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Her Soldier Of Fortune
Michelle Major


When Nathan Fortune returned home, he vowed to put the past behind him.But when Bianca, his best friend’s little sister, shows up with her son, Nate finds that the past won’t stay buried…and it threatens to snuff out the future Nate and Bianca hope to build with each other.







Nate doesn’t know what kind of trouble Bianca is in

He only knows that he is honor-bound to protect her. He owes her brother that much. And ever since Nate Fortune found out he is related to the world-renowned Texas family, he’s braced for the unexpected. But nothing could have prepared the former navy SEAL for the reappearance of Bianca Shaw. The shy teenager Nate used to know as “Busy Bee” has blossomed into a beautiful young woman—and she’s just arrived at his Paseo ranch with a suitcase and her four-year-old son in tow.

Bianca isn’t sure she should get lost in the arms of a man whose embrace feels so much like home. Because this soldier’s heart holds secrets, and Bianca wonders if her dreams of family are too good to be true...


MEET THE FORTUNES!

Fortune of the Month: Nathan “Nate” Fortune

Age: 37

Vital Statistics: Tall, dark and muscle-y; a military man with a cowboy’s heart.

Claim to Fame: The former navy SEAL is one of the Fortune triplets. But not one of “those” Fortunes—and he wants nothing to do with his notorious relatives.

Romantic Prospects: We’re pretty sure there is something brewing between him and single mom Bianca Shaw. But it’s...complicated.

“When I came back to Paseo, I thought I was putting the past behind me. But then Bianca showed up on my doorstep. Eddie’s little sister is not so little anymore, and if she was anybody else, well, I might just sweep her up in my arms and never let her go.

“But she is Eddie’s little sister, which makes her the very last person I should be interested in. There is so much she doesn’t know about what happened to her brother overseas. And I’m determined that she never find out. Even if it means I have to push her and her little boy, EJ, away...”

* * *

The Fortunes of Texas: The Rulebreakers— Making their own rules for love in the Wild West!


Her Soldier of Fortune

Michelle Major






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


MICHELLE MAJOR grew up in Ohio but dreamed of living in the mountains. Soon after graduating with a degree in journalism, she pointed her car west and settled in Colorado. Her life and house are filled with one great husband, two beautiful kids, a few furry pets and several well-behaved reptiles. She’s grateful to have found her passion writing stories with happy endings. Michelle loves to hear from her readers at www.michellemajor.com (http://www.michellemajor.com).


To the Fortunes of Texas readers—thanks for making me a part of your reading life with these books.


Contents

Cover (#ua78be19a-0d62-59a0-a416-8a83fffdfae3)

Back Cover Text (#ub3b27484-bb34-59ee-8898-30c56e8a8a65)

Introduction (#u0191f184-4bc8-5d01-bb00-6229f9d70efe)

Title Page (#u82840ab3-5fe3-53c9-a47e-9b7f9f784f43)

About the Author (#u262e36e7-f146-5d4f-ada8-e42b1ec63ea7)

Dedication (#ub6301382-9156-5a45-9235-c39cf7091c9a)

Chapter One (#uf0901d48-4def-55aa-a8b3-02c430f80ae9)

Chapter Two (#u4bf72ad0-1b7b-5f47-8f04-f5ad606c71de)

Chapter Three (#u37201d30-a89b-5dbc-9fb0-f6b59b6a7fd6)

Chapter Four (#u6588e5fb-36cd-5de1-a3de-299f15a25cf6)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)


Chapter One (#u2178ec0f-985a-5849-aa9d-f5bf9a28792f)

Nathan Fortune heard car wheels crunching up the driveway through the open kitchen window at his family’s ranch outside the tiny town of Paseo, Texas. It was almost noon, but he’d just made his second pot of coffee for the day.

Ignoring whoever was stopping by for an unannounced visit, he poured a steaming stream of coffee into a mug, took a big gulp, then promptly spit it into the sink. Grimacing, he grabbed a container of vanilla creamer from the refrigerator and dumped a generous amount into his cup. While it wasn’t up to the standards of his brother’s wife, at least it was palatable.

He’d never realized he made coffee that tasted like tar until late last spring when Ariana Lamonte arrived on the ranch. Hope sparked inside him that maybe Jayden and Ariana had returned to the ranch from their research trip down to Corpus Christi. They weren’t scheduled to be back until next week, but if they were here now he could definitely convince Ariana to make him a cup of coffee in that fancy espresso maker he and the third triplet, Grayson, had gotten for her last Christmas.

During his time as a navy SEAL, he’d come to master over a dozen different types of guns, but that shiny machine remained a mystery to him. Ariana loved coffee, and Nate needed caffeine like he needed air when memories of that final mission in Afghanistan kept him up at night. Sometimes he slept like the dead, and even managed to convince himself that he was getting over that last tragic mission. But then he’d wake in a cold sweat, nightmares prodding at him like an insistent finger, making sure he knew he could never move past the way he’d failed the man who had been his best friend.

The doorbell rang, and he sighed. Definitely not his brother and Ariana. He took another swig of coffee and wiped a sleeve across his mouth, approaching the front door slowly. Most people in Paseo knew Nate well enough to simply call out a greeting and let themselves in. Actually, most people would assume he was out working the land at this time of day. Normally they’d be right, except he’d been up half the night and needed coffee to keep him going—even the kind that tasted like burnt tar.

He opened the front door almost warily, not sure what to expect. Ever since he and his brothers had discovered that the father they thought had died during their mom’s pregnancy was not only alive, but was tech mogul Gerald Robinson, and more specifically Jerome Fortune, there was no telling who might show up on Nate’s doorstep. Jerome Fortune had faked his own death over thirty years ago, shortly after a fight with Nate’s mom, to make a break with his own controlling father, but as Gerald Robinson, he not only had eight legitimate children with his wife, Charlotte, but a host of illegitimate offspring.

Nothing could have prepared Nate for his body’s reaction to the woman who stood on his front porch, glancing around like she was more than a little lost. He didn’t recognize her, although there was something familiar in the big brown eyes that looked into his. What was wholly unfamiliar was the sharp prick of desire that stabbed him as he took in her delicate features—those molten chocolate eyes, a pert nose and lips that looked almost bee-stung in fullness despite being pressed into a tight line.

Her hair was thick and dark like her eyes, tumbling around her shoulders. She wore a plain white T-shirt over faded jeans, and Nate swallowed as his gaze took in the perfect curve of her breasts and hips. He promptly cursed himself for his line of thought. Here was a stranger at his front door, and he was ogling her like some sort of randy teenager instead of a grown man of thirty-seven.

“Can I help you?” he asked, hoping he sounded more polite than lecherous.

“Hi, Nate,” she said softly. “How are you?”

“Um...fine.” He took off his Stetson, slapping it against his thigh, and ran a hand through his hair with his other hand. “Do I know you?”

The woman flashed a shy smile. “I’m Bianca Shaw. Eddie’s sister. Don’t you remember me?”

Nate lifted one hand to grip the doorframe, whether to steady himself or to keep himself from reaching for Bianca, he couldn’t say. The beautiful woman in front of him was Eddie’s little sister?

“Busy Bee,” he murmured, repeating the nickname Eddie’d used for his younger sister.

She gave a short laugh. “I haven’t had someone call me that since...” Her voice trailed off as her hands clenched in tight fists at her side.

“I’m sorry about Eddie,” he offered, the words tasting like dust in his mouth. “He died a hero.” Nate cleared his throat. “If it helps.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, and swiped her fingers across her cheek.

The familiar regret and blame churned through his stomach, turning the coffee he’d drunk to acid in his belly. Eddie Shaw had been like a brother to him. They’d met their first day of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training—more routinely known as BUD/S. Although as a triplet, Nate had always been close to his brothers, he’d formed an immediate bond with the stocky, wisecracking soldier that was just as strong.

