Ephraim took a deep breath, exchanging looks with Daniel. “I don’t guess you can wait for my big explanation tonight? I don’t want the kids overhearing what I have to say.” He could see by the look on her face she needed information immediately, but this wasn’t a conversation he was quite ready to have with her.

Maria glared at him. “No, I really don’t think I can wait. Would you be able to?”

Ephraim sighed. “Dan, can you bandage the cow’s leg for me? I told her to behave herself.” That cow was about to be hamburger if she didn’t start behaving better.

“Yeah, I got her. And I’ll make sure Michael knows to leave you alone as well.” Daniel gave Ephraim a look of apology, but they both knew he’d done what needed to be done and nothing more.

Ephraim got to his feet, holding a hand down for Maria who frowned at it for a moment, but then accepted it. “Let’s go somewhere private where we can talk.”

As soon as they were out of the barn, she jerked her hand away from him, crossing her arms over her chest. “Just tell me one thing!”

“I plan to tell you everything, if you’ll go somewhere private where we can actually talk.”

“I won’t go anywhere with you until you answer this!”

“All right. I’ll tell you anything.”

“Is your family involved in some sort of dark magic?” It was the only explanation Maria could come up with, and it scared her to the core that her brother lived with these people.

Ephraim shook his head. “I promise, there’s no dark magic involved.”

She looked at him skeptically for a moment before nodding. “All right. Where are you taking me?”

“The cabin is empty right now, and it’s as good a place as any.”

They walked toward the cabin in silence with Ephraim praying silently. They were almost there when they bumped into his brother Frank. Frank shook Maria’s hand and as he walked away, he winked at Ephraim, letting him know he’d used his powers.

Ephraim wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Daniel must have called him and let him know about the situation he was facing. Unfortunately for Ephraim, Frank’s powers didn’t really work when he was away from the person he was trying to calm, but it might take her a bit to get just as angry again. Ephraim hoped so anyway.

He opened the door and let Maria precede him inside, and then he walked into the kitchen. “Have a seat. Do you want some water? I’m getting some for me.”

Maria nodded, not feeling nearly as upset as she had a short while before. “This situation is very strange,” she said.

He walked back into the room, handing her a bottle of water, and taking a swig from his own. “It is strange. And I’ll tell you everything. I was planning to tell you tonight anyway, if you’ll remember.”

She drank from her water, glad he’d given her a sealed bottle. It made her feel safer. “I remember.”

“Well, let me start at the beginning.” A very good place to start… He had to get his mother’s musicals out of his head! “My dad is the seventh son of a seventh son. We’ve traced our ancestors back to eleventh century Scotland, and as far as we’ve gone, we’ve found only seventh sons of seventh sons.”

She looked at him, a bit confused. “What does that have to do with what I saw in your barn just now?”

“I promise, a lot of what I say will seem insignificant, but none of it is.” At her nod, he continued. “For as long as we can tell, the seventh son of each generation had…we’ll call them powers for lack of any better word.”

“Is Daniel the youngest?”

“Michael mentioned trips to Casa Manana. Did you ever see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers?”

Her eyes widened. “I knew your names sounded familiar! So Daniel is the fourth son.”

“He is. Every seventh generation, every son ends up with powers. Adam has the power of empathy. He can feel what others feel. Benjamin can make plants grow. It’s a bit more complicated than that, but that’s the gist of it. Caleb can sense danger. It’s always best when new boys start out with Caleb, because he can stop things from happening.”

She frowned at him, trying to figure out if he believed all this. “And your power is what? Talking to animals?”

He grinned. “Actually, that’s exactly my power. And I can heal them. Daniel’s power is healing people. You saw it yourself. And yesterday when he got a heating pad for Hunter, it was so Hunter wouldn’t feel the warmth that came with healing.”

“If your brother has that kind of power, why isn’t he going to hospitals and healing all the sick?”

It was a good question. “He can heal most injuries, depending on how severe, but his powers are limited. He can’t heal your diabetes or anyone’s cancer. He can’t heal chronic diseases, though we wish he could. He tried to heal Hunter, and he couldn’t. We all have limitations.”

Maria got to her feet, pacing back and forth in front of him. “So you have the power to talk to Jasper?” She waved a hand toward her dog.

Ephraim had almost forgotten he was there. He was a well-trained dog, and he just ran alongside them, staying out of trouble. “I do. What could Jasper do to prove it to you? I’ll tell him to do it.”

She narrowed her eyes, thinking for a moment. “Tell him to lick my ear.” She’d hated it when he used to lick her face, so she’d carefully trained him not to do it.

Ephraim looked at the dog, passing along the message. “You hate having your face licked.”

“Is that supposed to prove something?”

“He can’t reach your ear. Sit down.” After she was sitting beside him on the couch again, he repeated the command.

Jasper let out a small whimper, but he walked over to Maria, put his front paws on her lap, and he licked her ear. As soon as he was done, he put his face in her lap.

“He’s sorry he did something you hate.” Ephraim passed along the dog’s apology, reaching over to rub his head. “Good boy, Jasper. You did good.”

Maria stared at the two of them in shock. “What else could you have him do?”

“Lots of things, but he’s not a circus performer. I don’t think it’s fair to keep making him do things for us.” Whether he had the ability to make animals do something or not, it wasn’t right to constantly make them. Jasper had already proved his point.

She nodded. “You’re right. Thank you, Jasper.” She frowned at Ephraim. “What about Frank and Gideon?”

“Frank has the ability to calm people. He has this aura he sends out making people feel better. He’s great to have around on a ranch like this, where boys sometimes get into fights with each other.”

“And Gideon?”

“Gideon is special. He has a small amount of all of our powers. He’ll inherit the ranch, and he’ll need them all.”

