Her Soldier Of Fortune. Michelle Major

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ 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 СКАЧАТЬ