From the few times he’d been to Eddie’s mom’s cramped apartment in San Antonio, he remembered Eddie’s sister as a gangly teenager who giggled at everything and constantly tried to tag along with the brother who was nine years older than her. Eddie had been infinitely patient with Bianca, and even when they were stationed overseas or on a ship, he’d always taken the time to answer her overly perfumed letters and all the silly questions she asked about life as a navy SEAL.

“You’re here in Paseo,” he said, stating the obvious because his brain felt about five steps behind the reality of whatever was happening right now.

“I’m here,” she echoed and bit down on her bottom lip, her gaze skittering away from his like she was nervous about something. “I hope I’m not bothering you.”

Nate had met people from all over the world and all different walks of life during his stint in the US Navy. He’d become something of an expert on reading body language, and from the splotches of color blooming on Bianca’s cheeks to the rigid set of her thin shoulders to the tiny breath she blew out as if her lungs couldn’t handle Paseo’s clean air, Nate would have sworn on everything he had that the woman standing in front of him was in trouble.

Eddie’s sister was in trouble. The brother-in-arms whom Nate had failed to save during their last mission wouldn’t have let that happen. Neither would Nate. All he had left of Eddie were memories and the guilt that burned his gut. But he could honor Eddie by taking care of Bianca. It was the only thing he had left to offer.

He pushed aside his reaction to her, pretended he didn’t feel attraction pulsing through him like a drum beat and tried to see her as the girl she’d once been. Eddie’s baby sister. That was all she could ever be to Nate.

“What do you need, Bianca?” he asked, wishing suddenly he was a different kind of man. One who could give her everything she wanted and more.

* * *

Bianca’s breath whooshed out in a shuddery rush at Nathan Fortune’s simple question.

The summer she was five years old, new renters had moved into the tiny apartment next door to the cramped space where Bianca lived with her mom and Eddie. The walls in the run-down complex were paper-thin, and the young couple stayed up late with friends, music thumping so loud it would make the pictures on the wall vibrate. Bianca’s mom had quickly become a regular at the all-night parties, and Bianca would often wake in the middle of the night to laughter or voices yelling out or other strange noises she didn’t understand at the time.

She’d tiptoe from her tiny bedroom across the hall to where Eddie slept and listen to his regular breathing. When Bianca complained about the noise, her mom told her to plug her ears with toilet paper, but that never worked. She’d creep closer to the mattress Eddie slept on. Bianca had a real headboard for her twin bed, but Eddie only had a mattress pushed up against one wall.

Her brother always seemed to know when she was coming because by the time her knobby knees hit the threadbare covers, he’d sigh and ask, “What do you need, Bianca?” at the same time he’d lift one corner of the sheet so she could crawl in next to him.

She never had to answer the question out loud because Eddie always knew what she needed without her even saying it. There in the dark, with her big brother next to her, Bianca would fall back asleep. With Eddie at her side, it didn’t matter what was happening in the apartment next door. Eddie would keep her safe.

She was a big girl now and had been taking care of herself for enough time to know she didn’t need to rely on anyone. Everyone except Eddie had disappointed or abandoned her, so she’d quickly learned to stand on her own two feet. But recently she’d lost her footing as the angry hurricane of her life pummeled her from all sides. Now when she laid awake in the wee hours of the night, the only thing she wished was not to be so alone.

It was as if the universe had heard her silent plea and answered her need with Nathan Fortune. He stood in front of her, strong and sure, exactly the opposite of how Bianca felt. He was muscled and clearly in shape, his shoulders broad beneath the fabric of the chambray shirt he wore. His skin was tanned from the sun, despite the wide brim of his hat, and she could see a faint patchwork of lines fanning out from his light brown eyes when he smiled.

He was a few inches taller than Eddie had been but not so much that he towered over her. In fact, it looked as though she’d fit perfectly tucked underneath his shoulder. She locked her knees to keep from stepping into him, wrapping her arms around his lean waist and burying her face in his shirtfront.

“Now that you mention it,” she said with an awkward little laugh, “I was hoping I might stay with you for a few days.” She swallowed and added, “A week or two at the longest.” She glanced to either side of the farmhouse’s wraparound porch, as though the house itself might offer up an answer.

The ranch was just as Eddie had described it, with huge fields and rolling hills in the distance. The house was a charming, if modest, two-story stone structure with picture windows and faded trim that gave it a settled-in, well-loved look. “If you have room and it’s not too much of an inconvenience.”

“Are you in trouble?”

His gaze was unreadable as he studied her.

Yes, she was in big trouble because she’d sought out Nate in place of her brother, but her reaction to him was both unexpected and dangerous, as it threatened to overwhelm her at a time when she was already holding on to her composure by a thin thread.

“No,” she answered immediately, which she figured they both knew was a lie. “I just need a break from my life—a fresh start. Eddie thought of you as family, so I came to, as well. Even though you’re practically a stranger. He talked a lot about coming to visit Paseo between deployments. He really enjoyed his time on the ranch. So I thought—”

She sucked in a breath when Nate reached out and placed his fingertip against her lips. “You can stay here as long as you want, Bianca. Eddie was my family in every way that counts. In some weird way, that makes you my little sister.”

Bianca opened her mouth to argue. There were a hundred things she wanted from Nate, but for him to think of her as his little sister darn sure wasn’t one of them. But she needed a place to stay more than she cared to admit, so she simply leaned forward and gave him a small hug, the way she’d done with Eddie all the time. It was a test, she told herself, to see if she could ignore the way he made butterflies dance across her stomach. To see if she could pretend she didn’t notice his rock-hard abs when her fingers brushed his shirtfront or how good he smelled—like soap and the outdoors.

She managed it pretty well and didn’t even let the soft whimper that bubbled up in her throat escape into the charged air between them.

Instead she gave him one last pat on the back and stepped away, surprised to find him staring down at her like she’d just grabbed his butt.

“I’m alone here,” he blurted. “At the ranch.”

“Okay,” she answered with a shrug.

“My brother Grayson is touring with the rodeo and Mom manages his career, so she’s with him. Jayden and his wife won’t be back until next week.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Whenever Eddie was here, we had a full house.”

She nodded. “I think he was jealous that you were a triplet. He always wanted a brother or two. I look forward to meeting your family.”

“You might not be comfortable being out here with only me,” he suggested. “It’s a haul to town and Paseo is a postage stamp compared to San Antonio.”

“San Antonio is too crowded these days,” she countered, wondering why Nate suddenly looked so uncomfortable. He hadn’t shown a moment’s hesitation in offering her a place to stay, but now he seemed to be almost warning her away.

“I’m not great company,” he continued, glancing over his shoulder into the entry as if he might find a reason for her to venture inside the cozy farmhouse. “I make terrible coffee.”

“I can make my own coffee.”

“I’m grumpy in the morning. You might not like me when I’m grumpy.”

“As long as you don’t turn green and bust out of your clothes, I think I’ll manage.”

“I can be mean as a grizzly coming out of hibernation.”

“If you’ve changed your mind,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest to mimic his stance, “just tell me, Nate. Otherwise, you’re not going to scare me away. Remember, I grew up with a navy SEAL. Talk all you want about grizzlies, but I know you guys are big teddy bears at heart.”

“A teddy bear?” He shook his head, looking as offended as her late granny had when Bianca’s mom cursed in the middle of the Christmas church service. “I’m not a teddy bear and neither was your brother. In fact—”

“Want to see my teddy bear?” a voice called from Bianca’s car. The back door opened and a pair of scuffed sneakers hit the dust, the heels lighting up as they did. “His name is Roscoe, and he’s my best friend.”

“EJ,” Bianca called as the boy ran forward, swinging a battered stuffed animal above his head. “I told you to wait—”

“You talked too long, Mommy. Roscoe got bored. He wants to see everything.” Her beautiful, energetic, precocious four-year-old son climbed the front porch steps, and she automatically held out a hand. As was typical, EJ ignored it.