She sat back for a moment, stunned. It was all hard to believe, but she’d seen demonstrations of his and Daniel’s powers. “Your dad has a power?”

“Yeah, Dad’s a precog. He sees things before they happen.” He didn’t tell her that he saw the future wife for every one of his sons, because that might make things just a bit strange for both of them. And how was he supposed to go about telling her that they were destined to be married? Just too weird!

“So you’re telling me that your family has these amazing powers, and instead of using them to get rich and take over the world, all of you simply run a boys’ ranch in the middle of Nowhere, Texas?”

“Actually we’re in Bagley, but Nowhere isn’t far away…”

She glared at him. “Really?”

He sighed. “None of us want power in the sense you’re talking about. Yes, we want power, but we want power to help people. We think love can heal anything, and these boys—these wonderful boys—they all need love.”

“Everyone needs love, but not everyone thinks they can change the world with it.”

“Most people are wrong, then. Because here at this ranch, we’re changing the world. One boy at a time. One hug at a time. One smile at a time.”

Maria thought about everything he’d said. She’d seen huge changes in her brother, who hadn’t really even been a troubled boy when he’d come there. She couldn’t imagine the changes that would take place in one of their normal kids, who had trouble before he got there. “So if I believe you? Then what?”

“Then we go on as we were. I want to get to know you better, Maria. I think you’re a beautiful woman, and I want to get to know all of the special things about you.” He took both of her hands in his, turning to her fully on the couch. “Please, at least try to go to the barbecue with me tonight, and we’ll see what happens from there.”

She frowned for a moment, but then nodded. “I will. It might be the biggest mistake of my life, but I will. You don’t sacrifice virgins under a full moon, do you?”

“Nah, we save that kind of thing for the quarter moon. It’s more fun then!”

Maria couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up from inside her. “Well, I’ll be sure to stay away during quarter moons, then. What kind of moon will we have tonight?”

He shrugged. “No idea. I don’t keep track of those things. It’s not my job to capture the virgin, you see…” He got to his feet. “Your brother probably thinks I’m here putting moves on you. We should get back to the barn.”

“Why would my brother think that?”

Ephraim frowned. He shouldn’t have said that. “He keeps trying to get me to date you.”

“He does?” Maria’s eyes were wide. “I had no idea he cared about my social life at all.”

“He keeps bugging me about it, so I’ll have to guess that he does.” He walked toward the door and opened it. “Supper’s at six-thirty tonight. We have it in the picnic area beside the big house—you know, where we had lunch. Do you want to meet me there? Or do you want to stick around and go with me?”

She looked down at her jeans, boots, and button up shirt. “It’s not formal is it?”

“You will fit right in wearing exactly that.”

“Then I’ll stay. More time with Michael.” And more time with Ephraim. She wondered if he’d kiss her after the barbecue. Probably not, but it was fun to imagine.

As they walked back, their hands kept brushing against each other, and finally, he caught hers in his. “Okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yeah.” And it was. More okay than she should probably let on.

When they got back to the barn, the cow was mooing contentedly. Ephraim asked her how she was. The message he got back was slightly garbled, but he took it to mean she was fine now, and sorry for the problems with the boy. He made sure she knew the boy was fine, and they moved on to the cats.

“They’re just now waking up,” Michael said, taking one out of its small cage. “Daniel said it was okay if I held one and looked at her stitches.”

“It sure is. Do you know what to look for?” He went on to explain how to look to see if a cat had infected stitches, explaining what they’d do if some of the stitches were infected. Of course, he’d healed them enough that it would be as if it was a day or two after the surgery, so he knew they were both fine.

Maria watched him with her brother and felt her heart flutter in her chest. How many people in this world were that kind and loving to children who weren’t even their own? If this wasn’t and act—and she’d find out from Michael if it was—she could see her heart going somewhere she might not be quite ready for it to go. There was something awfully special about Ephraim McClain.

* * *

Maria found a moment she could speak with him later, while they were walking toward the barbecue. “Is Ephraim the same when I’m not around as he is while I am around?”

Michael nodded, shrugging. “Yeah, all the McClains are the same in front of people or without people watching. They’re really cool, and you need to stop worrying that they’re going to kill me or something.”

She frowned. “I’m not worried they’re going to kill you.” I’m worried Ephraim is going to run off with my heart, and I’ll never be the same again.

“Well, you sure act like it. I thought you were pretty rude yesterday, but Ephraim was super cool about it. He said he understood, and he might act the same if his brother were at a place like this.” Michael grinned. “I can’t imagine a better place to grow up, though. If I can’t live with Mom and Dad, then I’m so glad I landed at the McClains’.” He hurried up to walk beside his friend, Jose, who was also his roommate.

She frowned as she walked alone for a few steps, but then Ephraim fell into step beside her. “You’re getting predictable.”

Ephraim laughed. “You’re like a magnet to me. I feel like I’m drawn to wherever you go.”

“If I’m a magnet, then you’re a giant refrigerator,” she mumbled under her breath.

He threw back his head and laughed. “I sure hope so. I want to be a refrigerator to your magnet.”

“Well, it feels like you are.” She kicked at a rock in her path. “So, who all is going to be at this thing tonight?”

“All thirty boys currently in residence. The six hired men who work on the ranch…all of them were once boys here. My parents. My brothers. You know, the usual.”

“I guess I’m going to be on display then.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Are you trying to tell me all of your brothers won’t come over and say something? Do you date a lot?”

He grinned at that. “I don’t date at all, but they’re on their best behavior…well…okay, they’ll all come over and torment me every chance we get, but they’ll leave you alone.”

She grinned at that. At least she knew what to expect.