Her Soldier Of Fortune

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.”