“Are you Uncle Eddie’s friend?” he asked Nate, who had taken a step back, staring at her boy like EJ was a snake in the grass. Or maybe it was shock over EJ’s resemblance to Eddie, with his dark hair, olive-colored skin and deep brown eyes that always seemed to be full of mischief. Mischief and EJ were bosom pals. “Are you a cowboy? Are we staying with you? Can I have a glass of water?”

EJ didn’t wait for an answer to any of his questions. He ducked away from Bianca when she reached for him and barreled past Nate, disappearing into the house.

Bianca started to follow but Nate filled the doorway, blocking her way. “Is there something—or someone—you forgot to mention?”

She flashed what she hoped was an innocent smile and managed to only cringe a little when there was a crash from inside the house. “That’s my son, EJ,” she said quickly. “And we’d better go after him unless all the other breakables in your house are nailed down.”


Chapter Two (#u2178ec0f-985a-5849-aa9d-f5bf9a28792f)

“I’m sorry, Mommy. It was an accident.” EJ clutched the raggedy teddy bear tight to his chest. “Roscoe bumped the lamp when I was looking at the game. He didn’t mean it.”

“You owe Mr. Nate an apology,” Bianca scolded gently. “This is his home and we’re guests here.” She glanced up at Nate from below her impossibly long lashes. “At least I think we’re staying for a bit. But after this—”

“Of course you’re staying,” Nate told her. “Accidents happen, and I never liked that lamp, anyway.”

Bianca offered the hint of a grateful smile. She ruffled her son’s dark hair. “EJ.”

In that way that mothers of boys had, Bianca seemed to be able to communicate an entire sentence simply by speaking her son’s name.

“I’m sorry about your ugly lamp,” EJ said solemnly. “Roscoe is sorry, too.”

“How old are you, EJ?” Nate asked.

The boy held up four dirt-smudged fingers. “Four.”

“How about Roscoe?”

That question earned Nate a smile so like Eddie’s it made his chest ache.

“Roscoe is two,” EJ explained. “So he’s still kinda clumsy.”

“Is there a broom in the kitchen?” Bianca asked as she bent to pick up the top half of the lamp, which hadn’t cracked. “I’ll sweep—”

“I can get it,” Nate told her, still shocked that Eddie’s little sister had shown up on his doorstep all grown up and with a child of her own. “Did you drive all the way from San Antonio today?”

She placed the broken lamp gently on the table next to the sofa. “It’s only six hours. We got an early start.”

“Did you stop for lunch?”

“Nope,” EJ answered before Bianca could. “I had cheese crackers and a banana.”

“I’ll make you both lunch.”

“You don’t have to,” Bianca protested at the same time EJ offered, “I like peanut butter and honey with the crusts cut off.”

“I can make him a sandwich,” Bianca offered, her cheeks flaming bright pink. “He’s a picky eater.”

“I’m not picky.” The boy shook his head, still clinging to the bear. “I just eat what I eat.”

“You sound like your uncle,” Nate said, a ball of emotion lodging in the back of his throat. “Do you know he put hot sauce on everything?”

Bianca chuckled softly. Nate’s gaze tracked to her and they shared a smile, clearly both remembering the man they had in common. “I once saw him shake hot sauce on a brownie.”

“Yuck.” EJ made a face. “I like ketchup.”

“Me, too,” Nate agreed. “But not on a peanut butter and honey sandwich.”

“Do you own horses?” EJ asked.

“Yes.”

“Cows?”

“Yep.”

“Pigs?”

Nate shook his head. “No pigs, but we have a chicken coop.”

“Do you make nuggets out of them?”

“They lay eggs,” Nate explained, grinning at the boy. “I’ll make you an omelet in the morning.”

“I like cereal,” the boy told him. “Where’s my room? Do I have a place to put my clothes? Can Roscoe have his own pillow?”

“Let’s eat lunch and then I’ll give you a tour of the house.”

“EJ,” Bianca said, putting a hand on the boy’s thin shoulder. “Can you thank Mr. Nate for letting us stay with him?”

“Thank you,” EJ said, then added, “I need to pee.”

“Bathroom’s right around the corner,” Nate said, pointing toward the hall.

As the boy skipped out of the room, Bianca let out an audible breath. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention him at the start.”

“It’s fine.”

“I wasn’t sure—”

“Bianca.” Nate stepped forward and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m happy to have both you and EJ here. He reminds me so much of Eddie. I bet your brother loved having a little mini-me running around. I can’t believe he never mentioned a nephew.”

“EJ’s a great kid,” she said, not directly addressing his comments. “He has a lot of energy, just like Eddie.”

“It should serve him later in life. Eddie had more stamina in his little finger than the rest of our squadron combined.”

“I hope it does,” she said, almost wistfully. “He’s the light of my life. I’d do anything for him.”

She blinked several times and turned to look out the family room’s picture window to the fields south of the house. Nate had a million questions, but suddenly she seemed so fragile, and he was afraid she might cry if he pushed her for details on how she’d ended up at his house. He couldn’t stand to see a woman cry, especially not one who was clearly trying to hold it together.

As he looked at her more closely, he noticed faint circles under her big eyes, like she hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in ages. Where was EJ’s father? Nate knew if he had a son, he’d be a part of his life.

Was EJ’s father dead or had he deserted Bianca? Nate thought about his newly discovered extended family of Fortunes. He and his brothers had grown up simply, unlike Gerald and Charlotte Robinson’s children. But they’d had a mother who loved them and the ranching couple who’d taken Deborah in, pregnant and alone, when she’d had nowhere else to turn. Did his mom ever feel as weary and desperate as Bianca looked right now? His heart clenched at the thought.

“Ham or turkey?” he shouted suddenly, then forced a calming breath when Bianca whirled to him, her brown eyes wide.

“Excuse me?”

“Didn’t mean to startle you,” he told her. “I’m going to make sandwiches. Would you like ham or turkey?”

“You really don’t—”

“I’ll choose if you don’t.”

Her delicate brows furrowed as she stared at him. “Turkey,” she said finally, and with that one word Nate felt like he’d won some sort of battle. He liked winning.

“Great. Lunch will be ready in ten minutes.” He paused on his way to the kitchen. “Unless you need help unloading your bags from the car.”

“No,” she said, almost too quickly. “We don’t have much. Just a weekend bag. We’re not staying that long. I don’t want to impose. It won’t—”

“You can stay as long as you like,” he told her. “Eddie was family, Busy Bee. That makes you family, too. If you want to tell me what’s going on, I’ll listen. If not, I won’t intrude. But know that you have a place here.”

He saw the sharp rise of her chest as his words seemed to hit their mark. “Thank you,” she whispered, and then hurried out of the room.

* * *

“It’s quiet here.”

EJ flipped onto his side to face Bianca on the double bed in Grayson’s room later that night.

“We’re in the country,” she said, gently pushing back the lock of hair that had flopped into his eyes. It was dark in the room, other than the faint glow from the night-light she’d plugged into the wall near the door. She’d told Nate that she and EJ could share a bedroom, but he’d insisted EJ could take Grayson’s room and she could use his mom’s since they’d be on the rodeo circuit until spring.

Her son loved claiming the space as his own, and Bianca wondered if she might actually get a decent night’s sleep without the noise from the freeway across the street from their run-down apartment building in San Antonio. “There are country sounds here.”

“Like the horses and cows,” EJ said in wonder, inching closer until his leg pressed against hers and she could smell his toothpaste-scented breath. She’d be sad when her boy got old enough that he didn’t want to snuggle any longer.

“Don’t forget the chickens,” she told him.

“The rooster is my favorite.”

She dropped a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. “The rooster might even wake up earlier than you, buddy.”

“No one wakes up earlier than me, Mommy.”

Bianca sighed. “Think of this as vacation. You can sleep late.”

He yawned, then smiled. “I don’t like to sleep late.”

“I know, bud.”

“I like it here,” he said sleepily.

