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braced his shoulder against the raw wood post, cradling his third mug of coffee in his hands. Okay, so it was only six in the morning and he was already on caffeine overload. Sleep had been a little hard to come by lately. Nothing new there.
    He sipped his coffee, again savouring the quiet from the shelter of his front porch. The ranch was just beginning to stir, the boys rolling out of their bunks with moans, groans and curses. The horses were shifting with the onset of restlessness, eager for their morning feed.
    The bunkhouse door slammed and a small figure darted down the stairs. Grady’s lips twitched as he watched the kid bounce across the yard. No caffeine needed for that one.
    What Grady wouldn’t do for just a third of that energy.
    Isaiah came barrelling out of the door on his brother’s heels, yelling for Josh. The little squirt put on a burst of speed, sneakers smacking the ground rhythmically.
    Isaiah caught him halfway across the yard, swooping down and wrapping his arms around Josh’s waist. Isaiah scooped Josh up and mock-tackled him to the accompaniment of childish squeals and laughter.
    Damn, but that was a nice sound. Grady’s lips tilted up as he watched the brothers’
    antics. Isaiah had Josh tucked against his bigger frame, tickling and teasing. Josh was squirming and trying to break free, giggles ringing out the whole while.
    They finished crossing the clearing that separated the bunkhouse from the main house.
    Isaiah kept Josh tucked against his side and Grady was struck again by how much the two brothers looked alike. Josh might be small now, but Grady could see the promise of sinewy strength and above-average height. The pair shared the same dark blond hair, with its tendency to stick up at the back. Their straight noses were a touch too large for their lean faces and their chins were slightly pointed.
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    THE LONELY HEART K.M. Mahoney 28
    And they both had the same smile, wide lips bracketed by deep creases in Isaiah’s case, the remainder of baby fat in Josh’s. Their smiles shone in their eyes, one pair of brown and one pair of green, and softened what could otherwise be stern, overly-sharp features. Once Josh hit the teenage years, they were going to look damn near like twins.
    Grady really wanted to jog out to meet them. He longed to get swallowed up in the camaraderie and caring. His throat tightened with rising affection for each of them. He took a deep breath, hiding his expression behind his mug, and reminded himself again that Josh wasn’t his to keep. And neither, as much as he wanted it, was Isaiah.
    “Hey, boss. Gonna share?”
    Grady looked up. Isaiah stared at Grady’s mug with ill-concealed covetousness.
    “I put on another pot before I came out,” he said, pushing away from the post he’d been leaning against. “Should be about ready.”
    “I can’t wait that long.”
    Isaiah reached over and tugged the mug from Grady’s unresisting hands. Hell, he was too surprised to protest. Isaiah took a deep swallow, moaning in a way that went straight to Grady’s cock. Luckily, Josh was watching his brother and not the suffering ranch owner.
    Grady shifted a bit, concealing the bulge in his jeans with the ease of long-standing practice.
    Josh tapped Isaiah’s leg and made a face. Isaiah laughed.
    “It’s an adult thing, I guess,” Isaiah told Josh with a shrug. “We’ll get you some milk or juice inside.”
    Josh didn’t wait for an invitation. He bounced past Grady, tromping footsteps echoing through the house.
    Grady took his mug back from Isaiah. There was something incredibly intimate about standing there in the still, chilly morning air sharing a cup of coffee.
    “We should probably get inside and make sure the kid doesn’t try to raid the cookie jar for breakfast,” Isaiah said in a low voice. Was it just Grady’s imagination, or were Isaiah’s eyes focused on Grady’s mouth?
    Grady concluded a few seconds later that it must have been