, because I’m going on gut instinct.”

He nodded. “Always trust your gut. Daniel and I are willing to try just about anything to get him feeling better.”

Hunter finished filling out his form and stood up. “I’m done, but I don’t think you’re going to like my answers.”

She glanced down at the form and smiled. She had a feeling her theory was right. “All right. Come into my office.” She looked at Ephraim. “Are you coming in as well?”

He shook his head. “Someone has to keep his eyes on this yokel.” He nodded at Nick.

Nick scowled but didn’t bother to look up, obviously engrossed in the book already.

Ephraim sat down and pulled out his phone and proceeded to crush candy. He’d found when he didn’t play, it just didn’t crush itself!

“I’ll leave the door open, in case you need to hear something,” Maria said. She didn’t know what the protocol was, but if she wasn’t allowed to be alone with her brother, then she didn’t think she could be alone with another boy on the ranch. Once she was seated behind her desk and Hunter was on the other side, she smiled at him. “I looked over your answers on my questionnaire, and I thank you for being so honest. My research on lymphangiectasia made me really curious about something. The suggested treatment is high quality protein in large amounts, and very little fat. We’re going to do that. But at the same time, I want you to add something to your diet. You eat very little green vegetables according to your answers, and Ephraim’s as well.”

Hunter shook his head. “I can’t eat them. The texture of them makes me start gagging, and I gross out everyone at the table with me. It just won’t work.”

“I had a feeling that might be what you’d say.” She pulled a bottle out of a desk drawer. “This doesn’t look appetizing, and it doesn’t taste it either, but if you mix it with orange juice you can probably get it down. I’d pour about an inch of orange juice into a glass and add one teaspoon of this. Drink it down fast. It has a minty flavor, and a bit of a dirt flavor. The orange juice masks both.” She set the bottle of chlorophyll on the desk.

He made a face. “Do I have to?”

“From the research I did, it seems that if your lymph system is acting up, it’s because your system is too acidic, so our goal is going to be to make your system more alkaline. To do that, we need green vegetables. The darker green the better. If you can’t get them the normal way, then you can get them from this bottle.”

He sighed. “Are you sure it will help me?”

“Nope. It’s just a guess, but it’s an educated one. If this hasn’t helped within a couple of months, we’ll give it up. In the meantime, we need to start you on some high-quality protein. Do you know what I mean by high-quality protein?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“Then let’s get started explaining…”

* * *

After her session with Hunter, Maria walked out into the waiting area. She’d spent more than an hour educating him on proteins and fats. She handed the bottle of chlorophyll to Ephraim. “I want him taking a teaspoon of this with an inch of orange juice in a glass every morning. It’s my theory for what we can do to fix him.”

“I heard you telling him about the whole alkaline and acidic thing. I’ve never heard that, but I’m sure willing to give it a try. I’ll talk to Daniel about it tonight.”

“Good. Thank you for being willing. After two months on that, we’ll slowly add a little more fat into his diet and see if it helps. I can’t make any promises, but this makes sense to me.”

“I’m willing to try anything at this point. We can’t have him sick to his stomach all the time. He’s already missed ten days of school so far this year.”

“Hopefully that will be over now.” She smiled at Hunter. “Try it please.”

Nick was still reading the book. “If you want to borrow that, you may,” she told him.

Nick frowned. “I don’t want anyone making fun of me for reading.”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “If you’re worried about that, hide it in our room. I won’t tell.”

Nick grinned. “Thanks. I will.” He looked at Maria. “I’ll give it back in a few days.”

“I’m in no hurry.”

Ephraim took her hand and squeezed it. “We all go to church on Christmas Eve here in town. This time it will be a Christmas Eve service combined with Daniel and Claire’s wedding. I’ll see you there?”

She hated that she wouldn’t see him until then, but she knew he was right. The ranch was too busy at this time of year for him to be sneaking away to see her. “That sounds good.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek, ignoring the gagging sounds Hunter and Nick were making. “All right you brats. In the truck!”

Hunter and Nick were still laughing as they left her office.