“Me, too,” she whispered, almost afraid to say the words out loud for fear she’d jinx her new bit of luck. She rolled her shoulders against the mattress, amazed at how light she felt. Strange that the weight she’d been carrying for so long it felt a part of her had already started to lift.

She needed to find a way to earn her keep on the ranch, but not having the pressure of a dead-end job and the stress of worrying about childcare for EJ was a gift. She’d been running on all cylinders for so long with no time to catch her breath or figure out a plan for making a better life. Nate Fortune, with his matter-of-fact demeanor and quiet intensity, seemed to have no issue with giving her space. True to his word, he hadn’t pushed her for details about her circumstances. Not during the simple but satisfying lunch he’d made or on the brief tour of the house he’d led them on after they ate.

He seemed to be almost more comfortable with EJ than he was with her, patiently answering EJ’s litany of questions while barely making eye contact with her.

She had a healthy dose of curiosity where the former navy SEAL was concerned.

Why did he leave the service and return to Paseo in the first place? She knew he’d been with Eddie on the mission that had killed her brother. Could he give her any more information about how and why her brother had died?

She’d practically memorized the reports and brief news stories she’d found online, but nothing in the official paperwork told her what she wanted to know. Did Eddie suffer? Was it quick? How had things gone so wrong for the brother who’d always seemed invincible?

She hadn’t asked any of those questions. If she wasn’t willing to share the specifics of her life, could she really expect Nate to open up his past for inspection? But he must have read something in her eyes because in the middle of the tour, his shoulders had stiffened and he’d made some excuse about needing to get back to work and all but bolted out of the house.

Other than a distant trail of dust on the horizon, she hadn’t seen him again. He hadn’t returned to the house at dinnertime, and she’d eventually heated EJ a meal of chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. She’d placed the leftover macaroni in a bowl on the counter in case Nate wanted dinner when he came in. It was a meager offering, and she planned to drive into town for groceries the following morning. The least she could do while she was here was to cook Nate a few decent meals.

She’d learned to cook as a teenager so Eddie would have home-cooked meals when he was on leave, and sitting around the small table listening to her brother tell tales of his adventures in the navy were still some of her happiest memories.

EJ made a tiny whimpering sound and shifted away from her on the bed. She listened to his steady breathing for a few more minutes, then climbed out of the bed and crossed the hall to Deborah’s room, which Nate had offered her without reservation. She heard a noise from downstairs, alerting her that Nate had returned to the house. It was past nine and she wondered what he’d been doing to keep him away for so long. The thought that he might have a girlfriend in town both intrigued and frustrated her. She laughed inwardly as she realized EJ came by his curiosity honestly.

The urge to see Nate again was almost overwhelming, but Bianca walked into her room and closed the door, leaning against it as if that would keep her inside. She was lucky Nate had agreed to let her stay so easily, and didn’t want him to regret the decision because she couldn’t help but make a pest of herself.

His mother’s room was simple, with one chest of drawers and a faded quilt covering the bed. Bianca appreciated the framed photos scattered around the room, all featuring the triplets at various ages. Bianca’s photos of EJ and his preschool artwork that she’d framed were among her prized possessions, all of them currently stuffed in the trunk of her car.

She dressed for bed, leaving the window cracked slightly so the night breeze cooled the air. She’d mostly kept her apartment windows shut, even in the blistering heat of a Texas summer, both for security reasons and to limit the outside noise. But the ranch was quiet and peaceful, and she took a deep breath as she slipped between the sheets.

Bianca had gotten used to being tired, but that didn’t mean sleep came easily to her. She expected to toss and turn as she normally did into the wee hours, but the next thing she knew she was blinking awake as pale gray light began to creep through the curtains that covered the window.

“It’s morning, Mommy.”

EJ’s face was only inches from hers, and she turned her head to glance at the clock on the nightstand.

“It’s six o’clock,” she said with a groan and then sat up, yawning widely. “I let you stay up a whole hour past your bedtime last night so you’d sleep later this morning.”

“Didn’t work,” EJ reported with a wide grin. “I haven’t even heard the rooster yet. I beat him.”

“You sure did,” she agreed. She’d slept through the night without waking but somehow felt more exhausted than she had in ages. She struggled to sit up against the pillow, letting the sheet and quilt slip down to her waist. “But it’s too early, sweetie. I bet Mr. Nate isn’t even—”

“Good morning,” a deep voice called from the doorway. “I’m impressed that you two keep ranch hours.”

Maybe it was her fuzzy brain, but Bianca felt her mouth drop open as she took in Nate Fortune leaning against the doorjamb, sipping from an oversize mug. He looked even more handsome than he had yesterday, wearing a red-checked flannel shirt and faded jeans molded to his lean hips and muscled thighs. Bianca must have been more desperate than she’d even realized because she was jealous of a pair of pants. His hair was damp at the ends and curled over his collar like he was a couple of weeks past needing a haircut.

“I beat the rooster,” EJ repeated, grinning widely.

“Nice work,” Nate said with an answering smile.

Bianca stifled a yawn. “This is an unholy hour for people to be awake and chipper.”

“Mommy’s grumpy in the morning,” EJ announced helpfully.

She made a face. “It’s practically still the middle of the night.”

Nate chuckled, the sound reverberating through her. “At least you’re not turning green and busting out of your clothes.”

At the mention of clothes, Bianca glanced down to the thin tank top she wore for sleeping. The words You Can’t Make Everyone Happy. You’re Not Pizza. were printed across the front, and she’d taken off her bra before she went to bed last night. She looked up again and Nate’s gaze slammed into hers. She automatically crossed her arms over her chest, but at the way his brown eyes sparked, it was obvious he’d already noticed her lack of a bra. Goose bumps rose on her skin in response to the intensity of his stare. Maybe Nate’s thoughts where she was concerned weren’t so brotherly, after all.

Bianca’s heart hammered a frantic beat in her chest. She definitely didn’t need coffee to wake her up when Nate looked at her like that.

“Come on, Mommy,” EJ urged, tugging at the covers. “You should get out of bed.”

She pulled him into her lap, keeping the covers tucked around her. She’d put on a pair of short boxers and wasn’t quite ready to expose her legs for Nate’s inspection. When was the last time she’d shaved them, anyway?

Nate cleared his throat. “Hey, EJ, maybe we can let your mom catch up on sleep this morning while you help me with chores in the barn. What do you think?”

The boy squirmed out of her grasp, his bare feet hitting the carpet with a soft thud. “Can I go, Mommy?”

“Sure,” she mumbled, swallowing to wet her throat when the word came out on a croak. “You need to get dressed, brush your teeth and eat breakfast first.”

“We’ll handle that,” Nate told her as EJ ran past him, heading across the hall. “You go back to sleep. You obviously need it.”

Ouch. Bianca raised a hand to her cheek. She could feel her face flooding with color as she let out a half laugh, half sigh. “I guess it’s been rougher recently than I realized. Plus the drive from San Antonio took a lot out of me. I’m not normally this much of a mess.”

“You’re not a mess.” Nate took one step toward the bed then stopped, his fingers gripping the mug so tight his knuckles turned white. He stared at her for several long moments, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “You’re beautiful, Bianca. But it’s obvious you’ve been taking on too much. If Eddie were alive, he would have never let that happen. You’re here now...with me. I only want to help.”

Her toes curled as relief and gratitude whirled through her like a tornado. She hated what her life had come to in the past few months but was so happy to have this chance at a literal do-over. She could make things right for herself and EJ because Nate was in her corner.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m going to make this up to you someday. I promise.”

“You don’t have to do anything. I owe Eddie more than you can ever know. Helping you is the least I can do.” His voice was tight with tension as he spoke, as if there were more he wanted to say. Then EJ ran back in wearing his favorite dump truck T-shirt, a pair of baggy jeans and his light-up sneakers.

“I’m ready for breakfast,” he said, tugging on Nate’s free hand. “I got dressed by myself. My sneakers have Velcro so Mommy doesn’t have to tie them.”

