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