“Clever,” Nate murmured, smiling at her son.

“Do you always wear cowboy boots?” EJ asked, pointing to the toe of Nate’s leather boot.

“Almost always.”

EJ turned his attention to Bianca. “Mommy, can I get a pair of boots?”

She wondered how much youth-sized cowboy boots would run. “We’ll see.”

“Get some rest,” Nate told her, ruffling EJ’s hair as he turned for the door, then quickly added, “Not because you look like you need it. Because you deserve it.”

She flashed a smile. “Good save, cowboy.”

He nodded then led EJ from the room. Bianca readjusted the pillow, then laid back and stared up at the ceiling. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to fall asleep again, but within seconds her eyes drifted shut. Maybe just a few minutes more, she told herself. Just a few.


Chapter Three (#u2178ec0f-985a-5849-aa9d-f5bf9a28792f)

“Like this, Mr. Nate?”

“Exactly. Hold the nail steady with one hand and the hammer with the other. Careful of your fingers.”

Later that morning, Nate stood next to EJ at the workbench on the far side of the barn, watching as the little boy hammered together two boards to be used as a ramp for the chicken coop. It was a mundane chore Nate had been putting off for weeks, but it was the perfect job for an eager four-year-old.

Nate never would have guessed how much he’d enjoy having a kid shadow him all morning as he fed and watered the livestock and then drove out to check the perimeter fences. EJ’s enthusiastic stream of questions and excitement over every new task made the time fly by. EJ wanted to be involved in every piece of the action, reminding Nate of himself and his brothers when they were kids.

Earl and Cynthia Thompson, who’d owned the ranch, had been like grandparents to the triplets. Had his mother been as exhausted as Bianca seemed?

Probably.

He and his brothers were more than a handful.

Earl had been a quiet man with a surly countenance that hid a gentle heart. From the time Nate could remember, the craggy rancher had worked the Fortune boys, teaching them to manage the land and livestock and giving them a purpose when they might have turned wild with a less steady hand guiding them.

Nate wanted to do that for EJ, the way Eddie would have if he’d survived that last mission. As guilt exploded in Nate’s chest, he had to force himself not to step away from the boy. What right did he have to insert himself into this child’s life and try to offer direction?

When push had come to shove, he hadn’t been able to save his best friend. His brothers and mother had done fine for decades on their own while he was traveling the world with the navy. And shortly after he’d come home, all hell had broken loose with the discovery that Gerald Robinson was their father. Not that Nate could blame himself for that bombshell, but he hated that he hadn’t been able to protect his mom from revisiting that old heartbreak.

At the end of the day, he couldn’t trust himself to offer support to anyone. Bianca and EJ were far too precious to risk.

But they’d sought him out, and Nate had to believe that meant something. He needed to mean something to Eddie’s sister and her boy. He placed a hand on EJ’s arm to steady him and gave a few quiet instructions about how to position the next nail. The pink tip of EJ’s tongue poked out from the corner of his mouth, a sure sign the boy was deep in concentration.

“I thought I might find you two out here.”

At the sound of his mother’s voice, EJ stopped hammering and jumped off the stool Nate had pushed to the front of the workbench.

“Mommy,” he shouted, running toward her and launching himself against her legs. “I petted a cow and scooped horse poop and fed the chickens and now I’m fixing part of the coop. That’s what you call the chicken’s house—a coop. There are fifteen but only one rooster on account of he doesn’t like to share his girlfriends.”

“Whoa,” Bianca said with a laugh, lifting EJ into her arms. “Slow down, buddy. Take a breath. It sounds like you had a busy morning.”

“I got boots, too,” EJ said, kicking out his feet. “They used to be Mr. Nate’s.”

Her grin faltered as she looked to Nate. Damn, she was beautiful. She wore a simple white T-shirt and a pair of snug jeans with a tiny rip above one knee. That small strip of skin was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen because it held the promise of so much more.

Nate had never been one for flash and dazzle in his women, so Bianca’s natural beauty hit him hard. Her hair was pulled back into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, exposing the graceful line of her throat. More than anything, he wanted to know if her skin was as soft as it looked.

He was so damn close to making a fool of himself and embarrassing them both.

“Or one of my brother’s pairs.” He shrugged, feeling suddenly self-conscious that he’d dug through the shed out back to track down the bins of clothes and shoes his mom had kept from his childhood. “It’s hard to know, but my mom saved anything we didn’t wear out and Earl insisted on good boots, even when we were young. We all had the same style.”

“Thank you for sharing them with EJ,” she said after a moment.

“He needed a decent pair of shoes for the ranch.” The words came out more gruffly than he meant them because he didn’t want her to think that after one day he was trying to step in as the boy’s father or something. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Mommy, I got so many things to show you.” EJ wriggled to the ground and skipped in a circle around Bianca. “You want to see the poop I scooped or the fence I helped Mr. Nate fix?” He waved his hands in a windmill motion as he moved, a bundle of boy energy even after working for hours. Temperatures in January usually hovered in the low fifties, but today the thermostat had climbed nearly ten degrees above normal. Nothing appeared to dim EJ’s enthusiasm.

“Right now,” Bianca said gently, pulling a cell phone from the back pocket of her jeans, “I need to talk to Mr. Nate. Why don’t you check out your favorite YouTube channel for a few minutes?”

Nate frowned as EJ took the phone and hit a button, the blue light from the screen illuminating his small face. “It’s not working, Mommy,” EJ said almost immediately, handing the phone back to Bianca.

“No service,” Bianca muttered. “I guess it’s because we’re so far out of town. Do you have a Wi-Fi password?” She glanced from the phone to Nate.

“Nope,” he said, massaging a hand over the back of his neck.

“Maybe the signal is bad in the barn,” she told her son. “If you take it to the house’s front porch—”

“You still won’t have any luck.” Nate stepped forward. “Cell service out here is spotty, and the ranch doesn’t have Wi-Fi.”

Bianca and EJ stared at him with mutual horror in their dark gazes.

“You can get internet in town at the library,” he added quickly. “Normally it’s open on Wednesdays.”

EJ’s mouth dropped open.

“Once a week?” Bianca asked, her tone incredulous.

“I haven’t been there for a few months. It might have different hours now.”

“I want to watch a show,” EJ complained.

“We have a satellite dish,” Nate said. “My mom likes to watch the Rodeo Live channel when she’s not on the road with Grayson.”

“Do you have Elmer the Elephant?” the boy asked.

“I’m not sure about that,” Nate admitted. He’d heard of a puppet named Elmo but never an elephant called Elmer. “What channel is Elmer on?”

“YouTube,” Bianca and EJ answered at the same time, then Bianca crouched down at EJ’s side.

“It’s okay, buddy. We’ll figure out something to watch when you need a break. Besides, there’s so much to keep you busy on the ranch, you’ll hardly have time to miss Elmer.”

“I miss him already, Mommy.”

Nate watched Bianca’s shoulders deflate as she sighed.

“EJ, would you put extra hay in each of the horse stalls while your mom and I talk?”

For all the boy’s earlier enthusiasm, EJ looked like he wanted to refuse. Nate understood the sentiment. As much fun as a ranch could be for a boy, there was always the moment when a kid realized work was work. It was a lesson Nate and his brothers had learned early on, and it had served each of them as they grew to be men. He wanted to make sure he instilled the same work ethic in Bianca’s son. He knew Eddie would have done the same thing.

“Remember how we talked about chores,” he said gently.

EJ scrunched up his face and nodded. “Taking care of the animals is most important.”

“Right,” Nate agreed.

EJ looked up at Bianca. “I’ll be back after I finish my chore, Mommy.”

“I’ll be here, sweetie.”

Nate gave EJ a few more instructions about how much hay to give each horse, then watched as the boy made his way to the first stall.

“I can’t believe how well he listens to you,” Bianca murmured. “No access to Elmer would have ended in a full-blown temper tantrum with me.”

“Sometimes a boy just needs a man in his life.”

He was thinking of how much Eddie would have loved being a part of EJ’s world but cringed as Bianca sucked in what looked to be a strained breath.

“You probably think it’s terrible that I rely on an animated elephant to help me parent my kid. I do limit his screen time, but sometimes—”

Nate shook his head. “No. I’m sorry. That isn’t what I meant. I’m not judging you, Bianca. A single mom raised me, and I know how much trouble we gave her. I don’t know how she handled the three of us most days. It’s clear you do a wonderful job with EJ, but it kills me that Eddie is missing this.”

“Me, too,” she said softly. “Sometimes I still can’t believe he’s gone. And EJ reminds me of him in so many ways.”

“He’s a great kid.”

“Thanks. He clearly loves being with you. My feelings of inadequacy aside,” she said with a small laugh, “it’s good for him to spend time with a man who can be a role model. But I don’t want you to feel like he’s a burden.”

“That would never happen.” He couldn’t put into words how much he enjoyed the young boy.

“He’s also a handful and his energy is nonstop. Sometimes it gets to be too much for people.”

“People like his father?” Nate asked, unable to tamp down his curiosity. EJ talked a mile a minute but all he would say about his dad was that he’d liked when EJ was quiet. Nate couldn’t imagine EJ not talking a mile a minute other than when he was sleeping.

“My ex-husband isn’t involved in our lives anymore. I’ve gone back to my maiden name, and I’m working to have EJ’s legally changed to Shaw.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “Brett walked away two years ago and never looked back.”

“He’s an idiot,” Nate offered automatically.

One side of her mouth kicked up. “You sound like Eddie. He never liked Brett, even when we were first dating. He said he wasn’t good enough for me.”

“Obviously that’s true.” Nate took a step closer but stopped himself before he reached for her. Bianca didn’t belong to him, and he had no claim on her. But one morning with EJ and he already felt a connection to the boy. A connection he also wanted to explore with the beautiful woman in front of him. “Any man who would walk away from you needs to have his—” He paused, feeling the unfamiliar sensation of color rising to his face. His mother had certainly raised him better than to swear in front of a lady, yet the thought of Bianca being hurt by her ex made his blood boil. “He needs a swift kick in the pants.”

“Agreed,” she said with a bright smile. A smile that made him weak in the knees. He wanted to give her a reason to smile like that every day. “I’m better off without him, but it still makes me sad for EJ. I do my best, but it’s hard with only the two of us. There are so many things we’ve had to sacrifice.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and turned to gaze out of the barn, as if she couldn’t bear to make eye contact with Nate any longer. “Sometimes I wish I could give him more.”

“You’re enough,” he said, reaching out a hand to brush away the lone tear that tracked down her cheek. “Don’t doubt for one second that you’re enough.”

As he’d imagined, her skin felt like velvet under his callused fingertip. Her eyes drifted shut and she tipped up her face, as if she craved his touch as much as he wanted to give it to her.

He wanted more from this woman—this moment—than he’d dreamed possible. She’d fit perfectly in his arms and he could show her exactly how it felt to be with a man who appreciated what a gift she was. He let his finger trail over her cheek and trace the line of her jaw, edging down to her throat. He leaned in, so close he could smell her shampoo, something fruity and utterly feminine. A loose strand of hair brushed the back of his hand, sending shivers across his skin.

She glanced at him from beneath her lashes, but there was no hesitation in her gaze. Her liquid brown eyes held only invitation, and his entire world narrowed to the thought of kissing Bianca.

“I finished with the hay, Mommy,” EJ called from behind him.

Bianca jumped away like she’d been scalded.

“Nice work, buddy,” she said, her voice high and tight. “Want to show me that fence you fixed now?”

“Can you come, too, Mr. Nate?” EJ smiled, his face all wide-eyed innocence.

The boy trusted him. Bianca trusted him. Eddie had trusted him.

And Nate didn’t deserve any of it.

He had to put the brakes on the careening desire he felt for his best friend’s sister. She’d come to him for help. That was all he had to offer.

“Um... I...” He shook his head, trying to clear his muddled brain. “I promised a neighbor I’d help with some damage to his barn.” As excuses went, it was totally lame but also true. In this part of rural Texas, neighbors relied on each other. Nate had made the commitment before Bianca and EJ arrived. “I’ll see you later.”

The boy looked confused at his change in demeanor, but Bianca kept her gaze on the barn’s dirt floor. “Thanks for this morning,” she said softly, and he noticed her hands were clenched into fists at her sides.

“No problem.” He turned and walked out into the bright January sunlight before he changed his mind and found a reason to spend the day with his houseguests. Keeping Bianca at arm’s length was the only way he was going to survive her stay.

The only way.

* * *

She and EJ drove into town for lunch and found a surprisingly yummy Mexican restaurant open in the back of the building that housed both the grocery store and gas station. They’d shared a plate of chicken enchiladas and she’d eaten way too many of the crispy chips and tangy salsa the owner, Rosa, had brought to the table.

Lunch at a restaurant might be typical for some people, but it was a real treat for Bianca. She’d cashed the check she received from her crummy apartment deposit in San Antonio before leaving town, so she had an extra five hundred dollars to her name before her finances got precariously tight again.

She and EJ had been equally shocked at how tiny Paseo was compared to their neighborhood in San Antonio. There was something oddly comforting about making her way through a town that only stretched a few short blocks. The pace of life was clearly less rigorous in this part of the state, and everyone she met went out of their way to be welcoming, especially when she mentioned she was a family friend of the Fortunes.

Saying the name out loud almost made her giggle since there were a whole mess of very wealthy and well-known Fortunes living in different parts of Texas. Bianca might not be worldly, but even she’d heard of cosmetics mogul Kate Fortune and her famous youth serum. She’d also read headlines about British Fortunes who had ties to the royal family, and wondered how Nate and his small-town brothers felt about sharing such an illustrious last name.

But despite—or possibly because of—their humble beginnings, Nate, Jayden and Grayson were the famous Fortunes in Paseo. Particularly Grayson, of course, who was so famous he was mainly known by his first name. But all during lunch, she heard a litany of stories and compliments about the brothers and their mom.

After buying enough food at the grocery store to make several days’ worth of meals, Bianca stopped into the RV that housed the town’s public library. She logged on to their Wi-Fi to check her email, surprised to find a note from her former boss, asking if she’d be willing to make another batch of personalized gift boxes for the shop she’d gotten fired from a week ago.

“He’s got some nerve,” she muttered under her breath and promptly deleted the email.

“Man trouble?” the older woman behind the counter asked.

Bianca glanced to where EJ was positioned in front of one of the computer screens, a pair of retro-looking headphones engulfing his small head. She’d allotted twenty minutes for him to have a screen break and watch two episodes of the Elmer the Elephant cartoon he loved so dearly. Reassuring herself he was engrossed in the show, she turned to the woman.

“I was working in an upscale retail boutique before we came to Paseo. The woman who’d owned the store for years sold it six months ago, and the new owner wouldn’t allow any flexibility in my schedule to take care of my son.”

“Big city folks,” the woman said, spitting out each word like venom.

“I guess,” Bianca agreed, not bothering to mention that she was, in fact, born and raised in San Antonio. “I had a great babysitter for EJ. A woman who lived around the corner from the store ran a small day care out of her home. EJ loves her, but he got a bad case of the flu right before Christmas, so I had to take time off work. I had vacation hours banked, but the owner said I couldn’t use them during the holidays. I offered to come in on the weekends and afternoons when I could hire a sitter to be with him at the apartment, but he wouldn’t budge.”

The librarian rolled her eyes. “So much for ‘lean in.’”

Bianca felt a grin split her face that this woman had heard of the popular movement.

“I stayed home and raised my two kids,” the woman offered. “They’re twenty-eight and thirty now. My daughter works as an attorney in some hoity-toity law firm in Houston. She just had her second baby, and I went down there to stay for a couple weeks. She was answering phone calls from one of the senior partners in the hospital. They barely honored her maternity leave, and that’s a law. The stress moms are under these days is crazy. It’s not right.”

Bianca felt a lump of emotion clog her throat at this stranger’s sympathy. Her own mom lived in San Antonio, but when Bianca had swallowed her pride and called to ask for help during EJ’s illness, Jennifer Shaw had lectured her about how she shouldn’t have taken on more than she could handle in the first place. As if Bianca had had a choice about working since Brett deserted them. She certainly hadn’t seen one cent of child support from her ex-husband.

“So does the man want to hire you back?” the librarian asked.

“Not exactly,” Bianca admitted. “I like to sew and do crafty stuff, so I spent evenings making specialized gift boxes for the store, celebrating birthdays and other occasions. I knew they sold well, but apparently they were more popular than I realized. He sold out and has customers asking for them. He wants to put in an order.”

“Congratulations.”

Bianca shrugged. “With what he paid me, I barely covered the money I spent on materials, although he sold them for almost triple the cost. I mainly did it to have something to keep me occupied at night after EJ went to bed.”

“Seems like you could use a boyfriend for that,” the woman said with a cheeky grin.

“Oh.” Bianca pressed a hand to her chest as an image of spending a quiet night at home with Nate popped into her head. “I don’t really date.”

“You’re young,” the librarian said, pointing a finger at Bianca. “I tell my daughter she needs to schedule regular date nights with her husband.”

Bianca swallowed. “I don’t have a husband.”

“But that blush tells me you’ve got someone who’s caught your eye. No one would blame you if it was one of Deborah Fortune’s boys. Those three are far too handsome for their own good.” She tapped a finger against her chin. “Although Jayden got married last year to a lovely girl.”

“Ariana,” Bianca confirmed. “They’re traveling while she researches a book.” It felt strange to talk about Nate’s brother and sister-in-law as if she knew them.

“Well, that’s the great thing about triplets.” The woman laughed. “We still have two of them up for grabs.” She pushed away from the counter and reached up to one of the bookshelves behind her. “I’ve got something that might come in handy for you.”

Bianca was half afraid the woman would pull out a book on spicing up a single mom’s sex life, but instead she handed Bianca a thin paperback titled Starting a Business That Stands Out.

“I ordered this when Steph Renner decided she was going to start selling her jewelry on Etsy. She’s got a steady revenue stream going now, and I’m sure she’d be willing to give you some tips if you want.”

“But I don’t have anything to sell.”

“Sure you do,” the woman countered. “If those gift boxes can sell in a boutique, they can sell online. You could create a business and still be at home with your boy.”

Bianca sucked in a breath. She’d never thought of her boxes as a viable business, but why not? If it would give her more time with EJ, she’d try anything. For the first time since she’d gotten fired, hope bloomed in her chest. Maybe she really could get her life back on track here in Paseo.

She stood and impulsively wrapped her arms around the older woman’s shoulders. “Thank you,” she whispered, “for listening and for the idea.”

“You remind me of my daughter,” the woman said, patting Bianca’s cheek. “You’re a good girl.”

“Mommy, Elmer ended.” EJ pulled off his headphones. “Can I watch another?”

“Not today, buddy.” Bianca tightened her grip on the book in her hands. “But I’m sure we’ll be back to the library to visit...”

She glanced at the woman who said, “My name’s Susan.”

“I’m Bianca. Nice to meet you.” She took EJ’s hand. “We’ll come back and visit Susan because Mommy’s going to start making the gift boxes again. I’ll need to order supplies online.”

Susan smiled. “I’ve expanded my hours now that my husband’s retired. He and I need a little space to keep our marriage happy. I’m open ten to two Monday through Thursday and from nine to four on Saturdays.”

“Well, then, I’m grateful for your happy marriage,” Bianca said and led EJ out of the RV.

She drove back from town feeling happier than she had in ages and couldn’t wait to share with Nate her plan for a new business venture. Not that she wouldn’t still pull her weight around the ranch, but the idea of having an actual career was so exciting after all the speed bumps she’d hit in the past two years.

It was nearly six before Nate’s big silver truck pulled down the driveway again. Bianca had started to think she’d really scared him away after that scene in the barn.

Had she imagined the desire in his eyes and the way he was leaning in as if to kiss her? The only man she’d been with was her ex-husband and he hadn’t been interested in her sexually since she’d gotten pregnant. So maybe she was that out of practice in reading the signs of attraction. Or perhaps she was projecting her own lust onto Nate because every time he looked at her it felt like her skin burst into flames and sparks danced across her stomach.

She’d honestly thought motherhood had sucked all the woman out of her. She hadn’t felt a yearning like she did for Nate in—well, she’d never felt anything like it.

But if he truly saw her as only Eddie’s little sister, where did that leave her? She wasn’t exactly going to throw herself at him and risk losing the second chance she had in Paseo. That didn’t stop her heart from racing as she heard the truck door slam shut.


Chapter Four (#u2178ec0f-985a-5849-aa9d-f5bf9a28792f)

“Mr. Nate is home,” EJ shouted, jumping up from where he sat coloring at the kitchen table. He ran down the hall and a moment later reappeared, holding tight to Nate’s hand as he peppered the handsome rancher with questions about his day.

“Something smells great in here,” Nate said, his smile making Bianca’s heart beat even faster.

“It’s dinner,” she said. “I hope you like stir-fry.”

He chuckled. “I like anything I don’t have to cook. Do I have time to take care of a couple things in the barn? The day got away from me.”

“I can help,” EJ told him, tugging on his hand.

“Sure,” Bianca said. “When would you like to eat?”

“Twenty minutes?”

“I’ll have it ready.”

“Mommy’s making fried rice,” EJ announced. “Even the vegetables taste good.”

“I can’t wait to try it.”

“It’s nothing special,” Bianca said quickly. “An easy midweek meal.”

Nate studied her for a moment, then said in his deep, rumbling voice, “It’s special.”

He and EJ headed for the barn. Bianca adjusted the stove’s temperature to low, set the small farmhouse table with three place settings, then impulsively ran upstairs and dabbed a light coat of gloss on her lips. She pulled her hair out of its ponytail and ran a brush through it as she studied her reflection in the mirror over the bathroom sink.

Was it too much to leave it down? Did she look like she was trying too hard? Of course she was trying too hard. Any woman in her right mind would try to impress a man like Nate. She grabbed a jeweled clip out of her toiletries bag and fastened it at the back of her head, figuring hair half up and half down was a good compromise. She was trying but not too hard, if that was an option.

She hurried back downstairs just as Nate and EJ returned to the house. EJ was still talking a mile a minute, but Nate paused in the doorway to the kitchen, his eyes darkening as he took her in. Clearly he appreciated the small effort she’d made. Feeling like a teenage girl again, she gave her hair a gentle toss over one shoulder, gratified when his lips parted and he simply stared at her.

“Hi,” she said, her voice a little breathless.

“Hi,” he answered, removing his Stetson and setting it on the kitchen counter.

They stared at each other for several seconds until EJ shouted, “I’m hungry, Mommy.”

“Wash your hands,” she told him, quickly moving to the stove.

“Would you like something to drink with dinner?” Nate rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. “Not sure there’s any wine in the house, but I’ve got beer.”

“A beer would be great. Thank you.”

With Nate’s big presence in the kitchen, the space felt smaller—more intimate. It felt like a real family dinner, something simple but an activity Bianca had always craved. She loved the normalcy of it.

“This is a real treat,” Nate said as he sat down at the table.

“It’s the least I can do,” she told him and dished out a generous amount of rice and chicken onto his plate.

“EJ told me you went to town today. Paseo must seem like a speck on the map compared to what you’re used to in San Antonio.”

“It’s a nice change,” she said, taking a seat across the table from him.

“Really?” He took a long pull on his beer. “Your brother liked to say that Paseo was a half-a-horse town because there wasn’t enough room for a full horse.”

She smiled. “He made the worst jokes.”

“He cracked himself up every time, though.” Nate forked up a big bite of chicken. “This is unbelievable,” he said after swallowing. “It’s like real Chinese food.”

“I can’t tell if that’s actually a compliment,” Bianca said with a laugh.

“It’s amazing,” he clarified. “Best I’ve ever had.”

“Mommy’s a good cook,” EJ announced. “Even though she couldn’t find the targreron.” He stumbled over the last word.

“I’d planned to roast the chicken,” she explained when Nate threw her a questioning look. “But they didn’t have tarragon at the local market and there’s none in your spice cabinet. Stir-fry was my backup plan.”

“Hold that thought,” Nate said, and pushed back from the table. He walked into the hallway, where Bianca could hear him rummaging through a closet.

“Found it,” he announced, and returned with a small camo knapsack rolled tight. “I don’t know if the spices are still fresh, but we have tarragon.”

“That’s the care package I sent to Eddie on his final deployment.” She frowned. “No, that’s the second one I sent. He wrote and told me he lost the first, but I couldn’t find the material I’d used for it so I made that knapsack out of a camo vest I bought at a local thrift store. I forgot that I’d included tarragon along with the basic spices. Eddie loved the licorice flavor.”

Nate put the sack down on the kitchen table, looking a little sheepish. “Eddie was the envy of all of us with these little tubes of spices.” He unrolled the sack to reveal a row of test tubes, each filled and labeled with a different type of spice. Bianca had gotten the idea for it after Eddie’d complained so bitterly about the bland navy food. “Turns out one of the guys from the squadron had taken the first one you sent. He ended up returning it but not before Eddie had asked you for another. He gave the second package to me for my birthday.” He ran his fingers over the labels on the front of each tube. “It was my most prized possession when we were deployed.”

“Really?”

Nate nodded. “I’m not a picky eater, but it gets old when every meal starts to taste the same week after week. These spices were a reminder of home, and that somebody cared.”

Conflicting emotions unfurled in Bianca’s chest, happiness at knowing her gift had meant something to her brother tinged with the familiar ache of missing him.

“You should sell those, too, Mommy.” EJ looked at her matter-of-factly. “If Uncle Eddie and Mr. Nate liked them so much, other soldiers would, too.”

“That’s a heck of an idea, buddy,” Bianca murmured, staring at her son in wide-eyed wonder. As they were driving back to the ranch, she’d told EJ about her conversation with Susan the librarian. That was the thing about being a family of two. EJ might be only four, but he was Bianca’s constant companion and often her first sounding board. She tried not to burden him with her stresses, but he’d been as excited as she was at the prospect of a business that would allow her to work from home.

“What else are you selling?” Nate looked confused.

“I haven’t had a chance to tell you about my visit with Susan at the library,” she said.

“I’m done, Mommy,” EJ interrupted, shoveling the last bite of food into his mouth. “Can I go out to the pasture and see if the horses are still eating their hay?”

She let out a small laugh. “Mr. Nate and I have barely started eating. How can you be done already?”

“I was chewing while you talked,” EJ answered with a shrug. “I chew fast.”

“You do everything fast.” Bianca used her napkin to wipe a stray piece of rice from EJ’s chin. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit here and visit with Mr. Nate while he eats?”

“Nope. I want to visit the horses.”

She glanced at Nate, who nodded. “Take your plate and glass over to the sink first,” she told her son, who scrambled off his seat to obey.

She took another bite as EJ ran from the room.

“He’s sure taken to ranch life,” Nate said, humor lacing his tone.

“It’s okay for him to be out there by himself?” Bianca asked. “I kept him close to me this afternoon. Horses aren’t really my thing.”

Nate nodded. “He’ll be fine, and I’ll check on him when we’re finished. This truly is the best food I’ve had in ages.”

“I’m glad you like it. I’ve got meals planned through the weekend.”

“You don’t have to cook for me.”

“I want to,” she told him honestly. “I like sharing a meal, and it’s the least I can do to thank you for letting us stay here.”

“You don’t owe me—”

She held up a hand. “I do, Nate. I want to pull my weight around the ranch. EJ’s not the only one who can help.”

“I appreciate that. Tell me more about your visit to the library.”

“It started because I got an email from the man I used to work for.” She grimaced, then added, “The one who fired me.”

To her surprise, Nate didn’t look shocked at the news. “EJ told me you lost your job because of him.”

His words were a sharp stab to her chest. “I didn’t realize he understood that.” She sighed. “I guess I didn’t do as good of a job hiding it as I thought. The bottom line is, EJ was sick and the shop owner didn’t like that I took time off work to be with him.”

“Of course you took time off. You’re his mother.”

She smiled at his matter-of-fact tone. “You sound a lot like Susan at the library. I’m starting to think I could get used to small-town life.”

“It doesn’t take a million people living in a place to understand what really matters.”

“Sometimes all it takes is one,” she agreed. “Especially for a mother. Anyway, the boutique owner is upset because he’s sold out of the birthday and special occasion gift boxes I made to sell in the store. Susan suggested I look into starting my own business, maybe something online like Etsy or supplying them to other shops around the state.” She tapped a finger against her cheek. “I might even focus on gifts for military families to send overseas. I could add the little spice packs to the mix. They weren’t difficult to put together and if they were so popular—”

“You can’t understand unless you’ve lived on a carrier for months at a time.” Nate grinned, as if remembering. “What about those shampoo bars? Or the homemade lip balm? Whenever a package came for Eddie, we all hung around to see what he’d gotten. He’d show off whatever you sent, mainly to make the rest of us jealous.”

“Really?” Pride bubbled up inside her at the thought. She’d missed her older brother so much when he was away and had taken to creating products she thought he could use to keep from getting lonely. “I figured Eddie and his navy buddies thought I was just a silly girl with too much time on her hands.”

“He did get some major grief when you went through your boy band phase.”

“Oh, my gosh.” Bianca covered her face with her hands. “I forgot about that. I used to cut out pictures of all the celebrities I was crushing on and send collages to Eddie. I’d spray them with perfume.”

“A lot of it,” Nate said with a chuckle. “It amazed me your letters arrived still scented, like they’d been dipped in a vat of perfume.”

“The funniest part was Eddie used to write me back like he knew stuff about the guys in the photos.”

“That’s because he did,” Nate explained. “Whenever we were in a place with internet access, he’d troll the gossip sites so he’d have something to add to his letters to you.”

Bianca’s heart pinged in her chest. She could just imagine her bad-to-the-bone brother, who favored pounding heavy metal music, doing research on the latest boy band craze to make her happy.

“I miss him so much,” she whispered.

“I know.” Nate reached across the table and took her hand. “He’d be proud of the woman you’ve become, Busy Bee. You’re a great mother, and I’m glad Susan gave you the idea of starting your own business. You’re smart and creative and I bet you can make a success of anything you set your mind to.”

Tears sprang to her eyes as she pushed away from the table, making a show of clearing plates. Gripping the edge of the counter in front of the sink, she blinked and tried to pull herself together. A few kind words and Nate had all but reduced her to a puddle on the floor. But how long had it been since anyone believed in her?

Even in the best of times during their relationship, Brett had brushed off her creativity as nothing more than a waste of time and money. Her mother, too, complained about Bianca’s crafting supplies taking up too much space in their small apartment when she’d still lived at home.

She’d had no idea that Eddie had so much invested in the care packages she’d sent him. Her brother loved her and would have done anything for her, but he’d been a consummate career military man—the strong and silent type. He’d always been the one to take care of her. Bianca had never had a reason to believe she could truly make something of herself.

Until now.

“Did I say something wrong?” Nate asked quietly. His warm hand brushed her shoulder.

She sniffed and turned, pasting on a bright smile. “You said all the right things. I’m simply unaccustomed to hearing them.”




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